Michael Albert

Chosen answer: The hand movements you refer to are called "time setting." The purpose is to maintain the beat of the song, and keep the singing on track, particularly in the old back-woods churches where there had rarely been instrumental accompaniment. It also has the added benefit of enhancing the energy of the musical experience for the participants. I am not certain if the denomination of the church was ever explicitly stated, but it was likely Pentecostal.

Michael Albert

Answer: "Valse Septembre" by Felix Godin.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: Minnie Driver was born in 1970 in London, England. A search of IMDb.com yields four film and television productions of "Phantom" between 1970 and 2004. The 1983 TV Film was not a remake of the original musical, and there is no character named Christine (even if there were, it is unlikely she would have been played by a 13 year-old actress) In the other productions, the role of Christine was portrayed by (in chronological order) : Jill Schoelen (1989), Terri Polo (1990, TV), and Asia Argento (1998, Italy) Minnie Driver's IMDb oeuvre also does not list any other production of "Phantom" beside the 2004 film. Further, though Minnie Driver is an accomplished singer (she sings the original song, "Learn To Be Lonely" over the credits of "Phantom"), she is not a trained opera singer. In fact, her opera singing in "Phantom" was dubbed by Margaret Preece. As such, it is unlikely Minnie Driver ever portrayed Christine Daae in any version of "Phantom of the Opera".

Michael Albert

Answer: The Emerald City was, indeed, presented in color in the original 1939 film. In fact, even Kansas was not originally purely black-and-white. The Kansas scenes were initially sepia tinted. Later prints showed Kansas in black-and-white. The original sepia tones were returned in the 1989 restoration for the film's 50th anniversary.

Michael Albert

Answer: While the Skipper did state he was a Navy cook in one episode, other pieces of information were given in other episodes which offer conflicting information regarding his back-story. This excerpt from the Wikipedia article about The Skipper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skipper) summarizes it best: "Little was ever learned about his past, but in several episodes he mentions variously having several ships blown out from under him, and his veteran's status, implying that he'd served in World War II. One episode indicates the Skipper was a veteran of the Battle of Guadalcanal. In another episode he gets amnesia, and thinks he's on a covert mission behind enemy lines, mistaking the others to be Japanese soldiers, including Ginger, whom he mistakenly believes to be a ventriloquist. He claims to be the CO of the 177th Infantry Regiment, which is a U.S. Army regiment, but whether that actually happened or was just a wish-fulfilling fantasy is open to debate, for later on in the series he says that he was simply a cook. In one episode he claimed to have been a Navy Bandmaster and in another he claims to have been the best card player in the US Navy." There are inconsistencies in the back-stories of most characters on "Gilligan's Island," even including whether "Gilligan" is the eponymous character's first or last name. This suggests that plot consistency wasn't foremost on the minds of the show's writers and creators (I mean, why would the Howell's bring suitcases full of money on a three-hour Hawaiian tour?), who instead focused on zany misadventures and missed rescue opportunities.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: He is just an extra. They show him once, looking momentarily concerned, as Sandy brushes past him when she storms out of the gym. They show him in the center of the frame again a short time later hamming it up and enjoying himself. And he does partly invade the dance floor and dance in front of Cha Cha, for no apparent reason other than a moment of being noticed. But he has no actual purpose other than adding his ebullience to the background of the scene.

Michael Albert

Answer: 1) The answer to the moving of the Minnow probably has no profound significance except for aesthetic. They were re-doing the opening in color, and it looks like they had a different model of the Minnow and placed it in a different setting. This is more a "continuity error" than a decision of any import in the minds of the creators, I'm guessing. 2) I see five people on the stern. But even if my eyes are playing tricks on me, someone could have easily been below deck. 3) The music does have a somewhat different quality between season two and season three. The differences are subtle. I agree with you that it probably wasn't actually re-recorded, but instead, was just remastered a bit. Also note, for reasons unknown to me, in the season three opening, the pictures of Mary Ann and the Professor (rest in peace, Russell Johnson), are reversed, compared to season two.

Michael Albert

Answer: It was just a succinct, aspirational and poetic way of saying, "I will go wherever you take me, as long as we're together, an it's anywhere away from my hopelessly bleak and loveless existence." It's one of a few references they make to being together, wherever they go (with apologies to "Gypsy"). They sing the ditty "Up We Go." They say, "you jump, I jump." It also provides kind of an interesting foreshadowing and counterpoint to where they end up, souls knit, spending eternity together at the bottom of the sea. Obviously, it isn't literal.

Michael Albert

Answer: No reason is given.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: It seems P. L. Travers was, in fact, right-handed. With just a bit of research, I found this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeiEumLxTcM. At time reference 4:05, archive video shows Ms. Travers in her garden, holding a basket hooked on her left arm, and making clippings with a scissors in her right hand. Feeling convinced, I stopped, though I suspect further research (it's a six part biography) would yield other examples of P. L. Travers engaged in right-handed activities.

Michael Albert

Answer: I do not know the actual answer to your question. However, I would like to point out as a lefty myself that we often have to use our right hand for certain activities just due to the fact that left handed options are not readily available. Scissors and shears are a great example of this. Very often you cannot just switch them to your left hand and have them work. They actually have to be put together to be left handed to work properly. Also, many left handed writers are also ambidextrous. For example I golf right handed but bat left handed so the two swings don't negatively affect each other.

Answer: The song is called "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"). This was a somewhat anachronistic choice for the scene, as the song was written in 1967, twenty-two years after the end of World War II, by Israeli folk artist Naomi Shemer. For more information on the song, including an English translation of the lyrics, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_of_Gold.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: The Bangles.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: No. There are small instances on "Star Trek: TNG" where Picard speaks French on board the Enterprise, without the Universal Translator altering it. Were he always speaking French, the Universal Translator would make no distinction when he was speaking French as a matter of course, or speaking French for a particular effect. In the episode "Code of Honor", Data refers to French as an "archaic language" on Earth, to which Picard takes umbrage. I suspect Data would have known if Picard were actually speaking French at the time.

Michael Albert

Answer: Though the plot points are slightly different than the precise details you describe, this sounds like it must be the 1983 mini-series "For Those I Loved" starring Michael York. It is based on the writings of Holocaust survivor Martin Gray. I hope this is the awesome answer you are looking for.

Michael Albert

Answer: According to IMDb.com, Ian Brennan, one of the "Glee" writers and producers, is listed as the uncredited narrator voice.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: Most likely, he improvises on the spot, dodging and recovering, as he did all the way through the scene.

Michael Albert

Answer: In the film, the Mother Abess explains to Maria that the Captain Von Trapp's wife died "several years" ago. This is commonly misheard by viewers as "seven years." In reality, the actual mother of the Von Trapp children was Agathe Whitehead, who died of scarlet fever in 1922, just four years before Maria came to the Von Trapp home, initially as a tutor (not a governess) in 1926.

Michael Albert

Answer: However when Captain Von Trapp gets the children to step forward and introduce themselves to Maria he states that their mother died 7 years ago.

Answer: My best guess from examining the necklace in pictures would be that it is a silver chain accented with small diamonds placed at equidistant intervals. The pendant looks to be a shell cameo, but it's hard to make out from a distance. The costume designer for the episode is listed as Lori Eskowitz-Carter. She does have a Facebook page. In service to your question, I sent her a message asking about the necklace, and will add an update to this post if and when I receive an answer. You might get a faster response by paying Facebook $1.00, which will get the message directly to her in-box. She may not see my question unless she looks for it.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: "The Blue Danube Waltz" by Johann Strauss II.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: I did a little research for you. The Original London cast recording from 1976 is available on iTunes with the song "The Lady's Got Potential" intact. In the minute and a half sample iTunes allows, the song sounds pretty similar - both just as "rock and roll." However, the lyrics and instrumentals do have differences. Look it up using the key words "Evita London cast" and you should locate it. Give it a listen!

Michael Albert