Question: Why would Homer want his 'favorite team' to lose by less than five points? Is it a gambling thing?
Bishop73
6th Mar 2020
The Simpsons (1989)
6th Mar 2020
Family Guy (1999)
Question: I've been watching through Season 1, and haven't gotten further than that yet while paying attention. But any time there is a scene in the kitchen when them at the table, Stewie is always seated in the same spot at the table with his char having its back to the cabinet next to the sink. On the counter top directly behind Stewie in each episode, there is a pink rectangular item sitting there, and I have seen it in every episode of season 1. What is that item? Is it a sponge or a scrub thing? Why is it pink?
31st Jul 2018
Men in Black (1997)
Question: I loaded the film up on Netflix, and it seems that the dialogue in one scene was edited. In the standard cut of the film, Jeebs says "You insensitive prick!" to K, but in the version I saw on Netflix, Jeebs says "You insensitive jerk!" What's the deal with the Netflix version changing this one single line? The original "prick" line appears to be on both the VHS and Blu-Ray edition I own.
Answer: After a little research, I discovered that the line was changed in the UK release from "prick" to "jerk." So the most likely explanation I can find is that the Netflix version is taken from a UK master of the film. As mentioned in other comments, Netflix doesn't censor their films, so the other answer regarding the film being edited like movies shown on airplanes isn't accurate. (Not to mention, it'd make no sense for Netflix to edit this one profanity while leaving all the others intact if they were editing it for content).
I agree it's the UK version. I don't know if it's a licensing thing or cheaper, but I've notice Netflix will use the UK release version on a number of films. I'm not familiar with "prick" as a UK slang but I believe it's more graphic than US slang, similar to the word "fanny", and edited for the UK release.
Answer: In fact, it's done twice. When talking about Frank the pug, the standard edit has K saying "I just hope the little prick hasn't skipped town." The streaming version doesn't. I say streaming version because I just discovered that the Amazon version of this film edited out the word "prick," and I didn't realise the Netflix version had too. I'm in the US, so what's going on here?
Generally the changes people notice in films when watching Netflix or other services come from the fact that they're airing the UK release version (for whatever reason). I remember the first time people really noticed this was when Scooby-Doo 2 changed the product placement from Burger King to KFC (which I commented on).
Answer: As more films become available online and are accessible to a wider audience, the studios edit mature content that is unacceptable to under-aged viewers. It's the same as movies that are shown on airplanes where the adult content is edited or removed altogether.
Netflix doesn't censor their movies, though... So this explanation makes no sense.
It just seems odd, as Netflix basically never censors content in other films they host (since they're supposed to be hosting the officially released versions anyways), and the rest of the profanity/violence in this particular film is unedited.
20th Feb 2020
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Question: This movie is one of a few I've seen to display the title twice during the opening credits. It appears in a plain font at the start of the credits, then appears in a more stylized font at the end of the credits. Why do some movies do this? It seems a little redundant.
Answer: A lot of movies will put a title card at the end of the film before the credits. It's usually to cap off the movie so that it's the last thing you see or think about when you leave (especially back in the day when you didn't sit around to watch for an extra scene). They want it to be redundant so you don't forget (repetition is the key to learning). Most movies (if not all) also have the movie's name at the very end of all the credits too. But I assume for copyright or other legal reasons, the same way a book publisher might print the book's title on every page of the book.
1st Mar 2006
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)
Question: Why was Enterprise cancelled after only four seasons?
Answer: While ratings did drop, there was a lot going on to cause the rating drops and cancellation. First, "Enterprise" was on UPN, which was dissolved a year after the show was cancelled. At the time of cancellation, it was UPN's highest rated drama. Because they were on at night, they were often preempted by local UPN broadcast of baseball games. And it wasn't even aired in every market. They also lost a major corporate backer early and it was difficult for them to over come that loss. Plus, for season 4, they switched to a Friday night line up, so they were competing against Fox shows, like "The Simpsons" whereas on Wednesdays they didn't have much competition.
Answer: The same reason any show gets canceled, low ratings.
Not all shows get cancelled because of low ratings. Some get cancelled because they're too expensive to make.
Don't know why it had low ratings. IMO it was close to the best of Star Trek franchise.
12th Feb 2020
Motherless Brooklyn (2019)
Question: What was the meaning behind the key word "for mosa"? surely Frank wasn't saying "for Moses Randolph" because it wouldn't make sense in context.
Answer: In the movie, there's a bar called "Formosa Lounge." In real life, "Formosa" was the name Portugal gave to Taiwan.
2nd Feb 2020
Cars (2006)
Question: Is it really possible to turn on dirt simply by turning right to go left?
Answer: The idea of drifting is that you are swinging the back end around and losing traction on the rear wheels while counter-steering with the front wheels to maintain control. Once you enter into the left drift, you turn your wheels right to point them forward.
I know what the idea of drifting is. What I'm asking is whether or not it's possible to drift on dirt.
Answer: It's a rally move know as the "Scandanavian Flick" where you throw the car back end first into the corner and then counter the slide with opposite lock and flick the car around. I'm advanced driving instructor and it's one of the thing we teach pretty much straight away on a skidpan.
27th Dec 2018
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004)
Question: What is the song playing when Queen Clarisse and Joe dance?
Answer: If you're asking about the scene I believe you are, it's an unnamed waltz. It's just incidental music written by John Debney for the scene and has no name and wasn't published or anything.
Answer: I haven't seen the whole movie (only some pieces), but when I don't know the name of a song I'm looking for, I just type in and enter lyrics of the song on YT, so try that if you haven't.
2nd Feb 2020
The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
Question: Were black actors ever shown in the black and white versions of the Andy Griffith show?
Answer: I believe Rockne Tarkington (from season 7) was the only black person with a speaking line in the entire show, which is what I'd say qualifies someone to be an actor in the show. That being said, there were at least a handful of black and white episodes (season 1-5) where black extras were used and seen on screen. For example, "Barney Gets His Man" (season 1) and "Opie and the Carnival" (season 5). But none of them had any lines and weren't credited for their appearance.
1st Feb 2020
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Question: What character is MJ wearing on her shirt at the very end of the film, visible just before she and Spidey swing away from 41st Street and Grand Central Station in NYC?
Answer: Joan of Arc.
Thank you so much for that prompt and great response - it's appreciated!
29th May 2009
Back to the Future (1985)
Question: Doesn't anybody think that when the Star Wars movies were released, that the name of the enemy, Darth Vader, would get George McFly a little suspicious? After all, he had to have remembered the name of the spirit that "came down to him from planet Vulcan" since it is on the cover of his book at the end.
Answer: Suspicious of what? He never finds out Doc Brown has a time machine or that Marty affected his past. It might make him believe in some sort of "The truth is hiding in plain sight" conspiracy theory. Oh and BTW, he'd see Star Trek in 1966 (with the Vulcan reference) before he sees Star Wars.
Marty says that he is "Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan", and unless George doesn't remember "meeting him", he might think back to it and be like "wait a minute..." Regardless of when Star Trek and Star Wars would come out, a nerd like him would be able to put two-and-two together and see that they don't add up, unless he thinks that it's just a coincidence.
Answer: I think it was mostly as a shock to him waking up like that with loud noises right in his ear. Disoriented and confused and already being kind of a jittery and craven person he just did what he was told. Doesn't matter at that point how unalien the encounter actually was. I mean the music was guitars, Vulcan is a common word, the "alien" spoke plain english and i'll bet people from the 50's have seen an environmental suit before (basically a diving suit with a gasmask).
Answer: In a special "front page wrap" of USA Today for October 22, 2015, written by Michael Klastorin. The name of the alien is "Garth D'Vade." Obviously done as a joke, it does show that George may have not remembered the name and didn't associate it with Darth Vader, so there's nothing for him to be suspicious about. It's also possible he believes Darth Vader to be real and thinks Vader must have visited George Lucas.
Answer: Vulcan had long been used as the name of fictitious planets (when 19th century astronomers thought they'd discovered a planet closer to the sun than Mercury, they were going to name it 'Vulcan'). As for Vader, George wouldn't have heard the name again until more than 20 years after his 'dream, ' and either chalked it up to coincidence or misremembering what he heard.
25th Jan 2020
Star Wars (1977)
Question: Are lightsabers capable of cutting through any substance, or are there objects in the franchise (even if the examples are no longer canon) that have been specifically mentioned as being resistant?
Answer: There are several substances in canon and non-canon that are resistant to lightsabers. Beskar, also known as Mandalorian iron or Mandalorian steel was used to make armor and weapons by the Mandalorian people. Cortosis was an ore that, when heavily refined, stopped lightsaber blades and blaster bolts. Phrik was another metal, used in Darth Sidious' lightsabers and the electrostaffs used by Grievous' robot guards. Neuranium was a very, very dense and heavy metal that was partially resistant to lightsabers, but was more often used to shield from scanners. The species orbalisk and vonduun crab had carapaces that could withstand the blow of a lightsaber.
Answer: The Force Awakens features stormtroopers using the "Z6 riot control baton", which they use to block the lightsaber when Finn uses it.
Is it the baton itself that is resistant, or the energy surge around it? Because I know Snoke's guards were able to block lightsabers with energized weapons as well.
Yes you see them in Episode III as well when fighting on the bridge of the chancellor's ship. My guess is the energy blocks the lightsaber. It's logical they would come up with some sort of technology to block lightsabers if materials that can block them are that rare.
Answer: There are a handful of items, but I don't believe any have been mentioned or shown in the film series (other than another lightsaber itself). Mandalorian Iron (also known as Beskar) and Phrix are resistant to lightsaber attacks and have been mentioned in the TV show "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", but I don't recall if their resistance is specifically mentioned in the show.
19th Feb 2018
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Question: Why was the DNA inadmissible?
Answer: Nick also points out that the crime scenes are always contaminated. The evidence was probably contaminated by the cops.
Answer: The reason the DNA was inadmissible was not elaborated on. We're only told it was inadmissible because of the "exclusionary rule." Therefore, the judge in the case must have deemed the way the DNA was collected from the suspects was in violation of their constitutional rights. The why was not explained and anything would be a guess (something like when they were arrested and there was no probable cause to take a DNA sample). But it's seems more of plot convenience to move the story forward quickly. Clyde passing out had nothing to do with the DNA being inadmissible, it only meant his eyewitness testimony may be considered unreliable. Therefore the DA's Office was not willing to try both men using Clyde as a witness, but go with the plea deal.
Answer: Because Clyde passed out.
23rd Jan 2020
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Question: In the first classroom scene with Mr. Morgan, what does he call Joey?
Answer: He calls him "Chachi." This seems to be a reference to the "Happy Days" and "Joanie Love Chachi" character Chachi, who was played by Scott Baio. Joey (played by Andrew Keegan) looks like a young Scott Baio.
17th Jan 2020
War of the Worlds (2005)
Question: So I know this was asked but I'm going to go a little deeper, How were the aliens killed by microbes/bacteria? They are so much more advanced then we are that they didn't think to protect themselves from this possible threat? They were ready for battle with the lasers how did they not think about what is in our environment?
Answer: I think the issue of they're more advanced than us therefore how would they not know about Earth's diseases is a bad assumption. Having knowledge of space travel and weaponry doesn't mean having knowledge of microbiology, even if we think it must because of our own advancements. We know when Europeans came to the Americas, the diseases they brought over were devastating to the indigenous people who had no immunity. There's a theory that the Americas never had such plagues or diseases because they didn't live in overcrowded cities like the Europeans. Had the indigenous people carried unique diseases that they were immune to, their diseases could have easily wiped out of the Europeans, despite being "more advanced." Mars may simply never had experience with plagues or diseases that required the concept of immunization or they may have thought they were protected.
Answer: They had never been to Earth and test out of the biological nature of the planet and its life. They just assumed to be protected in their machines from any hostility against them and never thought to protect themselves from the bacteria. They thought that if they would just destroy the life they wouldn't be affected by it.
So you said they had never been to Earth, but how did the machines they are using get here? If they are so intelligent and have these fancy machines how did they not think to look more closely at the life on this planet first when they brought the machines?
They didn't bring them, they sent them. A long, long time ago too. Who knows why they didn't think of it? That's just the story. They want the planet and kill everything on it to gain it. Why study an inferior species?
13th Jan 2020
Sesame Street (1969)
Question: Is it true that Cookie Monster literally eats everything?
Answer: What exactly are you asking? Does he literally eat everything? No. Will he eat anything? Perhaps. Has he eaten weird things, including stuff that wasn't food? Yes, a lot of times. Through the long history of "Sesame Street", Cookie Monster has been seen eating a lot of non-food items. He'll do this for a number of reasons, generally because he's trying to get to some cookies, he's out of cookies, or he's still hungry. For example, he ate a safe that Kermit had put cookies in (in a failed attempt to keep the cookies away from Cookie Monster). He ate a plate when everyone else ate all the cookies, leaving him with none. And he ate a full size pickup truck a genie gave him when he ran out of wishes to fill the truck with a million cookies because he was hungry. The other times he eats something non-food related is because he gets overly excited, or just being silly. Of course, now Cookie Monster knows that cookies are a sometime treat and will eat healthy foods.
I'm asking if he eats anything.
8th Jan 2020
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Question: Harry opens a door causing a bag of tools to fall on his head. In real life, wouldn't Harry have been badly injured if that really did happen to him?
Answer: The YouTube channel Screen Junkies did a video consulting with a doctor called "Honest Action - Home Alone" in which they break down all the traps Harry and Marv encounter and what the real consequences would have been. For this one in particular, they said Harry would have been killed by a skull fracture and a possible epidural hematoma.
Answer: There are numerous YouTube videos of real doctors analyzing the traps in Home Alone 1&2 and what would "really" happen to Harry and Marv and almost every doctor who examined the bag of wrenches trap said Harry would've most likely died of severe head trauma, brain bleeding, skull fracture etc. You gotta check them out.
Answer: Yes it would have. In real life, a lot of the traps Kevin sets in both films would have seriously injured or killed both Harry and Marv.
19th Aug 2019
Little Monsters (1989)
Question: I'm watching on Netflix. Was this edited somehow from the original? In the Netflix version Brian enlists the help of Todd and Kiersten to rescue his brother. After escaping the dungeon, it shows them rearming themselves at the school. Then there's a cutscene where Maurice is in Ronnie's room and says "oh, Ronnie." Brian, Todd, and Kiersten are see walking into Boy's room a 2nd time, then all of the sudden Ronnie is there with the battery pack, and no-one seems surprised. In the original, was Ronnie recruited the first time around and then cut in the Netflix version? In the Netflix version Boy says the line "why lose 5 lives when you can gain 4?" when there's only 4 kids and not 5. So I feel like he must have been there. If Ronnie was edited out, why? Was it just to save the run time? If Ronnie wasn't edited out, who are the 5 lives Boy is talking about?"
Answer: I'd seen the movie a lot growing up and also just picked up the new Blu-Ray. As I remember seeing it when I was younger, and indeed in the new Blu-Ray, Ronnie is recruited on the group's second attempt to rescue Eric. He was never there the first time around. Admittedly, the line about "why lose five lives when you can gain four" is confusing given there's only four kids. But I always assumed he was referring to the four kids and Maurice, who he also has held captive.
Answer: You see Brian go down with Kiersten and Todd armed with their first set of flashlights. He then says this line because he wants to keep the four kids there and turn them into monsters. But he could kill them and my guess is maybe kill Maurice as well because he didn't succeed in turning Brian into one of them.
Answer: They went back to rescue Brian's younger brother Eric. Ronnie was there after Maurice went and got him to come and help. So the five lives refers to the four kids and the one that he stole which was Eric.
That's why I'm wondering why it was edited on Netflix because Ronnie isn't there when Boy says the line. In the Netflix version, Ronnie is recruited after Boy's line.
2nd Jan 2020
Venom (2018)
Question: I'm a huge Spider Man fan, but I've never understood Venom's weaknesses. Why would he be affected by sonics and fire?
Answer: It's from the comics and much like Superman's weakness to kyptonite, it was just written that way. Venom is part of a species of extraterrestrial symbiotes that were forged in the head of a dead Celestial (which would later be known as "Knowhere") by an evil deity known as Knull. One of the unintentional effects of the forging in the head is weakness to sound and fire.
29th Dec 2019
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
The Best of Both Worlds (1) - S3-E26
Question: I can't tell if this was a mistake or if there's an explanation. When the Borg are on the Enterprise's bridge, the first two are covered in the green light indicating they're being transported back to the Borg ship, but the 3rd one (the one successfully shot by Worf) has no lights, he just fades away. Why?
Answer: The Borg use technology to cause the dead to disintegrate, presumably as a security measure to prevent their technology from being captured.
But in s05e23, "I, Borg", Riker says "the Borg collect their dead" when they encounter the injured Borg. Worf says to kill it and leave no evidence they were there so that when the Borg return to collect the dead member. Plus, there were 4 dead Borg and none of them disintegrated.
I believe "collect" refers to the disintegration. We see other Borg remove specific pieces of technology from the dead borg, which causes it to disappear.
Answer: Its possible that the Borg use a special transporter for living beings (which is the one with the green glow) and a different one for non-living things (which might not have a green glow). In Star Trek the federation uses a different type of transporter when moving bulk cargo than it does when moving people.
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Answer: Yes, it's a gambling thing. It's called "the spread." The Cowboys would have been underdogs, so the opponent (in 1990 it was the Washington Redskins) were favored to win. Homer bet money that the Cowboys would win or at least not lose by 6 points. That's why he says "five and a half points", since there's no way to score half a point, if the Cowboys lost by 6, Homer loses the bet. But if they lose by 5 or less, Homer wins the bet.
Bishop73