Question: Doesn't the water tower fall completely to the ground during the buffalo stampede in the original theatrical release? It's missing in the DVD release.
Bishop73
14th Jun 2005
How the West Was Won (1962)
Answer: Footage of the water tower falling has NEVER appeared in the film. My first viewing of the film was in Cinerama in 1962 and the tower doesn't fall over. It doubtless was supposed to fall over but for technical reasons it didn't come out right, and so no footage beyond seeing it wobble a bit has ever been in the film.
This answer is incorrect. The original release did have the tower fall over completely. There's even a picture of the flooding after it falls over. It was since deleted. Http://www.daveswarbirds.com/HTWWW/deleted_scenes.htm.
I agree. The tower fell and water poured out. I saw this movie in Cinerama in 1963. For years later, I wondered why I never saw that scene in its entirety again. A shame that for a mistake that caused the unintentional death of an animal, the scene should no longer be viewed by anyone.
Answer: I saw the film in Cinerama the week it came out and the water tower didn't fall. I remember being puzzled by the shot of it falling in the souvenir program.
18th Dec 2022
Sliders (1995)
Question: Has Quinn, Wade, Rembrandt or Arturo ever found out what caused the Slider to malfunction?
Answer: It didn't malfunction. If I remember correctly, Quinn forgot to enter the coordinates to go home into the device.
The device (timer) didn't open up a vortex to their home world because they opened the vortex up too early, before the timer hit zero. They were on a frozen planet and didn't think they could survive 5 hours and Quinn didn't realise that's what his double was warning him about. The vortex expanded to engulf Rembrandt because Quinn added too much power into the vortex to allow 3 people to slide.
18th Dec 2022
General questions
I'm trying to locate the name of an afterschool special film I haven't seen in over 40 years. The plot as I remember it was a kid in school who liked his teacher, but was way too young for her, somehow became an adult (I forgot how exactly) and finally had a chance to date her. Near the end of the film, he had to become a kid again and now was worried he couldn't date her anymore. Suddenly, she surprised him by entering the classroom now as a kid herself, making him happy. Film name?
Answer: Yes, that was it. I always thought it was a much earlier year than 1988 though, but thanks.
Answer: Sounds like the 1988 made for television film "14 Going on 30."
15th Dec 2022
Frequency (2000)
Question: After Frank survives the Buxton fire, John rings his mom and goes through to her voicemail. The next day he tries again and gets through to a Deli (obviously because his mom has been killed and therefore someone else has what would've been her phone number). How did this work exactly? His mom died a long time ago from his perspective, one day isn't going to make a difference since it happened in the past. Can anyone explain this or is it a plot hole?
Answer: There are 30 years separating Frank and John, but it seems that the timelines are parallel and unfolding at the same time. Example: if something happens on October 10th 1969 at noon for Frank, any repercussions from that will unfold for John at October 10th 1999 at noon. We see evidence of this when Frank burns the desk, when he survives the fire, when he shoots Jack's hand off, etc. After Frank survives the fire, he comes home and has a conversation with John. After they talk, John calls his mother (Julia) and gets her answering machine. Then, keeping in mind this is happening in a parallel sense, young Julia in 1969 saves the life of her killer, setting in motion a new future in which she is killed. It is then when a sleeping John in 1999 starts getting memories of his mother's funeral. So, when he called and got her machine earlier, she had not yet saved her killer's life in her timeline. After she does save his life, John wakes up and tries to call her, but gets the deli instead.
Answer: John calls his mom, which goes to voicemail, before he uses the ham radio where he ends up talking to his dad. At that point, the timeline hadn't changed, his mom was still alive and his dad still died when he was a kid. The timeline changes (along with getting new memories) after his dad decided to listen to John's advice and make different choices.
13th Dec 2022
Good Times (1974)
Question: When James is arguing with Mr. Hewitt over his decision not to pay JJ, at one point James says "You're gonna pay him Boojie." I never understood who or what is a "Boojie"?
Answer: He says "bourgie", from the word bourgeois. Basically it's a derogatory term or insult for someone who is or acts middle class and acts like they're better than the working class or blue collar people. He's saying just because you can't relate to The Mural doesn't mean it doesn't have value.
22nd Nov 2022
American Pie (1999)
Question: What is the song played as Finch is rushing to the bathroom after Stifler puts the laxative into his mocha chino?
Answer: "Walk, Don't Run" by The Ventures.
20th Nov 2022
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Question: Two questions about the song "Touch-a touch-a touch me." 1. Janet tells Rocky that she only kissed before. Columbia looks shocked and asks Magenta, "You mean she?" with Magenta confirming. What was the implication? 2. Janet tells Rocky that she wants to stay the distance. What did she mean by that? Shouldn't she really be saying that she wants to go the distance?
5th Apr 2004
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Question: For the card game at Hatchet Harry's: one of the rules is that an open man can't see a blind one. I'm only familiar with "blind" referring to forced bets at certain spots on the table (e.g. the opening antes for Texas Hold 'Em). For this it seems to be a designation of the bet, for example when Harry counters Eddie's 10K, open, with 20K, blind, which is then topped by 20K, open. Could someone explain to me what open/blind means?
Answer: First, keep in mind they're not playing poker. It's similar, but there isn't a check/bet/call. They put in money, and you have to match it, then it's back on the other guy to match or raise. If you "see" the last guys bet, you put in double, and the cards are shown. Yes, "blind" means you didn't look, "open" means you did.
Answer: When you play a poker hand blind (I think it's in 5 card draw poker) you bet without looking at your cards and so you don't get the chance to change any cards. The others that are betting against you (the opens) have seen their cards, exchanged as many of their 5 cards as they want but then have to double your bet amount.
Answer: They're playing "3-card Brag." In this game, to play blind, you're not looking at your cards when betting. There are certain advantages to this because you only have to put in half the bet while blind. When the round gets to 2 players remaining, if one person wants to "see" a player's hand, he doubles the previous bet and the hands are revealed with the best hand winning (in the event of a tie, the player "seeing" loses). If a player is "open", meaning he looked at his hand, he can not double the bet and "see" a blind hand, he can only bet or fold. The round continues until the blind hand sees or there is a fold. At any time a person playing blind can look at their hand and then continues playing as an open hand, without the blind advantages.
16th Nov 2022
General questions
What TV show is this an episode of? A woman, one of the show's main characters, is in the women's bathroom at her job. She tells a co-worker that they're the only women in this part of the building, so this bathroom is like their own private one. She is offended when the co-worker still uses one of those paper toilet seat liners. It turns out that the co-worker thinks she is promiscuous, and prefers not to sit directly on the same toilet seat as her. I saw this in the early 2000s or late 90s.
Answer: Seinfeld s09e09, "The Apology." Elaine's co-worker uses the seat liner. Elaine thinks maybe she's just a germaphobe until she sees her co-worker drink from someone else's bottle. It's the episode where George is waiting for an apology from someone in AA on step 9 of the 12-step program. It's also the episode where Kramer installs a garbage disposal in his bathtub and makes his meal in the tub while he showers, the meal he prepared for David, Elaine, and her co-worker.
Thank you.
10th Nov 2022
General questions
When I was in the third grade I remember watching a Halloween movie. The year was 1993 and I remember very little from the movie. I remember these kids going to another boys house, but he is being taken away in an ambulance, I think he was sick or something. The kids find a creepy old house and a ghost boy climbs up a tree and takes a pumpkin. I remember a man takes them through Halloween traditions in the past. Does anyone know what this movie was called?
18th Oct 2022
Wayne's World (1992)
Question: It seems like there's some stuff cut out of the scene where Wayne and Garth meet the cop outside the donut shop. He stops them for some unsaid reason, then flips a coin at the end. What does any of this mean? Does he just get charmed and distracted by them?
Answer: It was just establishing that Wayne and his crew were friendly with Officer Koharski. They cut their conversation short because they were afraid Phil was about to throw up and needed to get him a cup of coffee.
Before Phil gets sick, they're just having a conversation. After it cuts from Phil, Koharski is suddenly holding a quarter in between his fingers. There seems to be a scene cut before they see Phil get sick to explain where the quarter came from. (Like if I had to guess, does Koharski pull out the quarter to show what he found in the cavity search?) That's what the question is asking, not is there a scene cut after Phil gets sick to explain why Koharski just walks away.
16th Oct 2022
The Naked Gun (1988)
Question: What were Frank and Ed eating in the car before Frank went into Ludwig's office, and what parts were they throwing out the window (which got piled up outside Frank's door)?
Answer: Red pistachios. Which are regular pistachios that have been dyed red, so that eating a lot of them would stain your fingers and mouth, especially once your fingers got wet.
13th Oct 2022
She-Hulk (2022)
Question: Have the comics ever given any information as to why Jennifer is able to retain her own consciousness when she turns into She-Hulk but Bruce loses his and becomes a destructive force when he becomes the Hulk?
Answer: In the comics, similar to the show, Jen gets her powers after Bruce gives her a blood transfusion. Because just some of her blood is gamma-irradiated, she has a milder version of Bruce's power. In the original Savage She-Hulk comics, she gains the ability to control her transformations after Dr. Morbius cures her of a deadly blood disease. In other versions, she's able to learn to control her powers and retains her personality as She-Hulk because she has a milder version of her cousin's powers. However, in the comics, overwhelming anger and fear cause her to lose control of her powers, and she's more like Hulk; loss of personality and intelligence and more monstrous. Exposure to gamma radiation will also cause her to lose control of her powers.
11th Oct 2022
General questions
What was this science fiction show or movie I saw in the early 80s? There was this eclectic group of aliens, including, strangely, an earth cowboy. Some of the group were identical aliens who did everything exactly the same. When the cowboy offered an alien a hot dog, they all began chewing, and reciting the ingredients ("and artificial flavoring").
Answer: "Battle Beyond the Stars" (1980).
9th Oct 2022
Training Day (2001)
Question: How was Alonzo going to square his $1M debt to the Russians when his take from Roger's robbery/arrest was only $250,000? I believe that they split the $1M from Roger 4 ways.
Answer: They seized $4M and Alonzo's cut was $1M.
I believe you are mistaken. The box held $4M originally. Alonzo hands out a bundle of cash that he says is $250,000. And the dialog is Alonzo: there's over $4M dollars in here! You lucky prick! First day on the job you hit a three million dollar seizure" Jake: " Wait, you said Four..." Alonzo: "Aha, taxation without representation, brotha. Nothing's free in this world. Buy your wife a mini van, put the kids through college"
6th Oct 2022
Bob's Burgers (2011)
Question: The song they play in this episode's end credits - can anybody tell me what it's called?
Answer: It's a made up song for the show. It's a synth version of what the kids sang in Mr. Frond's video at the beginning of the episode. "Let's Swap Eyes."
25th Sep 2022
Somewhere In Time (1980)
Question: Where did the pocket watch originate? He got it from her, but she got it from him. No one bought it.
Answer: The book never included each of them giving the other the pocket watch. So it was added just for the film, but I don't know if the film makers did this to intentionally show audiences the paradoxes of time travel. This would be an example of a causality loop. The watch seems to exists solely because of time travel. This would be like if you were visited by your future self who tells you how to build a time machine and gives you the plans. You build the time machine and afterwards, go back in time to give your younger self the plans to build a time machine. So where did the plans come from? One solution basically states time was moving linear and at some point you invent time travel. Then once you go into the past, you created a loop. So at some point in the past, Elise had the pocket watch which she gives to Richard for some reason and when he gives it to her in the past, he creates the loop. But the film is just the loop, so we don't know where it comes from.
17th Sep 2022
General questions
I need help with the title of a book my teacher read to my class in 5th grade, circa 1995. The only details I remember were it taking place in either the North or South Pole, and the main character killed a polar bear by shooting it in the head.
Answer: It may or may not help, but polar bears don't live in Antarctica (the South Pole).
Answer: If you aren't recalling the details, the only movie (and book) around this time period that I can think of is "Alaska" (1996), starring Vincent Kartheiser and Thora Birch. But Vincent did not shoot a polar bear - a poacher shot a mother polar bear and the baby followed the kids while they searched for their father who had wrecked his plane.
I've never seen the movie Alaska, but the book in question feels like it was probably more of a survival story rather than an adventure. The only additional detail I can give is that the teacher assigned us to draw a scene from the book, and since the protagonist shot the polar bear in the head, many of the boys in the class, myself included, decided to draw that scene, complete with exaggerated gore.
"Alaska" was about survival.
I wonder if your teacher may have deliberately altered some information (e.g, the boy shooting the bear) to make the story more relevant and provocative to the grade level and whatever discussion questions that were given?
I've only seen the Nostalgia Critic's review of it, but wasn't it about the father's survival while his children were on an adventure of sorts to rescue him? Again, I'm not familiar with the "Alaska" book, but it seems like the protagonist for my book was an adult male and it was told from his point of view.
12th Sep 2022
King of the Hill (1997)
Question: Trying to remember the episode where Peggy damn near kills herself competing with Minh over who donates the most blood.
Answer: "The Buck Stops Here", s05e02.
7th Sep 2022
Short Circuit (1986)
Question: I thought the movie was supposed to take place in Oregon? In several scenes, specifically when NOVA shows up to collect Number 5 the first time, multiple vehicles can be seen with Washington state license plates. Also, you can see a ferry in the background in what appears to be Puget Sound. (00:43:50 - 00:49:20)
Answer: Astoria, Oregon is just across from Washington state on the Columbia River. The Highway 101 bridge connects Washington to Astoria, and it takes mere minutes to cross. Unlike Washington, Oregon has no state sales tax, so many Washingtonians who live near the border shop there, and their cars would be seen. Also, there are several vintage paddlewheel river boats belonging to a river cruise company based in Astoria. From a distance, they are a similar size, shape, and white color as a Puget Sound ferry. That is probably what you saw cruising on the Columbia River.
Answer: Johnny 5 finds himself in Astoria, Oregon after escaping. However, NOVA Laboratories is located in Washington State. I'm not sure about Puget Sound though since filming in Washington took place in Stevenson, where NOVA is supposed to be located.
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Answer: Yes, the water tower did indeed fall completely over in the initial release. I saw it fall all the way to the ground and release a flood of water. What happened was that the tower fell on the rump of one of the buffaloes, and the buffalo stumbled and got up and continued running. Later the animal rights people objected to the scene, so it was removed from the DVD, and all that was left was the tower shown leaning over.