strikeand

8th Sep 2016

Red Dwarf (1988)

Timeslides - S3-E5

Question: At The End of this episode we see Rimmer accidentally create a reality in which he is alive. He then kills himself by punching boxes full of explosives shortly after. So why, in future episodes, do the other guys still claim that Rimmer died in the explosion that killed all Red Dwarf staff? Wouldn't they remember it as Rimmer killing himself in this new way instead?

strikeand

Chosen answer: Although Rimmer is dying a different way in this episode, the crew were not paying attention to his death. When Lister, the Cat and Kryten are brought back due to Rimmer changing the timeline, they are too puzzled to pay attention to anything that is going, so they did not notice that Rimmer was alive. After the explosion that kills Rimmer, the Cat asks Lister "What was he saying?" to which Lister shrugs his shoulders, implying that he did not know. Assumedly, Holly would have brought Rimmer back as a hologram once again shortly afterwards and the crew probably wouldn't have known that he was alive after changing the timeline.

Casual Person

12th May 2016

Roseanne (1988)

Chosen answer: Her name was likely changed in the credits when the series was syndicated as reruns.

raywest

5th Apr 2016

Family Guy (1999)

Show generally

Question: I saw an episode on FOX the other night where Peter flew around the world delivering packages and getting smarter the more he travelled. When I pressed the (i) button on my TV remote for info on the episode it said it was from series 13, however I own series 13 on DVD and that episode is not on there. I had never seen the episode before. So my question is this: are the seasons labelled differently on TV as opposed to the DVDs or is it a difference in the way countries label seasons, as I live in the UK not the US?

strikeand

Chosen answer: This is down to a difference between countries. I am also UK based and had this problem. What the UK considers a series of Family Guy is different to what the US considers. Another example is Series 6 in the UK features an episode called Saving Private Bryan. However, under the US listings (on IMDB) it comes up as series 5.

Ssiscool

Answer: In the S6 E18, "I, Busybody" Salem got permission from the Witch's Council to be human for one day to meet his pen pal, Roxie. It was all a point of view camera shot.

Chosen answer: No. In the show he was sentenced to 100 years as a cat and only served 25 years at the time of the pilot (all episodes of him being human are flashbacks). The comics did several retcons to change Salem's backstory to fit the show's, and as of 2015, he was still a cat.

Bishop73

Chosen answer: The song is called "Dark as a Dungeon" and was written and first performed by singer-songwriter Merle Travis in 1946. It has been performed by a wide array of artists, including Tennessee Ernie Ford, Harry Belafonte, Dolly Parton, Queens of the Stone Age, Kathy Mattea and Amy Grant. But it was made most famous when it was performed and recorded by Johnny Cash during his concert at Folsom Prison in 1968. According to Wikipedia: "It is a lament about the danger and drudgery of being a coal miner in an Appalachian shaft mine. It has become a rallying song among miners seeking improved working conditions."

Michael Albert

16th Dec 2015

Jurassic Park (1993)

Question: Why is the lawyer visiting the mines at the beginning of the film? He ultimately brings along Dr Malcolm so why go see a 'digger' who is not Grant?

strikeand

Chosen answer: Hammond was being pressured to have outside consultants evaluate the feasibility of the park's ability to function in both a safe and profitable manner. Hammond relents to the demands but he wants Dr. Alan Grant, whose research he has been supporting for the past three years, to evaluate the park. Hammond believes Grant will endorse the park, especially after Hammond offers to continue funding Grant's dig for another three years. That potentially makes Grant's conclusions biased, and the other investors want more varied opinions, including one about Dr. Grant, which is why the lawyer visits the other paleontologist.

raywest

16th Dec 2015

Charmed (1998)

Chosen answer: Due to budget cuts in the final season, Brian Krause was left out much of the series.

30th Nov 2015

Life on Mars (2006)

Show generally

Question: When Sam reads someone their rights why does someone else tell him he's saying it wrong? This happens few times in different episodes.

strikeand

Chosen answer: Sam is using the modern wording of the right-to-silence caution prescribed by legislation such as the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. In the 1970s, the wording would have been different, if it was used at all.

Sierra1

Question: Why, during the folk festival, does Max make a point of telling the audience that Captain Von Trapp will be going to fight for the Third Reich after the festival is over and not mention that he is doing so against his will? Wouldn't this make the audience (most of which know The Captain or at least know of him) believe that he is joining the war and not being forced into it? Would it not have been better for Max to say The Captain is being taken against his will to fight a war he doesn't wish to be part of, if only to try and save the Captain's reputation?

strikeand

Chosen answer: Max announces that Captain Von Trapp will be leaving Austria to join the forces of the Third Reich as rationale for the encore of "So Long, Farewell, " during and after which the family makes its escape. Recall that the chief representatives of the Third Reich in Austria are sitting in the front row. As such, it would be unwise for a capitulating Max to overtly irritate them, or to incite their wrath and suspicion toward the Captain at that moment. Meanwhile, Captain Von Trapp has pretty much done his own public relations job by singing his "love song" to Austria, "Edelweiss, " and encouraging the audience to join in with his words, "I hope you all share this love, and that you never let it die." I think his sentiments are clear, and he gets his message across that he is displeased with the turn of events in his country. Everyone in the audience has just lived through Hitler's Anschluss, and most were acutely aware of the pressures brought to bear on Austrian patriots like Captain Von Trapp. His reputation was probably not tarnished.

Michael Albert

Answer: It's obvious it's against his will and all the audience understand this. Everyone understood that fighting for the Nazis (an occupying army) was not something you would choose. Plus there are those officials waiting to 'escort' him. Herr Zeller is not happy because he knows Max is saying this to clarify the family's situation and gain the audience's support and understanding.

17th Jun 2015

Friends (1994)

The One with Mrs. Bing - S1-E11

Question: When we first see Mrs Bing on TV, Jay Leno mentions that she recently got arrested and asks how it came about. Her response is "occasionally, after being intimate with a man, I just get a craving for Kung Pao chicken" This gets a lot of cheers and laughter from the audience and Chandler shouts "that's too much information!" at the TV. What was happening here? Why does what Mrs Bing said get so much of a reaction from everyone and not answer the question she was asked? Am I missing something?

strikeand

Answer: This is a story about how Chandler's mom got arrested. So she is saying "after being intimate with a man I get a craving for Kung Pao Chicken." So what she is implying is that she is intimate with whomever, and immediately afterwards when orders Kung Pao Chicken. By this she is saying she got arrested at the place where they sell Kung Poa Chicken, because she was being intimate with the individual there. Conclusion she was openly having sex at a Chinese Restaurant.

Answer: I've seen a few answers that are similar to this. It's really unclear to me what the relation to being arrested is and/or why it's too much information. I feel like I'm missing a connection here.

I think the implication is she got arrested for indecent exposure. Probably because she went to get some chicken after sex and didn't bother to dress properly. Chandler of course immediately knows what she means.

lionhead

Chosen answer: Nora Bing's remarks got a huge response by her being funny and making the incident about sex. Audiences tend react to titillating anecdotes. Chandler, of course, is always mortified by his mother for not acting her age and being sexually uninhibited.

raywest

This answers nothing really.

Answer: I honestly think part of it has been deleted since the original broadcast. I remember her saying something extra that carried on the joke, but watching it on streaming services, it isn't there.

You're probably right. When popular TV series are syndicated, they get edited to a shorter running time so the channels carrying them can air more commercials. It really ruins the quality as sometimes the best jokes or bits get cut.

raywest

Question: At the beginning of the film C-3PO says that Lando and Chewie never returned from Tatooine and Jabba's Palace. If that's true then how did Luke and Leia manage to concoct a plan to get inside using Chewie as a bounty if he wasn't there to be told the plan?

strikeand

Chosen answer: C-3PO was unaware that Lando, who was disguised as a guard and spying on Jabba's domain, was smuggling out information to Luke. C-3PO, being an android, was often told information on a need-to-know basis only. He was often not trusted with more sensitive information, lest he inadvertently reveal something. He also didn't know that he and R2 were being sent to Jabba as a "gift" from Luke and that it was all part of the plan to rescue Han Solo.

raywest

30th Apr 2015

Labyrinth (1986)

Question: What is the name of the song that plays over the opening credits?

strikeand

Chosen answer: The song is called "Underground" by David Bowie. It is preceded by music listed on the soundtrack album simply as "Opening Titles."

Michael Albert

8th Apr 2015

Cheers (1982)

Chosen answer: The character Frasier Crane, Diane's esoteric psychiatrist/lover, first appeared on "Cheers" during the first episode of season 3 ("Rebound: Part 1"). Naive and lovable Woody Boyd joined the cast one season later as the replacement bartender for the deceased Coach ("Birth, Death, Love and Rice," season 4, episode 1). Rebecca Howe, the beautiful but tough manager after Sam sells the bar to a large corporation, began her tenure at "Cheers" during the first episode of season 6: "Home is the Sailor".

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: Officer Don ended up appearing in 100 of 139 episodes, but I would say season 3 is when he become permanent as Wayne Knight's name appears in the opening credits. However, as he did appear throughout season 2 (first appearance S01E17), it's possible they already considered him permanent at that time since season 3's opening credits also included Simbi Khali (Nina) and Elmarie Wendel (Ms. Dubcek).

Bishop73

21st Feb 2015

Frasier (1993)

Show generally

Question: Is there anyway to see the scenes at the end of each episode without the theme song playing over it so the dialogue can be heard?

strikeand

Chosen answer: There is no dialogue - the end scenes are deliberately constructed to be visual, with no audio.

9th Jan 2015

Scrubs (2001)

My Old Lady - S1-E4

Question: In this episode JD, Elliot and Turk all have a patient that dies at the end. JD's dies from old age/refuses treatment. Elliot's dies due to the risky nature of the treatment given, if I remember correctly, however I never understood why Turk's patient dies. He's there for surgery, during surgery the surgeons find something, but they never say what it is. The young man is prepped for surgery again in a late scene and Turk tells him what is happening but we don't hear it. He then dies on the operating table. What was it they found inside the patient? And why did he die so quickly when undergoing surgery for it?

strikeand

Chosen answer: When they were in the operating room the first time, they saw a black mass that wasn't the hernia. At that point they don't say anything, but when Turk is on the phone he's talking to David's dad and says it was a lymphoma. Which is basically a cancerous tumor. They don't mention in the show, but lymphomas can go undetected and spread and the longer they remain, the less chance of survival. Given the way the rest of the Turk/David scenes play out, David's cancer just went unchecked too long and spread too much where there was nothing the doctors could do.

Bishop73

23rd Dec 2014

Doctor Who (2005)

The Big Bang - S5-E13

Question: This whole finale never made sense to me because of these plot holes. If all the stars were supposed to supernova when the Doctor was locked up, then why was the Earth not destroyed by the sun exploding? He says the world carried on relatively normal due to the TARDIS exploding being a light and heat source to replace the Sun, but the supernova should have decimated the planet regardless, shouldn't it? Also if the TARDIS was exploding at every moment in time and space (as the Doctor states) then shouldn't it also have exploded on earth every time it has been here in the past? Destroying the Earth that should have been destroyed by the supernova?

strikeand

Chosen answer: The stars didn't supernova, the rest of the universe ceased to exist. Earth still stands because of it's place in the eye of the storm and the TARDIS explosion providing the heat and light that the sun that now never existed would have, but history is still collapsing. Because they are all temporal anomalies, it buys them some time for the Doctor to pilot the Pandorica into the TARDIS explosion, restarting the universe.

Captain Defenestrator

23rd Dec 2014

The Simpsons (1989)

Lisa's First Word - S4-E10

Question: During this episode we see Bart stay with Flanders while Marge is in labour with Lisa. However Rod and Todd seem to be the same age here that they are in normal episodes. Lisa even babysits them in some episodes despite them obviously being at least 4 or 5 years older than her. Compared to Bart and Lisa, how old are they supposed to be?

strikeand

Chosen answer: This extensive discussion of Rod and Todd's ages appears in the website simpsons.wikia.com: "There is also some controversy as to which of the two is the elder. In "Dead Putting Society" the commentator at the golf tournament states that Todd is 10. In Homer Badman, one of the corrections that the TV-magazine show Rock Bottom makes is to their claim that "the older Flanders boy is Todd, not Rod" (although this could have been included purely to stir up fans). Later, in Bart Sells His Soul, the Flanders family eat out for Rod's "big ten-oh", suggesting the two are of similar age (however, the present time in at least one other Simpsons episode has been set two years before that of others, as shown by All's Fair in Oven War). However, in "My Sister, My Sitter" Lisa, when babysitting Rod and Todd, tells a story about a robot named Todd who "had a brother named Rod, who was two space years older than him". Todd responds by saying, "I don't like this story!" As Rod is shown to be quite a bit bigger and taller than Todd, the claim that Todd is the older brother is disputed. Rod and Todd were both born before Lisa (who is eight), Todd appearing a younger age than Bart (who is 10) in the episode "Lisa's First Word" (when Bart was entering "the terrible twos"). Despite these discrepancies, the Simpsons official website states that "Todd is the youngest and most impressionable member of the happy Flanders clan". This seems to trump any inconsistency concerning age seen in the episodes. On the other hand, the character profile for Rod Flanders in the book "The Simpsons: A Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family" describes him as the "youngest of the Springfield Flanders.", but they have made some mistakes in that book. Another possible reason for the variation is that, in the DVD commentaries for show, the writers have stated that they are never sure which Flanders sibling is Rod and which one is Todd and are often forced to check character models to be sure. According to the commentary, early show writers used two different mnemonics to identify the taller brother; first that Todd started with T and was Taller, or that Rod was long like a rod and hence taller."

Michael Albert

12th Dec 2014

Family Guy (1999)

Brian Sings & Swings - S4-E19

Question: In this episode Meg pretends to be a lesbian, when she calls herself a 'mega lesbian' it shows four other 'mega lesbians' singing something on deep voices. What song are they singing? Is it a real song?

strikeand

Chosen answer: It's a real song called "Elvira". Originally by Dallas Fraizer in '66, however, this version seems to be the Oak Ridge Boys cover version. However, the mega lesbians skip the verse and just sing the chorus after the opening line.

Bishop73

1st Nov 2014

Prison Break (2005)

Season 1 generally

Question: To create a lock-down situation in the prison, Michael breaks the AC unit and the doctor later says that it's the hottest April on record. However the beginning of the episode where Lincoln sits in the electric chair and is then let out again (forgot the name of it) shows it snowing pretty heavily. Up to this point the programme has been set within one month so my question is this. Is this meteorologically possible? And if so is it probable to have heavy snowfall in the hottest April on record?

strikeand

Chosen answer: While this might be an oversight in the show itself, speaking from experience there is a possibility of snow coming and going despite being a warm month. I remember in 2014 going from a high of 8° Celsius (46F) and sunny to -16 C (3.2F) and heavy snow the very next day. The statement as you put means it's the hottest April on record, not the hottest temperatures for the entire year. It may have been unusual temperatures for that time of year and warmer than usual. The snow might have only been for a brief period and disappeared shortly after.

Lummie

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.