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Love Me, Love My Skipper - S2-E20
Question: I never understood the "Monkey Wrench" part of this episode. Skipper deliberately puts a monkey wrench in his pocket, then asks Gilligan if he has seen it. In a different scene, Gilligan sees the wrench in Skipper's pocket and tells him he notices he found it. I never understand the relevance of this whole part in relation to the actual storyline (Skipper thinking he was not invited to the Howells' cotillion). What was the idea here?
Question: Why did Crispin Glover disapprove this movie's ending?
Answer: He didn't think it sent a good message, saying that the changes to the McFly family at the end boiled down to "success = wealth." He thought it should have ended with everything going back to normal, to show that there are no magical fixes to problems. Failing that, he just felt the ending should be less materialistic in its message.
Question: How does the fact that Biff is wealthy in the alternate 1985 have such a dystopian effect on Hill Valley, turning it into Snake Plisken's L.A.? Someone's wealth would probably not have effects on crime rates, murder, schools burning down six years prior, etc.
Answer: Biff is so wealthy that he is basically an oligarch, ruling Hill Valley. As he puts it, he "owns the police," so he is above the law. He puts all his resources into his own life, neglecting the rest of Hill Valley. Without these resources, all of the services (police, health, education, social services, fire, etc.) are non-existent outside Biff's tower. Therefore, it sinks into poverty, lawlessness, and despair.
Answer: While I don't think Biff's motivations are explained in the film (but maybe they are in other canonical material), it seems to center on the casino that Biff opened and the type of people it attracted. Biff also tells Marty he owns the police, which would indicate Biff was also engaged in illegal activities, for example prostitution or drug sales, and there was police corruption. This also seems to have increased gang activities (which Biff may have been involved in as well) that led to more violence and crimes like arson at the school.
Question: When Sollozzo offers Vito 30% of the drug profits for his financing and political protection, Vito asks him why he (Vito) deserved such generosity. Was Vito being sarcastic, or was it actually a good deal?
Answer: Vito was being sarcastic, but it's also a negotiating tactic. Vito is uninterested and considered it a meager offer. Sollozzo naturally would offer a low-ball price as an opening bid to test Vito's reaction. He would then negotiate further, gradually upping the amount. I took it as Vito testing why Sollozzo is coming to him with the deal rather than the other crime families and is gathering intel. He doesn't trust Sollozzo and likely suspects there is some collusion going on with another don, which was the case.
Given Vito's aversion to getting involved in the drug trade, I doubt it's about negotiating or getting a better offer. He has already decided not to go into business with Sollozzo even before meeting him. I think it's more the second part of the answer, about feeling Sollozzo out and trying to find out more about him and which of the other families he's already involved with.
Question: Everyone at the Magic Castle Inn wanted to go and see the abandoned condos that caught on fire, except for Scooty. There are so many people around that tourist area. Anyone could have done it. What makes Ashley (Scooty's mother) think that Scooty was the one that caused the fire?
Answer: Because Scooty was nervous and didn't want to see it. If he wasn't the one that did it, he more than likely would have been curious and watched it with his mom.
Question: At the end of the episode why does Daria look down and say "Damn" to herself?
Answer: Earlier, Quinn prods Daria to imagine having the object of her infatuation, Trent, as an actual boyfriend, and to picture her dream exactly the way it will be. Then, Daria's imagination turns her dream of being with Trent into an extremely unpleasant future, and Daria says, "I think I just got over something," which means she got over her infatuation with Trent. At the end of the episode, Trent tells Daria that it's too bad she's not older, so he could take *her* out, then he leaves. Daria then envisions a romanticized future with her perfect Trent, and in this dream Trent tells her, "Daria, you're the best thing that ever happened to me." And just like that, Daria's infatuation with Trent is back, and Daria exclaims, "Damn," in frustration.
Question: When Stan first tries to return the drink machine, an employee explains that the store just takes an initial payment, then remaining payments are handled by a separate finance company. How does the store even make a profit if they only get the initial payment? I know this is a TV show, but it sounds like the banks who let people mortgage homes for small down payments in the late 2000s, then sold the debt to other companies.
Answer: The store sells the debt (at a discount) to the finance company, which then has the right to collect the balance due. This frees the store from the administrative burden of tracking payments and transfers the risk of non-payment to the finance company. This scheme usually works best when there is a huge markup on the product.
Question: When the kids win the sand castle contest and get the free helicopter ride, since they are all under age, wouldn't they be required to be accompanied by a parent for the duration?
Answer: Probably not. Just like when airlines fly unaccompanied minors, the responsibility for their care and safety passes to the airline and the captain of the flight. The legal responsibility is called "in loco parentis." This is based on the child's parent or guardian knowingly placing the child in the care of the airline.
Question: What did Mr. B leave Manly?
Answer: He left him the mansion and everything in it.
Question: How did the I-Rex get into the main section of the park for the final sight between Blue and Rexy? There are huge walls surrounding the perimeter.
Answer: Chances are either the gates were left open after the Pterosaur attack to allow visitors to escape quickly, or Hoskins had left them open earlier and forgot to close them to try and justify using the raptors as weapons.
Question: Why isn't Baron's name on the guest list for the Catholic Charities party? They must have invited him since he looks rather surprised his name isn't there.
Answer: Cardinal Law may have disinvited him out of suspicion. Or maybe just a clerical error.
Question: To become master of the Elder Wand, it must be taken from the wizard who owns it. How could Harry become the new master of the wand when it was buried with Dumbledore and Harry took away Draco's own wand?
Answer: You don't have to physically take the wand to become the master; you have to disarm the master. When Harry disarmed Draco, the wand became his. Even though the wand was not present, it still knew. Call it magic.
Answer: The Elder Wand or Deathstick must be removed by force from the current owner. Draco disarms Dumbledore at the top of the tower. Thus, its allegiance passed to Draco and he becomes the wand's master. When Voldemort takes the wand from Dumbledore's grave, he's not taking it from the wand's master. Later, Harry disarms Draco and as such Harry is now the wand's master. This ultimately proves helpful and a key point in the final showdown in the Great Hall. As Lionhead said above, it's magic. But at its deepest level, as explained by Mr. Ollivander at Shell Cottage.
Question: Why was Hal mad and blamed Gabe for Sarah's death? It wasn't his fault. Also, how did Sarah get to that height at the beginning of the movie with no climbing experience? I mean, I can barely climb an indoor climbing wall, but she can climb a mountain like a walk in the park. (02:16:00 - 02:16:35)
Answer: There was no realistic reason. First, the steel buckle on the safety harness would never just bend and break like that. The accident was not Gabe's fault, but Hal is supposedly so angry and grief-stricken that he unfairly claims Gabe ignored his advice when rescuing her. The movie uses melodramatic plotting to contrive a conflict between the two men. It's also unrealistic that Sarah, an inexperienced climber, was able to make such a difficult climb, even with Hal's help. The movie had many plot holes.
Question: When Bellatrix sees the Sword of Gryffindor, why did she assume that Hermione had broken into her vault when it was below the icy lake the whole time?
Answer: To protect the Sword of Gryffindor for Harry, Dumbledore had a replica made. Bellatrix acquired the fake sword (unaware it was a copy) and placed it in her Gringott's vault. Upon seeing the real one, Bellatrix assumed it was stolen from the vault. The genuine sword hidden in the pond wasn't there the entire time. When Snape discovered where Harry and the others were hiding in the Forest of Dean, he magically sent the sword to the frozen pond and then led Harry to it with his Doe Patronus.
Answer: Because of the goo that was on it.
Question: What is the liquid that comes out of the first tripod in the movie when it sounds the horn? I think it could be blood, but it was the first tripod to rise and it hasn't harvested any humans yet. Can someone please explain?
Answer: As it emerges, a lot of dirt is falling off it. I can see no liquid falling off. If you mean at the moment it sounds its horn, that's just more dirt falling off. It falls much later, probably because of the vibrations from the horn blowing.
Answer: It looks to be a combination of dirt, dust, steam, and water. As it's breaking through the ground, spouting water is erupting, which could be a broken water main. The machine is probably generating heat, causing the steam. The dirt is covering the hull and falling off as it rises. The machine also appears to vent some type of gas or exhaust on one side after it's fully risen.
Question: Can someone explain the scene where Patty tries to get a $5,000 loan, but she would need to deposit $5,800 to qualify? As she herself points out, she wouldn't even need a loan if she had $5,800. The employee might not be friendly, but the offer still doesn't make sense if the company wants to be in business.
Answer: A reputable bank requires borrowers to have an adequate income, a good credit rating, and some type of collateral (property, investments, other assets, etc,) above the amount of the loan in the event the customer defaults. It's been years since I've seen the movie, so I don't remember the timeline of events or what the loan was for, but if Patty and Drake had already bought the house, that could be used as collateral, though they might not want to risk it for such a low amount. If they hadn't bought the house, and had no other assets, it's highly unlikely they'd qualify for a loan.
And plenty of people might not "need" a loan because they've got the money saved, but they'd rather take out a loan and make predictable monthly payments they know are well within their means, rather than eat into their savings, leaving them with no safety net if some financial emergency hits.
This is still unrealistic and made up only for the film. No loan company would ever ask a client to put down a payment of that extravagant amount in order to get back the same amount of what they're asking for a loan for. Why on earth would a person take out a loan in the first place if they didn't actually need the money?
Question: How come Officer Ronnie pulled up in the squad car with lights and sirens near where Lee was parked, and just stood outside for a couple moments when there was no emergency in that immediate area (until the creek just started attacking)?
Answer: While what was happening was not yet considered an emergency, a situation was growing, and town residents were becoming somewhat panicked or were confused. Officer Ronnie used his siren and lights as a safety precaution to warn people milling in the street to move away. He also signaled Lee not to drive off because he wanted to talk to him. Ronnie didn't appear to just stand there. He was looking around and assessing the situation while Lee was walking up to him.
Question: In a few episodes, the FBI agents will walk into a room and say "smell that?" and the reply is "shots fired", supposedly because they can smell the distinct odor of burnt gunpowder. Then they'll look behind a desk and find a dead body in a pool of blood. But wouldn't the smell of a dead person, or the blood, be way more overpowering? Or would it take too long for a dead body to start to smell? And how long would the smell of gunfire in an enclosed room last?
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Answer: He hid the monkey wrench and acted like he misplaced it, as an excuse to visit the other people on the island to see if they got an invitation to the party too.
Bishop73