Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: Why did Hoffman shut down the security monitors before leaving Rigg to die? Also, how did he do it?

Answer: Because he didn't want Riggs to see who was coming, and even if he didn't shut down the monitors Riggs would still die in the end anyway. And he probably cut the wires from his hands behind it.

Question: Why is Lionel shown naked in his home at the end of the movie?

Answer: In the beginning of the movie, it's mentioned that Lionel is a nudist. But by the end, he says that he is not in a very harsh tone. In the end, it's shown that he actually, really is a nudist.

Question: Towards the end, it's revealed that Owen's men captured Mia before he got captured after the tank fiasco-presumably as leverage, seeing how things played out with Owen. But if the team lets Owen go, how does that make it any harder to rescue Mia? Sure, they could threaten to kill Mia if they don't let Owen go, but what about the rescuing itself?

Answer: Owen Shaw is a dangerous terrorist and may have a plan to make it difficult to rescue Mia.

Question: What did Dovchenko shout in Russian when he was being dragged into the nest, just before getting devoured alive? Did he yell "Help me!" or "Somebody help!"?

Answer: He's screaming "Help me!"

Question: When David steps on the land mine, the group rescues him by tying a rope around him and pulling while he runs. What exactly does this accomplish? It's impossible to outrun an explosion, much less pull someone to safety at supersonic speed.

throcko

Answer: Yes, I think the blast of a land mine usually goes straight up, unless it's a bouncing Betty.

Answer: Anti personnel mines usually have a small blast radius compared to a bomb or artillery shell. If they can pull him away quickly enough he can be clear of the blast.

Question: This question applies to the Mafia Trilogy. Did any of the named businesses that appeared, were mentioned on the radio as well as products that were mentioned like beer and cigarettes actually exist in the eras where the games were set, or were they made up for the games?

Answer: All made up.

Endgame - S1-E12

Question: What happened to the lieutenant after Amon threw him into the pile of wood?

Answer: We do not see what happens. Avatar shows rarely have people killed on screen, so either he got away and was never seen again, or just died right there. As Amon was outed as a bender, he would not go back for his old boss.

Christmas - S3-E7

Question: What does "du kaya mischna" mean? Ida says it when falling asleep during the Christmas episode with Francis.

Answer: It is made up - although it is implied she is Croatian, she never mentions it herself.

Answer: Right, complete nonsense. Du, obvious pain prefix for two, Kaya is drugs in Jamaica and a fruit, coconut thing in Asia, and Mishna, spelled multiple ways, are certain types of studies in Hebrew.

Question: Is George's Oscar Wilde quotation, "We won't have to look for work, and it won't have to look for us," genuine? (Never trust a criminal, I know).

Louisa Radice

Answer: I did an Internet search for this quote, including checking best-quotations.com, and the only reference of it I can find is tied to the movie. I do not think this is an Oscar Wilde quote. If I find something, I'll update this, as it's possibly a line from one of his plays or novels that just doesn't happen to be online. Someone else might know.

raywest

Question: The only animal surviving is a roach. It survives on wrapped food and shelter that Wall-e provides. There is little to no water in sight but if and when there is water it seems to be very toxic with sludge and acid rain. So how does the roach manage to live with no fresh water?

Answer: There's an old trope that if all humanity was destroyed in some cataclysmic event, only cockroaches could survive. It's meant as a joke, and this is just a play on that. It's unlikely anything could survive under those conditions.

raywest

Question: Are Violet and Mike stuck as being blue and stretched out permanently?

Rob245

Answer: It's left vague in the film, but in the book, it's made clear that yes, they are stuck that way.

Answer: In the original movie with Gene Wilder, Wonka assures Charlie that "they will be returned to their nasty selves." In this version they are stuck like that forever as a lesson to other children.

Answer: It's unknown if they'll stay that way for the rest of their lives or if they'll eventually return to normal.

Currahee - S1-E1

Question: Was Colonel Sink hoping all would turn out well if Captain Sobel was not held accountable (in this case, mutiny)? Mutiny is serious, but what was he hoping would happen if no-one came forward about the situation with Sobel? I am puzzled.

Answer: Sobel was not blamed for the mutiny; it was the NCOs who were rebelling against his command. Sink had to act because the men had done so in writing, but not punish Sobel directly as he technically didn't break any rules himself in his conduct. Hence, Sink demotes Raney, transfers someone else and tells everyone else to 'git' while sending Sobel away from Easy Company to train civvy types to jump, as he is an excellent trainer but horrible commander. Normally a Colonel wouldn't do anything about the situation but as the complaint was formal and in writing, and on the eve of D-Day he had to act quickly before someone took it upon himself to frag Sobel.

Answer: It's a solitary cell. Steve McQueen, star of 'The Great Escape' is known as the 'Cooler King'.

Answer: It's a slang term for an isolated jail cell. In wartime, POWs who attempted to escape or otherwise thwart their captors might be punished with solitary confinement, often in a cramped, poorly ventilated, windowless space.

raywest

Show generally

Question: Is it ever mentioned who is in charge of SGC when General Hammond isn't there? By that I mean, when he's home sleeping or taking a few days off, not when he steps down or resigns in certain episodes. Wouldn't SGC have to be operationally 24-hrs a day, especially when there's so many "unscheduled" incoming wormholes? Would Hammond be required to live on base? In real life, are military bases operational 24-hrs a day? Do generals take "shifts", or does the highest ranking officer become in charge?

Bishop73

Answer: The commanding General is always in charge, but generals never live on base (in fact they rarely command bases, that is Colonel's work). One would have to assume he has competent officers in charge of day to day activities; at one point in the TV series there are FOUR Colonels in the staff including Sam and Shepard. The General is usually called in when something is going to happen, as generals usually work at a field HQ or at the Pentagon.

Question: Venom can take control of Eddie any time he wants to. When he tells Eddie to jump out of the window after Eddie leaves the proof on his boss' desk, Eddie takes the elevator instead. Why did Venom let Eddie take the elevator instead of making him jump out the window?

Answer: The entire movie is about the struggle between Eddie and the symbiote, which doesn't always want to take control.

Question: Can anyone shed any light on Noah's death scene and how he actually dies? I assume he broke a load of bones in his body, hence why he wasn't able to get up. But there's a part in his death scene where he suddenly seems to suffocate and there's a crunching sound too. If anyone knows anything, feel free to comment.

Answer: He had not only broken bones but also internal bleeding from the fall. He choked on his own blood, most likely.

Show generally

Question: There are a few episodes where Phoebe is talking with her twin sister Ursula, and one of them will hand something to the other person, and you can tell a stand-in is not being used for one of them because Lisa Kudrow's face is visible for both characters. How do they achieve this effect?

Phaneron

Chosen answer: The effect can be achieved in various ways. Split screen and image overlapping is one method. CGI can simulate body movements making it appear the characters are physically interacting, or a face can be superimposed over a body double. Lisa Kudrow's older sister, Helena, who looks almost exactly like her, was often used as her twin body double, mostly filmed from the back or the side and in scenes where one stood or walked in front of the other.

raywest

Question: How is it possible that David, as a fugitive, was able to get on a plane to Oregon without getting caught?

Answer: At that point, David's school friend, Jennifer, had met up with him. She could purchase their plane tickets under her name. Air travel security then was less stringent than in the post-9/11 era though it was after the D.B. Cooper hijacking when tighter rules had been implemented. Being a movie, facts and reality are often skewed to serve the storyline though it begs the question of how a minor, even in this era, could buy tickets without proper I.D. for David and where did she get that much money.

raywest

Answer: According to him, yes: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/BOX+office%3A+Making+drowning+an+art+form%3B+Kurt+Russell+tells+Robin...-a0146253600.

Question: Wouldn't lying about your age constitute as fraud? If so, why was Samantha Cole let completely off the hook?

Answer: First of all, she's not "on the hook" anyway...this is a divorce proceeding, not a criminal trial. And second, this film has multiple inaccuracies in its depiction of the legalities involved (see Legal Eagle's two-part analysis on YouTube for a very good rundown); the fact that no-one brings up fraud is the least of them. It's not important to the plot, so it is simply brushed aside, counting on us (the audience) not worrying too much about it, like so many other lapses of reality in comedy movies.

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