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: After George convinces the board to keep the Bailey Building and Loan open, why did they decide they'll only leave it open if George runs it but will shut it down if he refuses? Why not just let Uncle Billy run it?

Answer: Because Uncle Billy is a known alcoholic who has shown on multiple occasions that he is incapable of running anything; the board, justifiably, has no confidence in him.

Question: In the rainy scene outside of Steven's apartment building: Chip appears and Steven seems to be surprised that Chip helped him get together with Robin again. He asks, "How did you know we're back together?" But Robin already called Steven to thank him for the free cable upgrade. Shouldn't he already know that Chip was involved? Who else would upgrade Robin's cable and pretend that Steven paid for it?

Answer: If we're to assume it to be an intentional addition to their dialogue, and not just a minor continuity error, maybe it was just Steven's way of handling Chip's uncomfortable initiation of the topic? I can buy Steven not understanding what Chip was talking about when he said "I set em up, you knock em down" without much context to set up that convo. But once Chip says he juiced her up and helped get her back, it seems like Steven gets what he's hinting at. The way he turns away and sort of flees while asking "how did you know we're back together?" (to me) seems a little more like an effort to avoid acknowledging what Chip did, and a little less like him genuinely not knowing Chip's involvement. As if he was in denial and didn't want to openly accept the situation for what it was. That's just my guess anyway. I hope it sounds like a fair enough point and not like something I'm looking too deeply into. Never really gave that moment in the film a second thought until reading the question.

Question: It's never explained why Bobby would ever even consider going into business with Jeff? It's not as if Jeff is some great business mind. The entire Dearly family has no respect for him and treat him like a buffoon. There's absolutely no reason given for why Bobby would ever set foot on their property, much less inside their house.

Answer: [Continued] Bobby may have had a better "presentation of self" than Jeph and LOOKED smarter, but he had his own deficiencies (plus mowed over Peaches, losing that contract, and intended to kill Jeph, not Mona). Would a stranger (outsider) be willing to enter a business agreement with Bobby? When choosing someone you have known for years, you have a good idea of what to expect from that person and might have fewer doubts and face fewer unknowns (such as whether the person can be trusted). Partnering with a stranger can be a very risky endeavor. When starting a business, there's no guarantee that you will be successful. Landscaping businesses/ jobs involve hard physical labor - something a lot of people are not interested in doing, so Bobby may not have had (m) any potential candidates with the exception of Jeph.

KeyZOid

Answer: I doubt anyone can give THE answer with any degree of certainty. This may be why your question hasn't been anwered yet. One possible answer lies in the film's setting, Verplanck, NY. In real life, Verplanck is a small area (less than ONE square mile) with maybe 300 houses within the city of Cortlandt. Such an area, where "everyone knows everyone else," is classified as a hamlet (smaller than a village). Household/ family income probably falls below the U.S. median. In the movie, residents were portrayed as poor and not very intelligent (read: dimwitted, "Forest Gump smart" or "idiots"). Jeph and Bobby were part of this close-knit community and probably had more similarities than differences. Bobby didn't even have money to start the business - his brother Murph put up his half. Who would become business partners with someone who didn't have the start-up money? Someone in the hamlet who needed a job and could get money from his parents - Jeph. [Why would Jeph partner with Bobby?].

KeyZOid

Question: What's always bugged me is this: Where did the helicopter come from? If military no way would that stuff on board not be inventoried and everyone screened (The USO or RedCross, etc would be involved). If civilian, how would they really know where the ship was and how would the ship have a place for them (a Battleship is not a carrier).

Answer: It was Commander Krill who arranged everything. The chopper, the band and the girl, since everyone was told it was a surprise for their Captain, no-one suspected a thing. He told most likely told the crew he personally inspected everyone and everything, being a veteran sailor they had no reason not to doubt him.

Season 2 generally

Question: This season has added the odd effect of a large puff of red smoke/dust whenever someone is shot. It is unrealistic and distracting. Wondering if anyone knows the reason for this change.

Answer: Depending on caliber the body does spray blood from .308 and up.

Answer: Only because it looks cool on screen.

Question: Did the actress Eileen Quinn actually climb the B&O bridge and hang off there?

Answer: Due to strict child safety laws, a minor would never be allowed to climb and hang off from a bridge. A stunt double did the climbing. Close-up shots would be filmed on a sound stage with specially built props, and a safety harness, or other equipment used to make it appear as if Annie was "hanging" from the bridge.

raywest

Question: How does framing Halloran for the murders work out if the police then find his body in a trap that he "set up"?

Answer: I'm presuming that Logan will hide or dispose of the body somewhere so the police don't find it.

TedStixon

Question: This applies to the entire prequel trilogy. Can the Jedi (especially Jedi council) be considered anti-heroes? Or no? As a bevy of "protagonists", they sure have obvious shortcomings which leads to their downfall and in the end are not heroic in much sense at all.

Answer: I would argue that the Jedi cannot be considered antiheroes. A major characteristic of antiheroes is a lack of conventional morals, and they typically act in self-serving ways. For example, many antiheroes oppose the antagonist of a story for revenge rather than for the "greater good." The Jedi are presented as highly moral and indeed quite selfless. It is true the Jedi are flawed and their flaws lead to their downfall, but merely having flaws does not make you an antihero. Their actions fighting the Clone Wars were certainly heroic, even if they ultimately lead to Palpatine gaining more power.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Why was Kyle Reese removed from the theatrical version of this movie? Why is he only present in the extended version?

Answer: Movies typically film more scenes than are used in the final theatrical version. During the editing process, certain scenes may no longer result in a tight story, lose the continuity, slows the pace, or otherwise muddles the plot. The film's length might also run too long limiting how many times a movie can be shown in a theater per day and affecting ticket sales. Restoring the cut scenes in the DVD version serves several purposes. The director can re-edit the film in the way they originally envisioned. Deleted scenes are often added as a separate bonus feature to help market the DVD. Both help increase DVD sales. The Kyle scene may not have fitted the story line and/or it made the running time too long.

raywest

Question: Just before Marty hides the DeLorean, he flags down a passing car. What does the woman in the car shout at the driver?

Answer: "Don't stop, Wilbert. Drive!"

Bishop73

Question: When Billy and Madelyn are together before she moves out of her apartment (3 weeks left on the lease), he looks at the picture of her when she was a child and admires it. But we had already seen that picture in Colin's (her new) apartment. So either this is an error in the film (unlikely) or they showed the scenes out of sequence. I didn't notice that the first several times I have seen this film. What I liked about it was that it shows that Billy is interested in her child self - a view to who she is - where she comes from and Colin wasn't. He takes it out of the box and hangs it up. I don't think Colin wasn't interested in having her photo out for her protection (as I read in a thread), I think it's because he's all surface and doesn't dare go beneath - to real feelings - like childhood feelings. If she reveals her "self" then he has to also. Why was the viewer shown those two scenes out of sequence? (01:20:11)

janny11

Answer: I think this is a continuity error. Another commenter noted that there are many discrepancies and continuity errors in the film. Either this, or after Colin rejected the idea of having her photo out in the living room, she brought it back to her old apartment for the remaining couple of weeks she had on her lease. It's a weak interpretation however, and therefore I try to overlook the issue as simply a continuity error. I interpret the juxtaposition between how Colin and Billy viewing Madelyn's childhood photos as showing the true depth of these characters. On the outside, Colin is a cop investigating organized crime in Boston, as such, society would typically view him as good, honourable, and socially acceptable member of the community. Conversely, at this point, Billy is undercover and is by society as a member of Costello's inner crew and low-life criminal. However, these exterior versions are not the true representations of the character (as the audience very well knows) and showing how they react in the same situation emphasizes how our external facade seldom represents who we truly are as people, and that looks can be deceiving.

Prodigy - S4-E19

Question: When Colonel O'Neill is telling the scientist not to go after the unknown alien and Teal'c tells them to listen to him, he says "thank you, Rocco." Who or what is O'Neill referencing?

Bishop73

Answer: In almost every gangster move from the 1930's, there was always a guy named "Rocco." A dumb but lovable guy who always agrees with the Boss. When everyone disagrees, he always says "Listen to the Boss." or "Do what the Boss says."

Question: I have two questions about this film. Firstly, was Clarence Boddicker killing cops simply cause he was crazy, or was he doing it under orders from Dick Jones (so he could get his ED-209's online faster)? And secondly, why was Clarence at the drug factory? I always assumed that he was purchasing drugs, but his conversation with the owner didn't mention this. Also it was a lot of money, and he never struck me as that much of a user. Any other reason?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: In part yes. By killing cops along the way, made more of a case for getting the ED-209's brought into service sooner. Clarence was at the drug factory to buy drugs, presumably to sell on for profit and fund his criminal activities.

GalahadFairlight

Answer: Robocop asserts to Sgt. Reed during booking that Boddicker is a "Cop killer" so it's to be assumed he is a ruthless and notorious criminal. Clarence was at the drug factory to form an alliance and partnership with Sal. Clarence has the man power, executive protection and the sales organization to potentially triple Sal's distribution income. Clarence would receive the drugs at wholesale and Clarence would mark up prices.

Question: If Sandra is at the scene of the accident, what is the purpose of the police officer showing up at the door to tell her Jim is dead?

Answer: It's fairly obvious that this film's theme is that knowing the future changes it. I.e. knowing there would be an accident, she travelled there and caused an accident.

Answer: Possibly she left the scene before the police arrived, so they did not know she had been there.

The Curse - S4-E13

Question: When the team is given leave and Sam doesn't want to join Jack on his fishing trip, Jack says to Teal'c it will be just "you and me." Then as he's leaving he says "The loons. Don't forget the loons." What is he talking about? What is "loons" meant to be slang for?

Bishop73

Answer: He's referring to the common loon, a type of bird which are commonly found in fishing areas. Jack wants to go fishing in northern Minnesota where the loon is common and is actually the state bird.

Sierra1

Answer: It's never explained, she could have changed at super speed. In Superman II, when confronted by the super criminals at the Fortress of Solitude, Superman did a disappearing and reappearing act. So did the criminals. It might be a similar thing.

Answer: No, it's not Whoopi Goldberg herself, just like that's not Prince or Ray Charles. The limo is filled with celebrity impersonators, but they're all uncredited and I could find out who played them.

Bishop73

Question: How accurate, bar the dancing obviously, is the Portobello Road presented in the film compared to how it could/would have looked in the real August 1940?

Neil Jones

Answer: Don't know what it was like in the forties, but we were there in 2010. Wonderful place to visit. So animated. Not only were their vendors, but there were Street entertainers as well. What I found amusing was before you get to the part of Portobello Road where there were these vendors, you had to go past the stately homes with gated grounds. Expensive cars with pull into the drives. Wouldn't happen here in the United States.

Question: Assuming people knew, how did Marston avoid trouble for living with two wives?

Rob245

Answer: Though it may be considered immoral and socially unacceptable, particularly during the film's 1940s time frame, it is not illegal to live with multiple people in a sexual relationship. It is only illegal to be married to more than one person at the same time. Marston was not a bigamist. He was legally married to his wife, Elizabeth. They engaged in a consensual polyamorous (not polygamous) relationship with Olive, who was not married to Marston.

raywest

Question: Why would they need to authenticate the Mona Lisa painting at the beginning? Wouldn't a replica yield the same punishment for whomever is in possession of it?

Phaneron

Answer: They need to know they got the real one because that is the one that is so revered and protected. Not a replica.

lionhead

Answer: I'm not sure who "they" refers to, so I'm giving a general answer. They need to ascertain the monetary value of the painting in order to know how to proceed. Obviously, an authentic painting (perhaps worth millions of dollars) has a much greater value (selling price) than a fake painting (which could be produced at a small fraction of the cost plus would not hold the same cultural or historical significance). The "punishment" (sentence) that could be imposed may vary with jurisdiction, type of sentencing system, monetary value, and the offender's prior criminal record (if any). Although it may be possible somewhere for the replica to carry the same punishment that is attached to the authentic painting, the extreme difference in value between the two paintings is likely to separate them into different classifications or grades of the offense (felony/misdemeanor or grand/ petit larceny). In general, the grand theft of an authentic painting worth millions carries a heavier sentence.

KeyZOid

The plot of this film is that all emotions have been outlawed, as are anything that can stir up emotions (art, literature, music, etc.) Anyone that violates this law is put to death. So someone that has a replica of the Mona Lisa would be executed just the same as someone that has the real thing. Monetary value doesn't factor into the equation, because the police force in the film incinerates all contraband.

Phaneron

Thanks for explaining why my general answer does not apply and is thereby "dead wrong." I know I saw "Equilibrium" but I didn't remember anything about it; it obviously didn't have a lasting impression on me. I should have at least looked it up before giving a general answer. Now I am wondering what the specific answer is... Good question.

KeyZOid

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