Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: For any military pilots out there: Is it even realistic that Maverick's accident would've been investigated, concluded, and Mav would have been cleared and put back to flight status within the time-frame of the TOPGUN class? Wikipedia says TOPGUN in the 80's was only 5 weeks and today it's 9 weeks. I don't remember how far along they were when Mav and Goose crashed but I'm guessing 1/2 way through at most, so that gives 2-3 weeks to investigate and clear Maverick.

Answer: Totally unrealistic, especially since it was a fatal incident. These can take weeks and months to be investigated and the pilot returned to flight status.

stiiggy

Question: Before I claim this as a continuity or factual mistake - a question: When the Arab raiding party shows up over the dune, they camp by a collection of scrub that was not all dead, some was green. There were also a number of plants in that low-lying area around the camp. Wouldn't the survivors had a better chance of surviving more days by digging for underground water in that area? Perhaps deep, but there. If they took 12 days to build the plane, it seems 2 days digging for water would have given them more time.

kaevanoff

Answer: In the desert, the only place you can find water as at an oasis or maybe digging in a dry river bed. Those bushes would be extremely salty, and any meaningful water would be far too deep under the sand.

stiiggy

Question: Why is Pappas ridiculed by the other agents for his theory that the ex-presidents surf when they're not robbing banks? Is it really that outlandish?

Answer: Because he's regarded as a burned out hippie.

stiiggy

Question: When Nick talks to Deja Vu and Chocolate Mousse there is a strange drawing behind them on the wall consisting of four arrows and other symbols, it looks meaningless but very deliberate at the same time, is it supposed to mean something? (00:58:07 - 00:58:38)

one5zero

Answer: It looks like an attack plan with the symbols representing buildings, trees and a church or graveyard in the village, the arrows representing troops and the Resistance, and the dotted line some kind of battle line.

Sierra1

Question: There is a major plot point which doesn't make sense to me. When Selene killed Viktor, who turned her into a vampire, why didn't it kill her too? I thought that when one vampire dies, all the vampires that were turned by them died too. That's why Viktor never killed Marcus. Is there something I'm missing?

Underworld_fan

Answer: Marcus told Viktor that if either of the Corvinus brothers were to die, it would also kill the whole Immortal bloodline (Vampires and Lycans), but this was a lie to prevent Viktor from killing his brother William.

Sierra1

Question: It was stated that Anubis took the Scorpion King's soul until he would be needed again. But, is there any explanation as to why he turned into the giant scorpion mutant that showed up towards the end?

Answer: He made a deal with Anubis to defeat his enemies in exchange for his soul. After Anubis fulfilled his end of the bargain he claimed the Scorpion King as his slave and transformed him into the scorpion hybrid, taking away his humanity.

lionhead

Question: The opening scene shows a military base with an equestrian event taking pace, which Bond infiltrates and places a bomb in an aircraft before getting caught, then escapes with the aid of his assistant and a small jet aircraft. How was this related to the rest of the plot?

Answer: It wasn't meant to be related at all. It was just an action sequence to start off the film as Bond completes a previous assignment before a segue into the familiar 007 opening theme and a new song. I recall there were some other earlier Bond films that also used this formula. After the opening bit, the story starts as Bond meets with "M" for a new mission, then a briefing with "Q" about the latest spy gadgets. There was also the obligatory flirtatious banter between Bond and Miss Moneypenny.

raywest

I see what you mean. I'm thinking of those films where the opening scene has some link to the main plot (e.g. The Spy Who Loved Me), but Moonraker is like this one, it starts off (spectacularly) with Bond at the end of a previous assignment.

Question: Why was the original trilogy always titled episodes 4, 5 and 6, when the prequel trilogy wasn't even planned?

MikeH

Answer: The original wasn't. It was just "Star Wars" when I saw it in the theater. In fact Lucas wasn't planning on any sequels when he made the first. After the first made it as a big success and drafts of a sequel were started, the second was first numbered as 2, but Lucas decided on a series with prequels, so the first became number 4, and so on. For a long time after 4-6 came out, people doubted if 7-9, let alone 1-3 would every be made. It was 16 years between the release of #6 and #1.

jimba

Answer: It is true "Star Wars" was not originally called episode IV, but Lucas always had the idea of doing a sequels. His original script became too big for one film, so he took the first third of the script (Act 1) and turned it into "Star Wars." However, since the film gave no context or background information to the audience (we're basically just thrown into the action), Lucas took the opportunity when "Star Wars" was a success to plan on creating prequels.

Bishop73

Https://drbeat.li/album/Bücher/The_Secret_History_of_Star_Wars.pdf (pdf of "The Secret History of Star Wars"). And here is a quote from Lucas "The Star Wars series started out as a movie that ended up being so big that I took each act and cut it into its own movie...It was like a big script. It was way too big to make into a movie. So I took the first third of it, which is basically the first act, and I turned that into what was the original Star Wars."

Bishop73

Question: Considering that Chuck had been on the island for four years, would he actually still have all of his teeth or would he have lost them all? From all the things that he saw in the packages that he opened, not one of them had anything to keep his teeth clean.

Answer: Even without dental care for four years, it would take far longer for a generally healthy person to lose their teeth if they had previously maintained proper oral hygiene. Chuck's diet was a factor (little or no sugar) and he could also fashion a primitive toothbrush or toothpick from materials on the island. Ancient humans had relatively little tooth decay. It was after sugar was introduced into the European (and later American) diet in the 11th century, that dental problems started becoming more prevalent.

raywest

Answer: It's possible that he could keep his teeth, provided he doesn't eat too many sugars. Just think of all the cultures throughout history and today that do not brush their teeth. They certainly have dental issues compared to those who regularly brush and see a dentist, but it's not like none of them have teeth.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Toothpaste and toothbrushes (+ floss) are not the only things that can be used to clean teeth! (What did people use before toothpaste and toothbrushes were manufactured?) A CLEAN finger can be used or a wet piece of cloth - and some fruits (e.g, apple) and vegetables (e.g, carrot) can help remove gunk from teeth. He had access to sea salt, which could help. If he "wiped" his teeth (after every meal and snack), he would be able to avoid plaque and tartar buildup. Toothpaste in and of itself is NOT necessary - it is added flavor to supposedly make brushing teeth taste better (e.g, bubblegum flavor for kids), be more pleasant (and thereby encourage people to brush longer), and/or add fluoride. Few, if any, people make it through adult life without a cavity, but there's no significant factor during his four years that would make him lose all of his teeth! The information given in the previous answers is also relevant.

KeyZOid

Answer: I wasn't told as a kid I had to brush my teeth every day. I brushed them only before going to the dentist or a special occasion, would sometimes go months without brushing. I only started brushing properly after puberty and I still have each and every single one of my teeth. They're a bit yellower than average, but not that bad. Even with smoking all my life and practically living of sugar, most people actually think I have pretty decent teeth and I never get comments about having bad teeth. They do tell me that if this had gone on for much longer, I would regret it and my gums have retracted a bit from all the tartar, but this makes me assume that, being healthy, you can probably go at least 10 years with poor mouth hygiene before your teeth actually start rotting.

The Violin - S5-E5

Question: All the way up until season 5 Nelly (the nice Grandma) and Martin get along nicely. In season 1 EP 3 they are joking with each other. In season 2 EP 7 he apologises for pouring water on her (and keep in mind he is being sincere here). But in this episode he hears that she had a fall and suggests that she have a bigger one. What happened?

Answer: Martin is simply making a joke. Even after this episode you see him and Nelly get along perfectly fine.

Ssiscool

The Jingle - S1-E2

Question: Did anyone else notice a few things that are weird about this episode. 1) Jim is known for his shaky voice and propositioning Jackie but in this episode he seems to talk normally and isn't even asking to see her. It's like Mark Heap forgot to do this or the showmakers were testing it for future episodes. 2) The camerawork is different. In all the other episodes the camera shots are shaky but still OK; however, the camera stays still and uses normal zooming in and normal camera switching methods.

Answer: This is most likely down to the filming order. If this episode was filmed before 'The Sofa Bed' then it could easily be concluded that they added in Jim's quirks to make his character more unique. Several shows have done this in the past.

Ssiscool

Question: I'm pretty sure I've heard Black Dynamite's line about "When your so-called Revolution starts, you call me and I'll be right down in front showing you how it's done." in another Blaxploitation movie but can't quite place it. Don't think it's Super Fly or Dolemite. Anyone know?

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Shaft.

The Gang: Part 1 - S2-E9

Question: According to the credits, the smallest of the three Satan Knights that come over to get JJ is nicknamed "Sweet Pea." However this name is never mentioned by anyone in this episode. The other two are mentioned (Mad Dog and Neck Bone). Why would the credits use a name not used?

Answer: Could have very well been that he did have a speaking part, but ended up on the cutting room floor, and they just didn't fix the credits.

ckbyers

Answer: He did have a speaking part many times throughout the episode, but gang name simply not used (just his real first name by Florida). James even referred to him in the start of the next episode by saying "Neck Bone and that other character."

Question: Why does Michael turn on and kill Dr Wynn and other cult members?

Rob245

Answer: Because they no longer controlled him, his evil was so strong it broke free, like a volcano erupting.

Answer: Thank you.

Rob245

Question: After Rapunzel realises Gothel had kidnapped her, she turns away and looks like she is leaving to save Eugene. However, the next scene we see Rapunzel chained up and gagged by Gothel. How is this so? Wouldn't Rapunzel have fought against Gothel? Even if we didn't see her be chained up, she still could have run.

Answer: True, but she is still a young lady. Except for using a frying pan she had no real fighting skills and Gothel had centuries to learn how to fight and defend herself.

Answer: Gothel probably knocked Rapunzel out very quickly, since her back was turned.

Question: When Cutter arrives below stage to find Angier drowning in the tank he sees Borden hitting the glass trying to break it, desperately trying to save Angier, but why does he tell the court that Borden was just watching him drown?

Answer: Cutter believes that Borden set up the tank as a trap. It doesn't make sense that Borden would then try to save Angier, so it seems reasonable that Cutter believed Borden was simply putting on a show for the witnesses because he was caught red-handed. Cutter pushes Borden out of the way and exclaims "What have you done!" as he happens upon the scene, so it is clear he doesn't believe Borden is actually trying to save Angier.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Buttercup is a hero, but she is also a 5-year-old child. She still needs to learn the same moral lessons any other child would. The girls often make the same questionable decisions regular kids do in real life, taken to an extreme because they have super powers and fight crime. Also, this is a highly stylized and over the top show where character traits are regularly exaggerated for a laugh.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Who shoots Herod the first time in the final showdown with Ellen? I have replayed the video several times and her gun does not fire until the second, kill shot to the head. Cort is just behind her. Are we supposed to surmise that he shot Herod first? Just a mistake?

Answer: Ellen shoots Herod both times. There is a muzzle flash and sound effect from her gun just as Herod's shot hits her. If it helps, watch the scene in slow motion.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Did Max know the tanker was full of sand before it crashed?

Answer: No, Max even puts his hand under the stream of sand pouring out of the trailer as he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Answer: No, because it was necessary for Max to believe he was hauling the tanker filled with fuel so that the ruse leading the marauders away from the settlers' compound could work. After Max drove the decoy tanker away with the marauders in pursuit, the settlers were able to smuggle the fuel away in oil drums concealed in other vehicles.

zendaddy621

Answer: He was displeased by everything Maria had been doing with the children while he was away, such as making play clothes for the kids using the window curtains, taking them on outings around Salzburg, having them singing, going boating, and generally having fun, all of which he, as a strict disciplinarian father, considered frivolous behavior. The captain also thought Maria was being impertinent for suggesting that he become closer to the children.

raywest

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