Question: I recently submitted a "mistake" which revealed my own misunderstanding. The package that Chuck eventually delivers to Bettina had been sent to her partner in Moscow, which COULD explain its presence on a westbound trans-Pacific flight. Still, would a package sent from Memphis to Moscow be routed through southeast Asia? It would be shorter, and therefore faster, would it not, to send it across the Atlantic?
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: Tommy mentions something about ace degenerate - what was he talking about?
Answer: Tommy was saying Johnny was the number one, or best in the group, degenerate. Meaning if there was something bad or wrong to do or get into, Johnny would have been the first to do it or lead the way. Tommy offered Johnny a beer and Johnny refused. At this point, they're not even seniors in high school, so they're engaging in illegal underaged drinking (degenerate behavior). Tommy says it in an affectionate/positive way though, like he his proud to be degenerate.
Question: How did Cal manage to get into a lifeboat with the child that wasn't his? All the crew seem to know who he is so shouldn't have been fooled into thinking the child was his?
Answer: Not every crew member would have known him. He was in first class, the crew were lower deck officers, and there was so much confusion about, that nobody was paying close attention to who he was, just that he was a man with a baby.
Answer: While they probably did know that to be the case, they had to consider the possibility the child had already lost their parents. By refusing Cal onto the boat, they could easily have been sentencing the child to death. At least with an adult the child stands a chance of survival. Hence the hesitation by the guard. Let Cal in with a child that's not his and save the child or refuse him and the child and let them fight for survival. In that guard's position I know what I would do.
Question: How realistic is the helicopter scene?
Answer: Fixing the helicopter while flying, not possible. Tilting the helicopter on its side, possible.
"Fixing the helicopter while flying, not possible" why is fixing a helicopter while flying not possible?
He would either be blown off or killed by the blades.
Question: Why are the people being infected by the pesticide only seeing messages to kill from electronic devices? Why not from hearing voices in their head or from reading a newspaper, magazine, etc.?
Answer: Two reasons. One, it was The Beginning of the electronic age, when devices were becoming an everyday fixture in our lives. Second, to make sure the right message was sent to the right people to perform a specific task.
Question: Why did Suzanne Cullen lie to Michelle about her not being at Terry Maslin's house the day and night before he was killed when she did?
Answer: If it was ever found out that she was at Terry's house before he was killed, there's a possibility that a lot of people would have begun to suspect her of murdering Terry. By claiming that she wasn't, she was hoping that people wouldn't accuse her of the murder.
Question: During Jon's backstory into becoming Dr. Manhattan, why did Janey leave Jon in the chamber instead of letting him out? There was plenty of time for Janey to get Jon out of there, but she simply walked away.
Answer: Wally says "we can't override the time lock." Janey sees that he's locked in there and leaves because she can't bear to watch him die. That's why she bursts into tears as soon as she leaves the room. If it was possible to open the door, Wally would have done so.
Question: John Kramer says to Cecil who is tied to a chair, "Some people stop to help a stranded motorist and get taken out by a speeding semi. There's no accounting for it." Who is he referring to by the stranded motorist? And who was killed by a semi while helping the motorist? It's been a while since I watched the movies. I don't remember it.
Question: How realistic is Elliot's plan of building a new plane?
Answer: A flying version of the design about 1/2 scale was built and flown for the original 1965 film. It appears in several flying scenes in that movie, but tragically crashed during filming, killing stunt pilot Paul Mantz.
Answer: Completely realistic. As explained correctly in the film, the aerodynamic principles involved are valid. Given that the constructed aircraft would have oversized wing surface area and an excess of power available, it should fly. Disruption of the airflow over the top of the wing due to the passengers would be minimal. In the 1930's airshows featured multiple wing walkers atop much smaller and lower powered aircraft.
Answer: Stupidly unrealistic. The plane simply wouldn't fly with people hanging off its wings for a start.
There's a big difference between a single wing walker on a high lift biplane compared to 10 people hanging off the wings.
Search on "multiple wing walkers" and see a 160 hp biplane carrying 5 walkers. So, for the C-119 there is about 2894 square feet of wing area, call it 2000 after cut down. The PW R-4360 produces 3500 hp, but let's use only 30% of that to protect the cobbled airframe. 10 guys on the wings are going to disrupt airflow over about 12 square feet each leaving about 1880 square feet of unobstructed wing being driven by 1000 hp. 30 people on the wings would not stop it from flying.
Question: Whenever there are scenes in the shower tent, it seems that the direction of the showerheads change. Assuming the door is facing North, sometimes the showers are on the East side, sometimes West. Is this considered a mistake?
Chosen answer: According to the show, they have "bugged out" (moved) more than once. The shower would not necessarily have been put back in the same place each time.
Question: Why did Lady Lisa look like an ordinary person instead of a Pixel?
Answer: She was a pixel but turned into an ordinary person. Probably to make the fight look epic.
Question: Why didn't Marcia Strassman reprise her role of Diane Szalinski?
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Answer: There are two packages sent by Bettina Peterson. The first we see goes to Russia to a man also named Peterson. The second never reaches its destination but we don't know where exactly it was being sent. That second package must have been going somewhere that required it being routed through Malaysia.
BaconIsMyBFF
Agree with your answer, but something else occurred to me. Bettina appears to be sending out packages via FedEx fairly regularly. She is an artist, and may sell her work internationally. While she does create large-scale wing sculptures, she may also do smaller types of metal artwork, jewelry, etc. We assume she was only mailing packages to her cheating husband, but she could have been sending something to a customer in Southeast Asia.
raywest ★
I found an earlier version of the script that explains this. After rescue, FedEx looked at the husband's records, which indicate he had moved from Russia to Kuala Lumpur. The package on the plane was being sent from the lady in Texas to there. The FedEx people could not locate a current address for the now ex-husband, so Tom returned it to the sender address in Texas.