Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Show generally

Question: In a mistrial, most DA's have to decide if it is a do over. But in this show they have some dismissals in the mist of a trial and they can't be retried because of double jeopardy. Is this really a fact?

Imemine

Answer: It would best to cite a specific episode; however, a dismissal is not the same thing as a mistrial by legal definitions. A case may be dismissed with or without prejudice. A case dismissed with prejudice would prevent a retrial on the grounds of double jeopardy. When this happens, the judge is basically saying he or she has heard enough to make a final decision and the case is over. Dismissals without prejudice and mistrials that the defendant consents to can be retried (generally it's the defendant's lawyer that will move for a mistrial for one reason or another).

Bishop73

Answer: Yes, once a jury is sworn in and impaneled, jeopardy attaches. So if a trial is ended for any reason, the accused cannot be tried again. Downum v. United States (1963), Crist v. Bretz (1978), Martinez v. Ilinois (2014).

LorgSkyegon

A mistrial can allow the defendant to be re-tried in many cases.

Bishop73

A mistrial is not a dismissal. Since the jury has not reached a verdict, the trial has not ended.

LorgSkyegon

Which is literally what I already said. But you stated if the trial is ended for any reason. A mistrial does end the trial, but not necessarily end jeopardy.

Bishop73

Show generally

Question: Has anybody noticed that many of the perps or victims at some point become policemen, DAs or detectives? They also rotate actors if you notice in season 15 episode 1 Surrender Benson, the serial rapist William Lewis is also the stepfather in season 8 episode 15 Haystack. Throughout the 21 seasons you can see the same actors taking on different roles acting in a child as one and then when they grow up seeing them as a grown up in another season and many becoming detectives or some sort of law enforcement.

Imemine

Answer: Was there a specific question other than have we noticed? This is very common in the Law and Order franchise, as well as many other long running dramas that use multiple actors. The late, great Jerry Orbach from the original series started out as a defense attorney.

Bishop73

Question: How does Gupta the flag pirate have Buck's knife?

Answer: It's probably just a very similar one.

Question: How could Whitney have lived at Jason's underground hideout for 6 weeks without food?

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: When Jason brought her brother's backpack, you can see a small table next to the mattress with some bottles and cans, there is also something what looks like bag of chips (or maybe marshmallows?). I'm sure that he knew that she needs food, and brought her something from campers or cabins.

Answer: A young healthy person can live without food for 30 - 60 days "if" they have a regular source of water. They would be severely malnourished and probably barely functional, however.

raywest

Question: There may not be an explanation to this, but did Exley know what the DA and Chief were talking about in the end when he is being interrogated and they ask him why he is smiling. When he answers and says "A Hero?", I presumed he was simply thinking like they did and that when those that were interrogating left the room, he overheard a bit of their conversation and just put two and two together. The reason I ask, was there any evidence he was able to hear them (like the door was slightly open or somehow he knew how to hear them even in the interrogation room).

Lummie

Answer: He was always thinking ahead, after the shootout, he predicated what the fallout would be and how to cover it up. Saying, "A Hero" was his way of answering the question of what knew what they needed to do it.

Question: Was it all a dream to him? Did he have a vision that his life was going to be like that?

Answer: Mike, as advertised, was Mr. Destiny. When Jim Belushi asked him if he was an angel, Mike replied that when Belushi is about to make a decision, he's the little voice in his head that helps. At the end of the film, when Mike tells the teenage Belushi that everything is going to work out, the kid replies, "What do you know?"

Answer: Like "It's a Wonderful Life" he showed him an alternate life of what could have been.

Thanks then Mike the bartender must have been an angel.

Question: Delahunt was revealed to be an "undercover Boston police officer." Costello said "They're saying he's a cop so I won't look for the cop" (mole). When Delahunt dies, he grabs Costigan and mentions the wrong address where Queenan got thrown off the roof (partially by Delahunt). Delahunt says "I gave you the wrong address but you showed up anyway. Ask me why I didn't say anything!" and then dies. Was Delahunt really an undercover and that's why he knew Costigan was an undercover too? If so, why would he be complicit in throwing a police captain off a roof? But Delahunt was known as heavy muscle for Costello so why would he not give up Costigan if he suspected Costigan was the mole? Basically, was Delahunt a cop or not and why would he protect Costigan?

Answer: There is additional footage of Delahunt's death scene available on the home release, with Martin Scorsese giving a brief introduction to the deleted scene. Scorsese comments on the scene as being nice because it gives some additional insight into Delahunt's mind but ultimately the scene slowed down the movie too much. It is implied by Delahunt that he didn't tell Costello about the mole because he had grown to greatly dislike both Costello and the man he himself had become while being an enforcer. However, Scorsese directly states in his introduction that he thinks the theory that Delahunt is also an undercover cop is interesting and it's perfectly fine if audiences view the scene this way.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: What did stone hopper do to deserve a metal?

Answer: Considering the CO/XO of the John Paul Jones didn't receive any medals it seems to be a plot hole. The only thing I can think of is because Hopper was there to accept the award on behalf of his brother.

Answer: He was in command of a ship on a training mission during an alien invasion and was able to, albeit briefly, engage the enemy against near insurmountable odds, which ultimately cost him his life.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: In the opening action scene, while Bond is fighting the terrorist on the top of the train, Moneypenny says "I do not have a clean shot." She has already been communicating with him on radio, why doesn't she just tell him to get out of the bloody way?

Answer: Because Bond is fighting to the death with a man who's trying to throw him off a train. He can't exactly step out of the way.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Moneypenny is talking to M, not Bond.

Bond must be able to hear the exchange, because later in the movie he quotes M's order "Take the bloody shot!" back at her.

MedicOne

He's still in the middle of a fight with Patrice; he's probably more concerned about that than whatever M is saying to Moneypenny.

MrMovieBuff

Question: In the 1984 part of the movie the older boys who stole young Ricky's football who was the boy with the bandana that the camera focused on. It seemed that he would be important in the story later the way the camera stopped and slowly revealed his face when he caught the ball.

Answer: It symbolizes that he used to be a football player just like Rick wanted to be at that age. But probably due to the cards he was dealt he gave up on that dream. When they emphasize the man in the feel its like showing empathy to the kids because he sees himself in Ricky, thus giving the ball back.

Answer: The character is Mad Dog, played by Lexie Bigham. He was the one that gave the ball back to the boys. I haven't seen the film in a long time and don't recall if he hangs out with Doughboy in the present.

Bishop73

Question: Mel Brooks consciously and deliberately filled Blazing Saddles with anachronisms, this was part of the film's humour. But one thing has always niggled at my mind. Blazing Saddles is set in 1874. Quite early on in the film the whites ask Cleavon Little/Bart why African Americans are not singing work songs. The African Americans then begin acapella harmonised version of Cole Porters "I Get A Kick Out Of You" (written for the 1934 musical "Anything Goes"). But in October 1974, shortly after Blazing Saddles had its UK release, an otherwise unknown Australian singer called Gary Shearston had a top ten UK hit with a cover of "I Get A Kick Out Of You." Was there any connection? Did Blazing Saddles revive interest in the song?

Rob Halliday

Answer: Thank you for that. So there was no direct connection. Maybe the song was going around in "the collective consciousness" (whatever that might be) in late 1974. A small bit of extra trivia: Cleavon Little/Bart sings the line that mentions cocaine. When Cole Porter wrote "I get a kick out of you" for the 1934 stage musical "Anything Goes" he wrote the line "some get a kick from cocaine." When the musical was adapted for the 1936 movie the Production Code Administration objected to references to drug use in popular songs, so Cole Porter re-wrote the line as "some like the perfume in Spain." Cleavon Little/Bart has redressed the balance in "Blazing Saddles."

Rob Halliday

Answer: By the time "Blazing Saddles" used the song, Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You" had been covered literally dozens of times over the decades, so much so that it was a well-worn standard. In other words, it didn't really need reviving. There is no indication that Australian folk singer Gary Shearston was directly inspired by the song's use in "Blazing Saddles," or he probably would have admitted it for the sake of promotion. When asked about his eccentric cover of the Cole Porter song on the 1974 album "Dingo," Shearston simply replied that he "did it for fun," without elaborating. The acoustic guitar of Shearston's cover seemed more inspired by George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord," and Shearston's vocals were described as "laid-back," while his stage performance of the song (which was a huge hit in the UK) was notable for Shearston's "deadpan" delivery. Shearston also either bungled or deliberately altered the lyrics in places, and he ended the song muttering about his girlfriend, by name. So, Shearston very much made the song his own, and the timing of his cover following on the heels of "Blazing Saddles" would seem to be pure coincidence.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: Right in the end, before Damon enters his flat where he is shot, he tries to pet the neighbour's dog but the lady-owner moves the dog away from Damon and gives him a scornful look. Why does she do that? Damon's guilt is not known to the general public, is it?

Answer: I think it encapsulates his fall from grace.

Answer: The realtor told him he would be upper class by Tuesday, even though he is a "lowly state trooper" who can't afford that kind of place on his own. It is likely that the neighbor is just a wealthy snob and finds Sullivan beneath her.

Answer: His guilt isn't known to the general public at all. Petting a dog without first asking the owner is considered rude to some pet owners.

BaconIsMyBFF

It's also seen by some as either they never really liked him and shown as a symbol of Damon hitting rock bottom or that they fell out with him because they are nosey and didn't like that he hurt his pregnant young girl enough for her to leave him and move out. Make of it what you will. There doesn't seem to be a right answer.

Question: After Hans kills Ellis he starts shouting over the radio at McLane saying "Where are my detonators?" The Police were listening in on the radio calls so why didn't they figure out that something was going to be blown up?

Answer: Simply knowing that Hans is looking for detonators doesn't really give the police any information they don't already have. He's got hostages and is threatening to kill them if the police don't do what he wants. Knowing that Hans has explosives doesn't mean that he's planning on using them to make his escape, he could just as easily want them to threaten the hostages.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Why did the people on the modern side not want to cross the border?

Answer: If you mean the security staff, they were not permitted to ever enter enter the area, being told it was an experimental nature preserve. They are only employees and follow orders, which was to patrol the perimeter and keep anyone from entering. The head security man apparently knows what is inside, but his subordinate staff do not, though the one guy, after meeting Ivy, now has an idea that people are living inside. The preserve is privately owned by the Walker Corporation, and the security staff work for them.

raywest

Answer: It doesn't appear she was. Samantha was sexually adventurous and experimental to just about any type of relationship and had briefly sworn off men. She may have liked Braga, but she was too controlling and overbearing for Samantha, and ultimately, she only preferred men.

raywest

Question: Why did they transfer Jason who was put to sleep to Camp Crystal Lake? I think Lori talked about this in the van, but I'm afraid it didn't make much sense. Why was it again?

Bunch Son

Answer: Since Freddy is using Jason to bring himself back, they want to put Jason back to sleep. Since he sleeps at Crystal Lake, that is where he would go when he finally does. Bringing him there also minimizes the chance for collateral damage and deaths and puts Jason on his home turf for the fight.

LorgSkyegon

Question: Would the volcano eruption destroy the entire island, or would some buildings escape unscathed?

Answer: It would depend on the severity of the eruption. But given how it looks in the film, with large scale ash ejection and lava flows. It's probably all the buildings.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: As it's a relatively small island, it's most likely every building would, be destroyed, if not immediately. Hot lava tends to creep slowly but steadily, causing buildings and vegetation it touches to catch fire and then spread.

raywest

Question: How did the inmates on rooftops manage to get their hands on beer?

Answer: It was given to them by the guards.

lionhead

But isn't beer banned in prisons?

Guards can be bribed to bring in contraband.

raywest

Part of Andy's agreement with Hadley for helping him with his taxes is that the prisoners working on the roof are given some beer as a reward.

Phaneron

Andy gives Hadley (the head guard) financial advice on how to keep a large sum of money, which he (Hadley) received as an inheritance. Andy, being an accountant, offers to do all the necessary tax work, in exchange for three beers apiece for his fellow inmates. Hadley agrees, and arranges for the beer to be delivered and given to them. (All of this is shown in the scene immediately prior to that in which the inmates are drinking beer).

Answer: Under all but rare circumstances, alcoholic beverages are not allowed in US prisons, which was also the case in 1949, when this scene takes place; the significance of this scene is to establish that Andy began to enjoy special privileges while incarcerated, which is also how he eventually got the warden to allow him to establish the prison library.

zendaddy621

Answer: He isn't seen but given the ruckus going on at the time it's highly probable he just stepped out of the way and is hidden in among the crowd.

Ssiscool

Answer: He was probably sick of it by that point. He has complained many times about roommate agreement regulations.

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