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: Would smashing the meters with an axe really cause the power to go out and the water to stop, or is it just plot convenience?

Answer: It's been years since I watched this one, but here's an engineer's opinion. Yes on the electrical meters, no on the water. If you strike an electrical meter with sufficient force to dislodge it from the main electrical service contacts, the flow of electricity will stop. Striking a water meter with an axe might destroy the metering mechanism and cause a leak, but water will still flow. Only severing the metal water service pipes would stop the water, but that would also cause a major flood.

Answer: He did. His eyes scanned each punk and calculated which one would fit the best.

Question: Near the beginning, before Air Force One is even an issue, Hauk stops Snake's march along the orange line when he arrives, then it fades out. Later he's let into Hauk's office after Air Force One crashes. Was that previous scene meant to be later and flow into the office scene? As it is, it confuses me as to why it's at that point in the movie.

Answer: Exactly, this was John Carpenter's first big film after "Halloween", and he was still used to doing his own work on a movie: writing, producing, directing and editing. As a matter of fact, Snake's arrival at Liberty Island was supposed to be longer but was cut for time; most were never filmed.

Question: During the ending credits, why are the actors listed completely out of order? Damon Wayans is the star of the movie so he should be listed first but his name is either seventh or eighth.

Answer: The credits are in alphabetical order (according to last name). He did get top billing in the opening credits though. Damon is actually listed 25th in the end credits, after his nephew, so I don't know what you saw where he was listed 7th or 8th.

Bishop73

I have the movie, and his name is right after his nephew's, so I guess I got the place wrong.

The Tale of the Dangerous Soup - S3-E13

Question: A bowl of the soup costs $100. When a couple wants to order second servings, Jersey says there is a limit of one per customer. This does not make sense when Dr. Vink is trying to operate a successful restaurant. Jersey, a server, is probably hoping to get a tip. It would just be good business to let customers spend another $200 on soup if they wanted. Did I miss something?

Answer: The other answer here, about too much soup being potentially harmful, is basically correct. When Dr. Vink tells Nonnie and Reed about the secret of the soup, he says that a drop of the elixir can "make the pulse quicken and blood flow." In addition to that, setting a limit can make the soup seem more luxurious and exclusive.

Answer: If I remember this episode, although it's been almost 30 years, the soup caused the heart to race so a second bowl may be dangerous to consume.

Father's Day - S1-E14

Question: When the family is having dinner, and Ed tells them about how he almost invented rear windshield wipers, he mentions that at the time, Dan was three years old and Audrey was eight months pregnant and required a bathroom break, so he lost his train of thought on the wipers. For the rest of the series, Dan is portrayed as an only child until his father marries Crystal. So, what happened to that sibling? Was anything else ever mentioned over the course of the series?

Answer: It was never mentioned again or explained, and Dan was always portrayed as an only child until Ed married Crystal. There could be any number of explanations, such as Audrey had a miscarriage or stillborn, the baby died shortly after birth, etc. Ed's colorful stories are usually so embellished, it's hard for the family to know what is true or accurate. The show may also have been intending for Dan to have a previously unmentioned sibling to be introduced as a new character at some point. However, this likely was a continuity error.

raywest

Peggy the Boggle Champ - S1-E9

Question: Bobby points out the adult situations and profanity in the movie "Risky Business." Luanne says, "Not anymore," because she rented it from Blockbuster. Did Blockbuster really have edited movies? I went there in the mid- and late 2000s, and I definitely watched some movies with profanity, nudity, etc.

Answer: Blockbuster was somewhat notorious for carrying edited films or simply choosing not to carry a film, especially in smaller cities, to be more family-friendly. However, this was more for NC-17 films and unrated films that were deemed to get an NC-17 rating if they were rated. But even some controversial R-rated films weren't available unless the studio provided an edited version. For example, "The Last Temptation of Christ" wasn't carried when it came out on VHS. Edited R-rated films usually had controversial scenes cut out, rather than have swear words dubbed and nudity removed (although allegedly there were edited films where the nudity was pixilated). But Blockbuster never did the editing. This line just seems to be an exaggerated joke about how far Blockbuster censors films for small, conservative towns like Arlen.

Bishop73

Show generally

Question: In various episodes, Steve Zodiac, Venus and Matt use odd slang, such as "tootie" and "tooties" and "toot," usually in a demeaning or disparaging way. Venus says, "I'm a tootie!" when she forgets to make the coffee, for example, and Steve says "I'm a tootie!" when he forgets to press a certain button or something. In at least one episode, Matt is called "a cheating old toot." I gather that saying "toot" or "tootie" is like saying "fool" or "doofus" or something similar. Is this slang that producer Gerry Anderson just arbitrarily dreamed up? Or is it part of an English dialect that I've never heard elsewhere?

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: Been living in the UK, man and boy, for 70 years and "tootie" is not a word we have ever used. So why Gerry Anderson uses it is a complete mystery.

Question: According to the shop owner, Princess Nawa didn't know that she had to bring the earrings back together. She spent the rest of her life as a servant. However, in the past, Princess Nawa tells her servant, "Soon you will live your life in jewels and not chains," as if she expected the servant to remain in her place. Was she just lying and hoping to change back after the wedding?

Answer: She was lying to the servant. Most likely, the servant was terrified and might have run away from the situation. But according to the shop owner, the rich husband died on the wedding night, so the servant remained the Princess and lived in the lap of luxury.

Question: I'm curious, what does Madam Pomfrey put on Hermione's hand in the hospital wing? It doesn't look like a cast. Also, what did she do to the wounds on her face?

Answer: She's not in a cast. It's just a gauze bandage wrapped around her hand and wrist, probably for cuts and scratches. It looks like her face has what is called "butterfly" bandages that go over a cut or gash, essentially acting like stitches, holding the skin together while healing.

raywest

Answer: It's not unusual for kids and teens to prefer a chosen nickname. As a kid, I had more than one classmate named Elizabeth who wanted to be called Liz or Lizzy.

Question: When Han goes out searching for Luke at the beginning of the movie, why does Han's tauntaun (which is native to Hoth) freeze to death, but Han remains largely unaffected by the cold?

Answer: Anything can freeze to death, regardless of whether it's endemic to the area or not if it is exposed long enough to the elements. The tauntaun had adapted, yes, but it still had a limit to how long it could survive in a particularly bad blizzard before it succumbed. Left to its own devices, the tauntaun surely would have stayed in the cave to preserve its body heat and not take unnecessary risks. Unfortunately, it didn't have much choice in the matter. Han, on the other hand, adapted to the cold the human way, which was to add layers and take extra precautions afforded us by our intelligence and ability to plan ahead. He was still affected, but he (unlike the tauntaun) knew exactly what he was getting into and was able to put on enough layers to survive the frigid conditions.

Question: According to the Baroness, Henry was planning to choose Marguerite as his bride before Danielle arrived at the ball. If it's true, why does he almost marry the Spanish princess instead of Marguerite?

Answer: Rodmilla is an untrustworthy source of information. Rodmilla arrogantly tells Danielle, "I have it on good authority that before your rather embarrassing debut, the prince was about to choose Marguerite to be his bride." I believe Rodmilla is lying to Danielle only to further torment her. Rodmilla plunges the figurative knife into Danielle by declaring her a "pebble in her shoe" step-daughter, before she's taken away by the repulsive Le Pieu. When Henry made the deal with his father, he was given the choice of finding "love" or to marry Spain's Princess due to the marriage treaty. Right before the ball, Henry in despair, thinks he failed at finding love, and King Francis tells him it may have been unfair to put so much pressure on him about Spain's marriage contract. Francis says, "We don't have to announce anything tonight," and Henry replies, "I've made my decision." Their conversation implies Henry agreed to marry the Princess of Spain, and the announcement was to be made at the ball.

Super Grover

Answer: The Baroness says, "I have it on good authority," about Henry almost choosing Marguerite. Her source could be wrong, but if it's true, he was probably so upset about Danielle deceiving him that he wanted nothing to do with anyone from her home anymore. Especially if Marguerite planned to bring Danielle and other servants to the palace with her. Danielle might have hoped to stay at her father's property and manage the place herself, but Marguerite could probably arrange for her to work in the palace.

Answer: Henry was to be betrothed to Princess Gabriella of Spain, though he did not love her. When Henry's father said he could choose his own bride, the Baroness then lied to Danielle, saying the Prince intended to choose Marguerite, and also falsely told the Prince that Danielle was already engaged, all to put Marguerite into a prominent position to be chosen. After discovering the Baroness' deception, Henry would not have chosen Marguerite. Henry would still have married Princess Gabriella, but after learning she loved another, he freed her from their engagement. He later chose Danielle.

raywest

No offence, but this is not answering the question. You're re-hashing half the plot.

Answer: Navin self-applies the "Jerk" epithet early in the film, using it not in the sense of someone obnoxious or mean (as it is used in most cases), but in the sense of a stupid person. He's saying he blames himself and his lack of intelligence (though, as you say, it is usually simple naïveté) for ending up where he is (broke, homeless).

Question: When Peter, Susan, and the beavers get to the other side of the melting river, but find no sign of Lucy, why does Susan assume that Peter did something to her?

Answer: Because he was holding onto her while they were on the ice in the water, Susan must have assumed that Lucy slipped out of her coat and had gone further down the river and could have drowned.

Answer: My guess is that something happened either during her birth or after she was born. Some twins are born early and can have problems with breathing after being born.

Answer: Dickens used satire, irony, and humor as a means to express social criticism and political commentary. His novels were filled with comical characters and colorful dialogue. He used a humorous writing style to expose the Industrial Revolution's harsh and negative impacts like poor education, worker exploitation, social inequality, and other societal ills such as extreme poverty, domestic violence, alcoholism, and so on. Poirot is obviously responding to that.

raywest

Question: Why does Jennifer at the end never seem surprised or even question Marty over why he is dressed as a cowboy (even though Marty's family does and Dave even comments on it)?

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Not sure why it's suggested that Jennifer knew about Doc and Marty's time-traveling. She immediately wakes up and tells Marty that she "Had the worst nightmare," and then in the truck, she starts saying, "That dream I had seemed so real. It was about us, and you got fired." She then asks Marty to confirm if it was a dream. Marty only had to inform her and show her the remains of the DeLorean because she still had the "You're Fired" paper in her pocket, neither of which Marty or Doc knew she had. At that point, it would've confirmed to her that she wasn't dreaming.

Answer: Jennifer was already aware of Doc and Marty's time-traveling, while his family knew nothing about it. She'd been to the future with Marty and Doc, and previously saw Doc wearing futuristic clothes. There's no reason she should be surprised, and Marty quickly updated her about everything soon after.

raywest

Answer: Short answer, possibly, but we'll never know to what extent if it was. The film is based on the novel written by Virginia Andrews (V.C. Andrews) in 1979. In her pitch to publishers, she said it was not truly fiction. Her claim is the story is based on the life story of a doctor she met when she was younger. The name of the doctor was never revealed. She also wrote sequels to the original book which would have most likely been complete fiction, and there was a prequel ghost-written that most certainly wouldn't have been based on true events.

Bishop73

Supposedly, the doctor told her that he and his siblings were locked in an attic for six years to preserve family wealth. This is according to "an unidentified relative" of VC Andrews. Source: Wikipedia. As you say, we will never know how much was true.

Question: What is the title of the book written by Chovil or Scovel that is referenced by the old gunny to Bob Lee Swagger? (01:14:00 - 01:18:00)

Answer: The author's name is Schofeld. But it's a fictional book made up for the scene, so there is no title.

Bishop73

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.