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.

Show generally

Question: Would it be realistic for someone with Martin's injury to need a physical therapist for eleven years?

Answer: No, and it's outright stated in the show that Martin doesn't need her around after a few years, but the Crane family (Niles especially) are very fond of her, and want to have her around. Daphne, too, has become very attached to the Cranes and is reluctant to leave.

Answer: Harry probably believed Whiskey told the Golden Circle where they were since none of them were followed. Then there is also that Whiskey shoved the antidote out of Eggsy's hand he started to suspect he did it on purpose.

Answer: While nothing is ever presented on screen to show which side he was on, there would be offscreen time to show evidence where Harry might have suspected him.

Question: Even though Harry didn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire, why did all the students (especially Ron) think he did? Did any of them see him do it?

Answer: People thought Harry put his name in the Goblet for more attention and fame, and thought he already had enough. Ron was grumpier at Harry because, according to Hermione in the books, he was jealous of Harry's fame.

Specifically, Ron is jealous of Harry because Ron has five older brothers, and feels that he must compete for attention at home. Harry is yet another person who gets more attention/recognition than he does.

Answer: It's something which some more formal / conservative couples do, possibly just as a byproduct of having kids and using a consistent reference.

Question: When Nick goes to the restaurant when it is closed for the day and night, and Nick has tried to explain everything to Joanna, then she has to answer the phone, why does the camera zoom in on a pair of sunglasses at the far end of the bar?

kh1616

Chosen answer: It's not the sunglasses. It's the matches. Nick is acting as though he is coming closer to Joanna to get a pack of matches, which she then notices he already has. She realises that he is trying to eavesdrop on her conversation, and although she was previously buying his apology her demeanor changes drastically once she is finished with the phone call.

Oh my gosh, thank you! One of my favourite movies, yet I didn't get this scene.

Answer: They are zooming in on the lighter not the sunglasses. He approaches her to pretend he needs matches in order to overhear who she is speaking with, she notices the lighter and that he didn't need to move from his seat, he already had a way to light his cigarette.

Question: It is said that in the original script, Julie the babysitter was meant to be Freddy's pawn, and even though they removed that part, there are still elements in the film that point fingers at her. What are some of these elements?

JohnShel91

Chosen answer: Mostly just very subtle hints. In the beginning when she arrives right around the same time that Heather gets a call from the psycho-stalker, suggesting a possible connection. And the fact she's alone with Dylan many times during the film, as she could be subtly manipulating him to act out.

Question: What were the last lines of the movie?

Answer: Marshall's line was, "Why do you fight it so hard, Earl?" Earl Brook's was, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time and enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardships as the pathway to peace. Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is and not as I would have it, trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will, that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen."

My Favorite Orkan - S5-E22

Question: When this episode first came out, I vaguely remember a scene in the beginning where Ralph runs into Arnold's and yells to the people inside something like, "There's a flying saucer outside!" and no one believes the normal-joking Ralph. Then Richie comes in behind him and yells the same thing, and then the people all scream and flee in a panic, believing Richie. In all years of syndication/reruns, I have not seen this part at all, but remember this part as a kid when this episode was brand new. Did such a part ever exist? (Near the end of the episode, Howard mentions the flying saucer people thought they saw was a weather balloon so I'm figuring so).

Answer: When it was originally broadcast there was a different ending. A new ending was added when the show was rerun to set up the Mork and Mindy series.

Answer: Yes, the ending changed but this was in the beginning of the episode where the question lies.

Question: At the beginning, Robert Angier (the Great Danton) travels to Colorado Springs to see Nikola Tesla. When Angier meets Tesla's assistant, Alley, it's obvious that his arrival was not expected. Angier then explains that Tesla had built a machine for Angier's colleague (and Angier wants to purchase the same or similar machine). However, when Alfred Borden gave Angier the "Tesla" clue, it was a complete ruse to waste Angier's time and money and throw him far off the much simpler secret of The Transported Man trick. Tesla had never built such a machine for Borden and had never attempted to build a teleportation device before. So, why did Tesla just agree to build the mysterious machine without questioning Angier's "colleague" remark? Was Tesla colluding with Alfred Borden? And why?

Charles Austin Miller

Chosen answer: Tesla was not colluding with anyone...he built Borden a simple machine that created lightning effects. So Borden thinks Tesla is just a red herring, and he has no idea Tesla can actually build a teleportation device. Tesla, however, takes on the challenge, and ends up inventing the cloning machine. He doesn't think anything of the remark about Borden because he did, in fact, build a machine for him...just not the one Angier is thinking of.

Question: Why did Upham tell the soldiers to drop their weapons instead of shooting them? Why did they surrender instead of shooting him? And why did he then let them go?

MikeH

Answer: Upham was not a hardened war vet like the men in his squad. He seen Steam boat Willie shoot Miller which made him furious because of how desperately he tried to save Willies life at the Radar tower so he felt betrayed and guilty for not listening to his squad so he finished the job he didn't have the heart to do before by killing Willie. He let the others go because he didn't have a problem with them. The surrendering Germans knew the Americans were inbound after tank was destroyed so they gave up immediately.

Chosen answer: He was alone and probably couldn't have shot them all before being shot himself. However, he was in a perfect position to make them surrender as none of them wanted to be the one to get shot for aiming their rifle at him. He didn't let them go, he told them to start walking in one direction as his prisoners.

lionhead

Show generally

Question: Why doesn't the military just give the Stargate to the army or the marines corps instead of the Air Force? Ground combat just isn't the Air Force's way. They don't understand ground combat nearly as well as the army or marines. If the Air Force has more scientists and engineers, why not just transfer some of them to the army and marines corps?

Answer: To start, it was the original film that had the Stargate under control of the Air Force. In the film, the Stargate was housed at an Air Force installation. And Jack O'Neil (in the show it's O'Neill) was a Special Operations Colonel, who just happened to be from the Air Force. At the time the Air Force had control of the Stargate, its purpose was unknown, so it seems just to be the writers picking a military branch. Later, especially in the show, once the Stargate's function was known, it makes sense the Air Force would continue to be in charge since they are the branch that handles space. In fact, their mission statement is "fly, fight, and win in air, space, and cyberspace." In the film, the Stargate could have been determined to be an alien relic, leading to the thought it came from space so the Air Force should be in charge. It should be noted, during the show, the producers maintained a very good working relationship with the Air Force (2 Chiefs of Staff appeared in the show). Since they had this relationship, the writers and producers may have just kept the Air Force in charge.

Bishop73

Question: I have two questions. First, Did the disaster start as shown in the movie? Second, did the explosion look like what we saw in the movie?

Answer: The disaster started as a gas blow-out followed by a massive explosion on the oil rig, visible from 40 miles away. Eleven people were killed. Two days later, the burning rig collapsed into the sea, which severed the wellhead at a depth of over 4000 feet. If anything, the movie underplayed the disaster.

Charles Austin Miller

Actually, according to history vs Hollywood the real life explosion was equally as bad as what's shown in the movie.

Question: Who got the main roles in the musical?

Answer: The lead roles went to Gabriella and Troy with Sharpay and Ryan as their understudies.

Question: Something I've always wondered about trains in the old west on these unfinished railroads, and this movie brought it to my attention again. It shows the track still being built, and it's a single track for one train, no second track along side it. That being said, before the track was finished there is a train going down it one way at the beginning of the movie with passengers. When the train is taken over and forced to steam ahead out of control, it goes off the end of the track and crashes. Well if this hadn't happened, how would the train have gotten back? It is a one way train, on an incomplete track and stopping at a station to drop of passengers and supplies. How would the train have turned around to go the other way again?

Answer: There are stations in between the ends of the line that allow the train to unload passengers, unload cargo, hitch new cars, and turn to go in the opposite direction.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: So if you can't hear the bell you don't believe in Santa, therefore if the parents can't hear (ie. don't believe) and Santa brought the presents who do they think bought them?

Answer: Each likely assumes the other (or another relative) brought them.

Answer: I believe you are referring to the tall, hippie looking pilot that shook his head when Cass told his son to get him more coffee during the "crash course" scene. His character or name is not listed in the credits nor on IMDB.

lartaker1975

That's the guy who looks like the same guy in Tremors 7 - Shrieker Island, who runs the hunting tours. His name is listed nowhere in the ID4 universe. Any confirmation that this is the same guy?

It is definitely not Richard Brake, who was only 32 when Independence Day came out and the actor in question was at least 50.

lionhead

He definitely wasn't referring to Russell Cassee because he didn't have a beard. The other correction perfectly matches what the question describes.

lartaker1975

Answer: If you mean Russell Casse (you are too vague for it to be anyone else) the actor's name is Randy Quaid, brother of actor Dennis Quaid. He also appears in Brokeback Mountain.

He definitely wasn't referring to Russell Cassee because he didn't have a beard. The other correction perfectly matches what the question describes.

lartaker1975

Question: How did the other members of "project mayhem" distinguish Tyler Durden from the "normal" protagonist? Because they were stopping him from sneaking around on those files about the credit card buildings on the wall (that means they could somehow tell it wasn't Tyler), but the bartender couldn't and asked if it was a test... Was is just the way he presented himself (confident, superior) or did he also told them (when he was Tyler) to be aware of him changing his character from time to time?

Answer: Tyler apparently warned members of Project Mayhem that he would change his demeanor/opinions/decisions in order to test their loyalty (Tyler did this to cover the fact that Jack had a deeply-psychotic split personality). So, when Project Mayhem members noticed him behaving oddly (as Jack), they immediately assumed that Tyler was testing them, and they would refuse to obey Jack.

Question: If the crocs in this movie are saltwater crocodiles, why is the lady sipping then filling her canteen with saltwater? Later when swimming with Dundee in freshwater, no crocs.

Answer: Saltwater crocodiles ("Salties") are equally at home in fresh or salt water. Sue was filling her canteen from the water in a billabong, a freshwater lake.

Question: Why didn't they just shoot Steamboat Willie on sight? And once they decided not to kill him, why couldn't they call a chopper to come take him? Also, why were they so intent on committing a war crime by killing him once he'd surrendered? I know he killed Wade, but that's just what happens in war.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Rules of war are when someone surrenders you take him prisoner and are not allowed to kill him, they followed the rules of war. They are all very emotional from the battle and losing a friend and fellow soldier though and they wanted a scapegoat. They were behind enemy lines so nobody could come to pick up the prisoner, as the lieutenant explained, and helicopters weren't really around in WW2.

lionhead

Question: Someone has asked about redrum and whoever responded simply explained that it was murder backwards. And if you pay attention it shows you that right after Danny writes it on the door his mom sees it in the mirror. However what I think they were looking for was what is the significance of it.? Why does Danny only know it as redrum. Who passed it on to him and what happened that they only saw it backwards. We need backstory here. Also if Hallorann was also gifted with the same talent why isn't the hotel thriving off him dying in the hotel?

Answer: In the novel, Danny's visions of "redrum", provided by Tony, were always in a mirror, though he didn't realise it and was too young to make the jump to "murder". He assumes it is literal rum, based on his father's history with alcohol. Towards the end of the novel, just before Jack snaps, Danny sees the vision reflected twice and sees "murder", finally realizing what will take place. And to your last question...Hallorann's "shining" is not nearly as powerful as Danny's, is in fact rather weak compared to his, and so while the hotel does feed off him (and he knows it), it is not nearly as powerful as when Danny is there.

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