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.

Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion - S5-E6

Question: In this episode, Monk discovers that Kyle intends to murder his wife Dianne and then make it look like suicide. Why would he do that? I've watched the whole episode and still can't figure out the reason.

Answer: You can hear Kyle talk to his "mistress" on the phone when he is at the ice cooler in the hotel, thereby making it clear he has an "extramarital" affair, thereby outing his motive to get rid of the wife who brought the money into the marriage...plus her life insurance, supposedly.

Answer: When Dianne was in college, she had attempted to commit suicide and even wrote a suicide note. Dianne saved the note this whole time and Kyle had found it. If Kyle killed Dianne and made it look like a suicide, the suicide note would be authentic (rather than having to try and forge a suicide note that could be proven to be fake). This is why Kyle arranged for specific activities to occur that seemed odd to Monk, the dog having the same name, the missed pass that broke the glass, etc. These were all mentioned in the original suicide note.

Bishop73

Answer: It speaks for your character that you cannot relate to his reasons. But he wants her dead, because he is having an affair and since all their money is coming from her father and his high paying job is also not his gain but another grant of her father he would very likely loose everything if he divorced her for another woman. And as the other answer mentions already he sees his opportunity to get away with it by re-enacting the circumstances as described in her 25-year old suicide note.

Prince Eitel Joe

Question: What was Andy's motive for telling Hadley the procedures of tax evasions?

Answer: Like Red said, it could be to get the guards on his side, or to help the other inmates like him, or to do something to feel normal again.

Greg Dwyer

Question: Why didn't they just put the small gem explosives in the cart with Yen? Why all the drama with the briefcase?

Answer: They needed Saul to be in the eye-in-the-sky room so he could distract the employees long enough for Dell to switch to video without them noticing.

Greg Dwyer

Question: I want to know how the scene with the Nazis dumping the man in the wheelchair off the balcony was done. How did the man/stuntman manage to survive this fall?

ChitownGal

Chosen answer: In the scene, we see the old man being lifted in his wheelchair. Then, there is a cut-away to the family watching from across the street. Then we see someone being dumped from the chair and falling, but we never see him hit the ground. My guess from watching the scene is that the stunt person fell into a cushion which was removed in post-production. Generally, when confronted with a question such as this, I like to refer it to someone who would be in the know - in this case, the stunt team on the film. I looked up that team on IMDb.com, and searched for the individuals on Facebook. Of the twenty or so stunt people and coordinators, I could only find three with unique profiles that made me think I might have the correct individuals: Janusz Kadlubowski, Stella Kuczynska and Zbigniew Modej. I posed your question to them. However, given that I am not connected on Facebook to any of them, I have no idea if or when they would see my message and respond. I will update this answer if I receive further information.

You Can't Win 'Em All - S4-E22

Question: I recently saw this episode for the first time in a few years and one scene seemed altered. When Cindy was asked about which side an egg would fall from a rooster, she said "neither side cause roosters don't lay eggs." For many years her answer was "neither side cause roosters crow...HENS lay eggs." This did not appear edited but was there more than one version produced which explains the difference in her line?

Answer: I watched this episode (well, only the part in question, once I found it) three times. Once on Hulu, once on YouTube (poor quality), and once on VCR tape a friend had made years ago (pretty grainy). All three times, Cindy replied the same way, and it doesn't quite match either version you submitted. The line is, "It won't roll off at all, 'cause roosters don't lay eggs." But I could totally hear, in my mind, the line you suggest in Cindy's voice. Cindy was sort of known for being a little snotty. Throughout the series, particularly in later seasons, a number of her lines took on the kind of mocking "not-this...THAT" prosody that this kind of utterance calls for. I wonder if you might be confusing her intonation from another line in another episode for this one. But assuming you are remembering correctly, then there must have been more than one version, as I also saw no hint of editing - not even a change in camera angle.

Michael Albert

Question: Which grandparent doesn't like candy?

Answer: All of the grandparents like candy. But grandpa George doesn't like the way it is being used in the contest and he also doesn't like the children who end up getting the tickets.

Question: Who does the Joker get on the bus with after blowing up the hospital? Weren't those the people who just evacuated? If so, they definitely would not have waited there for him or let him on.

Answer: He does indeed get on a bus with several people who were evacuated. The bus also contains his henchmen and is driven by one. He makes his escape by hiding in plain sight (as one of several buses that evacuated civilians from the hospital). The passengers of the bus then become the hostages in the high rise scene.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: When the fake Professor Moody is in his office with Harry, revealing everything he did, Dumbledore charges into the room with Professors McGonagall and Snape. All three of them are prepared to attack when they enter. How did they figure out that something was wrong?

Answer: When it was noticed that Harry was missing during the commotion surrounding Cedric's death, someone in the crowd saw Moody leading Harry away and tipped off Dumbledore. Dumbledore knew that the real Moody never would have taken Harry away like that without telling anyone. Also, Snape is a legilimens (able to read minds) and would be able to "hear" Harry and Moody's thoughts.

raywest

Answer: Adding to the other point, you wouldn't take a child who mentioned Voldemort's return away without the inquiry so Dumbledore must have realised that Moody was trying to get Harry away from the situation.

Question: How exactly did Harry and Ron make up after arguing for a while?

Answer: It was somewhat gradual. Ron came to realise that he was being unfair to Harry, but was too proud to make the first move in making up. First he tipped off Harry about the dragons by way of Hermione and several other students. During the celebration in the Gryffindor Common Room, while everyone is celebrating Harry's retrieving the dragon's egg, the squealing noise it makes propels Ron to finally react and talk to Harry.

raywest

Question: What were the Centaurs going to do with Umbridge once they carried her away?

Answer: It was never stated. In the books, they kept her prisoner until Dumbledore went into the forest and demanded that they release her, which they did.

raywest

Question: When Chucky confronts John, he say he "prepared" for it, meaning he made the voodoo doll himself, but then he says John shouldn't tell people where he hides them. Was this a mistake during production?

JohnShel91

Chosen answer: This isn't a mistake. John made the voodoo doll himself. When Chucky said he was "prepared" for it, he meant that he was prepared to do whatever it takes to get information from John about his being wounded. Even killing him as we see.

Question: How does Stryker know that Charles Xavier is the world's most powerful telepath? They only met during the 70s and Charles never used his powers in his presence.

Answer: As shown in Days of Future past, Trask was able to identify Magneto and Mystique, as well as their mutant powers. Trask could have found Charles Xavier at any given time, or Stryker possibly researched him. Stryker did work for Trask after all.

Question: When Carl and Ellie are married, why are there only a few wedding guests for the groom and why the long faces while the guests for the bride are so excited and celebrating the wedding?

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: Carl and Ellie have two dramatically different personalities. Carl is more conservative, more reserved, a tender heart covered by a tough exterior which Ellie is able to break through, but which seems to recalcify after she dies. Ellie, on the other hand, is the sweet free spirit, rambunctious and adventurous. Throughout the film, each one conforms to the other until they ultimately blend into one beautiful unit. I think the makers of the film were trying to show that their respective personalities were a product of their upbringing, and reflected in the reactions of their families - hers larger, more fun, and more "hick" (we hear gunshots, for Pete's sake), and his more reserved, formal and patrician.

Michael Albert

Question: What are the seven seas? And why is it a "big deal"?

Answer: The "Seven Seas" is an ancient phrase that came to refer to all the world's seas and oceans, although it was more of a figure-of-speech than an actual description. Beginning in the 19th century, the term generally came to mean the seven oceans: the Arctic Ocean, the North Atlantic Ocean, the South Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the North Pacific Ocean, the South Pacific Ocean, and the Southern Ocean. Supposedly, a sailor wore a gold earring after having sailed on all seven oceans (and also for sailing around the Horn), which was a considerable maritime feat in pre-modern times.

raywest

Question: The end of the movie shows the older brother giving the necklace back to her, but it never shows when she lost it. Am I missing something?

Answer: You haven't missed anything. After the successful CPR, Blake is still wearing the two heart necklaces, but a considerable amount of time passes between then and when Ben gives them back to her, so we can presume that the necklaces had fallen off at some point in between. Since Blake had taken it upon herself to wear her sister's necklace with her own, the two chains could have been clasped together (which I've done myself), as if one.

Super Grover

Question: Before this year, why did Snape repeatedly apply to teach "Defence Against Dark Arts" if the position was cursed (in the fifth book, when Dolores Umbridge questions him, he admits that he applies every year)? I understand that he really wanted to teach the subject, but everyone knew that the position was cursed. Why put himself in danger, no matter how much he wanted the job?

Answer: There was never any explanation given in the books or the movies as to why Snape continually applied each year. He so coveted the position that most likely his ego was such that he believed his skills and abilities were superior enough to overcome any curse. Also, it was never specifically known that Voldemort had cursed the position. Dumbledore only surmised that he did because from the time Tom Riddle (Voldemort) first applied and was turned down, it was from that point on that no instructor lasted more than one year.

raywest

Question: About 20 minutes into the movie Darth Vader says "I am sure Skywalker is with them" but later the emperor says to him "I have no doubt this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker" and then Vader says "How is that possible" so I am just wondering 2 things: 1) is that part of Vader's plan to overthrow the Emperor? and 2) if the emperor is more powerful than him and Luke, how does he expect Luke to help him overthrow the Emperor? Surely the Emperor could destroy him since the Emperor is more powerful than both Luke and Vader.

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: For the special editions George Lucas changed the scene to feature the same actor (Ian McDiarmid) as played the emperor in RotJ and the prequels. He also changed the dialog. In the original version, there is no comment from the emperor about Luke being Anakin's offspring. Instead it is left more vague and he is simply referred to as "the son of Skywalker", as at this point it is not known that Vader is in fact Anakin Skywalker. The change was made to tie the original film to the prequels, but as you point out, it only served to create a plot hole.

Answer: At the time Vader knew Luke was his son but did not tell the Emperor this. He was faking his reaction to make the Emperor feel like he was one step ahead of him.

Question: How did Argus Filch get a job at Hogwarts? Even though his father was a wizard, he had no magical abilities. Wouldn't that have made it impossible for him to even go to Hogwarts?

Answer: His job could be done without magic, and in addition to that, Dumbledore felt sorry for him.

Question: When Iracebeth takes Mirana back in time to when a young Mirana ate the tarts and lied about it, why would the adult Mirana continue to deny having eaten them?

Answer: The way I interpreted the scene is that Mirana subconsciously altered her own memory to convince herself that she had not eaten the tart to avoid the guilt of the resulting accident. This is a real phenomenon, so it's perfectly plausible. If my assumption is correct, this scene shows Mirana realizing for the first time that she is in fact responsible for everything that has happened since due to a single lie she told.

Phixius

Answer: I don't think she was actually denying it at that point, just reciting the answer she knew she'd given originally.

Question: Couldn't Tet just control Jack's spacecraft or bubble copter to stop him or kill him instead of sending drones after him?

Answer: Tet must not have had that capability, otherwise the drones would not have been sent.

raywest

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.