Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Answer: She puts it away and it's never seen again for the rest of the movie.

Show generally

Question: The original couch changes skirts somewhere along the line. The new skirt is beige (does not match the overall material like the original) and appears to be a couple of inches taller than the original. I surmise either Rosanne or John have back issues and the couch legs were increased so to raise the level of the seating. What was the reason?

Answer: Clearly, the only person who could truly answer this question would be a set designer for the series, or someone else directly connected to the series who would have this kind of detailed information. I looked on IMDb.com and Cheryl Lanner is credited as set designer through 1997. I quickly found her Facebook page, and I directed your question to her. After some time, Ms. Lanner has replied as follows: "I decorated the last season 1/2 but after 9 seasons the sofa just plain got worn out and had to be repaired from 8 years of usage. There was a board put on the sofa but as I've said, it was due to so much usage. If they had back problems I was unaware of them, but you can be assured that if that was the problem it would have been fixed immediately. Take care Michael!"

Michael Albert

Answer: One episode of season seven has a moment when Dan hops over the couch and breaks one end of it. The board was probably added so they could keep using it like nothing happened.

Question: At the very beginning of the movie, Ben refuses to fire on anyone even though he was under orders to do so. I can understand him being court-martialed for this but, why would they alter the video to show him killing innocent people with orders not to? And why send him to prison for allegedly killing innocent civilians?

Answer: They needed a scapegoat, someone to blame. The government controlled the people through violence, but at the same time tried to convince the people the government was fair (i.e. Runners who made it through were given their freedom when in fact they never left the arena alive). The people at Bakersfield were still massacred (that part wasn't made up) by the government in order to control the riot, but just not by Ben. But people would just riot more if they knew the government ordered their killing, so the footage was faked to make people think Ben acted alone and against orders. And to continue the ruse, they convicted him to appease the people and prevent them from rioting.

Bishop73

Question: I am watching "The Naked Gun" on the IFC Network, and during one of the commercials they asked a trivia question about the movie that I never saw answered. The question was, "Which famous comedian contributed a scene or gag for the movie", and the choices were Mel Brooks, Steve Martin, and one other name that I do not remember. Does anyone know the answer to this question? I can not find any information about it anywhere. Thank you.

Hawk

Chosen answer: Mel Brooks. When Frank is undercover as the ump, one of the batters hits Frank in the face with the bat. This was a suggestion Brooks had made.

Bishop73

Question: When Biff and his gang are first chasing Marty on the skateboard in 1955, Marty escapes by grabbing the tailgate of a passing pickup truck which tows him around the corner. The gang jumps into Biff's convertible to continue the pursuit, and Biff's convertible actually has a rear-end collision with the pickup truck, barely missing Marty. How is it that the truck driver doesn't even react to all this insane activity and the rear-end collision? Rather than stopping and demanding an explanation, the truck driver continues away from the scene without even slowing down.

Charles Austin Miller

Chosen answer: It's likely any answer would be speculation at best, so it's hard to say. We can start with the fact that Biff barely taps the guy's bumper. He's seen stopping when Marty moves out of the way, although not enough, but I would not call it a "collision." Second, the style of the truck's metal bumper would have absorbed the impact to the point the driver didn't feel anything. In terms of if he actually felt an impact, in an era where you can't just call 9-1-1 on your cell phone to get police help, the man probably thought it prudent not to confront a car full of crazy teenage boys who just wildly rammed him for no reason. And if he did pull over, Biff had already turned the corner and so the man in the truck would have been off camera, so perhaps he does get out and inspect the damage and even sees Biff hit the manure truck, after which we don't know what happened.

Bishop73

Show generally

Question: Is there some reason why Samantha wears the same exact "Heart Pendant Necklace" in every single episode? It seems odd that she only has one necklace all the time.

Answer: The original diamond and white gold heart necklace was given to Elizabeth Montgomery by her then real-life husband, William Asher, who also directed the show. She wore it in nearly every early episode. When the necklace was lost or stolen about mid-way through the series, Montgomery had two replicas made from rhinestones. She wore either one of those for the rest of the show's run.

raywest

Chosen answer: The gold dome is part of the Massachusetts State House and it represents his ambition to rise up in the legal ranks, regardless of the means. The view of the State House is why he decides to rent the apartment.

Phaneron

Giving Back - S1-E5

Question: In this episode, the guy is punished by SAMCRO for not having his biker ink covered up. Also, Clay had to have his covered in (I think) season 5 or 6 when he left. Why was Opie allowed to keep his though? He had effectively left yet in this episode he is topless and all his ink is showing. Why did he not need his covered when he left the gang?

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: Former members only have to have their tattoos covered up if they are voted out of the club.

Phaneron

Question: When Han, Finn and Chewy are rounded up by the Storm Troopers after the First Order go to Maz Kanata's castle, one Storm Trooper takes Luke/Anakin's lightsaber from Finn. How do Finn and Rey have it back when he is in the forest battling Kylo Ren?

Valerie Anne

Chosen answer: Right after the X-Wings come blasting in, there is a sequence where the heroes pick up their weapons. You can see Finn grab it as they escape.

Question: If Cecil, Gus and Reginald knew that the tablet brought the exhibits to life, and could extend their own, then why didn't they steal it from the moment it was brought to the museum in 1952? Why wait after so many years?

Answer: The tablet did not extend life (the guys grew old there, remember), but gave more energy to those affected. As for stealing it earlier, that would not have been possible as they would have been the prime suspects. The best way to do the crime was to pin the rap on somebody new, like Larry, after they had retired.

Scott215

That's a seriously long waiting game.

Answer: Actually, Jack had hoped the Black Pearl and his crew would be waiting for him outside the cave. When he saw it was gone, there really was no way off the Isla de Muerta except to go with Will and Elizabeth back to the Dauntless.

Chosen answer: At that point he already had hope that his crew and others would rescue him and he would be able to escape from custody. Which he did.

lionhead

Question: Why does Dobby only attempt to save Harry from the dangers that will happen at Hogwarts this year? If he knows that Lucius Malfoy is planning something, why not go to Dumbledore and try to save everyone at the school?

Answer: Dobby overheard a plot that involved Harry. He had heard of Harry and his "greatness" and decided to help him for that. Going to Dumbledore would be for totally different reasons and a more direct "betrayal" of his family. Its not unlikely Dobby thought any other wizard like Dumbledore would tell the Malfoy's about his "betrayal", but not Harry. He also didn't know the entire school was in danger.

lionhead

Question: Are Palpatine and Dooku's real first names known? They're not Dantius and Jard - those are "fanon" names made up by fanfiction writers. See http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dantius_Palpatine and http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jard_Dooku.

Answer: Dooku's first name is currently unknown, however from the book Darth Plagueis we know that Palpatine's first name is Sheev.

Question: Why exactly did R.K. Maroon want to sell his studio? A scene in the movie shows a news reel of him shaking hands with a Cloverleaf corporate man. A full explanation would be appreciated.

Answer: Maroon was simply greedy and Cloverleaf offered him a lot of money to sell, provided Acme sold his part too. Spoiler alert: Maroon was only trying to frame Acme (with the Jessica Rabbit patty-cake pictures), not kill him. However, Judge Doom turned out to be the owner of Cloverleaf and by buying out Maroon and Acme, he could get rid of Toontown (he hated toons). So Doom was willing to pay Maroon a lot of money (and when that didn't work, turned to murder).

Bishop73

Chosen answer: Because of the reoccurring use of the song "Aquarela do Brasil" by Ary Barroso. The song's common English title is "Brazil". And at the end, when Sam is sitting in the chair, he starts to sing "Brazil".

Bishop73

It's Not Easy Being Green - S5-E16

Question: How could Bobby and the rest of Mr. McKay's class have showed up at Strickland Propane without Hank knowing? Surely the students would not have been allowed to go on a field trip without a parent's permission. If Peggy had signed a form at some point, she mostly likely would have mentioned to Hank that Bobby would be at his workplace.

Answer: Peggy is a substitute teacher. She may have been teaching at the school the day the permission slips were sent out and Bobby could have just walked to her classroom, had her sign it, and taken it back to his teacher and both just forgot to tell Hank when they got home. ("There are ways" is my point).

Captain Defenestrator

Question: I would really like some insight on a burning question I have had since seeing this movie as a child in 1978, when it came back around in theaters in eastern Canada, where I grew up. Not knowing much about American history in school, I didn't know at the time that there even was a Devil's Tower, or that it had been made the first US National Monument in 1906, and as such would have been famous to all American citizens. I still remember loving the psychic element in the film where our heroes agonize internally about the strange mound shape seen only in their heads, to be finally rewarded and deeply relieved with news footage later in the film which solidified their visions into something tangible and concrete (igneous rock actually!) Thus, as a boy knowing nothing about the tower in Wyoming, this part of the film played perfectly into the fantasy for me-it sold me all the way. But why or how did this work for Americans at the time the film was new? In the film, we are to believe that our adult heroes knew nothing of the tower before their initial close encounters, and were shocked to discover that it actually existed. Again, for me, Devil's Tower was an absolutely incredible and awesome choice, and made me love the film all the more for it. But I would like to know how Americans felt about it during the film's 1977 and later 1980 re-release? Was it just as awe-inspiring for them as well, or was it more like: "Duh-you're driving your family crazy making models of a natural rock formation everyone knows is less than 90 miles away from Mount Rushmore?" I would really appreciate an answer, because for me, the tower's news-footage "reveal" was a huge moment in the film, and really does provide the kick-start that launches the entire third act of the film. For American audiences, why was it not the same as if Roy had struggled to attach a garden hose under a hastily-built plywood model with a hole in the middle, because the aliens implanted a vision of "Old Faithful" in his head?

Answer: Devil's Tower really is out in the middle of nowhere, and in one of the least populated states (it's "only" 90 miles away from Mt. Rushmore, but it's an incredibly boring 90 miles of mostly empty plains) so it didn't make for a convenient tourist attraction like other landmarks and thus didn't garner as much fame (it's actually much more famous nowadays, thanks to this movie). That said, the movie seems to have cleverly provided two separate "reveals" for this plot turn: those familiar with Devil's Tower will recognize it when Richard Dreyfuss knocks the top off his sculpture, giving it the distinctive "flat top" shape; then, only minutes later the rest of the audience will discover it along with the characters during the news broadcast. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this was set up deliberately keeping in mind the landmark's status of "kind of famous but not really THAT famous."

TonyPH

Your explanation (and the other answer) helps makes the overall plot more understandable. The French scientist, Lacombe, mentions that there were probably hundreds of people who were implanted with the Devil's Tower image in their minds. As pointed out, it is not a particularly recognizable landmark, which would explain why many never made the connection to it.

raywest

Answer: "Devil's Tower" is, indeed, a national landmark. However, it isn't one of the most famous, nor most iconic. It isn't nearly as widely known as, say, the Grand Canyon, the Mississippi River, Niagara Falls, or the landmarks you mentioned - Mount Rushmore and Old Faithful Geyser. But, as you stated, its imposing form does fit so nicely into the aura of the film's alien encounter. Devil's Tower isn't something everyone knows by shape. And for those of us who do, it doesn't require much suspension of disbelief to posit that the characters in the film wouldn't have put it together prior to the news footage.

Michael Albert

Question: The trap in which Robert Neville got caught could not have possibly be set by some over aggressive mutants. Installing such a trap would have required not only human abilities (which Robert Neville said they completely lack) but also a lot of patience, advanced planning and the use of tools. The level of aggressiveness shown by the mutants excludes any possibility that they could be patient enough to set such a trap. For me there was no doubt in my mind that the trap was either set by: 1. Robert Neville himself, and then he forgot due to a deteriorating mental state 2. Another survivor from New York who wanted to catch animals or mutants for whatever reason. How likely does it sound that the trap was set by another survivor?

Cristian Enache

Chosen answer: The point the movie makes (and is backed up more in the alternate ending) is that Neville was wrong about mutants. They DO have the ability to plan and use tools and other higher thought process abilities. So they did set the trap for Neville. Neville thought they were monsters, when it was he who the monster. He just did not realise his presumptions about them were wrong until the end.

Answer: All possible yes...but again as Neville surmises in Matheson's novel the infected ones are mutating too.

Question: Why would Dr. Lanning's perfectly good house need to be demolished right after he "committed suicide?"

Corey Bayless

Chosen answer: It didn't. Destroying the house (and any potential evidence) was part of the cover up.

Question: Since I have never been in the military this is confusing. Does it make any sense that The President, a former fighter pilot, as well as General Grey would not know about Area 51? I find it hard to believe that Captain Steven Hiller would know about Area 51 but the 2 most powerful men in the U.S. would not.

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: Hiller didn't know what Area 51 was, he just knew there was a base nearby, because he flew over it in battle. Recall his exchange with Russell Casse in the desert when they were picking him & the alien up; Casse said there's no base on the map, Hiller said it's there, he just flew over it. The base isn't named at that point by either Casse or Hiller.

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