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: Why would Martin risk putting Laura in danger by sailing for the first time (which backfires on him anyway), especially at night, when he knows full well (believes) that she can't swim? He could have had her practice a few times to make sure she was comfortable and ready, then it would be easier to convince her to come along.

Movielover1996

Answer: Considering Martin's controlling, sadistic nature, his driving motive most likely was to further torment Laura by forcing her into something he knows she fears. Though he was not intending to deliberately put her in danger by the unexpected storm, he had no concern about her emotional comfort and security. Also, I don't believe it was the first time Laura went sailing. As I recall, Martin said he tried to get her out on the water at least once a year.

raywest

Question: What exactly did Ryback mean when he told Private Nash that they "brainwashed him at Boot Camp"? I never understood that line all these years.

Answer: Adding to the other answer, boot camp/basic training is designed to break down recruits' personalities, individuality, resistance, and other behaviors to reprogram their thinking to align with the military and train them into a unified fighting force.

raywest

Answer: Boot camp teaches you to obey. As long as the person talking to you has a higher rank, you're supposed to say "yes, sir or yes, ma'am." You do what you're told when you're told. You don't question it. That's why he goes along with putting Ryback in the freezer instead of the brig. That's why he believes it when he's told that the gunfire is party poppers. That's why Ryback says he's been brainwashed. Because he can't or won't think for himself.

af4dable

Answer: He means turning him into a Navy man, "it's not just a job, it's an adventure." The Marines are known for being "Gung Ho." Air Force are known for being wild and adventurous. Look at "Top Gun."

Top Gun is about Navy pilots, not the Air Force.

Answer: Several times, Face would pose as a doctor to get Murdock out of the Mental Hospital. How easy would it have been to convince airport officials that he was a doctor taking a sedated patient on board? Or simply tell them, this man is afraid of flying, so he had to be sedated. They could say, "Believe me, you don't want this man to be awake."

Answer: The reply does not answer the question. It does not ask how they sedated him, but how a sedated person can be checked in at the airport.

Answer: In the pilot episode, they would give him a tranquilizer dose with a needle injection. In two episodes, he tried to fly awake but went wild once in the air. In another episode, when hijackers held a plane, it was on the ground. When it took off, B.A. went into a catatonic state.

Question: At the end of the movie, why was Paul the only one to get arrested? Both him and Beverly were con artists wanted for different types of fraud but only Paul was being taken away while Beverly simply walked off with Zalinksky.

Answer: Paul isn't being arrested for this particular scam, but for the warrants out on him in other states.

Brian Katcher

Answer: It's a bit of movie silliness, mostly. She'd definitely have been arrested in real life. If you wanted to justify it, you could say that Paul was the one who actually did all the illegal acts (bigamy aside), so he was the one the police would be most interested in apprehending. Beverly could still be arrested at a later date if Paul provided evidence of her involvement in the various crimes they committed (her bigamous marriage would definitely constitute a felony since it was done to defraud the Callahans).

Question: When Stacy is giving a speech at her bat mitzvah, she tells Andy Goldfarb that he's basic and not nice to people. What does she mean he's "basic"? And what parts of the film prove that he's not nice?

Answer: He was very mean to Stacy by cheating on her with the popular girl, by calling her out on the ledge, and by making Lydia and Stacy drift apart.

Answer: She's saying that even though he may be good-looking and popular, there is really nothing special or notable about him. His bad behavior was his meanness in driving a wedge between Stacy and Lydia, threatening their friendship.

raywest

Well, she told Andy that she destroyed her friendship with Lydia because of him. So, what other evidence is there in the film that he isn't nice?

Answer: It was actually hinted early in the show's run that he wasn't afraid to fly until he was in Vietnam. Something that happened there made him afraid of flying. They revisited that again in the 2010 film, where it was Murdoc's insane flying of a helicopter that scared him.

That was my first thought - unless it's explicitly stated he's been afraid of flying all his life, it makes perfect sense that it was a fear triggered by a wartime experience.

Answer: Vietnam is accessible by sea. Also, just because someone hates flying doesn't mean they can't just "suck it up" and do it, if it's important enough. If he was in the military, then he would not have a choice. His fear may have grown over the years. His A-Team members often sedated him and would even knock him out to get him on a plane.

raywest

Question: How did Nick get off the boat? Did he swim 3+ miles across open sea in the middle of the night, or did Angie pick him up?

Answer: They were sailing on Puget Sound, not the open sea. This is a relatively narrow inlet that cuts into Washington state from the Pacific Ocean. Land is on either side and there're many islands. However, it's unlikely Nick just swam ashore as the water's year-round temperature is too cold for any long-term survival. Most people die from hypothermia within 30 minutes. It's possible Angie had a small boat and picked him up, but I'd guess that Nick hid a small, self-inflatable raft on the boat and paddled ashore. He likely positioned the sailboat close to land before staging his disappearance.

raywest

Question: The scientists decided to launch their ship into the Marianas Trench. What is the advantage of launching there?

Answer: The Marianas Trench is the deepest point on the Earth, so there would be less solid rock and molten material to bore through, making it a shorter, faster route to the core.

raywest

Question: Unless the Robin signal was still turned on, how did Barbara know where to find the guys?

Rob245

Answer: When Barbara told Holligran Alfred, she wanted to help, he said, "I prepared for this." He gave her a suit, which meant he equipped it with the latest tech. After years of serving Batman, it's logical to assume he put a GPS tracker into his batsuit.

Answer: Caitlin was a free-spirited artist with an unconventional personality and lifestyle. Some conservative people, like Martin, tend to consider artistic people to be quirky, eccentric, and annoying, which can also be referred to as "flakey."

raywest

Question: What happened to the McDonald brothers at the end of the film? How much money did each of the McDonald brothers receive?

Answer: They only received the $2.7 million buyout. Ray Kroc never gave them any of the 1% annual royalties he promised them in their handshake agreement.

Phaneron

Question: Why does Dan tell Anna that Alice is "un-leaveable"? What stops him from leaving her if he wants to?

Answer: He apparently feels that Alice "needs" him too much, so maybe he can't bring himself to leave yet. Later, when he does end their relationship, he points out how Anna "doesn't need" him. I find this interesting because he actually shows "needy" behavior toward Anna. He does what he complained about Alice doing.

Question: When the ghost of Jason's mother, Pamela Voorhees, appears in his dream, why is Pamela so much older than when she died? (Actress Betsy Palmer was 54 when she played the character in the first film.)

Answer: Supposedly, they actually tried to get Betsy Palmer to appear in the film as a cameo, but she didn't for one reason or another. While I can't know for sure, I'm assuming that they cast Paula Shaw because she loosely resembled Betsy Palmer around the time the movie was being made. (I actually remember a lot of people wrongly thinking it was Palmer in the film.)

TedStixon

Question: Except for "Come on, Eileen", what other songs were Tommy and Richard singing to while driving?

Answer: In that scene, that song is followed first by "It's the End of the World as we Know It (And I Feel Fine) " (R.E.M.) and then by "Eres tú" (Mocedades). Earlier, they sing "Superstar" (The Carpenters) just before the hood flies off.

Answer: It's a joke that relies on the stereotype that British people drink warm beer (i.e., the pub is so authentically British, they don't have any means to cool a drink). In reality, this isn't the case; lagers and most beers are refrigerated, while cask ales (a.k.a. "real ales") are served at "cellar temperature", which is usually colder than room temperature but not as cold as being in the fridge. For Americans used to "chilled" or "ice cold" beers, this comes across as warm and gave rise to the idea that Britons drink warm/tepid/room temperature beer...whence the joke.

Question: Whatever happened to the "evil" TK? The one that used the mice bomb to help Gabriel Yulaw escape. Was she arrested or did she escape?

Mlp1327

Answer: Just looked it up, the character's name is Massie Walsh, apparently. But yeah, she's basically the "evil TK" version. Anyways, I was trying to ask what happened to her.

Mlp1327

Answer: Yulaw killed T.K., who was hiding in Gabe's residence.

raywest

Wrong, T.K. I'm talking about the OTHER one. I don't know what her name is, but the one who put a bomb in the mouse to help Yulaw escape early in the movie. The scene in the multiverse area.

Mlp1327

Since we never see her again, there's the possibility that she managed to escape during the confusion. Especially since she was wearing a disguise.

Question: What is the meaning of the symbols on Little Jack's blue T-shirt when he first appears in Jack's learning lab?

BennaKNeilsenTX

Answer: They are the mathematical symbols of pi, infinity, and square root. I'm not a math person, and this is only what I read regarding calculating the square root of pi: "Pi is the constant equal to the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. The number (3.14) has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. Calculations can continue infinitely without repetition or pattern, because Pi is an irrational number." I'm sure the more scientifically-minded members here can provide a better explanation. I interpreted the symbols on Little Jack's T-shirt as meaning his future has infinite possibilities.

raywest

Question: The police were called after killing his family; his mom returning shortly before they arrive. Did Michael call them?

Answer: Most likely his mom called them. She could sense something was wrong, and then the scene transitions, and the police are already there, so some time has passed. She probably went inside, found all the bodies, and called the police.

TedStixon

Question: Sharon Stone is mentioned a couple of times. Is it simply coincidence, or is there a joke behind it?

Answer: Apparently not coincidence. Sharon Stone starred in an early Wes Craven film called "Deadly Blessing". She is also a close friend of Craven's former wife, Mimi.

raywest

Answer: Probably a coincidence, Sharon Stone was a major star at the time. Years later, at a Q&A after a special screening of the film, writer Kevin Williamson remarked that he hadn't realized just how many Sharon Stone references were in the film, and they all stuck out to him while watching.

TonyPH

Show generally

Question: Why does Maris keep Niles' last name after they divorce? She has more wealth and social connections than him, so she doesn't seem to have anything to gain.

Answer: One could say force of habit and all the years, but also because she is clingy and incapable, and may be hanging on to her whipping-boy/servant if only psychologically (furthermore, she gets into legal trouble and may wish to spread the stain and disgrace onto the Cranes out of vengeance).

dizzyd

I think she always wanted Niles to "come crawling back."