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: Throughout the movie at different times there were references to people's hands. Like when Eli takes off his gloves to show the engineer his hands and says I'm not one of them. Did anyone see an explanation for this in the movie?

Answer: Kuru, a disease caused by cannibalism, causes victims to shake.

Answer: He was showing them he wasn't a cannibal. He didn't have the shakes they get.

Question: Why does Khan have to be alive for McCoy to use his blood to save Kirk? The blood will be removed from its supply anyway when drawn.

Quantom X

Chosen answer: McCoy has no real idea how much blood he's going to need to bring Kirk back - given the catastrophic radiation damage to his body, there's every possibility that he might need multiple transfusions over a period of time, which would be much easier if Khan was still alive. Plus there's also the issue that killing Khan could well involve spilling some of the blood that McCoy so desperately needs. Bringing Khan in alive is the best way to maximise their chances.

Tailkinker

Question: Why does the tiger keep trying to kill Pi? It has 3 other dead animals to feed on. The monkey and the hyena were fresh kills, the hyena killing the monkey then the tiger killing it, and the zebra killed the night before. With all that fresh meat, why attack Pi?

Quantom X

Chosen answer: From the Tiger's perspective, Pi is competition for territory (the boat) and may try to steal his food.

Phixius

Question: The tiger ate a full zebra, hyena, monkey, and tones of fish. So where is all its crap?

Quantom X

Chosen answer: Being as how there was a ready supply of water in which to rinse his hands, I'm certain Pi was simply throwing it overboard.

Phixius

Question: As Deckard is giving Rachel the VK test, her eyes have the golden glow to them when he asks the second question about the boy with the butterfly jars. Why does he not catch right then that she's a replicant just by seeing her eyes glow?

Quantom X

Answer: The glowing eyes phenomenon was actually an effect added by Scott, who probably thought it would look cool. Obviously he didn't think it through because it would make detecting replicants very easy indeed, and would make the VK test redundant. I believe he has said in interviews that it is intended as a cinematic effect, and is not intended to be a characteristic of the actual characters. This is one of several mistakes that the director made in the film, and which have subsequently passed into the folklore of Blade Runner.

Chosen answer: Deckard already knew that Rachel was a replicant before starting the VK test (Tyrell told him); Rachel was a new model of replicant who could supposedly beat the VK test. Deckard just wanted to see if this was true.

zendaddy621

Chosen answer: File this under 'Who shot first' and 'Is Childs a Thing'. There are a bazillion arguments for and against. Draw your own conclusion.

Grumpy Scot

Question: Why does General Grievous (a robot) have a choking cough and a wheeze? I can't fathom why someone would build or program this into a mechanical construct.

Answer: Grievous was originally fully organic, but was badly injured in a shuttle crash orchestrated by Count Dooku and rebuilt into a mechanical body. He developed a wheeze and cough during the battle of Coruscant where, after kidnapping Palpatine and trying to escape, Mace Windu crushed his mechanical skeleton onto his organs in an attempt to kill him. He failed, but gave Grievous the wheeze and cough that followed him for the rest of his very short life.

Question: If Dumbledore knew who Tom Riddle/Voldemort really was, then why take him to Hogwarts to teach him magic, since he would eventually grow up to be evil?

Answer: Dumbledore did not know when he first met the young Tom Riddle that he would one day become the evil wizard, Lord Voldemort. He even tells Harry this when they are discussing him. Riddle took the name of Voldemort when he began his rise to power some time after he left Hogwarts. Dumbledore always had suspicions about his behavior while he was a student and kept a close watch on him, but at that time he was unaware of who and what he would become.

raywest

Not to mention, Hogwarts is not the only school of magic. Dumbledore didn't know exactly how dangerous he would become, but he knew this kid had the potential to become dark. He'd be better off at Hogwarts than at a place like Durmstrang, where he'd learn much more dark magic and be more likely to grow up as a dark wizard.

Question: Maybe I didn't pay attention when I last saw this film, but when the IMF traitor reveals to Ethan that the Julia in front of him is Davian's translator disguised as her, he says that she (the translator) failed Davian at the Vatican. How exactly did she fail him? Did I miss something?

Heather Benton

Chosen answer: It's stated that she's not just a translator, she's actually Davian's head of security. Given that he was snatched by Ethan's team on her watch, the depth of her failure is quite clear.

Tailkinker

Question: This might be just me, but at the beginning of the movie, Grievous seemed to especially not like Obi-wan. If so, what was his grudge against him?

Answer: By nature, Grievous hates every Jedi due to their role in defeating his people during their war with the Huk, a conflict known as the "Huk War." As far as Obi-Wan goes, Grievous and Kenobi encountered each other many times during the Clone Wars in battle and duelled each other prior to Utapau. He has a history with Obi-Wan, and also likely views Kenobi's status as "The Negotiator" with contempt.

The White Knight - S1-E3

Question: In this episode, Link is in a town that is attacked by an Octoroc and several large minions that appear to be a red and white knight in armor sort of thing. Link attacks and calls them by their name. It sounds like he is saying Tin Suits. But I am unsure. And there is no option for captions or subtitles on the DVD. Is Tin Suits what he says or is he calling them something else?

Quantom X

Chosen answer: He does in fact call them Tinsuits.

MasterOfAll

Chosen answer: According to Hellboy, He said "Hey, you on the other side. Let her go. Because for her, I'll cross over. And then you'll be sorry." Either he actually said that, or cast a spell. It is unclear.

MasterOfAll

Question: I have often wondered about the Jedi rule forbidding marriage. (Yes, I know that there are rare exceptions, but in general, no marriage so you have no emotional attachments to get between you and your duty as a Jedi.) It is shown over the Star Wars saga as a whole, that sensitivity to the Force is, at least in part, genetic. Anakin and all his decedents are strong with the Force. When Qui Gon first sees that young Anakin is strong with the force, he asks, "Who is his father?" Therefore, wouldn't forbidding Jedi to have families selectively breed out sensitivity to the Force? Such a rule would seem to doom the Jedi to a fate similar to that of the American Shakers, who forbid all sex, even in marriage. How could the Jedi continue for thousands of years, if they leave no progeny?

Answer: Technically yes, as the force is evidenced to be hereditary. However, the force can naturally manifest itself into a being who has no force-sensitive heritage. Also, in the expanded universe it is established that romantic relationships are forbidden and sexual ones are frowned upon, thus the Jedi policy seems to be that they rely on the naturally occurring force users as opposed to offspring of Jedi.

Question: When the two Jedi and Jar Jar are travelling through the planets core, Obi Wan asks Jar Jar why he was banished. Jar Jar says it was because he is clumsy but I can never understand what he says after that. What does he say?

Answer: "Mesa cause-ed mabee one or duey lettal bitty axadentes...yud-say boom da gasser, un crash Der Bosses heyblibber...den banished." Jar Jar was under Boss Nass' employment and was working in Nass' kitchen during a party. He accidentally caused the gas oven to explode, which destroyed the bubble wall (what keeps the water out) of Nass' house, causing it to flood. He tried to save the Boss' Heyblibber (a luxury version of the Bongo) but ended up crashing it which caused the outraged Nass to banish him.

Question: After Jack is saved by Drone 166, Jack picks up a book and looks at it. But for a brief moment as he picks it up, a bright blue light reflects on his arm and the book. What is that blue light?

Quantom X

Chosen answer: From the beginning of the movie you can see this light on his jacket wrist. Must some tech stuff, maybe for his vitals or for communication.

Anastasios Anastasatos

Question: Reverse Flash has time-travelled numerous times in the comic books, and in the movie Flash even mentions to Batman that he can travel through time. Yet apparently when Reverse Flash time-travels, there are virtually no other changes to history except for what he wanted to happen (e.g., murder Iris, etc.). Is it ever mentioned in the comics that Reverse Flash has a greater level of mastery over time-travel, whereby he can do it without causing a "time-boom" and completely altering history?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: In the comics it is explained there are points in time that can not be changed, "solidified time", while other points are fluid and can be changed without any consequences. Thawne does not have any more mastery over time then Barry does, but understands it far better.

MasterOfAll

Question: If Reverse Flash can't kill Barry in an unaltered time line because he will mess up his own past, then why is he trying to kill him in the beginning of the movie before the Flashpoint change? He traps Flash in the Flash museum and places explosives on him with intent to kill.

Quantom X

Chosen answer: Reverse Flash knows he'll be wiped out of existence, but he doesn't care. He's so obsessed with killing Flash in a satisfying way that he's willing to sacrifice his own life to do it. That's why he stays completely calm when the Flash moves the charge to his shoulder and tells him he'll die too. This is further evidenced by the fact that he didn't care that Aquaman's WMD would kill him along with everyone else.

Matty Blast

Which still makes no sense... because then why doesn't he just go back in time and kill him?

Question: Just before they find Superman, Flash, Batman and Cyborg are walking through a room that has several containers holding various dead aliens. Are any of these supposed to represent any other characters or beings in the DC universe or elsewhere?

Quantom X

Chosen answer: The government was combining Superman's DNA with various creatures to see what would result, which is why Cyborg tried to explain to the government fighters that he was just being used as a lab rat. That being said, however, there is one being in preservation that looks like a normal man; per the DVD commentary, that creature is Flashpoint Bizarro.

Matty Blast

Question: Fagin and the gang want Oliver back out of fear that he might tell about them. But there are some things I don't understand. 1. How long Oliver had been with Brownlow is unknown (Bill says it had been three days since he saw him during the "Who Will Buy" song), but since no police had arrived at the hideout during that time, surely they'd think Oliver hadn't said anything by now. 2. And even if they did think the above, why would they still think Oliver might say something later on? (01:34:50 - 01:37:00)

JohnShel91

Chosen answer: They're probably concerned because he's a child. He might unintentionally say something without meaning to, or after some time has passed and more is learned about Oliver's past life at Fagin's hideout, it's conceivable he might be questioned more intensely. A child would likely give more information under pressure.

raywest

Question: What is the name of the actor who plays Notre Dame player 75, last name Mateus? I can't find him in the credits. He's the guy who starts chanting "Rudy" during the Georgia Tech game. I know Al Snow aka Allen Sarven plays an uncredited Notre Dame player in the movie, but it is not him - I have seen pics of Al Snow, and he is NOT the guy. There is more than one uncredited Notre Dame player in the film. (I have posted this question before, and the reply was Al Snow, so please don't answer this unless you actually know who the actor is. Thank you.)

Answer: According to the Trivia section (as well as some web searching) it seems to be Peter Rausch, an ex-Notre Dame football player.

Answer: Peter Rausch had already completed his NCAA eligibility by the time the movie started filming. He can be seen wearing the number 75, starting the "Rudy" chant from the field. His character's name is "Steve."

Answer: His real last name is Mateus. He and several Western Michigan University football players were cast in the film. I know this for fact because I worked at Scott's iron Campus in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He and several of his friends were close friends with the owner and were in the restaurant almost daily. They also built a loft bed for me in the dorms.

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