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: How does the "Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" song go after the line "Ones as big as your head!"?

Answer: The lyrics go: --- I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts / There they are, all standing in a row / Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head / Give 'em a twist, a flick of the wrist / That's what the showman said. --- There's much more to it, but that's how that section goes. For more, look here.

Garlonuss

Question: When it is mentioned that Ilia is Deltan, a couple of the male Enterprise crew members (Sulu in particular) look very interested when they hear that. Why? Also, why was it necessary for her to say that she has taken an oath of celibacy?

Answer: Deltans exude an intensely potent and effective chemical substance known as pheromones, which act as signals arousing an intense sexual reaction in other species (in other ST material it's inferred that its potency is so extreme that a non-Deltan risks insanity in a sexual encounter with a Deltan). Upon entering Starfleet, Deltans must swear "an oath of celibacy" so as not to influence or take advantage of crewmembers. That is why Lt. Ilia stated that her "oath of celibacy" was on record.

Super Grover

Question: So what tricks does Blackwood use to make the girl try to kill herself at the beginning? I don't get that part. Thanks.

Answer: While it's never stated explicitly, drugs and hypnotic suggestion are most likely.

Grumpy Scot

Question: Did journalists disappear by 2113? Why didn't Jake and the scientists try and contact someone on Earth (or even upload the whole thing on Youtube of the future)?

Answer: Because it wouldn't really do any good. Firstly, as is observed in the film, while bad publicity isn't ideal, it's worse to come back with no profits. A successful mining mission, even with some local casualties, would swiftly override any negative publicity from actions taken to secure the prize. Plus, they're six years away from Earth. Even if they could somehow get a message out through a communications system that's likely rigidly monitored by the company running the operations, it's not as if any backup could rush to help them - all they have to work with is what's right there on-planet.

Tailkinker

Question: Although it is not mentioned in the film, I assume that unobtainium has antigravity properties, since it floats in the air in Parker's office. If this is the case, the logical thing to do would be to mine the floating rocks in the hallelujah mountains, which obviously contain loads of the stuff. Why mine it out of the ground at a much higher expense?

Answer: Unobtanium is a superconductor which creates an antigravity effect in a magnetic field. The places where the rocks are floating indicate that the magnetic field is stronger there, which reduces the effectiveness of the human machines and makes using them more dangerous. In fact, they specifically mention that fact when hiding among the floating rocks. They can't be tracked as easily so the odds shift a bit in their favor. Add to that the fact that human technology is geared toward surface mining, not mining floating rocks.

Garlonuss

Question: Why doesn't Maroowd want Withnail accompanying him to the train station? I thought they were supposed to be friends?

MovieBuff09

Chosen answer: I'm not sure they are friends, they were just thrown together by circumstance. Withnail treats Marwood badly throughout the film. When Marwood gets his role, he smartens himself up and can't wait to get out of there, not even bothering to move his stuff out, saying his dad will do it. I think that they both realise that it's the end of their relationship, and Marwood just wants to get it over with.

Madstunts

Answer: I think Marwood is possibly embarrassed by Withnail, by him being drunk and looking dishevelled and that's why he doesn't want him him walking him to the station.

Chosen answer: According to Cinefex magazine, most of the suit was a one-piece spandex unitard with the webbing made out of molded foam latex soaked in black dye and hand-glued to the spandex.

Madstunts

Question: This goes along with the previous question about that song that starts at :33 on the first trailer. Does anyone know what kind of music genre it would be under so I might find an album that sounds like it?

HulkObsessedChick

Chosen answer: I can do better than that. The track is called "The World Waits" by Edmund Choi, from the soundtrack to the movie "The Dish". If you're in the UK, the track can be downloaded here for 70p: http://is.gd/5KgJb.

Madstunts

Show generally

Question: In "Spongebob vs. the Big One", at one point, the Flying Dutchman is in Davey Jones' Locker. While there, an old man comes out (not animated, a real person), he says something to the Flying Dutchman, then "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees starts playing. Is he supposed to be one of the Monkees or something?

Answer: He is indeed--he was lead singer of the Monkees and his name (of course!) is Davy Jones.

Chanteuse66

Question: What's the deal with R2-D2's 'short circuit' after he's shot while trying to override the shield generator's doors? Did the blast cause him to go haywire or is he having a panic attack?

Answer: The impact of the energy shot on Artoo's data-access arm has caused a short in his systems, so he's just going through an overload.

Tailkinker

Question: When Bella is bitten by James, Jasper also comes and rescues her - by killing James - but how is it that Jasper does not react to Bella's blood? Is it because of "heat of battle?" I also think of New Moon, where she only had a paper cut (but he still freaked out).

IdaMarieSmithLarsen

Chosen answer: There's no definitive answer. Most likely it was because the conditions between the two scenarios were very different. When the Cullens saved Bella, Jasper was intensely focused on defeating James, exerting all his energy into killing him. He would have gone into battle knowing there could be bloodshed. He may also have not been "hungry" at the time, therefore, less affected by the scent of blood. At the birthday party, Bella cutting her finger was so totally unexpected that it caught Jasper by surprise, and he instinctively reacted to it. He still struggles with being a "vegetarian," and is constantly watched by the other Cullens.

raywest

Show generally

Question: Something that's bugged me ever since becoming a Star Trek fan: Why do none of the ships featured in this or any other Star Trek series have seat-belts or some futuristic equivalent for their bridge crews? Practically every time, for example, the Enterprise comes under heavy attack, consoles and panels start exploding and crew members are thrown from their chairs and shown flying through the air. To me this seems a very obvious oversight.

Answer: The ships have inertial dampeners, they don't really need seatbelts. And consoles aren't really supposed to be exploding. When the do, would you really want to be lashed in place so your face and torso take the full force of it?

Phixius

There is a deleted scene in Star Trek nemesis where Captain Picard captain's chair get a seat belt and he makes a comment about them.

Dan23

The question refers to all crew, not just the captain's.

Noman

This video shows the many instances in the shows and films where seatbelts are used by the crew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ysvyXDebsM.

Answer: In ST:TMP, the captain's chair had restraints; the arms folded down over him, holding him in place.

The question refers to all of the crew, not just the captain's chair.

Noman

In that scene all of the chairs have these restraints, so the answer actually applies to the whole bridge crew.

Question: Is the gravitational force in Pandora the same as in Earth? The humans are seen walking in the same way they walk on Earth.

bharath

Chosen answer: No, it's not the same, it's a little bit lighter, as mentioned by the Colonel early on in the film. That's part of why many of the creatures are so tall and lean there. Lighter gravity wouldn't really affect the way you walk - astronauts on the moon hopped around due to the bulky spacesuits.

AJ Aneres

Question: While in Italy, the Anglican pastor tells a joke, and the punch line is about an American seeing a "yellow dog." Exactly what is he referring to?

raywest

Chosen answer: The joke is: The American girl asks her father "What did we see in Rome?" The man says "Rome was where we saw the yellow dog." Explanation: Americans can tour the Eternal City and all they will see that is memorable or of interest to them is a dog.

Myridon

I don't get it. It doesn't make sense.

What part doesn't make sense? Rome is filled with better things than a dog. To put it another way, it would be like if you went to one of the greatest sporting event live with on-field/court-side/ring-side tickets and when asked about the event you said "I thought the nachos were good."

Bishop73

It's a crude joke about Americans. It doesn't have to make sense. It's a joke that highlights the sense that Americans are crude, illiterate, with no culture. They believe a yellow dog (a common dog in the US) was the best thing to see.

odelphi

Question: In the beginning of the film, who is the girl in the pink dress who is leaving the trashed hotel room right before the guys wake up from their night, and, why was she sneaking from the room?

Answer: It's Jade, the stripper Stu married. She's sneaking out because she wants to surprise them with coffee.

MoonFaery

Answer: She also added that she was being quiet to not wake them up. She went to get them coffee and when she returned everyone was gone.

Question: On the IMDB Trivia page, it says that little of Terry Jones' script was kept past the point where Sarah eats the peach. I have two questions concerning this: 1) Who wrote the rest of the film? and 2) Why was some of his material removed?

Answer: As with any film, there are often numerous rewrites of the script as the writing process progresses, and it's not at all uncommon for different writers to be brought in to tweak plot points, enhance dialogue and so forth as the script is honed towards the point where they have a finished product that they can shoot. Who ends up with the eventual credit is a highly complex and somewhat arcane process, involving judgement calls on who has contributed what towards the final script. As such, Jones' script being heavily rewritten after a certain point is nothing particularly unusual, but what amounts to standard practice in the movie industry - presumably it was felt that his script subsequent to that point lacked punch in some way, leading to another writer being brought in to revamp it. Other writers known to have worked on the script include screenwriter Elaine May, childrens author Dennis Lee and the film's director Jim Henson. There may well have been others.

Tailkinker

Question: Is Aragog smaller in this film, than in the Chamber of Secrets?

Answer: Yes, much smaller. I'd estimate that the Aragog in Half-Blood Prince is about one third the size of the spider in Chamber of Secrets.

raywest

Answer: Yes. They needed to make the effect that his body has dried out and has no life.

Question: What happens to the girl that had Kim's jacket? Is it assumed that he just left her in the hotel?

Answer: It's never stated, but it's likely Bryan had made arrangements with his friend (the hotel manager) to help her return home once she recovered enough from the drugs.

raywest

Question: When McClane ejected from the cockpit of the military plane, why didn't Colonel Stewart and his men shoot him while he was in the air? These men deliberately crashed a commercial plane killing innocent civilians and by doing this, it's obvious that they are ruthless, so why wouldn't they try to kill their main enemy when he is at his most vulnerable? (With the weapons the soldiers had, McClane was still in range to be hit.) Can someone explain this for me?

Answer: Because the police were moments away from arriving at the scene. They needed as much time to get away without being tracked. Every moment counts. And a target rocking about a few hundred feet in the air doesn't seem to be such an "easy target".

XIII

Question: Why did Elle kill Budd? Was it really just to get her hands on Kiddo's sword? or was it more to it? As poor as he was seems like she could have just offered him a small amount of money for it. Why kill him?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: The way she talks to Budd as he lies dying, seems to indicate that she has disliked and hated him for years, plus the fact that she feels that he was not "worthy" of killing Kiddo (seeing how Kiddo was a fantastic warrior, while Budd is an alcoholic hick). However, it would be difficult for her to get close enough to kill him earlier, as he would not buy any excuse why she just came visiting. But when Budd actually invites her over, she gets a chance to get back at him, and in the same while take the credit for killing the Bride and retrieving her Hanzo sword for Bill. Vengeance and personal gain in one swoop.

Twotall

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.