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 did no-one stand up for Jamie as she is walking down the aisle of her wedding?

Question: I'm sure I missed it but, why did Mary Jane turn down Peter's proposal?

Answer: Because he was letting his career as Spider-man become more important than her. They way he milked the crowd and kissed Gwen the same way she kissed him, from the first movie, when the city honoured him.

Answer: In Spider-Man 2, Harry Osborne discovered Peter Parker's secret identity. He was waiting for the right opportunity to use that information. When he saw how much in love Peter and Mary Jane were, that's when he threatened to expose him to the world, if she didn't break up with him.

Not that scene. It's the scene where Bruce Campbell has his cameo as the maitre'd and Mary Jane was angry at Peter.

She technically didn't turn down his proposal in that scene because he never got the chance to propose to her. She left the restaurant in anger before he could.

Phaneron

Question: Why are they using so many candles/gas lamps when they have electricity, esp in the Monopoly scene?

Jizzmopper

Answer: Electricity would be a precious commodity, to be saved for essential purposes/emergencies. Why waste it when you have candles/gas lamps, which are far less resource-intensive?

Question: Why did the dad sacrifice himself when all he had to do was toss a hard object at a metal object to distract the monster?

Jizzmopper

Answer: Because there's no guarantee that would work...the creatures don't just go insane for any sound they hear. They've already discovered there are humans (or at least, something they can kill/eat) within the truck, so just hearing some random noise might not be enough. Instead, he makes it clear to them that he is a human and vulnerable, so they switch their attention to him, knowing that they can get him with less work than it would take to rip the truck apart.

Question: How did they climb the grain silo without making noise? Why did the silo door come off its hinges?

Jizzmopper

Question: When Achilles meets Briseis, she asks if she should fear him. He responds "you need not fear me girl, I'm the only Trojan who can say that." But Achilles is Greek, right?

Answer: He says, "YOU'RE the only Trojan who can say that."

Question: How can Natalie and Michelle get only probation for causing someone's death?

Rob245

Answer: They would have been charged with vehicular manslaughter, not even a felony in some jurisdictions. If it was a first offense and/or they lied about what happened, probation wouldn't be off the mark.

LorgSkyegon

Question: When Marty arrives back in the alternate 1985, he's attacked by a black man when he unknowingly breaks into what he thought to be his home. Could this man be former mayor Goldie Wilson?

Answer: No, it's a different character and a different actor. Goldie Wilson is played by Donald Fullilove. The dad with the bat who chases Marty out of the house is played by Al White.

Sierra1

That doesn't necessarily mean that it's two different characters; George McFly, for example, was portrayed by both Crispin Glover using archived footage from the first film and Jeffrey Weissman in newly filmed footage. While the character played by Al White is credited simply as "Dad", there's no confirmation either way whether this was an alternate version of Goldie Wilson.

zendaddy621

The answer is correct, the Dad is not meant to be Goldie Wilson. In the novelization of the film, he's given the name "Lewis." And while some characters were recast, Donald Fullilove (the actor that played Goldie) himself already appears in "Back to the Future Part II", so it's not like they recast him.

Bishop73

Unless there's any indication it's the same charector, or at least a clue to point in that direction, then there's no reason at all to assume it "might" be.

The_Iceman

While there was no clear-cut answer on whether this was Goldie, I think it is safe to assume it is not him. This franchise has shown to make recurring characters very noticeable, even minor ones, such as the homeless man that Marty recognizes in 2 different timelines. Yes, sometimes actors get recast, as they did with George McFly and Jennifer Parker, but they made it quite clear they were playing the same character. I see absolutely nothing that would even suggest this was Goldie Wilson.

jshy7979

Jeffrey Weissman is credited as "George McFly", Crispin Glover is credited as "George McFly (archive footage) ", Donald Fullilove is uncredited but listed as "Goldie Wilson II" (on imdb). Al White being credited as "Dad" actually confirms to a T that he is not "Goldie Wilson" and nothing in that scene even remotely suggests that the family father portrayed by Al White might be Goldie Wilson from 1985-A (other than a viewer seeing a person of color and drawing conclusions). There also is no cause to question whether or not the "Dad" was supposed to be any other person of color seen in any of the 1985 timelines. (Not that another POC in that timeline would come to mind).

Glover is not credited the same way as Fullilove is since he's credited only as "archive footage" and Fullilove is uncredited. Glover doesn't physically appear in part 2 as Fullilove did.

Bishop73

I stand corrected and have edited my post. Thank you.

Answer: Also, the 1985 Goldie Wilson's picture was shown on a moving vehicle in part 1, and he looked very different from the father with the bat in part 2.

Answer: It could not be Goldie Wilson. In 1955, Goldie Wilson looks to be around in his early 20s in the cafe. This would put him to be early 50s in 1985. The father only looks to be in his 30s.

Question: How does every racer in Sugar Rush have a coin from their past won races? Technically, it's a mathematic impossibility.

Answer: They have the opportunity to win a gold coin in every race it seems, with many races throughout the day, and only one needed to qualify for any given day.

LorgSkyegon

Question: During the USS Indianapolis speech, Quint says a "big fat PBY" came to pick them up. Whats a PBY?

The_Iceman

Answer: He's talking about a Consolidated PBY Catalina, which was an amphibious plane (meaning it could land on water) used in WWII. PB stands for Patrol Bomber (the Y designated the manufacturer, Consolidated Aircraft).

Bishop73

Question: In the gas station scene, how was the gas station attendant killed? It wouldn't have been the tow truck. Even if it was, it would have destroyed the whole building to get to him.

Trainman

Answer: He died of his injuries after being run over by the tow truck.

Answer: The first actress, Cloris Leachman appeared in the TV movie which ended up being the pilot for the series. At the time, Leachman was already starring in her own TV series "Phyllis" (a spin off her role in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"). This was actually the 2nd TV movie meant to be a pilot and the first one wasn't picked up. It's likely she thought the show would be picked up. After season 1, in which Carolyn Jones played the role, ABC was slow to make a decision to pick up the series for season 2 and CBS picked up the series. When CBS picked up the series, they changed the time setting of the show and replaced all the actors, with the exception of Carter and Waggoner (with Waggoner playing a different role technically), resulting in Beatrice Straight being cast.

Bishop73

Answer: It is typical to recast non-regular cast members in a TV series, usually because they are no longer available or another actor was better suited for the part. Non-regular actors move on to other acting jobs during a series' run. Cloris Leachman, Carolyn Jones, and Beatrice Straight, who played Hippolyta, were well-known character actresses who were billed as "Guest Stars." Cloris Leachman was only in the show's pilot episode and was on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Carolyn Jones played Hippolyta during Season 2, then was cast in the TV mini-series "Roots." Beatrice Straight played Hippolyta in the final season.

raywest

Question: When Luke drops formula 86 into the Cress soup, why did the cook witch not turn into a mouse immediately? The Grand High Witch said that more than five doses causes an instant transformation into a mouse and Luke dumped the whole bottle in the soup which contained five hundred doses so the witch should have turned into a mouse immediately.

Answer: The potion was made for little children, not adults. It would have taken longer to go through their entire system.

Question: One thing that always confused me is why was it necessary to jettison Discovery after it was used as a booster rocket? Why couldn't they just keep it attached to the Leonov as they made their escape?

Answer: If they didn't, any further manoeuvring would require much more fuel. They would be moving the mass of two ships.

Answer: They needed to lighten their load, to make it go faster. In Back to the Future Part III, after hijacking the train, the Doc and Marty unhooked the passenger cars to lighten the load.

Question: Why does Leland refuse to help Leslie from the Sea Swine down the pit?

Trainman

Answer: Because he cares more about proving the Sea Swine works than he does about his nephew.

LorgSkyegon

Question: It is shown in the flashbacks that Samara saw the tree before her stepmother pushed her down the well. Why then Rachel and Noah found a picture of that tree behind the wallpaper in the barn if Samara didn't see it while being kept there?

Answer: A few possible explanations. A.) The Morgans may have frequently visited Shelter Mountain Inn. B.) Samara can see into the future. For example, several images on the tape Rachel watched predicted events that hadn't occurred yet, such as the blood in the water after the horse fell off the ferry. C.) It served the plot, so Rachel could figure out where to go to find Samara's body.

Answer: Because maybe that's the place she died in so that's the first place her spirit is going to haunt. Maybe she drew that as a ghost or maybe her dad drew it?

Question: What does the waitress call the sheriff in the cafe scene when she gives him the sandwich?

Answer: She says "diablo and doc" referring to the diablo sandwich and Dr. Pepper he ordered.

Bishop73

Question: When Bluto was meeting in private with Wimpy, what were they talking about?

Answer: One, Bluto is a bully and threatened him, after all his name is Wimpy. Plus he most likely offered to buy him a hamburger, which he would have paid next Tuesday.

Answer: How did Bluto convince Wimpy to do it?

Answer: To grab Swee'pea, while everyone was cheering Popeye for dunking the Tax Collector.

Question: What did Loki mean when he said he was burdened with glorious purpose?

Answer: He feels it is his birthright to be a ruler, so being a ruler would be the glorious purpose, and the drive to become one is his burden.

Phaneron

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