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.

Answer: It's a solitary cell. Steve McQueen, star of 'The Great Escape' is known as the 'Cooler King'.

Answer: It's a slang term for an isolated jail cell. In wartime, POWs who attempted to escape or otherwise thwart their captors might be punished with solitary confinement, often in a cramped, poorly ventilated, windowless space.

raywest

Question: Why was Kyle Reese removed from the theatrical version of this movie? Why is he only present in the extended version?

Answer: Movies typically film more scenes than are used in the final theatrical version. During the editing process, certain scenes may no longer result in a tight story, lose the continuity, slows the pace, or otherwise muddles the plot. The film's length might also run too long limiting how many times a movie can be shown in a theater per day and affecting ticket sales. Restoring the cut scenes in the DVD version serves several purposes. The director can re-edit the film in the way they originally envisioned. Deleted scenes are often added as a separate bonus feature to help market the DVD. Both help increase DVD sales. The Kyle scene may not have fitted the story line and/or it made the running time too long.

raywest

Question: Just before Marty hides the DeLorean, he flags down a passing car. What does the woman in the car shout at the driver?

Answer: "Don't stop, Wilbert. Drive!"

Bishop73

Question: If Henry time travels and his clothes are always gone... why doesn't this happen to his daughter Alba?.. Or if Alba can time travel wouldn't they worry if she did as a baby and be helpless when she reappears?

Answer: If the fetus could travel then there would be no age limitations on time travel.

Answer: Alba's clothes DO disappear. The first time we meet the slightly older Alba she is playing outside with her younger self. Henry notes that she is barefoot and wearing a too big, old T-shirt - maybe a shirt young Alba found for her.

Answer: It was never explained why Alba's clothes did not disappear. It's one of a number of inconsistencies that occur in the movie's time-travel plot. Most likely it had to do with the legal and ethical issues of child nudity in a film, which could potentially violate child pornography laws or allow unscrupulous third parties to exploit the images for pornographic purposes. Also, Alba may not have been physically able to time travel until she had grown older. Of course her parents would worry if she did, but they would have no control over it.

raywest

Question: What did Dovchenko shout in Russian when he was being dragged into the nest, just before getting devoured alive? Did he yell "Help me!" or "Somebody help!"?

Answer: He's screaming "Help me!"

Question: How does framing Halloran for the murders work out if the police then find his body in a trap that he "set up"?

Answer: I'm presuming that Logan will hide or dispose of the body somewhere so the police don't find it.

TedStixon

Question: Did the actress Eileen Quinn actually climb the B&O bridge and hang off there?

Answer: Due to strict child safety laws, a minor would never be allowed to climb and hang off from a bridge. A stunt double did the climbing. Close-up shots would be filmed on a sound stage with specially built props, and a safety harness, or other equipment used to make it appear as if Annie was "hanging" from the bridge.

raywest

Question: This applies to the entire prequel trilogy. Can the Jedi (especially Jedi council) be considered anti-heroes? Or no? As a bevy of "protagonists", they sure have obvious shortcomings which leads to their downfall and in the end are not heroic in much sense at all.

Answer: I would argue that the Jedi cannot be considered antiheroes. A major characteristic of antiheroes is a lack of conventional morals, and they typically act in self-serving ways. For example, many antiheroes oppose the antagonist of a story for revenge rather than for the "greater good." The Jedi are presented as highly moral and indeed quite selfless. It is true the Jedi are flawed and their flaws lead to their downfall, but merely having flaws does not make you an antihero. Their actions fighting the Clone Wars were certainly heroic, even if they ultimately lead to Palpatine gaining more power.

BaconIsMyBFF

Prodigy - S4-E19

Question: When Colonel O'Neill is telling the scientist not to go after the unknown alien and Teal'c tells them to listen to him, he says "thank you, Rocco." Who or what is O'Neill referencing?

Bishop73

Answer: In almost every gangster move from the 1930's, there was always a guy named "Rocco." A dumb but lovable guy who always agrees with the Boss. When everyone disagrees, he always says "Listen to the Boss." or "Do what the Boss says."

The Curse - S4-E13

Question: When the team is given leave and Sam doesn't want to join Jack on his fishing trip, Jack says to Teal'c it will be just "you and me." Then as he's leaving he says "The loons. Don't forget the loons." What is he talking about? What is "loons" meant to be slang for?

Bishop73

Answer: He's referring to the common loon, a type of bird which are commonly found in fishing areas. Jack wants to go fishing in northern Minnesota where the loon is common and is actually the state bird.

Sierra1

Question: At the end of the movie, what did the boy say to his mom before shooting a toy dart at Jack's head?

Answer: "Up yours, you mother!"

Bishop73

Question: Why did Jenny's grandmother take Jenny into her home, but not the sisters?

Answer: Some possibilities are: either the sisters' situations were discovered before Jenny's, and they are already there (or living with someone else), or the sisters are older and moved out on their own. We never hear of the sisters living at the house during the film so it's hard to pinpoint the actual situations with them.

Question: How was Harry able to remain in business? Surely the word would get around quite quickly that the cars he sells fall apart within days.

Answer: Harry was a seasoned con artist (synonymous with "used car salesman?) who would be able to come up with rational, believable, convincing stories (lies) to explain whatever gripe a complaining customer has, placing the blame on anyone/anything other than the dealership. Used cars, typically sold "as is" or with a limited warranty (30 days) fall under "caveat emptor" - let the buyer beware, so there isn't really much expectation for buying a problem-free used car. All complainers would be dealt with in a way that manipulates them into believing Harry was acting in their best interests and went above and beyond other remedial actions offered by used car sales people to their customers. An exceptionally good case of "making things right" is broadcasted to the public to portray a positive image. Used car dealerships, in general, are known to be questionable or shoddy businesses. Also, many people don't take the time to investigate a car dealership's reputation so don't know their risk.

KeyZOid

Answer: It's never explained, she could have changed at super speed. In Superman II, when confronted by the super criminals at the Fortress of Solitude, Superman did a disappearing and reappearing act. So did the criminals. It might be a similar thing.

Answer: Batman later in the game discovers that Hugo Strange has been supplying everybody with weapons, so he would have given Two-Face the vat of acid.

Question: Unless he went through adoption records, how would Michael know where his niece lived?

Rob245

Answer: In Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, it's revealed that Michael is under the control of a Druid cult using supernatural powers making him indestructible. It's most likely, they gave him the power to sense his own bloodline.

Michael also first encounters his niece in the drugstore, not at her home. After the encounter, he very well could have simply followed Rachel and Jaime home and learned where she lived that way.

dewinela

Question: Assuming people knew, how did Marston avoid trouble for living with two wives?

Rob245

Answer: Though it may be considered immoral and socially unacceptable, particularly during the film's 1940s time frame, it is not illegal to live with multiple people in a sexual relationship. It is only illegal to be married to more than one person at the same time. Marston was not a bigamist. He was legally married to his wife, Elizabeth. They engaged in a consensual polyamorous (not polygamous) relationship with Olive, who was not married to Marston.

raywest

Question: How did Antiope know Diana cheated? Why allow her to compete in this contest if she wasn't allowed to train, at first, in the previous movie?

Rob245

Answer: The competitors had to light up the cloth banner beacons using their bows and arrows. Diana finished the course but missed one blue beacon by taking the cave shortcut, so the general grabs her and disqualifies her.

Answer: In the first movie, Diana was much younger and unready to start combat training. In the second movie, the flashback scene takes place some years after that, and Diana has since grown and been in training. During the competition, there were observers along the entire course to ensure that everyone followed the rules, attended to any mishaps, etc. If anyone cheated or failed to complete the required tasks, it would immediately be reported to Antiope.

raywest

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