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.

Show generally

Question: What is the green and white striped American looking flag in the commissioner's office?

Answer: It's the New York Police Department flag, created in 1919. The stripes represent the 5 boroughs and the stars the different towns that made up New York (including New York City itself).

Bishop73

What about the other flag that is not the U.S. flag?

Please be more specific. Are you talking about the New York City flag?

Bishop73

It is the Iowa State flag. At least in the episode from 1/22/21.

It wouldn't be the Iowa State flag. Plus the Iowa State flag is blue, white, and red. The flag I think they're talking about is blue, white, and orange.

Bishop73

Answer: Since Harry was hanging out with Neville more (lack of Ron around), it sounds as if Neville had been driving Harry a bit up the wall, with Neville's nonstop comments about things he was finding/doing. So when Neville exclaimed aloud, "Amazing, amazing," Harry told him, "Neville, you're doing it again."

Super Grover

Answer: Neville had a habit of talking out loud and at length about whatever he was thinking, regardless of whether anyone around him knew the context.

raywest

Answer: Nicholas offers to split the bill with Conrad, in fact expressing shock at the total amount. We are never told how Conrad earned his wealth: inheritance from their late father seems the most plausible guess, along with possible investments, income from interest etc.

Answer: He didn't, at the party where the everything is explained, Michael Douglas is signing receipts, one after another. Sean Penn says, this is payment for this and for that.

Question: Why are JD and Mundo serving as much time as Santana? They were only charged with breaking and entering.

Answer: They all did stuff in juvey to extend their stay.

Question: Whose blood is used to write the messages on the wall?

Answer: It was written in chicken blood.

raywest

Question: What is the letter of Argus about?

Answer: The movie glossed over this. Argus Filch was a squib (a non-magical person born into a wizard family). In the hope of somehow developing magical powers, he'd sent for a home correspondence course on learning magic spells. Filch was embarrassed when Harry happened to pick up his dropped letter, realizing that this probably revealed what he was, though almost every student knew this about him.

raywest

Show generally

Question: Why was Columbo never promoted, given that across the whole show he solves all the murders in such a spectacular fashion?

Answer: In the show, he was already a Lieutenant. A promotion would put him in the next rank up, which for the L.A.P.D. would be Captain. However, some of a Captain's duties would be overseeing other officers and ensuring they're compliant with policies, regulations, and standards. It would also most likely take him out of the field. This is something Columbo has no desire for as he rarely goes to police HQ's. Nor does he show interest in compliance and standards (for example, not going to his semi-annual evaluation at the firing range). However, he could still be assigned to a higher pay grade based on expertise, which is a form of promotion that does not include rank advancement. This would be going from Lieutenant I to Lieutenant II. I don't believe in the show it's ever started what his pay grade is. Although, in s02e01 (I believe) he mentions making $11K a year. Whether or not this was a true statement on his part, if you could find pay scale information for an LAPD Lieutenant in the 70's, it could give you an idea of his pay grade.

Bishop73

Question: What exactly happens to Rosalie (before and after)?

Answer: Maybe you could be a little more specific with details? What do you mean by "before and after"?

raywest

Answer: Probably with the change of behavior she has with Bella. Rosallie seems to welcome Bella in the family as one of them and after the baby is born she is taken over by a mommy feeling.

Anastasios Anastasatos

Answer: Irina was the Cullens' relative. So, of course, she knew their powers but she was in cahoots with Laurent, and Laurent is obviously going to tell James and Victoria the other vampires in town's gifts.

akjsnwdkjn

Answer: The Trojan War itself was a decade long, followed by Odysseus' ten-year journey home to Ithaca, so all told he was gone roughly twenty years.

The Icarus Factor - S2-E14

Question: When Riker and his father are doing anbo-jyutsu, what do the Japanese characters on the armor and around the ring say or mean? I read what the spoken Japanese lines meant (or at least why they attempted to say, I understand their pronunciation was bad), but couldn't find the writing.

Bishop73

Answer: According to the Star Trek wiki (memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Anbo-jyutsu), the characters around the ring are a reference to animated series Urusei Yatsura: The large character in the center is "Hoshi", the words next that are "ramu" and "ataru", names of the main characters of that series. The phrases "Urusai" and "Yatsura" are written in the back corner. The characters on the uniforms are references to The Book of Five Rings: "chi", "mizu", and "hi" (ground, water, and fire respectively) is on Will Riker's uniform while "sora" (sky) is on Kyle's uniform in addition to "mizu" and "hi." "Yuri" (lily) and "nintai" (perseverance) are written on banners around the ring.

BaconIsMyBFF

Show generally

Question: Were people able to "lock" the Holodeck doors so that others couldn't just walk in on them? I don't recall an episode where the doors were locked that wasn't because of some malfunction. It seems like Lieutenant Barclay, for example, would either lock the doors during his "fantasies" or have some "fail-safe" that shuts the program off when being walked in on. Otherwise, it's just a really dumb thing to do (for him or anyone playing out a fantasy) knowing they could easily be caught.

Bishop73

Answer: Yes. The doors to the holodecks can be locked when in use by anyone aboard the Enterprise so they couldn't be disturbed. However, high ranking officers like Captain Picard could override the doors as it's seen that overrides are in use even for the crews quarters. Even Barclay, when he's indulging in one of his fantasies could have the doors to the holodeck unlocked by an override code.

Question: Since North is guardian of wonder, Tooth the guardian of memories, Bunnymund the guardian of hope, and Sandy the guardian of dreams, what does Jack become the guardian of?

Roman Curiel

Answer: Jack is the guardian of fun. It's stated in the film.

Answer: Duddits had leukemia and was close to dying anyways. But it seems using his powers exhausted him too much, and it was that combined with the leukemia that caused him to die.

Bishop73

Question: Why does Masters torch some of his paintings? Is it a psychological compulsion? Do they not meet his standards?

Answer: Masters is a gifted, talented (yet eccentric), artist who captures his mood and feelings of the moment and puts them down in the form of paintings. He does need to sell them, if at all, as he makes enough money from his lucrative counterfeiting operation. He did not need or want those paintings anymore, because they represented past moods or feelings, so he burned them, which is part of his eccentricity.

Scott215

Question: How come Julia wasn't listed on the flight manifest?

Answer: It is never explained. Stephanie, the flight attendant who was in on the conspiracy, claimed that only Kyle's name was on the manifest and the seat next to her was unoccupied. Whether she somehow manipulated the manifest or someone else in on the plot was able to remove Julia's name, is unknown.

raywest

There is probably no way she could have manipulated the flight manifest since you can't access it from on board a plane.

Julia's name would have been deleted before Stephanie boarded the plane.

raywest

Wait a minute, I thought a passenger's name wasn't put on the flight manifest until he or she boards the plane.

It's possible someone off the plane hacked into the flight manifest sometime after Kyle, and Julia boarded.

Question: What exactly is Alonzo asking the three wise men for at the restaurant? Do they give him the go ahead to steal from and kill Roger? And more importantly are the three wise men corrupt cops like Alonzo?

Francis1990

Answer: Alonzo is asking the three wise men for a search warrant for Roger's home, effectively giving him the go ahead to confiscate the money he is hiding there. The wise men are indeed corrupt, the search warrant is completely illegal.

BaconIsMyBFF

Desperate Housewitches - S8-E4

Question: Why does Paige ask Phoebe and Piper how they vanquished the source the first time when he gets brought back at magic school with a demon and the help of little Wyatt? She was there the first time and helped vanquish him.

Answer: Wasn't Prue the one who helped them kill the source the first time? Not Paige.

Answer: Just a character mistake. The possibilities of "why?" are endless, but it could be that one of the writers forgot, or was a new staff addition, and nobody else picked up on it.

Cubs Fan

And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon (1) - S8-E1

Question: When Frasier is in Donny's office, Donny says that he will sue Daphne for "breach of contract." How is this possible unless he and Daphne, at some point, created a verbal or written contract, in which Daphne specifically promised to marry him? Is accepting a marriage proposal the same as creating a verbal contract?

Answer: There are U.S. states that still have "breach of promise" tort laws, However, these are generally designed for one party to recoup any financial losses they may have incurred during the engagement (cost of the ring, engagement parties, pre-wedding costs, honeymoon expenses, etc). A party cannot sue for emotional damage, and any claims have to be within a certain time period after the engagement is ended. Donny is just upset, and he is mostly making an idle threat out of anger.

raywest

Question: Three questions: One, why does the Trident glow when Morgana is holding it? It never glows when Triton holds it, unless he's using it; Two, aren't Cloak and Dagger Stingrays? I'm asking because not only were they holding onto Eric's ankles but also, Sebastian was holding them after Eric was free. Wouldn't he be stung or something?; Three, why would Morgana make a "palace" out of ice? Could her tentacles hold on? I just think she would be slipping a lot.

Answer: 1.) It could be that the power-hungry Morgana is constantly keeping the trident in ready-to-fire mode, whereas Triton only summons its power when he needs it for something. 3.) She created a fortress out of ice because the only terrain around her was made of ice, and she wanted a structure she could use to fire down at the opposing forces while leaving them defenseless and unable to reach her. She didn't slip and fall because she arranged a tall platform in the center for her to stand on.

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