Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: What time period is the dress Fatso is wearing from? (00:47:28)

Answer: 1995.

That's when the movie was released. I'm wondering what time the dress is from.

Answer: She considered it to be a badly written and poorly made movie, stating that it was "dreadful." Critics panned the movie as being "predictable," though its special effects were praised. The movie received a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was a huge commercial flop that made about half of its production costs. Curtis said she tried to get director John Bruno fired during the filming because she thought the movie was so bad.

raywest

Answer: This may be a plot inconsistency but probably a scene was shortened or edited out completely from the original episode that explained this. This is typical for syndicated reruns so that cable stations can air more commercials. The result is plot inconsistencies. Most likely Aunt Clara or another relative was summoned to watch Tabitha.

raywest

Question: I see this in nearly all post apocalyptic movies, and in spades in the Book of Eli. The dystopian world they live in is so devoid of necessities that things like chapstick and even water are extremely valuable. OK, fair enough. 30 years ago a nuclear war destroyed society. So how is it that in this world of extreme scarcity, that they are able to keep multiple vehicles running? Beyond gasoline, a car requires a working battery and multiple other fluids, not to mention parts.

applejackson

Answer: Like you said, society collapsed so the survivors scrounge for food, water, basic needs. Vehicles, their parts, and oil are not basic needs however and are only required when new, primitive, societies start up again. Sure individuals might use a vehicle, but plenty of cars lying around to use until they rust and then you go on to the next. But, these societies can, though crudely, create parts and collect fluids, based on their needs, from whatever they can scavenge. The technology and knowledge is still there, as is the skill to keep cars running. They'd go great lengths to keep them operational, sometimes moreso than food production.

lionhead

I can appreciate your answer, but 30-year-old gasoline? It just doesn't work. But then it dawned on me that an engine can run on other substances, like grain alcohol. Probably still hard to come by, but nowhere as difficult to create as gasoline would be. So, yep, you're right. Thanks.

applejackson

Answer: Scavenge and cannibalize from all the derelict cars, and loot abandoned stores?

dizzyd

Question: What is the highest note Maria sings? I'm auditioning for this musical on Friday.

Answer: According to this website (https://singingcarrots.com/artist-range?artist=The%20Sound%20of%20Music), the song with the highest pitch is "The Lonely Goatherd", with a range between C4-A5. All those yodels, I suspect. Good luck with the audition.

Question: When the other tribe comes in to get their tribute, the camera is on the horses' riders and pans to the right and around and the top of a vehicle of some sort is visible driving behind the standing soldiers. I have rerun this scene several time and looks like the top of a gas or electric vehicle, not a wagon. Does anyone else see this?

Answer: I saw it too! It's at 38:40. Definitely an overlooked editing error.

Answer: It took me all this time (January 22, 2024) to catch it, but that's what brought me here! Great catch! I told my grandson watching with me that it looked like a motorized wheelchair!

What Lies Below - S2-E13

Question: Does Dr. Bishop mistakenly refer to Astrid by her actual name "Jasika" when they are in his lab with the CDC technician?

Question: Why doesn't Fatso dress like Amelia when he pretends to be her?

Answer: The Ghostly Trio were, at the time, playfully teasing James, so Fatso wearing something else instead of what Amelia was seen wearing in the photo, was just a way for them to have some fun at James' expense. At the end of the movie however, they did keep their promise and let James have one final chance to speak to his wife.

Why that specific outfit, though?

Again, to playfully tease James.

Answer: You remembered that episode incorrectly. Stan asks the guys who Sally Struthers is, as they watch her in a TV commercial. Kyle tells him "Sally Struthers, dude. She used to be on Full House." I think it's a joke about her no longer being successful and popular - the kids are totally unfamiliar with her work.

Answer: No she wasn't. Either it was a joke or a mistake. If it was a joke, I never figured it out or read an explanation about it.

Bishop73

It's probably the show's private "in-joke" rather than one the audience is supposed to understand.

raywest

Question: How come Ron needed a walking stick when he was out of the hospital wing at the end if Madam Pomfrey can mend bones in a heartbeat?

Answer: Madam Pomfrey may be able to mend bones, but that doesn't mean there isn't some residual healing and treatment needed for a full recovery. The fact that there is a school infirmary and also St. Mungo's Hospital shows that witches and wizards are not always instantly healed. From a filmmaking perspective, Ron using a cane reminds the audience his injuries were serious, so it's partly for dramatic effect.

raywest

Yes, it's like Harry needing to wear glasses. Wizards have many abilities that Muggles do not, but they are not all-powerful.

Another example from the book, after George lost his ear during the attack on Harry, it could never be fully healed because it was injured with dark magic.

raywest

Question: When Frank and Will first came face-to-face with the runaway train, they moved their train onto a side track. Their last 1 or 2 cars did not clear the main track, and the other train hit them. But the end of the last car that was not knocked away must have incurred some damage. When Frank and Will later reversed their train to catch up to the runaway train, how could they connect to a bent coupler?

Answer: Will and Frank disconnect all the cars from their locomotive to allow them to go faster and catch up with 777. As a result, the coupler at both the rear of their locomotive and the rear couple of the grain car on 777 were undamaged.

Question: Near the end, when Ned drives his truck alongside the train, why have Will (with an injured foot) jump to the truck and then carry him to jump back to the runaway train? No town has such a long stretch of parallel road. Why not save time and carry some other railroad worker directly to the engine of the runaway train?

Answer: Ned was already moving. He wouldn't have time to stop his truck, wait for someone to get in then gun it back up to speed to get in front of 777.

Question: What did Philby mean when he told George to destroy his time machine before it destroyed him?

Answer: He was worried about George's obsession with it and where he could end up and the unknown dangers in the future that could possibly be fatal.

raywest

Answer: I've never seen a scene with Jack and Danny in the real world at a video rental store. The video rental store scene takes places in the Jack Slater movie world. Since Slater is Schwarzenegger, Schwarzenegger doesn't exist in the movie world. So the Terminator is played by Stallone, who does exist in the movie world.

Bishop73

Answer: It's not the real world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6PBhdM9Ftg. Danny's in Slater's world and trying to find evidence of Arnold Schwarzenegger existing, but instead finds that Stallone has taken that role in this version of reality.

The Disease - S5-E17

Question: Why would Kim be in trouble for being in a relationship with Derran Tal? In many episodes of other Star Trek series, Starfleet officers have been in relationships with species of other planets but are never reprimanded for it.

Answer: Voyager is in a completely unknown region of space and they have little contact with or knowledge of other alien species and their cultures, potentially leading to deadly conflicts. There were particular diplomatic concerns with the Varro race because they were extremely xenophobic. Janeway ordered the crew to have minimal personal contact with them as a safety precaution, which Harry Kim inevitably ignored.

raywest

Question: Why is the Princess called Peach instead of Toadstool and why is the main villain called Bowser instead of King Koopa?

Answer: "Princess Toadstool" was used in the original English-language manual, but she was Peach in the original Japanese, and that name continued in later versions, being combined with Toadstool. Bowser was originally called "Kuppa", but presumably the English-language version resonated more with people, plus removed any confusion of "Kuppa, King of the Koopas", so the English version stuck.

Answer: As Reacher had arrived in town just after the murder occurred and being a stranger, he became a suspect (or at least a person of interest) and taken into custody for questioning by the police. He was released fairly quickly. It was coincidental timing of an outsider arriving at the same time as the crime occurred.

raywest

Question: When Harry and Hermione go to rescue Sirius from the tower, why did Hermione cast Bombarda instead of Alohamora? Using Bombarda caused a very loud sound to erupt and destroyed the door which could have got all three caught. Using Alohamora would have been easier since there's hardly any sound and the door would have simply been unlocked instead of being blown practically to pieces.

Answer: For one, Sirius is being held in an isolated area, high up in the tower, so any sound would be muted or not heard at all. Also, he is not in an ordinary room, but a cell with fortified locks. Hermione used a powerful charm to blast open the iron gate. Alohamora simply unlocks ordinary doors. Bombarda blows things up. It also made the scene more dramatic and climatic.

raywest

Question: The fang of the basilisk has been shown in the other movies to be able to destroy a horcrux. Since Harry was a horcrux himself, when the basilisk bit him, why didn't it kill him or at the least destroy the piece of Voldemort's soul that was inside of him?

Answer: Because he is alive and the piece of Voldemort inside him is too. He had to die to kill the horcrux inside him, but Fawkes the phoenix healed him before that could happen.

lionhead

Good answer. Would add that if Fawkes had not healed Harry with his tears when he did, then the basilisk venom would have quickly killed Harry and the horcrux.

raywest

Answer: As the other answer says, Harry has to die for that part to be killed. Since he doesn't die, that part of Voldemort doesn't die and so is still inside him.

Ssiscool

Question: Kind of a silly question, but why do the rebels kidnap children and train them to fight in the war? Wouldn't it make more sense to take the adults since they are stronger and more skilled?

Answer: Adults may be physically stronger and more skilled, but that makes them harder to capture and more dangerous to their captors as they would resist and attempt to escape. Children can be indoctrinated to their cause and are more easily intimidated into being compliant. If they're killed, it's easier to kidnap more.

raywest

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