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: I just watched for the second time on Netflix and I have a question, How does Danny survive at the end of the film when the old man shoots Angel with a shotgun and Danny jumps in front of him to save his life? After the whole building blows up we see Danny lying on the bricks almost dying and in the next scene (a year later) he is fine. I have the feeling that there's a scene missing (like Netflix cut it out or something) otherwise I can't understand it.

Answer: There's no missing scene. He just managed to survive the gunshot. Simple as that. It's a comedy movie that's having some fun with action-film cliches. Character surviving gunshots and explosions that should have killed them fits right in with that theme. (Not to mention, even beyond the movie, it's not uncommon at all for people to survive gunshots like that in real life).

TedStixon

Show generally

Question: In what season/episode did the officers show a store owner how to hang clothes with coat hangers so they are difficult to steal? They alternated the coat hangers so each one pointed in the opposite direction. The would-be thief couldn't just garb the garments and run. Thank you.

Answer: Adding to the previous answer, this is S3xE10 "Public Affairs DR-14" of Dragnet. At timecode 00:18:40, Friday talks about the clothing hangers on the storeroom suit rack in Daltons.

Super Grover

Answer: That was a Dragnet when Friday and Bill educate store owners how to avoid crime. No empty milk crates that can be tossed through a window, nightlights left on inside etc. The clothing rack was outside a store.

One for the Road (3) - S11-E28

Question: When I streamed this episode, there were a couple of small scenes missing (Sam explaining that his cigars were a gift from Fidel Castro via Reggie Jackson; Sam kissing Rebecca goodbye). I know they used to cut scenes to cram in more commercials after the initial broadcast, but with a streaming service, you're not limited to a time slot. Why not air the whole thing?

Brian Katcher

Answer: They sometimes acquire episodes from syndicated reruns. The ones with the cut scenes. Sundance channel have some episodes of M.A.S.H. uncut.

Question: Weir makes a point of telling the reader the notes for the name "Adrian." Since he got the names from the movie Rocky, and since the theme song of that movie is "Eye of the Tiger", if I was Weir I would have made Adrian's name the first few notes (or the first few notes of the chorus) of that song. But I have no idea what "an A-below-middle-C major fifth, followed by an E-flat octave, and then a G-minor seventh" sounds like. Can anyone tell if these notes are from that song?

Aerinah

Question: What is wrong with Ricky's mother? She always seems so distant and not in the right frame of mind, emotional abuse also maybe?

Answer: Whilst we, the audience, are never told what exactly is wrong with Ricky's mom, it could, as the previous member said, be any number of reasons. Depression, from being abused. Trauma from a history of a loveless marriage to a homosexual man.

ChristmasJonesfan

Answer: Ricky's father is emotionally and physically abusive, and it's safe to say this is directed at his wife. A common response to abuse, especially sustained abuse over years of marriage, is to simply shut down, avoid engaging at all for fear of attracting attention/abuse. She also may be aware that her husband is (SPOILER ALERT) a closeted homosexual, which would be another motivation to be distant towards him.

Question: Were Katherine and Sebastian's parents even still together? And where were they? I'm guessing the movie was set in the summer and they were wealthy, so had taken off for a long holiday.

Answer: We the audience are never told one way or the other where the parents are. But according to Katherine, Sebastian's father is diddling the maid (or something). Meanwhile the mother, either one, is either, a) dead, b) in rehab or c) as you say on a permanent vacation.

ChristmasJonesfan

Question: Is Pedro actually Jake's biological son? I'm sure in the movie it mentions he wasn't and Agnes had him before meeting Jake.

Face Off - S4-E13

Question: Would Gus not die instantly from his injuries of that explosion? Instead, he has time to walk out, straighten his tie, traumatize the nurses, then die? Or is that all for the sake of good TV?

Answer: Definitely just for the sake of good TV; in reality, this would be instant death (or at least, very soon after, and no way one could just get up and walk). There's a featurette on the production of this scene, and Vince Gilligan addresses the liberties taken with reality here. He felt that since Gus was such an iconic character, he deserved an equally iconic death, hence the calm, cool, collected way he walks out of the room with half a face. Gilligan said he also wanted to briefly fake the audience out, as we see Gus walk out from his "unaffected" side first and assume he somehow survived the blast.

Answer: The 1st movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 Op. 13.

Bishop73

Question: Does anyone know the reason why Tarantino decided to show the events in this film out of order, with the sequence of Jules and Vincent trying to get the stolen briefcase back to Marcellus and the many mishaps they run across along the way shown at the end, even though chronologically that actually happens before Vincent takes Mia out for her birthday dinner, and before Butch's story where he tries to escape town with his father's watch?

Answer: Expanding upon the other answer, the scene in the diner between Vincent, Jules, Ringo, and Yolanda is the clear emotional and thematic climax of the film. Therefore, shuffling the linear progression of the film to put it at the end makes sense from a storytelling point of view. Ending it with Butch and Fabienne escaping (chronologically, the last event in the narrative) would not have worked as a final scene.

Answer: Tarantino felt that telling the stories in a nonlinear structure would make the narrative more engaging since it would keep the viewer on their toes. Basically because you have to really pay attention to what's happening and put it together in your head like a puzzle. I'd also personally elaborate that it changes the way you view certain scenes because it leaps back and forth in time. Ex. We eventually learn that Vincent is destined to die, so the way his scenes later in the film play out hits you in a different way then they would have if the film followed a traditional linear structure.

TedStixon

Question: If Violet knew that Roz was eavesdropping on some of the employees in the restroom, shouldn't she just confront her about it or let everyone aware that Roz was eavesdropping them and blab it on Hart?

Trainman

Answer: She does let people know, at least she warned Judy. But Roz is cagey (remember how she pulled her feet up so it looked like her stall was empty). As for confronting her, Roz was her supervisor and the boss' pet. If she told Hart that Violet was harassing her, it would go poorly for Violet.

Brian Katcher

Question: In both Kevin and Wendy's pictures, there are hints towards their deaths on the train (this being Jason's blurred face and Kevin's face close up in the camera mimicking his face being smashed into the train window) but if this is the case is there any possible hint for Julie's death via train wheel?

Answer: Yes, she was posing in front of a merry-go-round. A fast spinning, wheel-shaped structure. Also, if you look closely, there's a circle-shaped decoration in the merry-go-round that looks like its about to hit her in the head.

The Hunt - S10-E23

Question: Kate says she wants to take a year off for her new baby, Hotch says her job is still there, but we never do see her again. Possibly a way of just writing her out due to Jennifer Love Hewitt being pregnant in real life? Also the character not being well liked?

Answer: The official explanation was that Love Hewitt was written out at the end of Season 10 was because she was pregnant. She was still pregnant when Season 11 began filming and unable to resume the show then. After giving birth, Love Hewitt wanted to focus on being a full-time mom and chose not to return. When the series was rebooted on Paramount+, she was already cast in another show. However, Love Hewitt's departure may have have been prompted by fans disliking her character, even though producers claimed viewers had accepted her by the end of the season. This allowed her a graceful exit.

raywest

Question: Evie pretends that she can't go home because Brooke is out of town. She says that Brooke sent Mel an email about it. Why doesn't Mel call her out on this lie, and make her go home? Mel says "I guess I didn't check my email", but it sounds like she is also pretending.

Answer: I got the impression that Tracy's family, being lower-income, doesn't have the Internet at home. This was not very unusual in the early 2000s. Internet service was still a semi-luxury for some families. Mel doesn't want to admit that she is not checking her e-mail often. She may not even have an e-mail address; also not very unusual for the time. (I graduated from high school in 2006, and some of my classmates still didn't care to use e-mail).

Answer: She didn't want to hurt her feelings or make her upset.

Question: After they blow up Madison Square Garden, as they are standing outside Godzilla makes an appearance after previously being assumed dead. How did it manage to get back to Madison Square Garden without being detected by anyone?

Answer: Everyone was so focused on the nest in the Garden, they all forgot about Godzilla.

Question: When Laura's hair is falling out in the school shower, she looks at Rochelle and says that she doesn't know what she did to deserve this. Why doesn't Rochelle say anything? She could at least point out the way that Laura bullies people, without revealing the witch coven.

Answer: Sometimes people do not know what to say or are afraid that what they do say will be unwanted or taken the wrong way. There are situations where it's better to say nothing, and that was certainly not the time to start pointing out what's wrong with someone.

raywest

Answer: I think this moment shows how people don't always "learn their lesson" — at least not when you think they should learn it. Rochelle seems to realize that her spell has been useless because Laura is not changing. She can't imagine why she deserves this.

Answer: Because unlike Laura, Rochelle is, or was, essentially a good person. And good people tend not to kick someone when they're down.

ChristmasJonesfan

Question: Who was actually responsible for the events in the story happening in real life? When Skeeter tells the first half of the story everything in it comes true. Then, when Patrick and Bobbi tell the second half, anything they tell also happens.

Answer: It was only the parts that the children told or added that came true. For example, in the Cowboys and Indians story, he never gets a free Ferrari, but he does rescue a girl as Bobbi mentions, and he gets kicked by a little person.

Bishop73

Question: If they were still uncertain of their safety, why was the baby no longer under oxygen and his box with its lid? Especially when Lee had to leave them alone to look for the other kids.

ricardoglez22

Answer: Probably a matter of rationing. Most items, including oxygen canisters, are in short supply and difficult and dangerous to obtain, so everything would be used sparingly and when most needed.

raywest

Descent - S7-E16

Question: In this episode, Lionel falls to his death. While still on the steps, covered with a tarp, the cop tells Lex that she needs a positive identification, so Lex must look at the dead body to confirm it's Lionel. Lionel was a well known public figure, and they obviously knew who he was well enough to get Lex to identify him. I've seen cops do this in other shows, so is it really a policy or practice to get family members to give a positive identification? Would they ever ask for it at the scene?

Bishop73

Answer: This is a common TV/movie trope that sets up a dramatic "reveal." It mostly streamlines the plot and eliminates the need to film an entirely separate scene. In real life, identity is handled at the morgue. A photograph of the corpse would be shown to family, a close friend, or other associate. This is done in a visitor's room and not in the lab. The family can supply photos that the coroner could compare with the body. A person's identity can be verified by other physical traits-birthmarks, scars, medical conditions, etc. In extreme cases, DNA testing would be used.

raywest

Question: When Clouseau and Ponton are in line at the airport. Is that Terrell Owens behind them? He only appears in a few shots. If it is, any idea why he's there? Is there a deleted scene with him?

Bishop73

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