Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Chosen answer: His first name is never given. I've done an extensive Internet search and there is no reference to it at all. It is not unusual for a character to be referred to only by their first or last name.

raywest

Question: Who is the actress we only see as photographs or slides in her funeral that played Liam Neeson's wife and Sam's mother?

Answer: The photos of Joanna (Daniel's wife and Sam's mother) were of documentary filmmaker Rebecca Frayn.

Sierra1

Answer: While the Skipper did state he was a Navy cook in one episode, other pieces of information were given in other episodes which offer conflicting information regarding his back-story. This excerpt from the Wikipedia article about The Skipper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skipper) summarizes it best: "Little was ever learned about his past, but in several episodes he mentions variously having several ships blown out from under him, and his veteran's status, implying that he'd served in World War II. One episode indicates the Skipper was a veteran of the Battle of Guadalcanal. In another episode he gets amnesia, and thinks he's on a covert mission behind enemy lines, mistaking the others to be Japanese soldiers, including Ginger, whom he mistakenly believes to be a ventriloquist. He claims to be the CO of the 177th Infantry Regiment, which is a U.S. Army regiment, but whether that actually happened or was just a wish-fulfilling fantasy is open to debate, for later on in the series he says that he was simply a cook. In one episode he claimed to have been a Navy Bandmaster and in another he claims to have been the best card player in the US Navy." There are inconsistencies in the back-stories of most characters on "Gilligan's Island," even including whether "Gilligan" is the eponymous character's first or last name. This suggests that plot consistency wasn't foremost on the minds of the show's writers and creators (I mean, why would the Howell's bring suitcases full of money on a three-hour Hawaiian tour?), who instead focused on zany misadventures and missed rescue opportunities.

Michael Albert

Question: Which music is the band playing while Jack hands Rose a note inviting her for a party at the 3rd class, by the end of the dinner? It is a piano and violin music.

Answer: "Valse Septembre" by Felix Godin.

Michael Albert

Question: During Clu's "Toast" to his army, there is a closeup of one particular program that has been converted. For some reason, this looks like Gem to me, even though the impression is that she died in the End of Line club (though if the sequence happened in real time, there was plenty of time for them to escape the club before it blew) Is it supposed to be Gem, or another significant program, or just a cool shot showing Clu's reflection in the visor of the program?

oldbaldyone

Chosen answer: There's no indication that it's anyone we'd know. I'm pretty sure the shot was simply placed there for the visual it creates.

Question: I recently purchased the soundtrack to Rocky IV and one of the songs is called Man Against The World. The small pamphlet that came with the CD stated that this song was originally going to be in the movie but was eventually left out. Had this song been in the movie, what scene would this song have appeared in?

Answer: Presumably it would have been used in the scene where Rocky and company arrive in Russia. Burning Heart (also by Survivor) was chosen to be used in this scene instead.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: No. Sara Gilbert has given birth to one child (so far) and that was in 2007.

Question: The part where Talia's mother gets attacked and the doctor forgets to lock the cell, why did he need to lock the cell, and why did they attack her? Were there no other women in the Pit?

Melody Chang

Chosen answer: The prison had a very large male population. It didn't appear to hold too many women. Thus, though it is never stated in the film, she was obviously always in danger of being physically attacked or sexually assaulted by prisoners. Hence, her cell door needed to be locked.

Question: I don't quite understand the moving portraits. Are they alive, are they Horcruxes or pieces of the subject's souls, or do they just say previously-recorded things?

Answer: They are not alive, nor are do they carry any piece of the subject's soul (or anyone else's for that matter) Neither are they just playing out some manner of magical-programming. They are normal paint-and-canvas paintings that have been charmed with sentience and to behave exactly as the subject of the portrait would have behaved.

Phixius

Question: If Hagrid was blamed for killing Myrtle, why was he allowed to join the Hogwarts staff as Gamekeeper? Surely parents of students and other staff would object to him remaining at the school.

Answer: Hagrid wasn't accused of killing Myrtle. It was wrongly believed that Aragog, the giant spider, was the monster that killed her. Hagrid was found responsible for having brought the creature into Hogwarts and keeping it hidden there. That is why he was punished by not being allowed to use magic, though he was later exonerated of any wrongdoing.

raywest

Answer: Dumbledore trusted him and gave him the job as gamekeeper.

Chosen answer: The hand movements you refer to are called "time setting." The purpose is to maintain the beat of the song, and keep the singing on track, particularly in the old back-woods churches where there had rarely been instrumental accompaniment. It also has the added benefit of enhancing the energy of the musical experience for the participants. I am not certain if the denomination of the church was ever explicitly stated, but it was likely Pentecostal.

Michael Albert

Question: When Doc and Marty go back to 1985, after going to 2015, they land and find out that it's an alternate 1985 wherein Biff is in charge. Someone said in a question that when they returned, shouldn't they have seen Biff's casino as they fly over Hill Valley - is them not seeing the casino there to mislead the audience into thinking nothing has changed or is it a mistake?

Heather Benton

Chosen answer: Most likely this was deliberately done this way so the audience would not immediately know that the timeline had changed. It serves the plot better to have it revealed later.

raywest

Question: Did Woody really drive the truck his son traded in at the end of the movie, or was he dreaming?

Jonelyn Aspinall

Chosen answer: Woody actually drove the truck, but just for a short period before David switched places with him to drive everyone home.

raywest

Question: I've always wondered what the significance is of the old Shasta TV commercial that they are watching. This is one of my favorite movies, but this has always bugged me.

Answer: It doesn't really have any significance but the one man thinks the commercial is to make people go out and buy the drink.

Question: Why does Colin not want his girlfriend's pictures out in the apartment?

Answer: Because he's a sh*tty boyfriend (as reinforced by purposely making a point of showing Costigan hanging it on the wall later on).

Answer: Because he doesn't want her to be in trouble if he gets into trouble. Also he wants as little information about himself in the apartment. Another option is psychological issues. He had a hard childhood after all.

You are mixing the characters up, it was Damon that didn't want the pic up, not Billy.

The person talking about Billy is correct but for the wrong scene. Billy hangs the picture up in her old apartment, because she still has time on the lease.

Answer: Damon did not want Costello to know where she was from if he came over, either because Damon was embarrassed by it, or to protect her from them.

I disagree, Costello has all kinds of informants and people working for him, he probably already knows everything there is to know about Madelyn.

Answer: Colin is Damon, not a mixup. I agree that it is to protect her identity from someone who may enter the apartment.

Answer: My interpretation is to emphasize the divide between the two characters and show how the person one conveys on the surface could be vastly different from someone's true nature. Colin is a cop (arguably a good one who is granted his own team investigating organized crime). As a cop, society views him as a good, well-intentioned, selfless person who serves a greater purpose. Furthermore, we are shown that he is highly ambitious (pursuing a law degree and aspiring to a life in politics). All of this shows that on a societal level, he is a good fit or match for Madelyn. She is a doctor, therapist, university educated, decent person who would typically end up with someone in a similar social class and circle. This juxtaposes Billy, who despite the fact that he went to a prestigious and private private school, is extremely intelligent and we know from the beginning a good person, to the rest of society is simply a low-life murderer, criminal and thug and member of Costello's inner circle. This is not the kind of person that Madelyn nor society would pair her with. So, on the outside, the characters are written as such. But this small interaction with the childhood photo shows that surface interpretations are not an accurate representation of the true man. Colin isn't actually the right match on a more intimate level, and Billy, for all intents and purposes is more loving and compassionate to Madelyn's true self.

Question: In the scene where Sam is at the airport and catches up with Joanna, he says "Oh Jesus" and then "Here, I've got to run", before the camera cuts to the scene of him going back to his Dad. Did he talk to her during this time, or give her a note or something?

Lavender

Chosen answer: It doesn't appear so. Joanna was surprised and impressed that he would risk so much just to see her before she left.

Question: How did Moira, Charles and the others get away from the island? They did not have someone who can teleport them away, the jet is broken and they had no possibility to communicate with the others. You can hardly expect the Russians or the Americans, who wanted to kill them a few minutes ago, to suddenly want to help them.

Answer: They do have the ability to communicate with the other mutants, via the powerful telepath Charles Xavier. He could also use mind control on the navy captains to make them rescue them, or any number of other possibilities.

Sierra1

Show generally

Question: The star on the uniform patch (right sleeve) has five points and the star on the patrol car has five points but the actual badge has six points. Why the discrepancy?

Answer: There's probably no known reason for the discrepancy, and it's unlikely related to the story line. It may simply be that the show's props department were lax about small details like that. It could also be explained that Mayberry being such a small town with a limited budget may have acquired surplus badges and other second-hand equipment from some other town's police department.

raywest

Answer: Probably because the police department consists of only two people who are both pretty informal and there is no standard dress code.

raywest

This had always bothered me, Barney is always by the book...too much, but his badge is never correct. Very puzzling.

Question: On the audiotape "Heed my warning: do not proceed" is spoken. But if the officer remained there, how would he get out of this place?

Answer: The police arrive some time after Strahm saves himself from the water box trap. If he had just waited in the room with Jigsaw's body, the police would have eventually found him.

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