Question: This has been a question that's always brought up. Was Ellie Grimbridge always a robot from the very beginning, or was she turned into (or exchanged with) one when she was held captive at the shamrock factory?
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Answer: Another theory might be that Ellie has always been a robot but an advanced model that Cochrane designed to interact with the outside world.
Question: The woman making the announcements in Grand Central Terminal in Superman: The Movie sounds a lot like the Mother computer. Could someone confirm this?
Chosen answer: No, it isn't the same woman. Mother was voiced by actress Helen Horton, who is not credited for any role in Superman, although, coincidentally, she did appear in Superman III in the minor role of Miss Henderson.
Question: What are the keys played to get into the batcave, in Batman Begins?
Chosen answer: Starting at middle C on a piano move up one scale. He plays D and E together, moves up a scale and plays D and E together again, then backs down to play A and B together.
Is this combination of notes an Easter egg of some kind?
Question: (Not that I'm complaining or anything) but why was Violet wearing the outfits that showed off her belly? Did it have something to do with the loss of her unborn child?
Chosen answer: Simple sex-appeal, no plot significance.
Question: After arguing with Merida about her behavior at the archery tournament, Elinor throws her bow into the fire place, and then Merida flees. Eventually, Merida returns to the castle, and then leaves while protecting her mother, who has turned into a bear. Merida also brings a bow with her that time. Is that the same bow her mother tried to burn or is that a different bow? (01:33:00)
Question: When Jack goes to the first class to have dinner, and Ruth and Cal are asking him questions about being in third class and being poor in general, what are they hoping to achieve from embarrassing him in front of all the people at their table? Even Molly doesn't seem too pleased with their line of questioning.
Chosen answer: Molly is only recently wealthy, that's why she's not amused. Ruth and Cal are bad people, basically. They take pleasure from from humiliating Jack.
As you say, Molly was "new money" - a person who had recently become wealthy. Those who were born into wealthy families - "old money" - sometimes acted superior to "new money" people. Molly seems to have more sympathy for Jack because of her background. Her life was not always comfortable.
Question: Is there any reason, other than to further the plot, that Jack and Will fight over possession of Davey Jones's heart? Their plans once they have control of the heart are not mutually exclusive as Will wants to free his father and Jack wants his debt with Jones settled. They have shown previously that they can work together, so why couldn't one of them take control of the heart and make the demands for both?
Chosen answer: Will having control of Jones' heart would not help Jack in the slightest. Will's intent is to KILL Jones, therefore freeing his father. If Jack had control of Jones' heart, he'd only use it to settle his debt, given Jack's history of treachery. Yes, they could work together, but that would solve nothing: Bootstrap agreed to serve Jones FOREVER. The only way that debt is settled is with Jones' death. That wouldn't help Jack, because, as he says: "With Jones dead, who's to call his terrible beasty off the hunt, eh?"
Davy Jones doesn't have to die in order for Will's father to be freed from service, though. As captain of the Dutchman, Jones has the power to relieve Bootstrap of his duty for any reason or no reason at all. The third film makes it clear that Jones is at the mercy of anyone that is in possession of his heart, when Beckett becomes his overlord and orders him to kill the Kraken and hunt other pirates. Will and Jack could have easily taken possession of the heart and ordered Jones to both release Jack from his debt and release Bootstrap from the Dutchman. Jack even proposes the idea in the next film to Will that Jack can be the one to stab Jones' heart and then release Bootstrap from his service, allowing Will to still be with Elizabeth.
Question: Just interested, but when the Mystery Men are rescuing Captain Amazing, how did Amazing know the sequence for the release mechanism and where it was if he was unconscious when he was put there?
Question: Even though it's meant as a comedic moment, I've never really understood why Kirk would be so nervous about Saavik piloting the ship out of space dock. She's not actually flying the ship, so it's not like she's going to crash it into the wall or something. Plus, Sulu is an experienced pilot, so even if she said something stupid like "Warp speed!", he's unlikely to follow the order. Just something odd that I have always wondered about.
Answer: Saavik destroyed a simulated Enterprise during her Kobayashi Maru test, with Admiral Kirk chiding her afterwards. When Spock invites Saavik to take the real Enterprise out of space dock, Kirk is obviously nervous because he thinks Saavik is unready for command, as she destroyed the Enterprise earlier.
To my original point though, she is not actually touching any controls, only giving orders. The Enterprise was destroyed in the simulation during a Klingon attack, which is very different than guiding a ship out of spacedock. Not to mention the fact that the simulation is designed to make the cadet fail.
The whole scene is about Spock taking a dig at Kirk's ego. Being the only cadet in Starfleet history to ever actually beat the Kobayashi Maru test (albeit by trickery), Kirk has an inflated standard for what constitutes "readiness for command," and it shows in his reaction. Knowing full well that it will raise Kirk's hackles, Spock deliberately invites Saavik to handle the simple space dock maneuver. McCoy also knows that Kirk will over-react, which is why he offers Kirk a tranquilizer.
Chosen answer: He's nervous because she's a trainee and had never done this maneuver before. Even if Sulu is there, she could still possibly make one small error that he would be unable to react to in time. As you point out, the scene is meant to be comedic, and it's being a little over-played strictly for that.
Again though, she is not actually piloting the ship, only giving orders.
Even though Sulu is an experienced pilot, taking the ship out of space dock under power is still prohibited for a reason. If something were to go wrong and a quick decision had to be made, Savick would be the one giving orders to correct the problem. That's what makes Kirk nervous, not the piloting skill involved but the decision making required in an emergency.
Answer: Normally a ship is piloted out of spacedock using thrusters (see ST:TMP). Saavik ordered impulse power.
Question: Is there any indication at all in the film as to who the Joker actually is? Batman is obviously Bruce Wayne, but are we ever given a slight indication as to who the Joker is/was before he became the Joker?
Answer: In the comic books, there was never any background on who the Joker was or where he came from. In some comic book lore, there were brief indications of his past. One, that he was an enforcer for Falcone. The other he was part of the Red Hood gang.
Exactly. Real beginnings of the Joker is that there is no origin story for him. He just appeared. In the comics, Joker says something that perhaps defines him pretty well too which is "sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice! Hahaha!"
Question: If Eric and Shelley were fighting tenant eviction, why did T-Bird and his crew show up with a list of complaints about the conditions of the building?
Answer: Top Dollar (the main villain played by Michael Wincott) sent them over there to talk them. He sorta explained at the end. He 'believed' that he owned the building. I think he said something along the lines of: "Hell, nothing in this area happens without my say so." I guess Eric and Shelly's complaints were going to attract attention with the authorities and Top Dollar did not want that.
Question: Why were the dwarves names changed for this movie? I was trying to find a correlation of each dwarf to the original dwarves, but couldn't. It seems like it was changed for no reason.
Answer: There are no "original" names for the dwarves, they are unnamed in the fairy tale. If you are referring to the names they had in the Disney movie, well, those were inventions by the Disney people. It might not even be legal to use them.
Question: It's now clear why Angus is found in the circle of stones, even though he was afraid to enter it in the first place. There's one part of that matter I don't quite understand, though. Why is he afraid to enter that circle in the first place? Is there something in that circle frightening him? Is there a special effect?
Answer: The stone circle is like a gateway to the spirit world, something slightly supernatural. Angus senses this, and it makes him freak out.
Question: Why did Bane take blood from the professor on the airplane at the beginning?
Answer: He needs people to believe that the professor is dead. He therefore takes some of his blood and puts it into the body they're carrying with them, so that there'll be evidence that the professor died in the crash.
A Good Man Goes to War - S6-E8
Question: Between the classic and revived series, has River Song's parents been mentioned or hinted before? If so, what was said about them?
Answer: We find out who River's parents are later, but, eh, spoilers.
Chosen answer: They have not.
Question: Maybe I wasn't paying attention but Hammond (the man on the phone) and Hauser himself tell him about a key, which he finds in the piano. When did he use this, and why did they make such a big deal about it, mentioning it twice, he would "know how to use it"? How did he know the safety deposit box (number 10549) Hauser and Hammond never said this.
Answer: First off, they made such a big deal about it because it was the key to a more involved message from Hauser and they wanted to make sure that he knew it was important. But regarding the safety deposit box, after the phone message from Hammond, Quaid got a text message that told him a bank name and a box number.
Answer: Early in the movie, Quaid says he wants to learn how to play the piano.
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Chosen answer: She was turned into one when she was captured. The robots didn't speak and if you notice that after he finds her, she never says a word. As well, she displayed genuine emotion throughout the film before she was captured, something the robots also never did.
I agree, she was a real person until she was captured. If she were a robot, I think Chalice would have found that out when they made love. Plus, as you mention, she had real emotions until her robot replacement was rescued.