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.

Answer: Probably similar to today's 'business' circles, only small-timers drag their troops around in plain sight; when you're Made, you'll still have them within a few seconds' reach if needed, but having them visible makes you look weak and insecure. Even though everyone knows they're out of sight but not far away, the accepted illusion is that they're not there - that you're so strong, you don't need protection.

Question: Why are Girls Aloud credited with being on the soundtrack, when that isn't their version of "Jump" which the Prime Minister listens to?

Josman

Chosen answer: Irrelevant when it comes to soundtracks, Girls Aloud released a version of Jump to coincide with the movie's release and the video for the song featured scenes from the movie, hence its inclusion.

GalahadFairlight

Show generally

Question: I've noticed in the last two seasons that certain jokes and gags are ruined because the characters explain the whole point of them. Why do the writers feel that their humour needs to be explained?

Answer: It's a meta joke. The "explaining the joke" is itself a joke, usually about how the family guy writers themselves recognise their reliance on certain types of humour.

Gary O'Reilly

Question: After discovering the slaughter of the apprentice Jedi at the Jedi Council, why do Yoda and Obi-Wan decide to fight Palpatine and Anakin separately? Palpatine was ready at hand, at the Senate, while Anakin was in distant Mustafar. Stategically, it seems to me this would be their best option - Yoda loses the fight to Palpatine but not for much, managing to survive and flee; he most likely would have been able to win had Obi-Wan fought along. Then, Anakin would have certainly been defeated - the loss of his master impacting on him. If I understood it all correctly, this would have saved the Republic and allowed them to rebuild the Jedi Order from scratch (but not made any sense with IV, V, VI, which is why they didn't do it). But is there any in-plot explanation?

Answer: It boils down to the element of surprise. The clone troopers have shown that they're entirely capable of dealing with Jedi by that point - if either Palpatine or Anakin is able to surround themselves with a large and alerted clone trooper force, then Yoda and Kenobi will have no chance to get near them and that's game over. With Anakin seperated from his master, they're vulnerable, but if both Jedi attacked one target, the other would be alerted to the fact that Yoda and Kenobi had survived Order 66 and could take steps to protect themselves and unleash the military to hunt down their adversaries. By dividing their strength and attacking their targets simultaneously, Yoda gives them their best shot of taking out the Sith for good.

Tailkinker

Question: Is the Mouth of Sauron capable of seeing through his helmet? The design visibly does not incorporate eye holes, yet he nevertheless is able to accurately throw Frodo's mithril shirt at Gandalf and then recognizes Aragorn even though Aragorn does nothing to give away his identity, both conceivably would not be possible without keen eyesight.

Answer: We know very little about the Mouth of Sauron as he's portrayed in the film. While he's human in the book, his cinematic incarnation is of indeterminate species, so it's hard to say what he might or might not be capable of. The book version of the character is described as being a powerful sorceror - if the same holds true of the film Mouth, then possession of such strong magic could readily explain his ability to identify those around him and operate easily without eyesight.

Tailkinker

Question: What Ivy League university is Sam attending?

Answer: The name is never said in the film, but some of the university scenes were shot at UPenn, and others at Princeton. Both are Ivy League.

Doomsday (2) - S2-E16

Question: Why wasn't Pete sucked into the Void when he came back to rescue Rose? Also, how did he even know when and where to teleport to, or that she even needed saving at all?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: He was only there for a fraction of a second, so the Void didn't have a chance to drag him in. As for knowing when and where, it's one of those last-second rescues that fiction revels in. Improbable, but dramatically satisfying.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: At least one crewmember is seen as a floating, frozen corpse on the bridge of the ship when the rescue crew are exploring, there is also evidence seen that a significant amount of tissue and blood have been spread around the walls in some parts of the ship, however it is implied that the original crew are in the alternate Hell dimention, if not physically then spiritually.

Question: When using the trap, why is it inadvisable to look directly into it?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: It is so bright, it may damage your eyes.

William Bergquist

Question: Why is Daniel afraid of Mike Barnes when he fought in a supposed fight to the death against a karate master in the second film?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: He is fighting someone who is specifically trying to hurt and injure him. He also is worried because he was betrayed by Terry Silver and doesn't know how much Barnes knows about him.

Chosen was trying to kill him not just hurt him, this still doesn't explain his fear.

Answer: Daniel doesn't believe the Okinawan guy is a real threat, he is coming off his big victory in his last fight. Barnes is a better aggressor and gets in his head, also its s movie.

Question: Why does Daniel lie to Freddy Fernandez about his mother's job? He said that she worked with rocket computers, yet we see her working in a restaurant.

Socks1000

Chosen answer: He didn't lie. That was the company she was supposed to be working for. However, the company went bankrupt and she lost her job. She showed up at the restaurant at the same time that the hostess quit and was hired immediately.

Chosen answer: It was a bottle of turpentine.

Methylated spirit, always coloured purple.

Answer: It was actually mouthwash.

Chosen answer: "I think, therefore, I am" - Descartes Both Six and the Armistice Officer are alive. What she is doing is pointing out the central theme of the show. Humans don't believe that the "toasters" are alive. But when asked to prove that they are alive, humans are as powerless to do so as the Cylons. This is because it is inherently unprovable. The show is pointing this out right from the very beginning. What is life? Who is alive? How can we possibly know? and most importantly, what gives us the right to decide who and what is alive?

Chosen answer: The Cybermen have a misplaced belief that all other life forms want to be upgraded. He can probably work out, from scaning the Dalek, that it is a powerful war machine and thus useful in subduing the humans. Once that's done, they could reward the Daleks by upgrading them.

Josman

Question: When Jetfire mentioned that "A Prime can only kill the Fallen", he never gave a reason why. Does anyone know the answer?

Answer: Because only a Prime can kill another Prime. the Fallen was one of the ancient primes that arrived on Earth centuries ago.

Chosen answer: The movie never explicitly says; but science is as yet unsure what happens to a given piece of matter once it crosses a black hole's event horizon, so who knows? The ship could have been thrown seven years forward in time, or far enough away that it took seven years for it to drift close to Neptune. Pick any explanation you like.

Question: In the end of the movie just after Ron sacrifices himself to the Queen to win the chess game, he falls to the floor unconscious. But before the scene cuts, a rock flies past his head, he winces, and it leaves a red mark. Did he really get it by a rock during filming or was it added in later?

Answer: The debris from the exploding chess piece was not real; this looks like a combination of computer-generated special effect (CGI) as well some type of a light-weight material (such as Styrofoam) made to appear real and is tossed at Rupert Grint (Ron) from off-screen. Considering the stringent safety standards and precautions that are employed in today's film industry, particularly regarding child actors, and also the multiple times that scenes are shot to get it right, it is unlikely that this was anything that actually could have hurt him.

raywest

Question: What exactly happened to the Ghostbusters between the first film and this film? Why was a restraining order taken out against them?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: After the initial high of saving the city from Gozer wore off, they were blamed for the danger in the first place and sued out of business. The restraining order was additional insult to injury.

Captain Defenestrator

Chosen answer: Gozer vanished to either give them the sense of accomplishment that they won OR she realized that the proton energy stream COULD do her harm. She vanished and then had one of them choose "the destroyer", which was the Stay-Puft marshmallow man.

CCARNI

Question: At the end of the "We Are One" song, Simba and Kiara have returned to pride rock around sunset. Fine, fine, but the thing that's been bugging me for years is: Kiara stares intently at something, causing Simba to frown and look up to see what she sees. He seems to chuckle, then turns back to her. What is it that they were looking at before he says "You'll understand some day" and why is it there?

Answer: Kiara is staring at the tip of Pride Rock and thinking of the that she will be a leader one day, due to the fact that shown in the first movie that this is where the new kings/queens roar to show that they are the new rulers. Simba notices her looking and chuckles at the irony of him having wanting to be leader so badly at her age and Kiara not wanting to be a leader at all.

diehardtwihard

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.