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: While in the hospital recuperating from his burns, why were there restraints on Harvey Dent to keep him in his bed?

Answer: The restraints aren't to keep him in bed but to keep him from touching or scratching his burns in his sleep/unconciousness. Later, you see him remove his bandages himself. In real life, with burns that severe, it would result in immediate severe infections to expose raw muscle, tendon, etc. to the air.

Myridon

Question: Why would the Skynet base where Connor obtains intelligence in the beginning have human friendly computers - i.e., computers with keyboards? Skynet does not need to type and look at a monitor, but can just communicate computer to computer.

Answer: It cannot be ruled out that there might be a human element to Skynet. This is hinted towards the end of the movie where Kyle notices human like figures in a window overlooking the collection of captives at the Skynet camp. We may learn more in the following Terminator movies (if they are made).

XIII

Death Has a Shadow - S1-E1

Question: Near the beginning of the show, when Peter catches Meg touching the thermostat and a couple of neighbors show up, why does one of the neighbors ask if his kid is there?

Answer: Peter said all fathers know when the thermostat is turned up, which is why all the neighbouring fathers arrived. The one just wants to know if it's his kid that touched it.

Xofer

Question: Would it be possible that the coin that Borden gave to the kid is the same prop used in "The Dark Knight" (Two Face/Harvey Dent Coin)? I mean, Cristopher Nolan is the director of both movies, so it could be possible.

Answer: No, the coins are completely distinct from one another. If you look, the coin in The Prestige has a Queen Victoria on its faces making it appropriate for the setting of Victorian England. Meanwhile the coin of The Dark Knight is labeled with the word Liberty, marking it as an American coin, and the year 1922, which is well after The Prestige takes place.

Question: What does Loki mean when he says that he's "heard a rant like this before"? What rant?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: He's saying that Lucifer made a speech much like this one, questioning God's judgement, before starting the war in Paradise.

Captain Defenestrator

Chosen answer: The human body generates heat and a small degree of electricity. EKG and EEG machines for instance measure the electric activity in the heart and brain. It is thought that the energy generated by the human body could be harnessed to create power, obviously The Matrix is an evolution of that idea.

GalahadFairlight

Question: Was it on purpose that Strawberry Fields' death look similar to the one in Goldfinger?

Answer: Yes, they filmed it as a reference to Goldfinger.

Ssiscool

Question: During the Battle of Hoth, why do the AT-AT Walkers have to land so far away? Couldn't a big ship just come right down close and destroy the base?

taylordan90

Chosen answer: They specifically had to come in under the deflector shield and destroy the generator before any ships could come in. That's why Vader doesn't show up until after the generator is taken out.

Garlonuss

Answer: He doesn't have to, but he wants to. His adventures have left considerable scars on him, both physically and mentally. He could stay in the Shire, but he'd continue to suffer for the rest of his life. By going into the West with Gandalf and the Elves, he'll be able to live out his days peacefully, free from pain.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: Because he's an idiot. From the story point of view, they needed the vault to actually be physically open so that the release of the virus would be a credible threat. Unfortunately, this required that Peter conveniently forget that he could simply walk through The Wall and use his telekinesis to tear the door open instead. Peter's increasingly large arsenal of abilities, where he ended up having pretty much any ability required for any situation, led to a situation where it became necessary to either have Peter apparently forget that he had a given power, as with the vault door scene, or become naively trusting, as with his refusal to scan Adam's mind to confirm his good intent. This problem, which simply made Peter look increasingly dumb as the show progressed, may well have been a key factor in the decision to severely reduce his ability during season three.

Tailkinker

Only The Good... - S8-E8

Question: If this wasn't supposed to be the last episode, was there any plan on how to explain Red Dwarf's survival, or were they just going to ignore the problem, like they do in "Back to Earth"?

Answer: The original idea was that they would do a feature film which would cover subsequent events, but, despite numerous attempts, they were never able to get it off the ground. By the time Back to Earth aired, years later, it was presumably decided that enough time had passed that it was no longer necessary to address the issue and instead focus on telling an entirely new story.

Tailkinker

Question: When Maddie leaves Abe's bedroom (after they shared a quick kiss), he rushes back out and calls her. Why does he call her back? If he wanted to say something to her, why not say it when she was in the room?

Answer: Because he apparently had to work the courage up to say whatever it is he wanted to say. He was conflicted in his feelings for Maddie. He's a priest and isn't supposed to 'want' her the way he does. Catholic priests take a vow of chastity and he was trying to deal with his feelings as a man and his vows as a priest.

Shannon Jackson

Question: Why do all the members of Project Mayhem chant Bob's name after "Jack" says he has a name?

Satine

Chosen answer: Because they interpret what he's saying as Bob being elevated to a place of honor. Since none of them have names and now Bob has one, he must be special.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: Is it important for the storyline of the movie that Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow) can understand the policeman, when he is speaking Arabic to his wife on the phone?

Answer: Not really. She being a linguist and able to speak the detective's language seems to create a bond of trust and understanding between them.

raywest

Question: Why did the T800 near the end destroy the 600 that was experimenting on Reese? It just seemed to be a bit out of "character" for the Terminator to unnecessarily kill one of its own kind.

Answer: Because the T-600's targeting system was damaged by Kyle shoving that steel rebar into its neck, and the T-600 was out of control just shooting anywhere and everywhere, presenting a danger to the T-800.

GalahadFairlight

But this version of T-800 was shown to be extremely powerful. When John started shooting at it, it didn't even budge. I am sure that T-600's gunfire wouldn't damage T-800 at all.

Not to mention that T-800 in this movie was able to withstand the extreme heat of molten steel.

Question: What is the point of WALL-E (a garbage robot) having the function of recording? It seems pointless.

dogboy44

Chosen answer: Since Wall-E has been repairing himself for 700 years, and likes music,he may have modified himself as he did when he took another robots tracks, There is no way to know if he was originally made with the recorder or not.

papajim

Question: Why did Fletcher stop up the water pump at Faraway Downs?

Answer: So they'd be unable to water their cattle. Which has two benefits for Fletcher. The first being that they'd have to take their cattle to the watering hole on the border of their property, making it easier for Fletcher to steal the cows. Second, and more long term, their cattle would be of poorer quality due to lack of proper care. The ranch would lose money as a result, and they'd be more amenable to selling the ranch to their competition, whom Fletcher works for.

Phixius

Question: How does the Phantom get his salary? I know he tells Firmin, "Send it care of the Ghost by return of post," but what exactly does this mean? And also, what does he do with his salary?

Answer: Mme Giry acts as the intermediary. She brings the notes, so sending the money by return of post means the money should be given to her to pass it on. As for what he does with it, the luxury of his clothing and lair bears witness that he doesn't pile it. He spends it on anything that will bring beauty around him, whether it's a wig, a mask, clothes, furniture or anything else. And it wouldn't be surprising if a few bribes weren't given here and there.

Sereenie

Question: I don't understand. What did Russell mean when he said, "Phyllis is not my mom." and why was this so dramatic?

Answer: It means his parents are divorced, or at least separated (since his dad is living with another woman), meaning he comes from a broken home and making the fact that his father never shows up to his events a lot harsher.

Gary O'Reilly

Question: John Connor knows about the future because of the experience he had with the Terminators sent to kill him and the tapes his mother left him. But what about Skynet? How does Skynet know who Kyle Reese and John Connor are and their importance on the future? How does Skynet knows that Kyle Reese will, or has, become John Connor's father? Because that isn't happening in the future, but in the past where Skynet didn't even exist.

Answer: Sarah Connor told her story to lots of people, the guerilla fighters and mercenaries she trained with, the psychiatric hospital she was locked up in, etc. Many of these could have left records (the hospital is even shown to have videotaped several of her sessions in T2). In addition, John himself could have told the entire story to resistance fighters, who were later captured and forced to reveal everything they knew.

Twotall

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.