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: What is the movie that Wall E has on his iPod?

Answer: "Hello, Dolly!"

Phixius

Show generally

Question: In the episode where Jackie goes to Roseanne's house and complains that she is overdue, she says something along the lines of she will be 80 years old with a 35 year old kid inside her. Well she lifts up her shirt and that pregnant belly looks real. Here's the question, was Jackie pregnant in real life?

Answer: Yes she was. When Laurie Metcalf, who played Jackie, became pregnant during the series, her pregnancy was written into the storyline; her pregnant belly is real. At the end of the episode where Jackie gives birth, there is a photo of Laurie Metcalf in the hospital just after she had her baby.

raywest

Question: Is the bubble gum Hancock saves in anyway significant or did I miss something? When he's in his trailer, he opens his small can and stares at the bubblegum and the movie tickets. Eventually the movie tickets are explained but did anyone mention the gum, or was it just something random?

Answer: Hancock states that the only two things he had on him when he was taken to hospital 'way back when' were the two movie tickets and some gum. I guess he kept them for sentimentality reasons, or in the hope that one day he'd find out who he used to be/find someone who knew what had happened.

The One With The Kips - S5-E5

Question: Can someone please explain the concept of 'Mad Libs'? I'd never heard of this before watching Friends, therefore the scene in which the characters are playing it doesn't mean much to me.

Answer: Mad Libs is a series of game books that require the reader to fill in blanks with words in compliance with descriptions below the blanks (adjective, verb, etc.). The reader then writes the words they chose on a separate sheet of paper, on blanks in certain places in the middle of a story on that page. The point being, that, once the words are filled in, the story usually sounds silly and random. The joke in the episode is that Phoebe used the same word over and over again.

Brad

Question: Why in this film should NASA and the military handle the operation? It is neither related to space nor related to war. Some institute related to geo sciences should handle it.

Answer: To put it simply: NASA's got all the technology and the people trained to use it, and the military is involved in every government project, not just acts of war. Also, the military has a vast and efficient logistics system making it possible to bring the major pieces of equipment together in the short amount of time available.

Phixius

Answer: They could just hire a bunch of oil rig drillers instead if you want. All they have to do is drill after all.

Question: Why has Aslan been gone for so long?

Answer: He prefers to let the Narnians handle their own affairs. He only shows up at times of turmoil, when the Narnian way of life is at risk, and only to help them put things to rights, not to put things right for them.

Phixius

Question: Why doesn't Voldemort, Sirius, or anybody else just apparate into the Department of Mysteries, take the prophecy, and apparate out?

Answer: Whether or not one can apparate into the Department of Mysteries is irrelevant in the film, because even if Voldemort were to come face to face with the Prophecy Orb, he still would be unable to summon its Prophecy, for only the subject of the Prophecy is able to acquire it, which in this case is Harry and Voldemort. Voldemort is not ready to let the wizarding world know he is alive yet and waltzing into the Ministry of Magic is too risky. That is why tricking Harry is so critical to Voldemort's plan.

Super Grover

Question: Why did Robert Neville killed Sam? He could used her for future experiments. I know that maybe because he loved her he wouldn't used her, but he is a scientist and he knows that a recently infected being is worth study.

Answer: Neville cared too much about Sam to let her live out her life as an infected. He wanted to save her from being one of them, so he killed her to save her.

Brad

Parallel Universe - S2-E6

Question: What exactly was the point of the 'Tounge Tied' scene at the start of this episode. It doesn't seem to be in any way important to the episode, apart from triggering the conversation about Rimmer's attitude towards women, which could have been done in a much quicker way.

Answer: This segment was included purely as a means of showcasing Danny (Cat) John-Jules' singing and dancing talents. It was released separately as a music video, and an extended version is apparently also included as an extra on the dvd.

Jean G

Answer: Originally the episode was to open without any titles or credits due to time constraints. Tongue Tied was used in the remastered episode as an opening, but has no relevance to the story or plot other than to display the Cats views on women. It is simply a dream sequence he recorded.

Question: Not being a gambler, the terms they use has always confused me. For example at the end the Black Widows tell Beekman that he still owed them $0.70 on the dollar. What does this mean? How much does this add up to?

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: This means 70%, ie. for every dollar they are owed they will only recieve 70 cents.

Charmed Again (1) - S4-E1

Question: Just wondering why we don't see exactly how Prue dies and how Cole and Phoebe make it back from the underworld at the end of Season 3. Is it because Shannon Doherty left the show and they had to try to fill in the gaps?

Answer: Prue's death was never shown because the show wasn't sure it would continue after Season 3. The cliff hanger left the audience believing all three sisters would die (Prue and Piper at the hands of Shax, and Phoebe by the Source). The show was picked back up for 5 more seasons, but Shannen left. Rose was hired on to be half sister, Paige, so as not to recast Prue, and once they began filming, they didn't have Shannen to film an explanation (they also couldn't use her in later seasons as she owned her image, and it was illegal for Charmed to use it without her permission. This is also why you don't see pictures of Prue in the series finale, and why the shot shot of her from the back in "Cat House" was a body double). So instead what we received was Piper angry at Leo for healing "the wrong sister" as he healed Piper first (from the damage we saw inflicted in the last episode of season 3) and it must have been too late to heal Prue - unfortunately we just weren't able to see the immediate after effects of Shax's attack.

Question: After Jar-Jar talks about giving emergency powers to Palpatine, who is the bald-headed person that is standing with Palpatine and Mas Amedda?

Answer: That would be Sly Moore, an Umbaran who serves as Palpatine's senior administrator. According to Expanded Universe materials, she was one of very few who knew that Palpatine was a Sith Lord and received some Dark Side training to enhance her species' natural ability to influence the wills of other sentients.

Tailkinker

Question: Does the scene where Anakin arrives late to the meeting (when Obi-Wan tells him he has to spy on Chancellor Palpatine) take place right after Anakin talked to Yoda about his dreams? I'm wondering if there was a small time span because it seems like Yoda should have been there if the Jedi Council was discussing the assignment. However, if Anakin arrived right after talking to Yoda, Yoda should have also been late getting there.

Answer: You're assuming that Yoda was meant to be at the meeting. Not all meetings involve all members of the Council. Had Yoda been intended to be present, in all likelihood the meeting would have been delayed until the Grand Master arrived, whereas Anakin's absence would be less of a big deal.

Tailkinker

Question: Can anyone explain exactly the orange juice prank that happened between Will Moseley and Ben Barnes? I can never understand what they're saying in the interviews. I know it involved Will sneezing or something. Thanks.

Answer: I think Ben was in his armour and Will came over, sneezed and his orange juice went all over Ben. Will ran to his car and hid from the director.

Question: In the scene where the shark enters the pond, Brody's son and some friends are trying to tie a knot in a rope, a man in a small boat paddles up to them and says something right before he asks if they are ok. It sounds like he is saying "fellas make it thin, fold it in sheets". I've watched Jaws a 100 times and I still can't quite make out what he says. Any idea?

Answer: He says, "Hey fellas! Fellas! The sheet! Make it fast! 'Sheet' is the nautical term for the ropes used to control a sail. Each sheet has its own name as well, for instance the halyard is the sheet that raises the sail. Basically, he was telling them to hurry up with their knot.

Phixius

Answer: No. He was not.

Paul Brannon

Only The Good... - S8-E8

Question: When this episode was written, did the writers know it would be the very last show? I ask because, apart from the Grim Reaper scene at The End, it doesn't seem to be particularly 'big' or 'climatic' as you would expect the last episode of a long running series to be.

Answer: No, the intent was not that it would be the final episode. At the time, the aim was to follow the eighth series with a full-length movie, before returning to television. Unfortunately, despite many attempts, there have always been problems with obtaining the necessary financing, so the series has never been continued. While the possibility of a ninth series has been discussed on many occasions, no progress has ever been made.

Tailkinker

Question: At the end of the movie, Wonka tells Charlie and his grandfather that they do not get the lifetime supply of chocolate because they drank the bubble juice and floated to the ceiling, thus breaking the rules. Charley then places his share of the everlasting gobstopper next to Wonka and all of a sudden, Wonka is very friendly and gives Charlie the entire factory. Did I miss something?

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: It was a test. Even though Wonka was being a jerk to Charlie, Charlie gave the Everlasting Gobstopper back. By refusing to sell its secret to Slugworth, even though the Buckets were very poor and Wonka was rude, Charlie proved himself an honorable, honest person and a worthy heir to the business. Wonka was happy for Charlie.

Phixius

Answer: The tattooed DOC on gang members' arms means Disciples of Christ - the gang that they belong to in the movie.

Question: A part of this film's critical acclaim was caused by an unfocused shot, which the critics called brilliant - even though the lack of focus was an accident. What is that shot and where exactly in the movie does it appear?

Answer: The shot in question occurs when Sinatra's character, Marco, holds up a deck full of queens while trying to deprogram Raymond. On the DVD commentary track, the director, Frankenheimer, acknowleges that the scene was out of focus, and that though Sinatra supplied several other takes of the scene, the other takes weren't nearly as good, so he went with the flawed one. Later, Frankenheimer was praised by critics for the unfocused shot showing Raymond's disturbed perceptions.

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