Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Why isn't the old Chinese man's grandson in this film? Whatever happened to him?

Answer: He wasn't relevant to the plot.

Rob245

Question: I have a question regarding some of the slang used in the film. During the briefing just before the marines go down to the planet, Hudson asks, "Is this going to be a stand-up fight or another bug-hunt?" And what does Gorman mean when he says they think xenomorphs are involved? People say xenomorph is a fancy term for the species of aliens in this film series, however, it's made clear that at the beginning of the movie this is an unknown species, so that term couldn't refer specifically to them.

Answer: In addition to the other answers, I'd like to point out that xenomorph simply means strange or alien form.

Answer: It wasn't exactly an "unknown" species. "The Company," the commercial operation funding everything, knew the alien creatures existed and had wanted them as bio-weapons since the first film. It's unclear what Gorman knew but likely little more than his troops. Burke knew about the creatures and his purpose was to collect one, the same as Ash in the original "Alien." The term "xenomorph" is a general term that could be applied to any extraterrestrial non-humanoid species. Hudson is asking if they're hunting a non-sentient being.

raywest

Yeah, Gorman had no clue about the xenomorphs whatsoever. No way. The Company did, Burke is part of the Company, but Gorman isn't. He, like the others, is just cannon fodder. The term is used as you describe it though. You gotta understand that the Company itself probably doesn't know how a full-grown xenomorph actually looks like. Not until Alien 4. They just know there is alien biotech to be claimed.

lionhead

Question: At the end of the film, Wonka mentions his golden ticket contest was for a "child" to take over for him. Even though more likely, children would be the ones to eat the bars and find the tickets, many adults worldwide were trying for the tickets as well. What if one of them found the ticket and tried to enter?

Answer: For argument's sake, he would have let them in and filtered them out in the same way he filters out the "unworthy" children before Charlie wins. Even the finding of the Golden Tickets was not entirely random (evidenced by the fact that Slugworth/Wilkinson is already present when Charlie finds his). Wonka planned the factory tour to test each individual's weaknesses, and anticipated "losing" people along the way (which is why the foam-powered car is only big enough to seat Wonka and two pairs, instead of all the original entrants, for example). So, if an adult had won and entered, Wonka would simply have adjusted the tour to create some kind of temptation for them, geared to their individual idiosyncrasies.

Answer: I've searched the Internet for any Star Wars references in this movie, and I didn't see anything listed. If there is something, fans usually spot and post things pretty quickly on different websites. There may well be some SW references that are so well hidden, that no-one's spotted them yet. I'd love to know if there is something. If I ever find anything, I'll update this, or hopefully someone else will spot something and post it.

raywest

Question: Dr. Jones is the prime suspect for the murders at Hunter College. He and Helena return from the Siege of Syracuse (212 BCE) to their time (1969 CE) but the actual murderers, Voller and his goons, do not. Assuming Indy isn't awaiting indictment, how do you think they absolved him? We will not accept Helena Paid Off The Police. Although such argument is clever, it breaks our suspension of disbelief. Two murders and assaulting an officer cannot be bribed away in NYC 1969.

Answer: Other than flimsy circumstantial evidence, there's no substantial proof that could be proved beyond a reasonable doubt in a trial that Indy was guilty, much less enough to charge him. Also, Helena could give a statement to the police.

raywest

Question: What song is the hobo playing when Hero Boy first meets him on top of the Polar Express?

Answer: It's "Good King Wenceslas," a traditional Christmas carol.

raywest

Question: Did Christmas Eve used to be a regular work day? The bank is open, the bank examiner is at the building and loan, and Zuzu had school.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Did they used to have school on Christmas Eve day?

Brian Katcher

Answer: Agree with the other answer, but would add that Christmas Eve was never a Federal holiday. It really depends on the individual company or organization on whether to give employees the day off. When I worked for the state, we used to get Christmas Eve off, but that was eliminated when MLK Day became a Federal holiday. Employees then had to use a vacation day if they wanted Christmas Eve off.

raywest

Answer: Yes, and it still is. The standard work day was 9:00 - 5:00, and Christmas Eve (not a "holiday") starts at 6:00 PM - after work. Christmas "breaks" may have been extended over the years, though.

KeyZOid

Question: In the restaurant scene with Mentalino, after the boys eat peppers, Mental goes out and calls in, then comes back and asks the boys why they travel so light - only saw a briefcase and some other stuff. So... Why didn't Mental just take the briefcase and leave? That's what he was along for - to find.

Answer: At this point, Mental still believes the boys are highly trained professionals. He wants to find out who hired them, and then eliminate them.

Brian Katcher

Question: Many people believe that Simone is a real person. But what about the actors that work with her? Clearly, they would know that Simone is not a real person but an A.I., since she's never actually in any scenes with them, and the actors themselves would say they never actually met her.

Show generally

Question: Why is this show called "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and not "Heracles: The Legendary Journeys"? Heracles was of Greek mythology and Hercules was from Roman mythology.

Answer: Because most Americans are more familiar with the name Hercules. The show, as I recall, wasn't exactly true to the original Greek mythology anyway.

Brian Katcher

Question: After Veruca goes down the chute, Wonka tells Mr. Salt that the chute leads to the furnace. Mr. Salt laughs and says that Veruca would be "sizzled like a sausage", but then gets scared when Wonka says that Veruca could be stuck inside the tube. Why would Mr. Salt laugh at the idea of Veruca being burned alive but terrified at the thought of her being stuck?

Answer: Because at first, he thought Wonka was being silly and making up the fact that she went down a garbage chute and then thought he was piling on the joking by saying it led to a furnace. So, he was playing along with the joke until he realized Wonka was being serious.

Bishop73

Question: Whip is talking to co-pilot Ken Evans in the hospital after he wakes up from his coma. When Ken is talking about Whip's health, he mentions him reeking of gin or something. If Whip smelled that bad of alcohol, why didn't Ken alert security before takeoff?

Answer: Possibly misplaced loyalty to a friend/co-worker and wanting to protect Whip's career. Ken may have believed he himself could handle any flight situation that might arise if Whip was incapable; he may have intended to confront Whip later to demand he get help or else he'd report him.

raywest

Season 1 generally

Question: In the first few episodes, the Walshes live in a different house than the one they live in throughout the series. Nothing was ever even mentioned, I don't think. Was it a mistake, or did I miss the explanation?

Question: Spoilers. The end of the movie shows Meg at home, apparently surviving the ordeal. In the final frames, though, we see the eviscerated body of Meg wearing the same clothes she wore in the final fight. How did Meg get zombified? Every other zombie monster had to go through the breach machine to transform, but Meg was still human at the time the machine was destroyed.

Question: When we first see Goldmember, he comes out and says, "Hi everybody, I am from Holland. Isn't that weird?" What is so weird about him being from Holland?

Answer: Name one supervillain, from any spy movie, who has come from Holland. Then you get the joke.

Question: How was it possible in the beginning of the movie for Doris Walker to be able to look out her window and see into Mr. Galey's apartment, where he and Susan were watching the parade? This takes place when Doris returns home midway through the parade and asks Cleo where Susan is. Cleo replies, "Oh, she's watching the parade with that nice Mr. Galey." Doris then goes over to her window, looks out, and sees Mr. Galey and Susan watching the parade.

Answer: I don't understand the question. She looks out of her bay window and sees her daughter with Mr. Galey in his apt. Most buildings in New York are U-shaped, so looking out of your window and seeing another apartment is not uncommon. Besides, buildings were designed with an Art-Deco look back in the 1940s.

Question: Unless it needed final tuning, why doesn't Kingpin order Doc Ock to operate his collider that very day, as soon as possible?

Rob245

The Die is Cast (2) - S3-E21

Question: Two questions: 1. When Odo is being tortured, he tells Garak that he wants to return to the Great Link. Did Odo really want to return or did he just say that to get the torture to stop? 2. If Odo did want to return, why? Considering the atrocities the Founders committed, wouldn't he want nothing to do with them?

Answer: Part of the answer is found in "The Search: Part II" (season 3 episode 2). The female changeling told Odo that "the urge to return home was implanted in your genetic makeup. So he hardly has a choice in that. But being a sentient, thinking being, he recognizes the atrocities that his people are behind and he can't condone their actions. So it's a matter of his conscious mind warring with his instinctual gestalt. But on a more general level, we all instinctually wish to be among people who are like us. No matter how much he may like and love those around him and feel that emotion returned, there are numerous aspects of his life and existence that absolutely nobody on DS9 can empathize with or understand. And that's not even to address the pure joy and acceptance that is brought by the Great Link.

Garlonuss

Question: When the police pick Jennifer up and start driving her home, Doc says the Skyway is jammed and it's gonna take them forever to get there. 1) Wouldn't the police be sat in the same traffic? Taking Jennifer home isn't an emergency, so they wouldn't be using lights and sirens. 2) If the Skyway is jammed, why not just do it the old fashioned way and drive to Hilldale rather than fly?

Answer: Regarding your first question, the police (and other local government vehicles) would always have alternate Skyway lanes they can use, regardless of whether it's an emergency. As far as using ground roads, there may no longer be the same direct land routes to Hilldale.

raywest

Question: When Marty is walking through 2015 Hill Valley, he sees a billboard from Goldie Wilson III in which he is offering a hover conversion from $39,999,95. Where did Doc get the money from to have the DeLorean converted in the first place? This was also the starting price of a hover conversion, it may have even been more than $40,000 depending on how complex it was to fit it to the DeLorean.

Answer: Doc probably did the conversion himself, perhaps using parts from scrapyards. Seeing he has money from several time periods, it's quite clear he has been to many places ever since he put the Mr. Fusion on the car. Could have done it at any time.

lionhead

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