Question: When asked if she would allow a group from the senate to go to Naboo and investigate her claims, Amidala says "no" and asks for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum. Why? Unless I interpreted this incorrectly they were offering to go and look into the situation. Why not say, "great, let's go" and they would have seen what was happening? Also, what would have been an acceptable course of action for her? This didn't make any sense to me.
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 was the original plan of the Trade Federation and Darth Sidious? I saw TPM six times in the theaters and a few times at home and I still don't know why they were blockading Naboo. What was with the treaty that they wanted Amidala to sign? If their plan had worked and she signed this treaty that gave them control over the planet what good would that do?
Chosen answer: You have to bear in mind that the Trade Federation and Darth Sidious probably have very different views of what the plan actually is. From the point of view of the Trade Federation, they're probably under the impression that the aim is to get the treaty signed, with the likely effect of bringing Naboo into the Trade Federation. This would allow them to exploit the natural resources of the place, and benefit from any trade carried out from that planet. Sidious, on the other hand, doesn't care in the slightest about the Trade Federation - he has carefully manipulated the situation to get Amidala to call for the vote that will remove Chancellor Valorum from office and force the election of a new chancellor, allowing Palpatine (who either is Sidious or is some sort of clone under his control) to advance to the leadership of the Senate. That's pretty much the sum total of his plan, which, as we see, is a complete success.
Question: What does the judge say when the ref asks him if there are an odd or even number of tees in his hand? "Bald"? What am I missing here?
Chosen answer: The judge says "odd". He was quessing at whether the ref had an even number of tees in his hand or an odd number of tees. This is a common and fair way of determining who will go first.
Question: This may be a stupid question, but is it just me that thinks the Gondorian soldiers are poorly-trained to fight or in poorly defensive formation against the Orcs and trolls? Also, are the soldiers of Gondor conscripts, as it seems that there is no able-bodied male civilian in Minas Tirith, and those who are able-bodied are soldiers?
Chosen answer: That's because they were under the rule of Denethor who was very foolish and didn't care about the consequences.
Question: In the Extended Edition of "The Two Towers," it obvious that Denethor has a liking of his now-deceased older son Boromir and a disliking of his younger son Faramir. This is more evident when Denethor boldly said to Faramir in the throne room that he wished that Faramir and Boromir had switched places so that the former dies and the latter live. Is there a reason in the original novel why Denethor has an unfavorable opinion towards Faramir, his younger son?
Chosen answer: No, no really. Denethor's wife, Finduilas died early, and the grief turned him into a grim and humourless man - one suggestion is that Faramir takes heavily after his mother, and Denethor dislikes him for that reminder; another suggestion is that it's actually Boromir who takes after the mother, and that Denethor favours him for that reason. Whatever the issue is, it seems likely that it started early on - Boromir translates to "Faithful Jewel", whereas Faramir seems to translate to something like "Adequate Jewel". As even their names appear to reflect the prejudice against Faramir, whatever the problem is, it goes back a long way. Maybe, once Boromir was born, giving Denethor an heir, he really wanted a daughter and was disappointed by the arrival of another son. Compounded by the death of his beloved wife (making a daughter impossible), that disappointment could easily grow into the dislike that he shows in the film. There's also the point that, although unseen in the film (unless the Extended Cut touches on it), Denethor has been using a palantir, which has allowed Sauron to affect his mind - it's not unreasonable to think that Sauron could have determined that Faramir was actually the stronger-willed of the brothers, and had deliberately influenced Denethor's mind against him to hamper the younger man's efforts against Mordor.
Question: In the theme song, are the lyrics "I am the son/and the heir" or "I am the sun and the air" Because they both seem to fit.
Answer: The theme song is "How Soon is Now", originally by the Smiths, but performed for the show by Love Spit Love. Same lyrics either way: "I am the son, I am the heir of a shyness that is criminally vulgar. I am the son and heir of nothing in particular."
Question: Whats with the face of the TX when it tasted John Connor's blood in the pet clinic? Excitement? Happiness to find it's target or didn't Kristina like the taste of coagulated blood?
Answer: Since he was the primary target the TX computer was jolted a bit.
Question: If the werewolf antidote could work at anytime, then why did Van Helsing order Carl to kill him if Dracula was not dead by the twelfth stroke of midnight?
Answer: The antidote can't work at anytime; it must be administered to the bitten person before the twelfth stroke of midnight of the first full moon after they were bitten. Because only a werewolf could battle Dracula, Van Helsing ordered Carl not to give him the antidote unless he had killed Dracula before the twelfth stroke (if by which time, he hadn't killed Dracula, Carl was to kill Van Helsing, as the antidote would be useless and Van Helsing would remain a werewolf).
Question: Dr Frankenstein tells a student at a lecture he is giving that he is not interested in death but the preservation of life. If this is true then why would he continue in the footsteps of his grandfather?
Answer: That's how he felt at that moment. He became inspired to follow in his grandfather's footsteps after reading his books.
Question: Does Hugh Dancy actually sing with Anne Hathaway in 'Don't Go Breakin' my Heart'?
Answer: He did in the film, but for the soundtrack she recorded the song with Jesse McCartney. In an interview he admitted to being a little nervous about the singing.
Question: IMDB lists a character named Sunshine, played by an uncredited Prudence Wright Holmes. Who is she?
Answer: Sunshine is the name of one of Gueniviere's handmaidens. She is also mentioned in L'morte d'Arthur.
Question: What does FAB mean? They say it constantly.
Answer: It means "message received and understood". It doesn't stand for anything; it was simply meant to sound vaguely hip.
True. Gerry Anderson has said in interviews that it doesn't stand for anything. Fans have made up meanings including Fully Advised and Briefed or Finalise All Broadcasts but the person who posted above is right. It just sounds cool.
Question: When Miranda is looking at the picture of her and her husband, why does a drop of blood fall onto the picture?
Answer: The blood is not from Miranda; the drop of blood is a sign from the "dead girl" to tell Miranda that she should go to the place in the pic. Miranda goes the next day and that's how she finds her husband was a sadist.
Question: Holden tells a fan that he likes to think of Bluntman and Chronic as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern meet Vladamir and Estragon. I know who Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are, but who are Vladamir and Estragon?
Answer: They are the two main characters of the play Waiting for Godot. They spend the entire play in one place waiting for a person who never shows up and talking about random nothingness.
Question: Is it just me, or does the young priests and/or Sarah's accents change from English to American as the film progresses? I'm almost sure they did, but did anyone else notice it?
Answer: Sarah is supposed to be from Poland. Izabella Scorupco who plays her is also from Poland. Chances are she didn't try to hide her original Polish accent.
Question: When Liesl and Rolf are sitting outside just before it rains, why does Rolf keep pulling away when Liesl tries to kiss him?
Answer: Believe it or not, kissing or even holding hands for that matter was a very big deal back then. Kissing indicated the onset of a serious relationship which Rolf probably wasn't prepared for.
Question: Who is the father of Jamie's baby?
Chosen answer: In the extended version, it is revealed to be Michael Myers.
Question: Does Tim Freeman do the voice-over for the new Vauxhall Zafira advert with the two small boys, currently showing on British TV?
Chosen answer: Yes, though the actor's name is Martin Freeman who plays the character of Tim in The Office.
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.
Chosen answer: She was sick and tired of no action being taken. She wanted them to do something about it now, not send people out there to investigate, that would take too much time. This is coupled with the notion that Palpatine was somewhat brainwashing her into believing that Valorum was a poor/incompetent leader, and that following Palpatine's cause/actions was the best way for help.
Timothy Conard