Question: Lord Denethor is not the king of Gondor, but a steward, a caretaker of the throne according to Gandalf. Does this means that he is acting as a regent?
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 difference from Hobbiton and The Shire? Is The Shire a village, and Hobbiton the region where the Hobbits live?
Chosen answer: Actually, it's the other way around. The region is called Shire, the village Hobbiton. There are several other villages in the Shire, for example Buckland.
All Good Things... (1) - S6-E23
Question: In all of the previews for the series finale, it shows Joey standing at what appears to be a dresser opening what appears to be a ring box. I taped the finale and that scene never appears. Was it deleted or did I somehow miss it?
Answer: You must have missed it. It was in the version I saw. It appears in the beginning of the episode, when Joey and Christopher are discussing their trip and Joey is wondering what to pack. Christopher walks into the shower and Joey opens the dresser to continue packing, and finds the ring.
Question: What was the purpose of C3PO going with Anakin, Padme and R2D2 to Geonosis? It just seemed to me like some small subtle scene Lucas threw in hoping no one would notice just to bring things together for Episodes 3 and 4.
Answer: Anakin created Threepio and left him with his mother when he left to train as a Jedi. Anakin has now returned and, with his mother dead, ownership of Threepio has passed to him, so, when they leave, they take the droid with them.
Question: What is with Mrs. Mills and the rest of the people who come to help with the housework? I know they are dead, but are they evil or good; and what are they trying to do?
Question: Jack and Andie are brother and sister in the same grade...but does the show ever explain how that came to be? Are they twins or was Andie moved up because she is so smart?
Answer: It's only explained once in the series. Jack says to Andie "I tried to start kindergarten without you", meaning Andie was smart enough to start school early.
Answer: They are not twins (Jack is older than Andie). It is possible due to when birthdays fall in the school calender for non-twin siblings to end up in the same grade. Say that you have to be 5 on Sept 1 to start Kindergarten, you are born on Sept 2, 2000 and your little sister on Aug 30, 2001. Sept 1, 2005, you are 4 years and 364 days and can't start. So Sept 1, 2006, you are 5 years and 364 days and your sister is 5 years and 1 day, and, voila!, you're both in the same grade.
Answer: The writers have said they are not twins and Jack is older. Although they were both born in 1983. In some states, like Massachusetts, it's a district decision when a child under 6-8 can start kindergarten, so there's no age deadline. In January 1988, Jack and Andie would both be 4, turning 5, and the district then allowed Andie to start kindergarten with her brother. It has nothing to do with Andie being smarter or moved up a grade, a point she alludes to in response to Jack saying he tried to start kindergarten without her (s04e04). As a side note, there was talk among the writers about whether to make Jack older or younger and they ultimately decided to make him older. The writers put in an inside joke about that when Andie says she is "definitely the older sibling in this relationship" (s04e04). It's also an inside joke to the fact that Meredith Monroe (Andie) was almost 2.5 years older than Kerr Smith (Jack). Monroe was 18, turning 19, in 1988.
Question: How do the devices Preston uses to shoot guns and magazines from his coat sleeves work? Do they actually exist in real life?
Answer: Wrist holsters do exist for smaller pistols, although I don't know of any current devices that actually bring the weapon forward into the hand. However, somewhat bizarrely, a toy gun back in about 1960 did come with a wrist holster that had this feature - it was referred to as using a "wrist-flick" action. Precisely how Preston's more advanced devices work isn't clear - it most probably involves some specific muscle contraction, which the device can 'read' to bring the gun into play or retract it. The reloading probably has some sort of signal sent from the gun to the device (using something along the lines of today's Bluetooth system), to inform it that a reload is necessary - again, a specific muscle movement (i.e. that required to put the gun into a position where the reload can occur) could be used to trigger the event.
Question: What is Jerry's last name? When Brian signs his name he signs 'Jerry St. Clair', but in the hospital the nurse says 'Mr. Digman', and the plaque above the door of the Phoenix Club says both names. What is going on?
Answer: His name is Jerry St. Clair Dignan. He presumably prefers to go by Jerry St. Clair, hence Brian calling him that - hospital records, on the other hand, would have his full name, hence the nurse calling him Mr Dignan.
Question: What does NID stand for?
Answer: It stands for either National Intelligence Department, or National Intelligence Division, although it's never expressly stated on the show.
Answer: Fun fact: The producers were originally going to call the NID the "NRD" for "Not a Real Department", but changed it so they could make it mean something sensible if they ever needed to.
Question: I was wondering if anyone knows why the movie didn't follow the script? I read it and most of the lines are in the movie, but out of order. It seems if the movie followed the scripts it would have made much more sense.
Answer: Scripts generally have many, many versions before a final shooting script is produced, and even then, changes can be made during filming, and editing can also alter things.
Engine Blocked / Mighty Mom and Dyno Dad Meet the Crimson Chin - S3-E5
Question: Do you think it depends to use your left or right foot for the pedals? Or is there a fixed rule to use either foot? (The accelerator pedal is shaped like a left foot.).
Answer: That's just decorative. The gas pedal is always on the right and using the left foot would be quite awkward.
Who Shot Mr. Burns? (1) - S6-E25
Question: When Lisa goes up to turn on the oil pump for the first time, there is a sound between Skinner saying, "Here's our top student, Lisa Simpson", and Lisa actually getting to the pump. It sounds like someone straining. What is it?
Answer: It's a student yelling, "Nerd!" at Lisa.
Question: When are heroes encounter the Merovingian in the club, what is it he says to them in french?
Answer: He says Quel Grand Surprise which translated means what a big surprise.
Question: Do the head orc with the skin over his eyes and the orc with the skulls pile on top of his head have names?
Answer: The lead orc is Gothmog, a briefly mentioned character in the books (mentioned precisely once) - it's not even clear in the books which race he belongs to. The second orc, with the skulls, doesn't seem to have a name.
Question: Is there any historical information about what happened to the Piano player in the band? His last scene in the movie is when he stands beside the other members with no instrument, he's even the one that pulls the chair outside for the band, But then he's gone from the rest of the movie.
Answer: I found good historical information on the 8 members of the band and more specifically what they played including the lead player Wallace Henry Hartley. The pianist depicted in the movie is most likely Mr. W. Theodore Brailey [Pianist] of Notting Hill. It is not mentioned specifically how he died but all of the band members perished and one can assume he went into the freezing water with the rest of the ships passangers and froze to death. Of note: The eight members of the ship's orchestra were employed by Messers C.W. and F.N. Black of 14 Castle Street, Liverpool. The men boarded as Second-Class passengers on a joint ticket (#250654) and had their quarters towards the stern on E-Deck with a separate room for their instruments. More can be found at (http://www.euronet.nl/users/keesree/song1.htm#Band).
Question: The Bride leaves Elle Driver in Budd's truck, completely blind but alive. What would have happened to her? Would the Black Mamba snake finished her off?
Answer: She could have died either from bleeding out from losing her eye, the black mamba could have got her or most likely Elle could have died from the exposure to the elements of being out in the middle of nowhere without the possibility of calling for help and not knowing how much food and water Budd had in his trailer. Since there was no way for her to drive off and being out in the desert, she most likely would have died a slow agonizing death through the process of dehydration.
Answer: Tarantino has said that if he gets the chance to make Kill Bill Vol. 3, it will be about a blind Elle Driver training Vernita Green's daughter to kill Beatrice.
Answer: During the end credits for Kill Bill Vol. 2, the characters names were crossed out, but Elle's name had a question mark. It's unknown what happened to her. It's been rumored for years that there would be a third movie with Elle returning for revenge. Blind, but with heightened senses.
Question: In the movie the Stargate shook and in an episode tells us that they put dampeners on the gate. Off world stargates don't have dampeners so how come they don't shake? Is this because they're controlled by DHDs?
Answer: The off world stargates have a DHD, the Earth stargate had to adapt a computer to dial the gate. It is explained in the first season that this is the reason the gate shook as the dialing computer could not compensate for the stellar drift that the DHD could. Thus they had to add vibration dampers to compensate.
Question: In the book it mentions that Gothmog, Lieutenant of Minas Morgul, assumed control of Sauron's army after the Witch-King was vanquished. Shouldn't Khamul, the second-in-command of the Nazgul, have assumed control of the army?
Answer: Not necessarily - the precise command hierarchy isn't established in the books and we don't know where the various Nazgul stand. Gothmog is the Witch-King's leftenant, so it would make sense that he would be second-in-command of any army led by his master.
Question: Is there any significant reason why Forrest Gump wears blue in almost every scene (when he's not in uniform)?
Answer: Maybe it was Forrest's favorite color? Or sometimes the director of a movie does that to set a mood throughout.
Answer: I believe that in addition to mild mental impairment Forrest also suffers from a degree of autism. Autistic individuals frequently have ingrained mannerisms, such as only wanting to wear a paricular type or color of clothing. Other examples that might point to autism are his mindless devotion to mowing and running.
Chosen answer: Effectively, yes - the Stewards rule in the absence of the rightful King of Gondor. That being said, the Stewards have now ruled Gondor for 26 generations of their family and believe the bloodline of the King to be destroyed, so, as we see with Denethor, they pretty much consider themselves to be the true rulers of the kingdom these days. As such, while they are technically fulfilling the role of regent, they might not actually consider that to be the case any more.
Tailkinker ★