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: When Matt bounces, and Ryan doesn't bounce, they make the rope snap. Aren't tether ropes very difficult to snap in real life?

Answer: Space tethers (both synthetic fiber and metallic cable) are incredibly strong and can withstand hundreds of pounds of force. Like everything else in "Gravity," the tether snapping is pure fiction.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: Why is water flooding into the basement?

Answer: During the attack on the compound while the baby is being delivered one of the creatures breaks a water pipe and it begins flooding into the basement.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Why not live underground most of the time and only emerge when necessary?

Answer: That's essentially what the family is trying to do. They come up for supplies and to use the radio to try and reach the outside world. They built the basement area and used what supplies they had for soundproofing.

BaconIsMyBFF

Show generally

Question: What's the name of the episode where Charlie and Alan are hiding in the Toilet and Alan says "Charlie" and then Charlie says "I told you it might take a while"?

Answer: That would be "Corey's Been Dead For an Hour" in season 4, episode 9.

Super Grover

Question: How did Verona know Carl and why did she cry out his name after going after the decoy carriage with the stake bomb?

Answer: There is a lot of backstory to the Van Helsing film, because they intended to do sequels and prequels (if this film was successful, which was not the case). Carl was a well-known agent for the Vatican who supplied Van Helsing with numerous and ingenious weapons for fighting werewolves, vampires, et cetera. When Verona screams Carl's name, she's acknowledging that Carl bested her.

Charles Austin Miller

If Van Helsing was James Bond, then Carl would be "Q "Carl made the devices and tricks that made Van Helsing physically invincible.

Charles Austin Miller

I just watched that clip because I didn't know she said his name but I'm pretty sure she says "no" not "Carl".

Answer: Luan is mad at him because he broke the unspoken rule of posting a video without the person's consent. Lily is a baby and is probably impersonating the older sisters she looks up to. They are mad so she is mad.

oddy knocky

Question: What is the white drink the bartender makes on the train?

Answer: It looks like a frozen daiquiri, a drink made with rum, lime juice, light syrup, and ice that is mixed in a blender to make it slushy.

raywest

Answer: Orders a Malt just after Mary orders a lemonade.

Answer: Vanilla-rum malted milkshake.

Answer: Definitely not a daiquiri. This looks like a shaken drink. Blended daiquiris were not a thing in the 50s.

The frozen daiquiri was invented sometime between the late 1920s and early 1930s by a Cuban bartender in Havana, using shaved ice and an electric blender. It was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway and became popular in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, along with other tropical cocktails. Cuba and Cuban culture were fashionable during this era, at least until the Communist takeover. To clarify: the foursome have various beverages on their table (coffee, lemonade, a malted milkshake, and two other drinks). In the foreground, the bartender is pouring the slushy white drink mixture into four cocktail glasses sitting on the bar. That is when they sing, "Snow," and is what looks like frozen daiquiris. The scene is on YouTube.

raywest

Answer: It appears to be just baked beans, likely without meat or spices. Nuns will often eat a very bland diet, especially a poor order dedicated to contemplation.

Answer: It looked to me like a stew of some sort.

Michael Albert

Folks, the food is visible. It's literally just beans.

Answer: Possibly gruel.

Alan Keddie

As I said above, the food is visible and there is no ambiguity. It's literally just beans.

Question: How was Stanley Kubrick able to ensure that Danny Lloyd never found out that he was really in a horror movie? In the scene when Wendy accuses Jack of hurting Danny, she holds onto Danny and calls Jack a "son of a bitch." And what about when Danny sees the twin sisters? He looked terrified after seeing them.

Answer: Obviously, Danny Lloyd did eventually learn that "The Shining" was a horror film. During production, however, Stanley Kubrick only told Danny that the movie was a drama about a family living in a hotel. The single shot with Danny and the twin sisters in the corridor never showed anything particularly horrifying; Danny was simply looking straight into the camera and reacting to Kubrick's instructions.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: It was discovered that Chucky was able to transfer his soul into Andy's Good Guy in the first movie by not only saying a chant but also using a magic amulet. So why, in the other three movies, when he is starting the chant does he not need the amulet to transfer his soul out of the doll into someone else, but in this movie, he needs to use it if he wants to return to his own body?

Answer: There's two possible explanations. First, and the most likely, is that this is simply what's referred to as a "retcon." (Short for "Retroactive Continuity") A term to describe new information/rules/backstory/etc. that are introduced in order to alter the path of a story, or impose new ideas into a narrative. In this case, the series creator and writer Don Mancini needed a reason for the characters to go on a road-trip, hence he created this new idea for an amulet that Chucky need to obtain. And basically, Mancini himself has admitted that he will often change the rules for the series as needed from film to film based on the story he wants to tell, which makes this the more plausible explanation. The second possible explanation is that you could argue that the amulet will allow Chucky to transfer his soul regardless of how long he's been in the doll's body, surpassing the time limit imposed in previous films. But in all seriousness, the former is the more likely explanation. They just needed a new story-element to justify the road-trip aspect of the story.

TedStixon

Both answers work for me. Thank you.

Answer: They're best friends (and Lisa and Ali are Sophie's bridesmaids). Or are you asking how did they first meet and become friends?

Bishop73

Answer: They were once in a band together. They probably met hanging around the same clubs and being part of the local music scene.

raywest

Answer: One is wearing a Duke T-shirt. They could have met and become friends as well in a band together while in college.

Question: What did Lisa turn Chet into? Every time I've seen this movie, I could never figure it out.

Answer: According to the Wikipedia page for this movie, Lisa transforms Chet into a giant, talking turd.

Casual Person

Answer: A steaming pile of poo.

Answer: I was actually under the impression that Lisa turns Chet into a Toad, since he has bumpy like skin. He also eats a fly which is something that Toads do.

Question: Two questions: 1. When they arrive at the whaling station, Lex states that the pyramid is "directly beneath" the camp, but the map shows that the pyramid is much further away from the station and is definitely not "directly beneath." Why would she say this? 2. When Lex and the Predator leave the pyramid, the platform that they get on goes extremely fast. Why would this be logical at all? Without any kind of stopping mechanism, it would fling the sled far away and severely injure the user. Why?

Answer: 1) This is a goof, most likely left over from an early version of the script when the pyramid was supposed to be directly beneath the whaling station. Clearly on the map the pyramid is a good distance away (some estimates say it's close to half a mile). 2) The winch has to be high powered because it is carrying heavy supplies and equipment for the expedition. Lex uses the sled as fast as it will go in an effort to escape but that doesn't mean it has to be used that way. No doubt under normal circumstances the sled wouldn't need to go so fast and can be stopped normally and safely once it reaches the summit.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Nurse Wilkins is a named character in the film, but the entirety of her role seems to be her saying that her castor oil was stolen in the scene where Sandy was at a reception. Did she appear again (eg. at the gym), and was the castor oil significant in any way?

Answer: Nurse Wilkins, played by Fannie Flagg, only appeared on camera once during "Grease." It was, as you point out, during the scene in the office when Sandy first arrives to register at Rydell High School. She may have been present in other scenes, but never appeared on camera. She may also have had other speaking parts which were sacrificed to the cutting room floor. There is no way of knowing that. Castor oil was used, historically, for a variety of medicinal purposes - most notably as a laxative and remedy for minor digestive problems. It has a distinctly unpleasant taste. Therefore, stealing it would probably be just a minor prank, without any other apparent significance. I suppose one could draw conclusions about other uses adolescent boys could find for an unctuous substance like castor oil, but that would probably be reading far too much into a throw-away line.

Michael Albert

Nurse Wilkins is mentioned a classroom cut scene (available for flu jabs). Speculation, but maybe originally Sandy was originally going to be sick for the dance competition like the stage play (with Nurse Wilkins playing a role), but when ONJ's role got enhanced during filming, this scene was dropped.

Season 9 generally

Question: Does anyone know if the reason most of the main cast didn't return for season 9 is due to the actors' decision or was it a show makers' choice?

The_Iceman

Answer: A lot had to do with the direction Season 9 went, and some of ABC's influence. Show creator, Bill Lawrence, was approached by ABC to continue the show and he wanted to more or less do a spin off and call it "Med School" since he felt Season 8 was the last season for "Scrubs" (even Zach Braff thought that and joked about it on Twitter a few times). However, ABC rejected the idea of a spinoff, and I think ABC felt the actors didn't need to be brought back because they would be working on other projects. It should be noted, while only John McGinley and Donald Faison signed on to be regulars for Season 9, Judy Reyes was the only regular not to return. She wanted to sign on as a regular, but her character did not fit in with the show's new direction and wasn't offered a contract. When she was offered a guest spot, she turned it down. The other regulars only returned to help transition the show into something new, which because of ABC was still considered to be "Scrubs." Most of the writers also did not return.

Bishop73

Question: When on the rooftop, Noah's dad mentions his mother was a good listener. Are we to assume that she left them but still has an amicable relationship with the father or she passed away?

Answer: It's assumed that the mother has passed away.

raywest

Question: How does Allie know about Martha even before she meets her?

Answer: I think we're supposed to assume Noah told Allie about her at some point.

Question: During the masquerade scene, Ana walks down the stairs and passes by Jack before he takes a photo of Christian and his family. My question is, how did he get there at all? Is it possible he had that information, meaning where Christian's parents were and when the masquerade would be, from the files he got in Fifty Shades Freed? Did he even have those files before starting the fire because that's when they first came into focus for the story?

Answer: The ball was an annual charity event the Grey family held that Jack probably knew about. Certainly it is no secret where the Grey family estate is located, so Jack could easily find it and slip into the party, appearing as a guest and even using a fake name. As the event was to raise money, attendees would not necessarily be restricted only to invitees. Often, people can buy a ticket for such an event.

raywest

Question: Wasn't Jack chopping down the doors trying to kill Wendy? Why did he stop and suddenly only go after Danny when Dick pulled in?

Answer: My assumption is that he probably wasn't thinking rationally and used poor judgment. He could have killed Wendy when he had the perfect opportunity, but he probably assumed Halloran's presence would be a threat to his goal. He would obviously chase Danny since he was trying to get away.

Answer: Danny is the one Jack wanted to kill since he possess supernatural abilities. When Jack was chopping down the door, he was preying for Danny more than Wendy. Later he realises that Danny has escaped and leaves the place.

In the movie, Danny's parents don't know about his supernatural ability but in the book they do. It is explained more in the book but since Holloran has the shining as well, they are linked. So where Holloran is, Danny is sure to be near. So when he shows up, Jack goes after him knowing this fact instead of going after his wife.

Question: When Ellie was attacked by a raptor in the power shed, she was startled by the hand of Mr Arnold which turned out to be his severed arm when she grabbed it, What happened to the rest of Mr Arnold's body? The raptor's mouths aren't big enough to swallow the whole rest of his body.

adamtrainman@aol.com

Answer: In Michael Crichton's original novel (upon which the movies were based), the Velociraptors didn't consume whole human bodies. A raptor would focus on its victim's abdomen, eviscerating its prey alive, eating only the entrails and internal organs. So, we may assume the majority of Arnold's body was left elsewhere in the power shed.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: There is no way of knowing what happened to his body. The movie would not go into gruesome details like that, and it would add nothing to the story, but most likely he was partially eaten. Ellie probably interrupted the raptor's meal and it then became focused on hunting her.

raywest

Answer: In the book, his body was wedged between the pipes and the raptor ate what it could get to - this was supposed to be in the movie, however filming for that scene was delayed due to a real hurricane so it was cut.

Answer: The creators of the film were not concerned with details explaining scenarios. They simply wanted to create a shocking jump scare type of scene. In reality, the man's hand would not have been severed and left in such a position.

Anthony Lemons

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