Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Show generally

Question: In the intro of some episodes, Timmy says "Livin' a lie." What is the lie that he is living?

Answer: It's a lyric from Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld's self-titled one hit.

Captain Defenestrator

My Future Self n' Me - S6-E16

Question: When they get back at Motivation Corp at the end, how did Cartman manage to get into the building, along with his Mexican painting crew, and also how did they manage to paint the whole place in crap so quickly before any of the staff came in for the day?

Heather Benton

Chosen answer: Cartman has a knack for getting into places he's not supposed to be. We don't need the details. As for how they worked so quickly, either Cartman worked them mercilessly or it's a cartoon, your pick.

Captain Defenestrator

Chosen answer: Dr. Zaius did know the true history of man and ape, but he deliberately hid the truth from the other apes. For Zaius (and other high-ranking apes who were guarding the secret), it would be shameful and demoralizing to ever admit that humans were far superior to apes in the past and that they could, potentially, conquer the apes. In more than one scene (such as the paper airplane scene in the first film), we see Zaius obviously frustrated that Taylor's very existence threatens to expose the truth.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: Marida's horse is called Angus. So why, when fixing the tapestry on his back, did she call the same horse Hamish?

Answer: When Merida says "Steady, Hamish!", she is talking to one of her brothers (the baby bears) who nearly falls, not the horse.

Sierra1

Question: What song is Mary playing when she forces Tanya to dance with Charles?

Answer: Sleep Walk by Santo and Johnny.

Question: When Harry first meets Dobby in his bedroom, in Chapter Two, he asks Dobby if the danger at Hogwarts has something to do with Voldemort. Dobby shakes his head no. But it is later revealed that Lucius Malfoy's plot did involve Voldemort after all. Why did Dobby lie to Harry?

Answer: Lucius Malfoy didn't know the diary was a horcrux and had part of Voldemort's soul in it. It was unintentional and nobody could know beforehand Voldemort was involved in all of it. Including Dobby.

lionhead

Lucius most certainly knew that "Tom Riddle" was Voldemort. The entire plot centers on that Lucius was up to no good.

I didn't say he didn't know it was Voldemort's diary. I said he didn't know it was a horcrux. He just knew the diary was bad news and tried to pass it on to the Weasleys.

lionhead

Answer: Dobby is not lying. But he is not able to reveal the name Voldemort, due to his bond to his master, and instead tries to give a - quite unintelligible - hint about who is behind the plot: "I've got just one question, Dobby, " said Harry, as Dobby pulled on Harry's sock with shaking hands. ' You told me all this had nothing to do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, remember? well-" "it was a clue, sir." said Dobby, his eyes widening, as though this was obvious, "was giving you a clue. The Dark Lord, before he changed his name, could be freely named, you see?" (at the very end of book 2, about third to last page).

Question: How did they shoot that scene at the end of the film when Carrie's mother apparently rises into the air in a crucifix-like position?

Answer: Most likely wires that were digitally removed in post-production.

Question: When McDonald tells Hart "If you wanna stay, stay. But as a private citizen. Turn in your badge and your gun." Did he just fire her? Suspend her? Ask for her gun and badge so that if anything happened, she wouldn't give the FBI a bad name?

Answer: Somewhere between your second and third guess, in my opinion. Firing would require a far more complex due process under Federal rules. But McDonald certainly has the authority to determine what missions will and won't be pursued under the authority of the FBI. He's essentially telling her that this is a rogue action on her part, and she may not use her status as an FBI agent, nor her government issued weapon, to pursue it. She also won't be paid for her time and efforts in the process.

Michael Albert

Spring - S3-E1

Question: Why did that one adviser have Nusrat killed? I think it was because she killed Jamal, but I have a feeling that there's more reason than just that.

Answer: Nusrat was killed because she knew the secret of Jamal's treatment of her, the pregnancy that was not Ahmed's, but Jamal's, etc. She was a liability to the al-Fayeed family who could be used by their enemies to erode their power. Also, it was Ahmed who killed Jamal, not Nusrat.

Scott215

Question: When Richie wakes up Frank, he tells him about the gypsies that are camping in a specific area and to give him a call the moment he sees them. Since Richie already knew where the gypsies were at, why use Frank at all?

Answer: Because the Gypsies were not there, they were away. He wanted Frank to sit and watch for their return and let him know they were back so he didn't need to sit and do it himself.

The_Iceman

Question: Sidney and Billy have a brief disagreement at school, during which she makes the comment about her "traumatized life" being "an inconvenience" to him. Then she walks away and we see Billy, who is alone now, getting frustrated and calling himself "stupid." But it later turns out that he was one of the killers. If he secretly hates Sidney, why does he show remorse for upsetting her, when he is all alone at the moment?

Answer: Because he wants to have sex with her before killing her. Creating a distance now is too soon. Keeping her close makes it easier to kill her later too. He wants to hurt her as bad as possible, that why he faked his own death too.

lionhead

Question: When Darth Maul is revealed after the door opens in the final battle at Naboo, Qui-Gon says "we'll handle this", to which Padme replies back "we'll take the long way", and leaves with her royal guards. Why couldn't they just stay and help Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, and just all fire at Darth Maul, killing him? This also seems to occur in Episode III, just before the droid army on Utapau fire at Obi-Wan, Grevious stops them and says "I'll deal with this Jedi side myself." Even in Episode VI, before Vader goes to fight Obi-Wan one last time, he could've just called in a squad of troopers to come help him, but decides to go do it alone. Why is it that throughout the course of the trilogy, Jedi and Sith always decide to fight their opponents alone, when they could just have an automatic kill with their backup?

Answer: Because Jedi usually want to avoid the risk of their allies/friends being injured in the course of a fight. Darth Maul and Grevious were both skilled fighters who could have easily dodged lightsaber swipes or blaster bolts, and might have taken out a few people before being defeated (or escaping). As for the incident between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan, it was very personal. Vader wanted to destroy his former teacher, who he felt had betrayed him in the past.

Double Agent Venom - S4-E6

Question: Why did Rhino leave his friends for a cure? I thought that he was accepting his transformation. And also he became best friends with Agent Venom so why did he help Doctor Octopus kidnap Agent Venom? Did he not think this would be going to far? Besides didn't he think Otto would betray him once he had done everything Otto needed him to? Why was Rhino also surprised that Otto was hurting Venom? He knows how evil Otto is.

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Question: 1. Draco, does he know his parents work together with Voldemort? Or what does he know? Does Draco know he is betraying Dumbledore or doesn't he know anything about his future to help Voldemort? 2. When Harry and Sirius are attacked at the lake, a doe / deer showed up that saved both of them, who what it? Some say it's Harry himself from the future while others say it was professor Snape? (If it's Snape then how)?

Zoey

Chosen answer: 1: In this time Draco's parents are not working "with" Voldemort. Voldemort is thought to be dead and Sirius never tries to help him at any time. Draco does know his father was a death eater and he does agree to some of the things Voldemort and Sirius believe in but its not until after Voldemort's resurrection that he starts actually betraying Dumbledore and his fellow students and becomes a death eater himself. 2: The deer that shows up at the lake is Harry's own patronus as shown and explained in the movie. It's the future Harry that does this. He shows up at the lake with Hermione convinced that his dad made the deer, once he realises his dad isn't going to appear he himself goes over there and created the patronus deer to ward off the dementors.

lionhead

Question: If I am correct, this movie takes place about one year after Luke left Yoda's training in "Empire Strikes Back." Why does Yoda think that he requires no further training? In the prequels and the "Clone Wars" TV show, Jedi apprentices went through several years of difficult situations and trials before finally being named as Knights or Masters.

Answer: Luke was not being trained under normal circumstances, and the Jedi order no longer existed. Darth Vader is on the verge of defeating the rebel alliance and controlling the galaxy. Luke is the alliance's best hope and there is no time left for years of extensive instruction. He is literally getting a "crash course." Yoda likely also knows he has little time left to live and can no longer teach him. Luke will have to rely on himself from here on.

raywest

Small Potatoes - S4-E20

Question: We know that the chameleon Eddie Van Blundht can manipulate his unique extra layer of muscles to mimic male faces and physiques, thus hijacking their identities. However, Eddie can't mimic clothing, so he must hastily seek new clothing to go with each new identity. But when Eddie is on the run from Mulder and Scully, he abruptly mimics Fox Mulder and is seen wearing exactly the same tailored suit and tie that Fox Mulder is wearing on the same day. In fact, they even cross paths in the hospital while they are wearing identical tailored suits and ties. Question: where and when could Eddie possibly acquire an exact tailored suit and tie to match Fox Mulder's on such short notice?

Charles Austin Miller

Chosen answer: It might be a plot hole, but a possible explanation is that Eddie had previously met Mulder and seemed keen on getting him out of the picture so he could get closer to Scully. He may have carefully studied Mulder's clothing and obtained a suit of his own off-screen.

Phaneron

Answer: When Eddie enters the home of one of the couples whose baby he fathered and hides in the bathroom, he emerges looking like Mulder, fooling them. Later, they call Mulder asking if they can use their bathroom again and why Mulder needed to take the man's charcoal suit, which tells us that Eddie took the suit on the pretext of needing it for the investigation, but obviously wanted it to wear to better impersonate Mulder.

Purple_Girl

Show generally

Question: It's generally accepted that Warp Drive makes a bubble of space around the vessel and accelerates the outer bubble around the space surrounding the ship. Given the nature of the warp drive enveloping a pocket of space, can the warp drive be used offensively to capture part of another vessel in the space surrounding the Enterprise and use the acceleration to tear the enemy ship apart?

Answer: It's never been stated how far outside the ship the warp field can extend. Excessive use of warp technology can cause subspace rifts, which is why maximum speed in non-emergency situations is Warp 5. So, whether out of impracticability or potentially a criminal act, nobody uses warp fields offensively. Proton Torpedoes travel at warp, but they don't go past Warp 5 either.

Captain Defenestrator

This is a TOS thread. There was no Warp 5 speed limit then, and it would be pointless, since warp numbers are completely different speeds for TOS and TNG. In the Technical Manual, it suggests that Warp 9.99 in TOS equates to about 0.9999 in TNG. This would fit with Kirk's assertion that Warp 10 lets them travel back in time, which would be exactly Warp 1 or the speed of light in TNG terms.

Answer: There IS mention in TNG of warp used offensively, albeit not directly. The REAL "Picard Manoeuvre" is not Patrick Stewart tugging at his shirt, it is moving the ship at exactly the speed of light, at precise distances and angles, so that to the enemy, the ship appears to be in multiple places at the same time (since the light is arriving at the enemy's location at precisely the same time from all the different positions the ship was moved to).

Question: How does seeing Phelps on the train on his watch via Ethan's glasses camera make Kittridge reach the conclusion that Phelps is the mole and Job? He thought Ethan was the mole the whole time, and Ethan didn't really help his case by telling Kittridge on the phone at Liverpool Street station about how arresting his mother and his uncle was a huge mistake, when Ethan has been trying to clear his name the whole time.

Answer: Kittridge may still have suspected Ethan, but the point of the glasses and watch was to show him that Phelps was still alive, throwing the whole case open again. Ethan would have been cleared in the eventual investigation.

Sierra1

Question: I don't know if there is a definite answer to these two questions, but I would appreciate any guesses. 1. Why did Voldemort try to honor Snape's request to spare Lily's life? He gave her three chances to stand aside and let him kill Harry. But if she had actually taken the chance to live, Snape would have pursued her (Dumbledore later asked Snape "[James and Harry.] can die, so you can get what you want?"). Why would Voldemort try to help Snape get into a relationship with a Muggle-born woman? 2. On a similar note, why did Snape think that he had any chance of being with Lily - if she lived - after his master killed her husband and son?

Answer: James and Lily were targets of Voldemort as members of the Order of the Phoenix. Snape was willing to give Voldemort invaluable intel regarding the prophecy of Voldemort's potential defeat, which Snape had overheard, in exchange for Voldemort's promise to spare Lily when he went to destroy Harry. Voldemort agreed. He is a villain, cruel and murderous, but he doesn't appear at any point to be an arbitrary liar. The "want" Dumbledore referred to was Lily alive, not necessarily Lily with Snape. Though Snape undoubtedly did want that, he knew there was no hope for it.

Phixius

Question: What reason would Enrique have to lie on the stand? Obviously he wasn't really interested in Brooke in a romantic way. Is it possible he was paid off by Chutney or her mother? And wouldn't he have been in committing perjury after Emmett caught him off guard and made him basically admit that he was gay?

Answer: The answer to your first question is your second question and the answer to your last question is yes.

Phixius

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