Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: #1 I have always wondered about this movie. The sea captain Konrad obviously had his boat either shrunk or completely rebuilt small, so why are most people in leisure land stuck with using the shared community vehicles? I wouldn't want to have to share a vehicle with all of my neighbors. #2 Why are the people from the original colony in Norway going underground long before they have to. The movie made it sound like people still had many years before the end of humanity, why not just wait till last minute?

Rayne

Answer: Regarding Question #2: The Norway experiment wasn't about saving humanity at the last moment. It was taking proactive steps early on to save the planet before it reached the tipping point and minimizing humans' negative impact by reducing pollution and waste, conserving resources, etc.

raywest

Answer: I believe it's morphine.

Question: Why did Richard Burton crash the bus through the doors of the structure it was in, instead of having one of the team quietly open the doors and slowly driving it out and away from the village? Didn't what Burton did draw unwanted attention?

Answer: Logic is seldom a factor in action movies. "Crashing the gate" has always been a popular action film gimmick, as it creates urgency and tension and elevates the audience adrenaline level, even when "crashing the gate" makes no sense. A similar scene is found in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," when Jones and his father are making their castle escape in Austria. Indiana Jones ingeniously distracts the Nazis by launching an unmanned motorboat down the canal, and the Nazi pursuers are adequately distracted. In fact, the Nazis probably would have left the scene entirely, chasing the motorboat, if Jones had just waited patiently for another minute or so. He doesn't wait. Rather, Jones bursts out of a crate on a motorcycle within feet of the Nazis, instantly giving away his true position and initiating the whole motorcycle chase scene that follows. Again, logic goes out the window, and the hero senselessly "crashes the gate" for no other reason than to drive the action.

Charles Austin Miller

Exactly! That's why they called them "action" movies.

raywest

The New Landlord - S4-E3

Question: How can Jack, Janet and Chrissy confuse Ralph Furley's furniture with Mr. Roper's? They have been to Mr. Roper's apartment so many times that they should have known that furniture was not Mr. Roper's.

Answer: In addition to the other answer submitted, don't forget - the trio hadn't met Furley yet at that point nor did they know The New Landlord had moved in yet so it would make sense if they thought it was Roper's furniture (even if it was unfamiliar to them).

Answer: As the Ropers were the landlords, it's possible they kept unused furniture in the building storeroom or an unrented apartment (or so Jack might have assumed).

Brian Katcher

Question: I know the pool was a busy one when filmmakers shot the pool scene, but how were they able to get permission to get in and get all those extras in the film?

Answer: The filmmakers would have rented out the entire pool and closed it off to the public. This movie was filmed in Utah, and many businesses in Utah, at least at the time the film was made, were closed on Sundays, so it's possible they rented out the pool on a day that there was no business being conducted anyway. I believe this was all done in one day, because I attended a panel with Patrick Renna at a convention in 2019, and he mentioned the day they filmed at the pool wasn't particularly warm.

Phaneron

Question: Kendall was really part of 8. This is evident as he was rescued by Pike but went along with the story that he was rescued by Dunbar. Also, that Dunbar was in interrogation but knowing it was really Pike. He also uses the phrase, get your story right. He drew an 8 to indicate that he was part of the organization. He was rescued by Pike because he was part of 8.

Answer: First of all, what's the question? Second, Kendall was indicating that Section 8 was involved because they had the reputation of being a renegade outfit, to deter the fact the he was part of the drug smuggling gang that was operating within the military base.

Snow Job - S4-E4

Question: Lana Shields became a regular cast member then she disappeared from show without any explanation, why?

Answer: No official explanation was given for why the Lana Shields character was abruptly written out after a handful of episodes. Ann Wedgeworth, the actress who played Lana, said she was never given a reason, but according to Wedgeworth's daughter, her late mother was unhappy playing a one-dimensional character that had little development potential. The daughter said Wedgeworth and the Three's Company producers came to a mutual agreement for her to leave the show.

raywest

Answer: John Ritter also said in interviews that there was no way that Jack would continue to resist Lana's advances since she was attractive and Jack was notoriously sex-crazed, so that could have been a factor as well.

zendaddy621

Question: Has anyone recognized any of the pictures on the wall of the building on the left as Corben's taxi is being tailed by 4 police cars? They seem like they're significant, if not direct references.

Tony Martin

Answer: I looked it up and it is Jill Milan. If you do a search for her, it is in her credits as an actress.

Question: How would a deaf person know whether they're making a noise? Was the daughter constantly monitored, so she didn't inadvertently break a branch, slap her hand on a table, do anything that makes a noise?

Answer: She's deaf but is fully cognizant, educated, and old enough to be aware. Just because she cannot hear anything does not mean she doesn't understand what makes noise and the need to be quiet at all times. She also normally uses a cochlear implant that allows some hearing, but due to the invasion, it is currently unusable.

raywest

Question: When Beetlejuice replaces the handrail as a snake, I don't understand the line, "We've come for your daughter, Chuck." I know "Chuck" is "Charles" so who is "we" and why does he say "they" are only there for Lydia? (01:00:28)

Answer: It's a rather outdated usage. Queen Victoria was known for using the "Royal We," saying things like, "We are not amused." It was a way of saying something without being directly accountable for it. Others use it merely as an embellished speaking effect, meant as hyperbole. That is what Beetlejuice is doing to sound loftier.

raywest

Answer: In addition, it's possible that Beetlejuice was trying to rope Adam and Barbara in on the idea, since they did request for his help to get the Deetzes out of the house. He might've thought they were working together.

A Nightmare on Dick Street (1) - S2-E25

Question: Don says if he nabs Karl Borsky he makes detective. (I'm pretty sure I've seen other shows where a cop says if he does something or brings someone in he'll make detective, or some rank). Is that how some police departments promoted officers to detective? I thought it just a matter of necessary years of experience and passing a test (and maybe having a vacancy) and not about having a certain number of high profile arrests or accomplishing a certain feat. Granted Don may be exaggerating, but taking what he said at face value, how true is it?

Bishop73

Answer: Being promoted within the police department is usually a result of time on the job, combined with demonstration of talent and ability. When a character "cracks the big case" or "nabs the bad guy" this means that their superiors will take notice and possibly promote them if possible. In Don's case, he may already have the required years of service, but has yet to show sufficient ability.

Answer: Even though there were three guys - three vs. two - Fuller and Lewis together would be more difficult to bully than Lewis by himself. Some people are tough when they can intimidate one person, but not quite so confident when that person has help.

Question: How did Ross get Renick to go along with the identity switch?

Answer: Money. A whole lot, plus he likely double talked him into believing it was a con job. Ross saying, "I'm running from the I.R.S. or angry ex-wife wanting alimony and child support."

Question: Lipton the Justice Department official tells Rollie Tyler, "I really admired your stuff, ever since 'Vermin from Venus.'" Rollie's female assistant responds, "That's the one that got him deported from Australia." My question is how could Rollie have been deported from Australia, when he was born, raised and lived his whole life there? Where would he have been deported to?

Rollie55

Answer: It was most likely a joke, the movie was so horrible it gave Rollie a bad reputation and probably got him blacklisted.

Question: Like the Wilhelm scream, is there a name to the scream Howie Long makes he falls? I've heard that in more than few other things.

Answer: To me it sounds a lot like a Tie Fighter flyby, also been used in a few movies for various different things.

ScottytooHotty

Answer: Funnily enough, it is actually often referred to as the "Howie Scream," in reference to this film, which famously used it. It's a stock sound effect that's been in use since at least 1980. It's also referred to as "Screams 3; Man, Gut-Wrenching Scream and Fall into Distance," which was presumably the title of the track in the music library it's from.

TedStixon

Question: Just why doesn't Tony want his sister Gina to be married to his best friend?

Rob245

Answer: Tony is very protective of Gina because he views her as the only "pure" thing in his life; while Manny might be his best friend, Tony views Manny as "impure" since they are both heavily involved in criminal activity. Had Tony known before killing Manny that he and Gina were newlyweds late in the film, he probably would have respected their union even if he wasn't particularly happy about it since Manny had made Gina an "honest woman."

zendaddy621

Question: In the beginning, there are several shots of riots, seemingly stock footage. One shows a man hanging and people beat him really hard to death. It was short, but quite disturbing. Was this real footage? If so, what was the real incident?

Bunch Son

Answer: None of these shots are real footage; it was scripted and shot for the movie, made to look like newsreel/raw footage.

Question: I don't live in the US; is it normal for a gym to contact next of kin and offer condolences when someone is believed to have died? Or is it for plot convenience? Where I come from, any cancellations of memberships, etc, would all be done in writing.

Answer: The woman did not work for the YMCA. She and Laura took swimming lessons together there and were friendly. The woman therefore felt obliged to offer her condolences. It was also, as you say, a plot convenience. There had to be some way to tip off Martin that Laura might still be alive.

raywest

Question: What was the word that Delia spray painted on the wall and what does it mean?

Answer: "Mauve." It's a type of purple color. They were using spray paint to write what color to paint the walls.

Bishop73

Question: Since Hades guides souls into the underworld, who takes over after he goes down?

Rob245

Answer: I don't think Hades guides souls into the underworld - I think he rules over it. For instance, part of the mythology is that Charon ferries souls across the river - I don't think Hades was a part of this process but simply welcomes the souls at the end of their journey.

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