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: If the Buckets were very poor, then why do they even have TV? Why don't they use the extra money for food?

Answer: The Buckets weren't always dead broke. The TV may have been purchased before they became impoverished.

Phixius

Answer: TV is kind of a necessity. Here in the UK debt collectors can't take a TV if it's the only one in the house. Also, they can't afford newspapers so how would they catch up on news? The TV will last for a while whereas it would only buy a few days worth of food, so the TV is a more sustainable option.

Answer: In addition to the other answer about TV basically being a necessity, there's also the very real chance that they got the TV for dirt-cheap or even free somewhere. It looks like a crummy old antenna TV anyways. They often get old TV's in things like thrift stores or flea markets, etc. I actually specifically look for things like old TV's and VCR's in thrift store and find them a lot since I enjoy collecting old analog media and devices. Plus, given that the grandfather used to work for Wonka, it's entirely possible that he bought it in the past before the family became so poor.

TedStixon

Answer: Don't they have to pay for a monthly subscription? Isn't cable paid for every month?

This was based on the book, not the timeframe of the movie. There was no cable for TVs when the book was written OR in the 1971 original film. Yes, cable was available in 2005 at this film's time but that's not the logic here.

Question: At the start of the film, where the stage light falls from the 'sky', it says Sirius on it. Are we meant to presume that this stage light lit up the place in the sky where the star Sirius would be in real life?

Answer: That would seem like a logical deduction, yes. The light was presumably on some sort of track to allow it to simulate the movement of the heavens caused by the rotation of the Earth.

Tailkinker

Question: Does the vault number 713 (the philosopher's stone's Gringott vault number) have any symbolic meaning or is it just a random number?

Answer: If there is any symbolic meaning to it, only J.K. Rowling knows the answer. One possibility, seven is a lucky or "good" number; thirteen is considered unlucky or synonymous with evil. By being together, they may balance each other out.

raywest

Question: What's with Obi-Wan disappearing when he dies? I mean, I've never seen anyone else in the Star Wars 6-logy do it.

Answer: Yoda does it as well. This is linked to the bit at the end of Episode 3 when Yoda tells Obi-wan that his old mentor Qui-gon has managed to 'return' through the Force and instructs him to learn how this can be done. As such, when they die, both Yoda and Obi-wan are, in some unexplained manner, absorbed into the Force - this is what allowed Obi-wan to continue to communicate with Luke during the subsequent films.

Tailkinker

Question: Why does Sue tell Reed that there "never was" a "her and Vince"? Weren't they together for two years?

Answer: She was working for him for 2 years but there was never an actual relationship. Victor wanted it to go further hence why he was going to propose. If you notice on the space station when he talks about their relationship Sue is talking is a strcitly business sense.

dgemba dgemba

Answer: Yes, it is a real condition, although debated by some. IMS is by this page considered the male equivalent of menopause for woman.

Lummie

Show generally

Question: What is the episode and the season where Chandler and Monica get engaged? They share a bathtub together, and the other friends (sans Ross) do the "They don't know that we know that they don't know".

Answer: You are actually referring to three separate episodes from two different seasons. They share a bath in the season five episode "TOW all the Kissing" (2nd episode). The episode with the "they don't know that we know that they know" is "TOW Everybody Finds Out" (14th episode of season 5). They get engaged in the season six finale, a two-part episode titled "TOW the Proposal".

Show generally

Question: At the end of the last ever episode, when Claire is taking the family photo, Nate whispers in her ear 'You can't take a picture unless it's already gone.' What does he mean by that?

Answer: Nate actually say "You can't take a picture of this, it's already gone." It's kinda hard to explain, but he's referring to the fact that the moment Claire wants to take a picture of is over already, and she can't take a photo of it, just a different, lesser moment.

Mistaken Identity - S1-E6

Question: Carlton and Will are in the holding cell at the police station, singing a song about Moses letting his people go, when all of a sudden their burly cellmate starts singing the rest of the song in a very operatic manner. There is only one lyric I could pick up: "Tell the Pharaoh/Let my people GO.", but unfortunately the rest of the lyrics (or its title) are nowhere to be found on the Internet. What is the name of this song, and where could I possibly find the words to it?

Answer: This is very old and well-known African-American spiritual of unknown provenance. Louis Armstrong did a famous version "Go Down Moses". There is not an "offical" name but it is usually referenced as "Let my People Go" or from the first line "When Israel was in Egypt's land". If you search the web with either of these phrases and the word "lyrics" you will have hundreds of sites showing the full lyrics.

Luna Negra

Show generally

Question: How does the ranking actually work? Winters seems to be promoted but keep the same title, is this right?

Answer: Winters was promoted from 2nd Lieutenant to 1st Lieutenant during training (at Toccoa). He was promoted to Captain and Major during the war. 2nd and 1st Lieutenants are usually just called Lieutenant but, other than that, he was always referred to appropriately.

Zwn Annwn

Question: In the scene where Bruce finds the body of Jimmy Hoffa and the other news stations' van has marijuana in it, you can see small trees inside the van. Does marijuana even grow into trees?

Answer: If you trim it right and bind the stalks it could easily resemble a tree.

Phixius

Question: When Hanks sings "Every once in a while." he has a guitar with him but he hardly uses it while he sings. He strikes it once or twice but soft enough for the sound to be virtually non-existent. Is that a mistake, or was that meant to happen for comedic purposes, or doesn't the song require that much effort with a guitar?

Answer: He's not really a musician. He is just messing around.

William Bergquist

Question: At the end when Dr. Gordon cuts his foot off, he tells Adam he'll go and get help when he escapes. So wouldn't Adam be able to escape as well once Dr. Gordon gets help? Or would Jigsaw catch up with Dr. Gordon and kill him?

Answer: Dr. Gordon is in Saw 7. Adam is killed by Amanda Young.

I also want to know why Dr Gordon never sent help back for Adam. They were fellow sufferers and even though Dr Gordon joined with jigsaw, he could have called 911 and sent help back for Adam.

I assume that Amanda came along and killed Adam before Dr. Gordon could do anything.

Answer: I assume that Amanda came along and killed Adam before Dr. Gordon could do anything.

Answer: It's because the actor didn't want to come back. There are several ways Adam could have returned at this point. Several clues that could have brought him back. It was probably originally intended for both Adam and Dr Gordon to return at some point, even if there were no plans for a sequel.

It is also way too late to have Leigh Whannell come back as Adam in 2023, as the last time he was physically filming new footage was in Saw III back in 2006 - which was 17 years ago - and he's aged a lot since then. Especially considering Saw X will be post-Saw/pre-Saw II, it wouldn't make sense if Adam comes back and ages 17 years in the space of a couple of months, unless they de-aged him. If Adam appears in Saw X, it will most likely be a new recast actor or through archive footage.

Answer: He might have tried to, because we don't know how long Lawrence was in John's care before he got released. By the time he was fully healed, Amanda already probably killed him.

As stated in another answer, the nerve gas house and bathroom underneath it is the one place Dr Gordon is never shown by Jigsaw until the events of Saw 3D. Dr Gordon is in the care of Jigsaw and simply cannot get help to Adam.

Ssiscool

Exactly. Also, with all that transpired, despite his "promise," Gordon had a lot of other stuff to worry about physically and mentally that he probably wasn't considering when he said he'd come back.

Answer: It's not until Saw 3D that Jigsaw tells Dr Gordon the location of the bathroom (assuming Lawrence passed out after cauterizing his leg after leaving the bathroom and never truly knew where it was)... (from SAW 3D) Hello Dr. Gordon. You are perhaps my greatest asset. Without you, my work over the last few years would not have been possible. That having been said I have a request. Watch over Jill, and should anything happen to her, I want you to act immediately on my behalf. In return for that, I will keep no more secrets from you. I've shown you a lot of places, but there is one that will be perhaps the most meaningful to you.

Answer: There's still a lot about Dr. Gordon that's not clear. Knowing what we know by Saw 3D, the dialogue between Adam and Dr. Gordon in Saw I almost makes it seem that Dr. Gordon could have been in on the game. Then again, if he was, Jigsaw wouldn't have let Dr. Gordon saw off his own foot.

Question: On the Star Wars website is a picture of Mara Jade. It's supposed to be her dancing in Jabba's palace. I've looked and can't spot her. Can anyone tell me what shot she is in or near?

Answer: In a nutshell, she's not in there, so you can stop looking. When Mara became a pivotal character in the book series that cover the time after the films, a number of images were created for, among other things, the Star Wars collectable card game, using a model named Shannon McRandle (a.k.a. Shannon Baksa) to portray her. There were rumours that Shannon would cameo in the revamped Special Edition of Jedi using newly shot footage, but this did not occur.

Tailkinker

Question: Is the blind woodsman from a fairy tale or is there some kind of joke about him?

Answer: In Little Red Riding Hood, a woodsman cuts open the wolf. Perhaps the story would have been different from a Wolf's perspective.

Answer: The woodsman makes Tony guess his name, which is what Rumplestiltskin does to the princess in the fairy tale of the same name. Don't know why he's blind, though.

Question: What species of aliens are performing in the scene where Anakin and Palpatine are in the theater? All I see are large bubbles.

Answer: They're Mon Calamari, the same species as Admiral "It's a trap" Ackbar in Return of the Jedi.

Tailkinker

Question: Why did Billy and Stu want to kill Tatum? I've read that she said Stu was bad in bed, but when does she say this in the movie?

Answer: They didn't have anything against Tatum specifically, her death was just necessary for their scary movie plan against Sidney. They also said that anyone who isn't a virgin dies in a scary movie, and we know Tatum wasn't a virgin.

Did they say "anyone who isn't a virgin"? I thought it was anyone who has sex *during* the horror movie events - not including people who were *already* not virgins.

Typically, the cliche is "sex or promiscuity = death." I don't think it necessarily has to be during the events of the movie. Debating the minutiae is probably just gonna make us run in circles.

TedStixon

Answer: I don't understand why people are getting hung up on the virgin thing. Sure, there are some movies where someone who isn't a virgin survives. But the common cliche in horror that everyone knows is that sex typically equals death. Doesn't matter if some movies don't follow the cliche... it's still the cliche, and Stu and Billy are operating by the cliches.

TedStixon

In addition to this, Stu and Billy were planning to be the two survivors and make "the sequel." They probably viewed themselves as the main characters. Tatum was one of the "side characters" who would typically be killed.

Except even in this movie, Sidney should be dead by that logic. While Randy is explaining that rule, Sid is upstairs breaking said rule with Billy.

Answer: But Amy Steel's Ginny in Friday the 13th Part 2 wasn't a virgin and she survived. Yet these guys claim to know horror movies.

Rob245

It's just a TV trope used in the movie.

lionhead

Question: Why was Benicio Del Toro's character killed in the film, what was the point if he was doing the job as well, surely it just makes it harder with less men?

Answer: Fenster was running away, making it entirely clear that he had no intention of going through with the job. As such, he was killed, both as revenge for crossing Soze and to make it clear to his erstwhile cohorts that attempting to flee was not a viable option.

Tailkinker

Question: In the extras DVD of the deluxe boxset, there are a few videos of Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman performing the opera (and from what I can tell the video looks from around the time or the original stage show). But it looks to be very much done for the camera (rather than just a recording of the show being performed live). Was the whole opera done in this way, using the original cast? And was it released? I can't find any reference to it at all on IMDB. If it has been released, where can I find it?

Gary O'Reilly

Chosen answer: In 1986-1987, before the show actually premiered, a few songs featuring Sarah Brightman were released to promote it, including the signature theme, featuring both her and Steve Harley (and not, as is often assumed, Michael Crawford). Although the song is from the stage musical, the lyrics used were not the definitive ones and the accompanying video was specially recorded for promotion purposes and was not from the actual show.

Sereenie

Show generally

Question: Is it ever stated how the people act once Sam leaps out of them? Presumably the person leaps back into their place, but wouldn't they be confused initially and then just go back to acting the same way?

Gary O'Reilly

Answer: In "Double Identity", Sam leaps from Frankie to Don Geno when the blackout hits and we see how Frankie responds to returning. He appears to have no memory of the time he was displaced and thinks it is the moments just after when he left the day before.

Chosen answer: No, it is never stated. The person does leap back in so your assumption is as good as any.

Phixius

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