Question: I've just got the soundtrack, and there's a great song by a band called Vast, called "Touched". I've definitely heard it in the series somewhere, but have no idea where/when it actually gets played - can anyone help?
Jon Sandys
15th Mar 2005
Angel (1999)
11th Jan 2005
General questions
Some years ago I watched a film, now I know this sounds strange, but some Electricity Pylons sort of came to life and started walking on a mission. The story seemed to revolve round a little boy if my memory serves me right. Does anyone know what the film was?
Chosen answer: Sounds a lot like The Iron Giant.
11th Jan 2005
General questions
In many films, I have read, (and actually seen in the films) that an actor/actress onscreen mouths the words another actor is saying. It happens in Home alone 1, one of the Harry Potter films and in the latest Bond film. Why does this happen?
Chosen answer: I can't give a definite answer, but all I can think is that they've rehearsed the scene so often that they know other people's lines (possibly leading up to their own cue), so mouth along with them without even realising it, and no-one else notices. Kind of like during the filming of the Phantom Menace - Ewan McGregor was making lightsaber noises during the fights and wasn't even aware he was doing it until someone pointed it out to him!
2nd Jan 2005
Scrubs (2001)
Question: Does anyone know when DVDs of this are coming out in the UK and/or USA?
Chosen answer: There has been no mention from Disney (Studio who makes Scrubs) when the first season is to hit DVD shelves. Zach Braff's website had put the release as early 2005 but many believe it will be released in the US around Spring 2005 (I believe that would make it around May or June).
30th Dec 2004
Sin City (2005)
Question: Is the music on the trailer original music from the film? If not, can someone let me know what it's from?
Chosen answer: It's an instrumental version of a track called "Cells" by a group called "The Servant".
9th Nov 2004
Friends (1994)
Question: In the UK at least, new box sets have just been released of all 10 series (3 discs per box). Does anyone know if these are double sided or single sided discs? The original DVDs were double sided, which always seemed stupid.
Chosen answer: They are double sided. Four episodes per side on 3 discs gives 24 episodes which equal one season.
18th Oct 2004
The West Wing (1999)
Question: Producers are currently unsure as to whether Martin Sheen is returning for another season. Even if he does though, in due course he'll have to be replaced, unless they include a constitutional rewrite into the script giving him 3 terms of office. I've heard reports that in the coming season a few characters will be introduced who might replace him as president. My question is, wouldn't the incoming president have his own principal staff, meaning that the current cast would need to be almost entirely replaced, not just the president?
Chosen answer: The current 'Inside Scoop' is that Bingo Bob would become Prez, keeping at least Will (Joshua Malina) in the show. It could be extrapolated that the producers will offer the main cast to continue with the show, and work out a storyline where Bingo Bob would offer them to stay with him.
30th Sep 2004
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Question: Considering Luke's severed hand was replaced by one which looks exactly like a normal hand, why does he wear a glove? Is it explained in the books?
Chosen answer: It's explained in the film, although not terribly clearly. Luke's hand takes a direct blast during the fight on Jabba's sailbarge, putting a rather unsightly charred hole in it. As they leave Tatooine, Luke is seen pulling on a glove to cover the hole - he then wears it, I believe, for the remainder of the film. Presumably, with visiting Yoda and all the preparation for the assault on the Death Star, he hasn't had time to go and get it fixed.
Answer: Additionally, from a story standpoint, when Luke cuts off Vader's hand to reveal it to be completely mechanical, he looks at his own gloved hand and is reminded what lays ahead if he turns to the Dark Side. That shot would not have worked as well if he just stared at what appears to be his normal hand, thus they found a reason to put a glove on it early on.
22nd Sep 2004
The Crow (1994)
Question: At the end of the film "For Brandon and Eliza" is displayed. Brandon is obviously Brandon Lee, but who's Eliza?
Chosen answer: Eliza is Eliza Hutton. She was Brandon Lee's fiance at the time of his death. They were supposed to be married only weeks after Lee died.
18th Jul 2004
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)
Question: Given that in the book she's lusting after Colin Firth, but the films star Colin Firth as someone else, does anyone know for sure what's being done? Is it someone acting the part of Colin Firth, or will it be another celebrity playing themselves? Given filming's probably finished by now, there must be a definitive answer...
Chosen answer: While there were rumours that a different celebrity was to be used - George Clooney was mooted - according to Renee Zellweger, that sequence is not in the film.
9th Jul 2004
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Question: Fairly techie question - during the attack on Zion a HUGE mass of sentinels breaks into the dock, and forms separate strands before making one huge stream and hitting the central control tower. This huge stream is being attacked from all angles and sentinels are dropping out as it moves. My question is, was this huge stream of squiddies created as one fairly generic blob to save time, or was it actually modelled as thousands of separate entities?
Chosen answer: If you look in the making of, the model appears to be one huge line where there are a few individual squids on the outside and in front.
21st Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Tabula Rasa - S6-E8
Question: Why did Anthony Head leave for some episodes of series 6? Was it purely a character/plot decision, or did he have other commitments?
Chosen answer: He wished to return to live in England with his family, so made an agreement that he would take a reduced role in the series.
15th Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: In this episode we see some of Spike's history - when he's human there's a bit where he walks down a street tearing up his poetry and bumps past Angel and Darla. We don't see their faces, but it's obviously them. I remember an episode of Angel when we see a flashback of Spike still human - can anyone remember the episode, and am I right in thinking that the bit we see is exactly the same moment in history, but we're focusing on Angel and Darla instead?
Chosen answer: This would be the episode "Darla", and, yes, it's exactly the same moment - I'm pretty sure that the same shot is used. In a nice bit of coordination, Darla is Angel episode 2.7, which corresponds exactly to Fool For Love, which is Buffy episode 5.7. - at the time, I think, the two series were shown on the same night, one after the other, making the two episodes, in effect, a double-length history lesson on the vampires of this particular bloodline. In an even nicer bit of coordination, this particular scene occurs at about the same point in each episode (around the 15-minute mark).
14th Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: Specific answer needed, not a general "dialogue is sometimes re-recorded". Near the start of this episode, Buffy's talking to Giles about the significance of the earthquake. Buffy's dialogue sounds completely normal and recorded at the time, but all of Giles' dialogue is dubbed. I can only think he had a sore throat that day or similar, but does anyone know the specific reason he did his later?
Chosen answer: He had larangitis and because of the shooting specifications they had to have him shoot the scene with a bad throat, they then re-recorded his lines and dubbed them. At various points during the scene and indeed the episode you can see him touch his throat or rub it.
14th Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: Was the Angel spin-off created because it was time for the character to be written out of Buffy but Angel was too good a creation to ditch, or was the character written out because people thought a spin-off would be a better idea?
Chosen answer: Joss Whedon claims to have had the idea for a spin-off series while watching David Boreanaz's performance in the late second season episode "I Only Have Eyes For You" - he began to feel that Boreanaz would be capable of carrying his own series. From that point on, taking Angel off to his own show was on Joss's mind and many of the events of the third season were written with this intention.
9th Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Homecoming - S3-E5
Question: In this episode Oz says "As Willow goes, so goes my nation". Is this a variation on a famous quote, and if so, which?
Chosen answer: "So goes the nation" seems to have been used on many occasions, with various different US states in the "As .... goes" section. Most commonly it seems to be California that's considered to lead the way, but probably most other states have appeared in the lead role at some point or another. Other things have also been used - no less a person that Pope John Paul II said "As the family goes, so goes the nation...". The origin of the quote format is unclear - in US politics it goes back into the 19th century, when it was Maine that held the title spot, but, while no definitive origin is known, it seems highly likely that it goes back considerably further than that.
9th Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: In the title sequence (series 1 and 2, anyway), at one point the theme music has a squeal over the top of it and there's a shot of Buffy (or possibly Willow) holding her hand up against a blast of light. What episode is this from?
Chosen answer: If this is the bit I think it is, it's from the episode "Witch" - the person in the shot is actually Catherine Madison, the villain of the episode. The shot used in the title sequence is different from what's seen in the episode - possibly an alternate take.
30th May 2004
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Question: Is the Statue of Liberty strong enough to survive that amount of water pressure, or should it have buckled/bent/been destroyed completely?
Chosen answer: The Statue of Liberty *should* have been knocked over by the tidal wave, but the director wanted to create a symbol of American values of "standing up" and persevering.
27th May 2004
Spy Game (2001)
Question: At the beginning, Brad Pitt takes two tablets then somehow survives a massive electric shock. Are the tablets some form of stimulant to help his system recover (or some other form of genuine treatment), or is it just a fictional cinematic device?
Chosen answer: He might have taken a medical equivalent to a regulated dose of Curare, which can suspend the body temporarily in a coma-like state, while keeping the mind active and perceptive. It could also have been tetrodotoxin, which has remarkably similar effects, but lasts longer. In either case, they were specifically engineered for his physiology, indicating a pharmacologist's aid in their endeavor.
20th May 2004
Friends (1994)
The One With The Lesbian Wedding - S2-E11
Question: Slightly more wide-ranging a question than just Friends, but it's relevant at the moment. With Massachusetts being in the news for offering same-sex weddings, and apparently being the first state to fully sanction it, was the wedding in this episode (back in the mid '90s) based on any then-current law, or just made up for the purposes of the plot?
Chosen answer: Same-sex weddings have been performed for quite some time in the United States. They simply didn't have the sanction of law or the benefits (and costs) that come with it. The ceremonies were purely for the sake of the supporting friends and family of the couple making the commitment.
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Chosen answer: This song features in the season one episode "Lonely Hearts", during the montage where Angel and Kate are both looking for the killer.
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