Question: What exactly is a goathouse and why are there two goats tied up outside it?
Blibbetyblip
31st Dec 2008
Mamma Mia! (2008)
10th Dec 2008
Monk (2002)
Question: I haven't yet seen this episode, but why is it called 'Mr. Monk and his 100th case'? Natalie and Julie gave Monk a hundred trophies at one time for doing 100 cases. Doesn't that break continuity, then if THIS is his 100th case?
Chosen answer: It's his 100th case for the San Francisco Police Department. When Natalie and Julie gave him the trophies, they were for cases overall. The total was actually a few short, but they gave him 100 because it's a nice, even number, which Monk likes.
Actually the total was a few more not less. They said it was 104 and they rounded down to make it an even 100. And Natalie and Julie explain they talked to captain stottlemyer and he let them look at monk's files, insinuating all of his 104 cases were for the San Francisco police dept so it is a continuity error they ignored for the 100th episode.
I'd meant the total number of trophies. Julie and Natalie tell him that it's only been 94 or so, but they got Monk 100 trophies because he'd appreciate the nice, orderly round number over having an accurate amount.
7th Dec 2008
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: Extended Edition: What is the point of the avalanche of skulls that the Army of the Dead throw down upon Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli? Surely the AOTD would want to keep Aragorn alive; he was the only way that they could break their curse. Or was the avalanche of skulls something that the AOTD were not responsible for? PS: I don't want any answers like "Peter Jackson put it there because it looked cool", I want answers that fit within the context of the film.
Chosen answer: With the last of the line of Isildur dead, there would be no one left to hold them to their oath and they'd be free to 'pass on.'
The king would have no reason to believe that killing Aragorn would free him. He thought the line was broken. He was surprised that there was an heir left alive. Therefore, he would have believed that they were never going to pass on because there was nobody to free them. Immediately attempting to kill the last person that could free them seems like an odd conclusion to come to within minutes of meeting Aragorn. A possible reason is that the army was leaving, so the magic holding the skulls stopped.
10th Jul 2008
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: Extended Edition: Why do the Army of the Dead try to crush Aragorn and others with the skull avalanche? They try to kill him, and then decide to help him. I don't get it.
19th Apr 2008
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Question: In Book 6, Dumbledore mentions that the Defence Against the Dark Arts Job is cursed, and that no one has had it for more than a year since he refused it to Voldemort. But in Movie/Book 1, it seems that Quirell has been at the school for a while (Hagrid knows him, and knows that he's the DADA teacher; all the older students seem to know him and there is no mention that this is Quirells first year of teaching). Explain.
Chosen answer: According to Rowling, Quirrell was the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts (which is why all the older students know him) before moving to teach Defence Against The Dark Arts in the year that Harry started there. Immediately after meeting Quirrell in the Leaky Cauldron, Hagrid makes a reference to Quirrell having taken a year off from teaching to "get some first-hand experience", encountering such dark creatures as vampires and hags along the way, which would strongly support the idea that he's not previously been the teacher in that subject.
17th Apr 2008
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Question: Is it just me, or do the Expelliarmus, Everte Statum and Rictusempra spells all do exactly the same thing- knock the opponent backwards? And why doesn't Expelliarmus disarm the opponent?
17th Apr 2008
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
16th Apr 2008
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Question: What is the awesome music being played while Qui-Gon Obi-Wan and Darth Maul are fighting? It is played during lightsaber duels in Episodes 2 and 3 as well.
Chosen answer: The song is called "Duel of the Fates". Incidentally, the words being sung are Sanskrit. John Williams chose them purely for the way they sound and their meanings, whatever they are, are completely irrelevant to the song or the events.
7th Mar 2008
Family Guy (1999)
Question: In what episode is the scene where Peter is at the ballpark yelling out "Butt Scratcher! Butt Scratcher!"?
Chosen answer: No Chris Left Behind.
2nd Mar 2008
Family Guy (1999)
Question: What's the episode in which there is a scene where the Griffins are badly drawn characters on the Tracey Ullman show and Stewie has a thick Cockney accent?
Chosen answer: It's from season 5, episode named "Peterotica".
16th Feb 2008
Monk (2002)
Mr. Monk Visits a Farm - S5-E14
Question: Why doesn't Disher feel at all sad that his uncle has just died?
Answer: He was close to his uncle (he mentioned working with his uncle every summer when he was a boy), but the main events of the show happen over a month after the uncle's death.
Chosen answer: I got the impression that he really hadn't known this particular uncle very well.
13th Feb 2008
Monk (2002)
Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy - S5-E15
Question: I'm confused. How did Monk typing the girl's address into his computer make the address come up on the screen and hence lead the SWAT team to her house?
Chosen answer: It was Julie's laptop, and when Monk plugged it into the SWAT team's system, Julie's friend's address (where the teen girls were having a slumber party) popped up and fooled the cops into thinking that it was the perp's house. Highly unlikely, true, but the SWAT guys storming into a house full of squealing teenage girls in pink nighties did make for a very funny scene.
Answer: Julies Laptop was using the SFPD's Internet to receive mails from that girls house i.e. the girl throwing the party. So, the FBI thought that the girls house was the perp's house because of the connection from Julie's laptop to the girl's house.
5th Feb 2008
Family Guy (1999)
Question: Is Brian's line "Hey, is that a beer hall?" a joke on how tour guides seem to be obsessed with beer halls? I was on a tour in Salzburg, Austria, and the tour guide just wouldn't shut up about the Salzburg beer hall, so I was wondering if this was a common thing amongst tour guides.
Chosen answer: While I am not sure whether it's a common thing, the joke was Brian trying to change the atmosphere of the situation he just created. Brian was trying to get the tour guide to admit to the fact that the history missing in the pamphlet was during the Nazi regime. Due to the Denazification in many European countries, it is generally an area that is still very controversial. The fact that the tour guide made such lame excuses on what had actually happened and then blew up when Brian continued on about it meant it was an issue he should just leave well alone.
Actually, it refers to the "Beer Hall Ptsch in 1923, where Hitler initially tried to grab power. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Hall_Putsch.
3rd Feb 2008
Family Guy (1999)
Question: When Brian's at Tom Tucker's house, Tom calls him Benjy. Who is Benjy?
Chosen answer: Benji is the name of a famous dog(s) in a number of films from the 70s through today, including "Benji" and "Oh Heavenly Dog."
25th Jan 2008
General questions
Being an Australian, I'm unsure about American phone numbers. In American movies/TV shows, I always notice that people's phone numbers are '555' followed by four digits, but if every American's phone number was that, then it would only allow for 10 000 phone numbers. Please fill me in.
Chosen answer: The main reason for this is that a range of numbers within the American '555' area code have been intentionally left unassigned for fictional use, with the aim of avoiding the inadvertant use of a real phone number; there have been cases of members of the public receiving numerous calls when film or TV companies have not used a 555-prefix. Other countries have similar setups - for example, Ofcom, the regulating body of the phone network in the UK has set aside a large number of numbers within various area codes specifically for use in fiction. You may well find that a similar policy exists in Australia as well.
23rd Jan 2008
General questions
In American movies, I sometimes notice little flag shaped things on people's letterboxes, that can be moved up and down. In Australia, where I live, I've never noticed these, nor have I noticed them in countries I've visited (I haven't visited America). What is the purpose of these flag shaped things, and are they solely American?
Chosen answer: It's actually a very practical device, and they are mostly used in rural areas that have roadside letterboxes. The homeowner raises it when there is outgoing mail to be picked up. The postal carrier can put the flag in the "up" position when there's a delivery.
I've never heard of any mailman doing that. The signal flag is only for outgoing mail.
I think the question is about the "little flag" (usually yellow), not the standard red flag that the owner raises when s/he puts outgoing mail in the box and doesn't want the postal carrier to bypass the mailbox if there is no mail to be delivered to that address that day. Regarding the small yellow flag that is near the bottom of the door (whereas the red flag extends above the box to be more visible), the yellow flag pops up when the mail box's door is opened. The carrier doesn't have to "put the flag up" to indicate a delivery - it is automatic - again, the flag goes up when the door goes down (is opened). The yellow part usually faces toward the house so that the homeowner (or renter) can see from the window if any mail has been delivered. With mailboxes that do not have the little flag, people have to walk to the mailbox to see if there is any mail. The mailboxes with the little flags can be bought on-line but are becoming obsolete with "informed delivery" emails.
Answer: Outgoing mail to be picked up? The US doesn't have post boxes? How strange.
The US does have post boxes, but if someone decides to install a full service mailbox, it's more convenient. Generally using the post box can be a bit faster since the mail carrier who picks up the mail might not return in time for the mail to be processed that day.
17th Jan 2008
Family Guy (1999)
Question: In Australia, where I live, the episodes Blue Harvest Part 1 and Part 2 are being released as a movie. Does anyone know if these episodes are going to be released on the Region 4 Season 7 DVD, (our seasons are numbered differently than the American ones)? I don't want to buy Blue Harvest as a movie if it's going to be released as two episodes on the DVD.
Chosen answer: I would say its almost certain that Blue Harvest will not be on the upcoming Region 4 release. Volume 6 in the US is being released without the Blue Harvest episodes and I would doubt it would be any different here in Australia. The Stewie Griffin movie that was released a while ago was released as a stand alone DVD and not included on the season DVD despite it also being screened on television.
11th Jan 2008
North by Northwest (1959)
Question: Why is this movie called 'North by Northwest'?
Chosen answer: The original title for the movie was "In a Northwesterly Direction", as it was originally detailing the flight of a man from New York to Alaska, according to writer Earnest Lehman. According to Alfred Hitchcock, however, he took the title from a line in Hamlet, another work of fiction that is concerned with the slippery nature of reality. It is also worth noting that North by Northwest is not a direction on the compass at all. The nearest to it would be Northwest by North.
9th Jan 2008
Family Guy (1999)
Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington - S3-E3
Question: In the episode there is a scene where Peter is dressed up as a girl wandering around a big city with music that goes "that guy, it's that guy". Is this a spoof of something? If so, what is it a spoof of, and where could I find the original video clip that the episode spoofs.
Chosen answer: It's the opening of Marlo Thomas's 1966-1971 series "That Girl". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRaMIKRZ19M.
8th Jan 2008
Family Guy: Stewie Griffin The Untold Story (2005)
Question: I know this movie was shown as three episodes on TV, but were the red carpet and after party sequences also shown on TV?
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Chosen answer: A goathouse is a house for goats! Seriously though, Horses have stables, pigs have stys, goats have 'houses'.
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