Answered 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: After the fight scene when Blade is talking to the Wild Hogs, Tim Allen appears to have some type of business card in his hand. As Blade walks away, he looks at the card. Where did the card come from?

Answer: Most likely one of Tim's jacket pockets.

Answer: A nod to the original show.

Show generally

Question: Looking for the episode where Johnny Fever says he thinks God hates mobile homes because "tornadoes always attack them first - they get very mobile."

Answer: "Tornado", s01e12.

Bishop73

Question: When Smeagol first sees the ring, its power drives him insane almost instantly, leading him to kill his own friend and not feel any guilt afterwards. Later it changes him physically as well, turning him into the shrivelled up creature Gollum. When Bilbo Baggins however acquires the ring it doesn't cause him to go insane or commit murder, even after he's had it for some 60 years. Frodo Baggins also holds onto the ring for a good amount of time without ever losing his mind to it. Why the difference?

Answer: The Ring's power affects everyone, but not the same way or at the same pace. We really don't know much about Smeagol or what he was like before he found the Ring, so his personality/character may have been more immediately susceptible to its influence. We do know Bilbo and Frodo are, in general, kindhearted and innocent, so they "hold out" longer before succumbing to the Ring...they both DO lose their minds to it at certain points, albeit briefly (Bilbo transforms into a monster in front of Frodo, and Frodo, spoiler alert, later claims the Ring as his own in Mt. Doom).

Answer: Smeagol was greedy for the fish that Daegol his cousin caught which had the ring in its belly. The Ring influenced him to kill Daegol and run from his home into the caves. He was the guardian of the ring for almost 600 years, so he is quite crazy when Bilbo meets him, with even the Ring warning Gollum not to touch it. Bilbo on the other hand was wholly ignorant of the Ring's influence and kept it in his pocket and only using it to hide from his relatives. Bilbo, being a bit wealthy and a Hobbit didn't have greed in him so the Ring had very little to work with. Frodo, being raised by Bilbo was the same, being more interested in smoking, food and other Hobbit activities. He was chosen by Elrond to bear the ring because it had no real effect on him or his people, given their innocence and lack of desire for power. The Ring kept Bilbo alive for over 130 years with no issues. Frodo is only overcome at the forge in Mt Doom, as Sauron's power is literally everywhere in that place.

Most of this is completely made up.

lionhead

Question: Why was Vlad's title only Prince? Since he ruled Transylvania, his dad dead as he's never seen, shouldn't Vlad have been called a King instead?

Answer: The way things worked back then a ruler of a principality would normally be subject to a larger empire, like the Holy Roman Empire or the Ottoman Empire. Wallachia in its time was allied under both. Hence, he is a prince in the court of the Holy Roman, Russian or Ottoman Empire depending on what time period but never a king. Prussia and Bohemia did similar things, having their own kings but subject to the Holy Roman Emperor, being forced to call themselves "the King IN Prussia" rather than the king OF Prussia.

Answer: Vlad was Prince of Wallachia and Transylvania. The simple answer is Wallachia was a Principality, not a Kingdom. Principalities are ruled by Princes whereas Kingdoms are ruled by Kings (or Queens). Transylvania would have been a Voivodeship at the time, but Vlad ruled both.

Bishop73

The One With The Ride-Along - S5-E20

Question: What is the joke supposed to be when Ross says "Want me to grab the berry for you?" to Gary in the car, and he says that it's called the cherry, and Ross goes, "Chandler!". I never understood that joke, can someone please explain?

Answer: Chandler deliberately told Ross the wrong name for the red light, knowing that Ross would try and look "cool" to Gary by using the correct slang, but instead end up making himself look stupid.

Question: Why does the narrator have to move to new hiding places?

Answer: In the first hideout, neighbors discovered Szpilman, forcing him to flee. His next hiding place was damaged in a bombing. He then moved from location to location finding shelter and scavenging food wherever he could until the sympathetic German officer hid him in the attic.

raywest

Question: Why is Fritz the hunchback so openly hostile to the Monster?

Answer: He is an abuser because death and living has no significance to him.

Answer: Likely many reasons. It's a monster that is terrifying and dangerous. Bringing a stitched-together dead body brought back to life is probably an abomination to him, and he loathes and fears it.

raywest

Question: So when we see Cheetah again she's sitting there seemingly human once more. Does she still have her other powers?

Rob245

Answer: She feels sad for letting her personal fears and greed for power consume her. As for getting home, like Robert Shaw said at the end of Force Ten from Navarone, "We have a very long walk back home."

Answer: The way I interpreted the ending (which is up for debate obviously in a different forum) was it was the act of Max Lord renouncing his wish which caused Barbara to lose her cheetah powers. It also caused every other unrenounced wish to be lost. Barbara wouldn't have been able to hear the broadcast or Wonder Woman telling the world to renounce their wish (it would also explains how all the wishes were rescinded without everyone having to be listening to Max). It's unclear if she lost her initial wish though (to be more like Diana). It's possible we'll find out what happened to her in a follow up Wonder Woman/Justice League film, but I highly doubt it.

Bishop73

Answer: No. When everyone in the world all renounced their wish, Barbara renouncing her wish would have resulted in her losing both her Cheetah powers and the ability to be more like Diana.

Casual Person

Well then why does she look sad for having done the right thing and how's she going to get home?

Rob245

Sad because she's lost her powers, her getting home is her problem and not plot-relevant.

Question: I know that this was the only movie directed by Joe Alves. Did Alves decide to never direct any movie again due to Jaws 3's failure?

Answer: You are correct that he never directed another movie because Jaws 3-D underperformed financially and was a critical failure. Alves' directing style was particularly panned. As a further humiliation, Alves was nominated as 'worst director' for the 1983 Golden Raspberry Awards.

raywest

Answer: Jaws 3-D is the only theatrical movie he has ever directed but has gone on to be art director for TV movies.

Answer: True, though the rats comment was deliberate hyperbole. Kinski suffered from mental illness much of his life. He was often volatile, erratic, disruptive, and sometimes violent on movie sets. Kinski and Herzog had a long professional collaboration but also a friendship pre-dating Herzog's directing career. Otherwise, though Herzog admired Kinski's talent, he probably would never have tolerated working with him; he is the only director who worked with him more than once. Herzog did a documentary about Kinski after his death, which included footage of his on-set rants. Clips are on YouTube.

raywest

Moreover, Herzog was initially reluctant to hire Kinski in Fitzcarraldo movie because he was afraid that Kinski would go "totally bonkers" if trapped in the Amazon for any length of time, and his fears proved to be well-founded.

To correct a slight factual error in the answer: Director Alfred Vohrer worked on more movies with Kinski than Herzog did.

lionhead

Question: Why does Rufus send Bill and Ted off on their own, instead of going with them and helping them?

Answer: The adventure wasn't just about helping Bill and Ted with their essay. It was also about helping Bill and Ted achieve independence, which would later contribute to their reputations in the future. If Rufus just told them exactly what to do, they likely wouldn't have learned to achieve their independence in the same way. They needed to learn it for themselves.

Casual Person

Red Dawn - S2-E4

Question: Does anyone know what the Russian writing says on the wall behind Omega Red when he is standing at the podium and talking about the return of the Soviet Union? (00:15:08)

Phaneron

Chosen answer: It says MPO "First Exemplary Printing House" which is a real printing company in Russia founded by Ivan Dmitrievich Sytin in 1889. There seems to be something about "named after..." as well.

Sierra1

Question: Who are the 6 people that died?

Answer: The three men in the boat, at the beginning of the movie, the local radio weatherman Dan, the babysitter Mrs. Kobritz and Father Malone.

The One with the Boobies - S1-E13

Question: After Joey says to his father "Now go to my room," it transitions to a new scene, and the music that plays sounds very similar to the song "Found Out About You" by Gin Blossoms, which was a popular song around the same time this show began airing. Is this meant to be an homage to that song, or is it just coincidental?

Phaneron

Chosen answer: The music definitely sounds like it's from that song, though very little is played. Its use would not be coincidental. 'Friends' frequently incorporated popular songs into episodes to reflect the storyline. In one episode, when Joey got brushed off by an attractive woman after she saw his "VD" poster in the subway, the song, "Don't Stand So Close to Me," by the Police, started playing. In another, after Joey moved into his own apartment and was feeling lonely, the episode ended with Eric Carmen's "All By Myself." The Gin Blossoms' song certainly fits with Joey discovering his father's affair.

raywest

Question: When Donnagon is about to fire the transmooker on Juni, Carmen and Ingrid. Did Carmen try to grab Juni and protect him?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Answer: Yes.

Question: I'm not a huge fan of DC, so I don't know much about any characters outside of Batman and his rogue's gallery. All the pictures I've seen of Steppenwolf from the comics show him to have a human appearance, with a goatee. Was his monstrous appearance in this film, and to a lesser extent the theatrical version, taken from the comics at all? If not, why drastically change the way the character looks?

Phaneron

Chosen answer: In the comics Steppenwolf traditionally has a very human appearance. He is tall and muscular with tan skin, black hair, and a moustache and goatee. Some of Steppenwolf's animated appearances show him essentially the same but with grayish/green skin, giving him an appearance somewhat similar to the 2017 Justice League version. According to Zack Snyder, the version of Steppenwolf in the 2021 version of Justice League was purposefully designed way back during the filming of Batman vs. Superman as not just a threat to the Justice League, but to the entire planet, hence the monstrous appearance. Warner Brothers made Snyder tone down the design because, according to him, they felt it was too frightening and intense for a PG-13 film. The version of Steppenwolf in Snyder's film has a very alien appearance, with the character's signature horns being part of his physiology rather than a part of his battle helmet, an immensely muscled physique, and covered in spiked armor.

BaconIsMyBFF

Mr. Monk Goes to Jail - S2-E16

Question: I think this is a mistake, but I'm asking as a question because I don't know enough about the TV in question. In the prison library, the inmates are looking for the remote, which the librarian had hidden. But the TV looks like one where the channels can only be changed by turning the dial. It appears to be a TV with VHF and UHF dials. Can a remote be used with that type of TV?

Bishop73

Answer: Normally no but it could have a cable box that we can't see.

Kevin l Habershaw

Question: What was Lindsey referring to when she called Coffey "Roger Ramjet"?

Answer: Roger Ramjet was a 1960's American cartoon character who was extremely patriotic, but dimwitted.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: She's comparing the overzealous, gung-ho Coffey to the 1960s cartoon character, Roger Ramjet, a frenetic, extremely patriotic, though not particularly bright American-hero guy. He worked for the U.S. government and routinely saved the world, using energy pills that gave him brief increased strength.

raywest

Answer: Dudley Do-right, Inspector Clouseau or Maxwell Smart, only in a '50's space cartoon, that's Roger Ramjet (I imagine Buzz Lightyear is the nearest pop cultural successor).

dizzyd

Question: This question is about all four Superman films and Supergirl. When Clark and Linda become Superman and Supergirl, their civilian clothes immediately disappear. Has anybody who worked on the movies ever given any insight to what happens to the clothes they wear before they switch to their suits?

Answer: I'm saying what happens to their clothes in the comics, is what happens to it in the movies. Special Effects were not as sophisticated as today's, so you never saw where the clothes went.

Answer: In the original comics, they folded their clothes into small pieces and put them in pouches concealed in their capes. There was no CGI back then.

This question is about what happens to their clothes in the movies, not the comics. Their clothes just vanish.

The point is that given that's what happens in the comics, that may well be what happens in the films too, just either not shown or else they do it at super-speed so we can't see it happen.

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