Question: What did Shrek mean when he said he'd be there until Thursday?
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: Why exactly was Adam Stanheight tested?
Answer: From his tape: "Up until now, you simply sat in the shadows watching others live out their lives. But what do voyeurs see when they look into the mirror? Now, I see you as a strange mix of someone angry, but apathetic. But mostly just pathetic. So are you going to watch yourself die today, Adam, or do something about it?"
Answer: He's wasting his life away being a seedy voyeur who doesn't really contribute anything to himself or society at large.
Question: Why did the two cops threaten to put Matilda in an orphanage? Matilda had nothing to do with her father's dirty dealings.
Answer: The cops are being unprofessional and rude, but they probably have experience dealing with people like Matilda's parents. They assume that she will have few options - if any - after her father goes to jail. No responsible family members who will take her into their home, etc. Depending on what Mrs. Wormwood might be charged with (being an accessory to her husband's crimes), she could also go to jail, and Matilda will need to be placed in an orphanage or foster care.
Question: Why didn't Violet's mother stop the Oompa-Loompas from jumping on her daughter during their song? They didn't care about her comfort as they jumped on her from a big height, making the impact painful, and they also rolled her on her head, making her hit the floor and mopping it with her hair. She can be heard several times pleading with the Loompas to stop, crying for help and screaming. So why didn't her mother stop them?
Answer: I'll be completely honest - I think you may be drastically overthinking this quite a bit. There's nothing to suggest that the Oompa-Loompas are causing her significant pain, nor is screaming or crying as much as this question suggests. It's a highly stylized song sequence in a highly stylized movie. You shouldn't necessarily be watching it as though it were totally realistic and logical. But to give you something of an answer, you could also say the mum is just in a state of shock.
Question: Being the mid to late 1960s, how did Andy acquire plastic bags? The first was used to bust out of prison; the second was a thinner bag used to protect the letter and cash Red finds in the tin box buried along the stone wall. Plastic wasn't easy to come by at that time.
Answer: Plastic bags were definitely in use by that time. The first generation of plastic garment bags, trash bags, etc. was all introduced in the 1950s.
Question: What is the episode where a woman who used to be obese and lost the weight learned that her being skinny is what's killing her?
Answer: Sounds like the season 5, episode 10, "Let Them Eat Cake."
Question: How did the Albanian traffickers manage to gain entry into Amanda's apartment building so quickly?
Answer: It's not shown, but they could have picked the lock or broken in by force, taking Amanda by surprise before she could react. They may simply have knocked on the door, and Amanda opened it. Also, the girls might have been careless and left the door unlocked. These guys were ruthless and highly experienced at snatching young girls, so there are any number of possibilities.
Question: It has to be an opium dream because - how can a suitcase remain in a locker in Grand Central or Penn Station for 35 years?
Question: How was young Anastasia never aware of the secret door in her room? You would think her family would have told her about it since secret doors were often built into castles and palaces for the safety of royal families.
Answer: There may have been some concern that young Anastasia might try to leave the palace to go exploring, could carelessly reveal the secret to someone, or sneak someone into her room. There's any number of reasons. She probably would have been told about it when she was older and more trustworthy with information.
Question: What about Al's driving made John question if Stevie Wonder was driving? Later on in the bathroom, he states, "The way you drove that car, I figured you for the streets." What exactly is wrong with his driving?
Answer: At first, John made the mocking Stevie Wonder remark because Al drove up to the Nakatomi Building very slowly and leisurely after John made that frantic emergency call to the police. He was expecting a forceful police response. Later, John is referring to how Al had suddenly flown into action and expertly drove the cop car backwards after the dead body hit the hood/windshield. John meant that Al must have been a patrol cop skilled at high-speed driving.
Question: When Jack finds the expensive wine that Janet bought, he says that people can only afford that wine if they are "kings, millionaires, or auto mechanics." What is the joke about auto mechanics?
Answer: Because mechanics supposedly overcharge, they are thought to be rich.
Question: Why do some of the episodes have someone else investigating and solving a murder instead of Jessica?
Answer: Because during Season 6, Lansbury wanted a lighter workload and to do other projects. So they had her just introduce and sum up the episode.
Question: When this movie was first released, how did everyone know why Darth Vader has to wear his armor? It's not explained on screen.
Answer: Back in 1977? I don't remember anyone even caring that he was in the armour any more than people wondered about the stormtrooper armour. It wasn't until ESB that it became apparent it was a life support thing more than just for looking menacing.
Answer: Obi-Wan describes him as "more machine now than man," which makes it clear a lot of his body has been damaged. The novelisation of Return of the Jedi apparently references him falling into a "molten pit" and getting burned.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: He's just entertained the crowd and is making a joke as though he'll be sticking around to put on more shows, similar to how a standup comedian might say, "I'll be here all weekend!" or "I'm here all night!" He's not being literal, though; it's just a gag.
TedStixon