Question: Why, in the beginning scene, would they be playing basketball on the rooftop with the hoop set up with no screen or rail to protect them and the ball from going over? The premise makes no sense. (00:00:01 - 00:01:53)
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Question: What song is Professor Lupin playing while everyone is learning Riddikulus?
Answer: "Hot Liquorice" (that's the correct spelling) by Dick Walter, though it seems somewhat intermixed with the film's soundtrack composed by John Williams.
Question: Snape promised Dumbledore that he would protect Harry. When Snape found out that the flying car was seen by Muggles, he tells Harry and Ron that he'll have them both expelled. Why would Snape expel Harry? Doesn't he realise that if he expels Harry, he won't be able to protect him?
Answer: What Dumbledore or Snape say and what actually happens are two different things. Dumbledore may threaten expulsion, but his intent is to scare them into behaving. It's doubtful he ever would, particularly Harry. Snape is always torn between his promise to protect Harry and his hatred for him. He is usually being reactive, and his misplaced animosity is irrational because it is Harry's father, James, that he actually despised. He also loved Harry's mother, so he would always protect Harry because of that. Also, one professor cannot expel a student. There would be an official hearing, and Dumbledore would make the final decision. As the other answer pointed out, Harry would still be protected by the Order. He is also magically protected by his mother's blood until he turns 17 years old, as he is when he spends summers at the Dursleys.
Answer: Snape, and others, could certainly watch and protect Harry outside of Hogwarts. Members of the Order of the Phoenix watch him later on, before his fifth year of school begins. Also, in the "Chamber of Secrets" book, Dumbledore tells Harry and Ron, "If you do anything like this again, I will have no choice but to expel you." Even he considered the possibility of Harry not finishing school.
Question: Is there an episode where Bernard can't think of the word for a scanner or card reader or something and refers to it as a "beepitibeep"? Might have the wrong show entirely.
Chosen answer: You may be thinking of S3E1, "Manny Come Home", when Manny quits and gets a job at Goliath Books next door. The device they use to scan books, look up items, or even order muffins is referred to as the "Doo-Deedee-Doo," after the sound it makes when employees scan their cards in it.
Question: When Mort is talking to himself and figures out that he is John Shooter, he looks to the side and yells/makes an odd noise. It almost looks like he's calling out to something. Why did he do that?
Answer: Johnny Depp said he based it on the noises made by his toddler, who could not yet speak words. The idea behind this was that, confronted with the realization that he is Shooter, Mort would regress into a toddler-like state of confusion.
Question: I'ma pretty smart person but I got so lost watching this film. Is she clairvoyant?
Answer: It's supernatural, but I don't know what to call it. Linda's consciousness is moving in time to previous days, somewhat randomly, after she sleeps. When she wakes on a day in the past, she has knowledge of the future, and her actions apparently 'stick' and change what happens in the days after. She has to figure out the rules of time travel, how her husband came to die in the crash, and how to prevent it. It was a lot for the audience to follow.
Nightmare on Al's Street - S1-E11
Question: What does Steve mean when he tells Marcy he's horny and has been to Buffalo?
Answer: In the first season, Steve and Marcy are portrayed as being more proper and "straight-laced", compared to the following three seasons (and Marcy's later personality, after they divorce). I think Steve is having more "exotic" urges than usual, after going to Buffalo. If I am correct, it's not considered a very wild and intense place, but it was a change from the Rhoades' well-managed routine.
Question: In both Anastasia's ballroom daydream and nightmare scene, why is it her sisters are the only ones who age and not her brother?
Answer: Dreams are not reality and are subject to an individual's interpretation. Anastasia's brother, the youngest sibling, was sickly and physically weak. (In real life, Alexei suffered from hemophilia.) Anastasia apparently always sees him as an innocent, vulnerable child needing to be protected.
Question: During Anastasia's ballroom daydream, why is it everyone, except her father, are wearing different outfits than the ones we saw them wear at the beginning of the movie?
Answer: As noted, this is her daydream, not reality. She has a particularly strong mental image of what her father looked like, which is what she sees in the daydream. Also, her father is dressed in a royal uniform reflecting his rank as the czar, so it would be something he consistently wore during formal occasions. As a plot device, it also identifies for the audience that this is her father.
Question: When Lisa calls Chet Chip in the kitchen, was that planned or did Paxton ad lib his line?
Answer: I can't remember Chet's line, but Lisa says "Chip" so slowly and deliberately, it must have been scripted. When I heard it, I chuckled because I thought she was showing him how little he mattered to her by misstating his name.
Question: Would smashing the meters with an axe really cause the power to go out and the water to stop, or is it just plot convenience?
Answer: It's been years since I watched this one, but here's an engineer's opinion. Yes on the electrical meters, no on the water. If you strike an electrical meter with sufficient force to dislodge it from the main electrical service contacts, the flow of electricity will stop. Striking a water meter with an axe might destroy the metering mechanism and cause a leak, but water will still flow. Only severing the metal water service pipes would stop the water, but that would also cause a major flood.
Question: Why didn't Terminator scan punk's clothes?
Answer: He did. His eyes scanned each punk and calculated which one would fit the best.
Question: Near the beginning, before Air Force One is even an issue, Hauk stops Snake's march along the orange line when he arrives, then it fades out. Later he's let into Hauk's office after Air Force One crashes. Was that previous scene meant to be later and flow into the office scene? As it is, it confuses me as to why it's at that point in the movie.
Answer: Exactly, this was John Carpenter's first big film after "Halloween", and he was still used to doing his own work on a movie: writing, producing, directing and editing. As a matter of fact, Snake's arrival at Liberty Island was supposed to be longer but was cut for time; most were never filmed.
Question: During the ending credits, why are the actors listed completely out of order? Damon Wayans is the star of the movie so he should be listed first but his name is either seventh or eighth.
Answer: The credits are in alphabetical order (according to last name). He did get top billing in the opening credits though. Damon is actually listed 25th in the end credits, after his nephew, so I don't know what you saw where he was listed 7th or 8th.
I have the movie, and his name is right after his nephew's, so I guess I got the place wrong.
The Tale of the Dangerous Soup - S3-E13
Question: A bowl of the soup costs $100. When a couple wants to order second servings, Jersey says there is a limit of one per customer. This does not make sense when Dr. Vink is trying to operate a successful restaurant. Jersey, a server, is probably hoping to get a tip. It would just be good business to let customers spend another $200 on soup if they wanted. Did I miss something?
Answer: The other answer here, about too much soup being potentially harmful, is basically correct. When Dr. Vink tells Nonnie and Reed about the secret of the soup, he says that a drop of the elixir can "make the pulse quicken and blood flow." In addition to that, setting a limit can make the soup seem more luxurious and exclusive.
Answer: If I remember this episode, although it's been almost 30 years, the soup caused the heart to race so a second bowl may be dangerous to consume.
Question: When the family is having dinner, and Ed tells them about how he almost invented rear windshield wipers, he mentions that at the time, Dan was three years old and Audrey was eight months pregnant and required a bathroom break, so he lost his train of thought on the wipers. For the rest of the series, Dan is portrayed as an only child until his father marries Crystal. So, what happened to that sibling? Was anything else ever mentioned over the course of the series?
Answer: It was never mentioned again or explained, and Dan was always portrayed as an only child until Ed married Crystal. There could be any number of explanations, such as Audrey had a miscarriage or stillborn, the baby died shortly after birth, etc. Ed's colorful stories are usually so embellished, it's hard for the family to know what is true or accurate. The show may also have been intending for Dan to have a previously unmentioned sibling to be introduced as a new character at some point. However, this likely was a continuity error.
Peggy the Boggle Champ - S1-E9
Question: Bobby points out the adult situations and profanity in the movie "Risky Business." Luanne says, "Not anymore," because she rented it from Blockbuster. Did Blockbuster really have edited movies? I went there in the mid- and late 2000s, and I definitely watched some movies with profanity, nudity, etc.
Answer: Blockbuster was somewhat notorious for carrying edited films or simply choosing not to carry a film, especially in smaller cities, to be more family-friendly. However, this was more for NC-17 films and unrated films that were deemed to get an NC-17 rating if they were rated. But even some controversial R-rated films weren't available unless the studio provided an edited version. For example, "The Last Temptation of Christ" wasn't carried when it came out on VHS. Edited R-rated films usually had controversial scenes cut out, rather than have swear words dubbed and nudity removed (although allegedly there were edited films where the nudity was pixilated). But Blockbuster never did the editing. This line just seems to be an exaggerated joke about how far Blockbuster censors films for small, conservative towns like Arlen.
Question: In various episodes, Steve Zodiac, Venus and Matt use odd slang, such as "tootie" and "tooties" and "toot," usually in a demeaning or disparaging way. Venus says, "I'm a tootie!" when she forgets to make the coffee, for example, and Steve says "I'm a tootie!" when he forgets to press a certain button or something. In at least one episode, Matt is called "a cheating old toot." I gather that saying "toot" or "tootie" is like saying "fool" or "doofus" or something similar. Is this slang that producer Gerry Anderson just arbitrarily dreamed up? Or is it part of an English dialect that I've never heard elsewhere?
Answer: Been living in the UK, man and boy, for 70 years and "tootie" is not a word we have ever used. So why Gerry Anderson uses it is a complete mystery.
Question: According to the shop owner, Princess Nawa didn't know that she had to bring the earrings back together. She spent the rest of her life as a servant. However, in the past, Princess Nawa tells her servant, "Soon you will live your life in jewels and not chains," as if she expected the servant to remain in her place. Was she just lying and hoping to change back after the wedding?
Answer: She was lying to the servant. Most likely, the servant was terrified and might have run away from the situation. But according to the shop owner, the rich husband died on the wedding night, so the servant remained the Princess and lived in the lap of luxury.
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Answer: There is no in-film explanation for this nonsensical scene. It's a dilapidated hoop on a roof, so maybe we can assume there used to be safety netting there at some point, but it has since been removed or destroyed. The real-world answer is the filmmakers wanted the death to be a freak accident. It also had to be something Shep would be legally blamed for (the police thought Shep threw Nutso from the roof) and something that would make Shep feel immense guilt (he bet Nutso couldn't jump higher than he could). And of course, to make it topical to the plot of the film, it also had to occur during a basketball game. This is apparently the best they could come up with, and we are left with a classically ridiculous death scene that makes no sense at all.
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