Question: When Lisa calls Chet Chip in the kitchen, was that planned or did Paxton ad lib his line?
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: What made the aliens think erasing the parents' memories when their children were abducted would help with their test? Especially since there would be birth records, medical records, school records, etc.
Answer: The experiment's purpose was to test if the parental bond still existed after memories of their children were erased. The NSA agents were aiding the aliens on the pretense that it was "protecting" humankind. They are a powerful government agency and could delete various official records. Also, if the parents' memories were successfully erased and they never knew they had children, they would be unlikely to search for or come across their records. Those experiencing memories were treated as if they were mentally ill.
Question: Is there any reason why Robbie Coltrane's voice was dubbed?
Answer: I looked online and while there are many references about Michael Elphick dubbing Robbie Coltrane's voice, there was no explanation about why. Interestingly, Lysette Anthony, who played Lyssa, also was dubbed over by American actress, Lindsey Crouse, because it was thought she had a more "mature-sounding" voice. Presumably, the filmmakers felt a different voice better fit the character Coltrane played.
Answer: They were inexperienced actors, it was their first movie roles and didn't have formal vocal teachings.Robbie was said to have a very gruff, deep and thick accent, while Lysette was too high pitched.
This was not Coltrane's first movie and Anthony had been in TV movies and miniseries.
Episode #1.2 - S1-E2
Question: How does Edith know that Mary and the Duke were in the men's quarters? I never saw her there. Only Bates sees them. Was she hiding? Bates wouldn't have told her.
Question: I just watched for the second time on Netflix and I have a question, How does Danny survive at the end of the film when the old man shoots Angel with a shotgun and Danny jumps in front of him to save his life? After the whole building blows up we see Danny lying on the bricks almost dying and in the next scene (a year later) he is fine. I have the feeling that there's a scene missing (like Netflix cut it out or something) otherwise I can't understand it.
Answer: There's no missing scene. He just managed to survive the gunshot. Simple as that. It's a comedy movie that's having some fun with action-film cliches. Character surviving gunshots and explosions that should have killed them fits right in with that theme. (Not to mention, even beyond the movie, it's not uncommon at all for people to survive gunshots like that in real life).
Question: In what season/episode did the officers show a store owner how to hang clothes with coat hangers so they are difficult to steal? They alternated the coat hangers so each one pointed in the opposite direction. The would-be thief couldn't just garb the garments and run. Thank you.
Answer: Adding to the previous answer, this is S3xE10 "Public Affairs DR-14" of Dragnet. At timecode 00:18:40, Friday talks about the clothing hangers on the storeroom suit rack in Daltons.
Answer: That was a Dragnet when Friday and Bill educate store owners how to avoid crime. No empty milk crates that can be tossed through a window, nightlights left on inside etc. The clothing rack was outside a store.
One for the Road (3) - S11-E28
Question: When I streamed this episode, there were a couple of small scenes missing (Sam explaining that his cigars were a gift from Fidel Castro via Reggie Jackson; Sam kissing Rebecca goodbye). I know they used to cut scenes to cram in more commercials after the initial broadcast, but with a streaming service, you're not limited to a time slot. Why not air the whole thing?
Answer: They sometimes acquire episodes from syndicated reruns. The ones with the cut scenes. Sundance channel have some episodes of M.A.S.H. uncut.
Question: Weir makes a point of telling the reader the notes for the name "Adrian." Since he got the names from the movie Rocky, and since the theme song of that movie is "Eye of the Tiger", if I was Weir I would have made Adrian's name the first few notes (or the first few notes of the chorus) of that song. But I have no idea what "an A-below-middle-C major fifth, followed by an E-flat octave, and then a G-minor seventh" sounds like. Can anyone tell if these notes are from that song?
Question: What is wrong with Ricky's mother? She always seems so distant and not in the right frame of mind, emotional abuse also maybe?
Answer: Whilst we, the audience, are never told what exactly is wrong with Ricky's mom, it could, as the previous member said, be any number of reasons. Depression, from being abused. Trauma from a history of a loveless marriage to a homosexual man.
Answer: Ricky's father is emotionally and physically abusive, and it's safe to say this is directed at his wife. A common response to abuse, especially sustained abuse over years of marriage, is to simply shut down, avoid engaging at all for fear of attracting attention/abuse. She also may be aware that her husband is (SPOILER ALERT) a closeted homosexual, which would be another motivation to be distant towards him.
Question: Were Katherine and Sebastian's parents even still together? And where were they? I'm guessing the movie was set in the summer and they were wealthy, so had taken off for a long holiday.
Answer: Kathryn tells Sebastian that "the parental units called," as if they are together at the place that they called from. He asks if her "gold-digging" mother is enjoying Bali. She jokes about his "alcoholic" father "diddling the maid." I think the parents called from a hotel in Bali (so she is referring to a hotel maid). They are together, even if the marriage is just a sham at this point.
Answer: We the audience are never told one way or the other where the parents are. But according to Katherine, Sebastian's father is diddling the maid (or something). Meanwhile the mother, either one, is either, a) dead, b) in rehab or c) as you say on a permanent vacation.
Question: Would Gus not die instantly from his injuries of that explosion? Instead, he has time to walk out, straighten his tie, traumatize the nurses, then die? Or is that all for the sake of good TV?
Answer: Definitely just for the sake of good TV; in reality, this would be instant death (or at least, very soon after, and no way one could just get up and walk). There's a featurette on the production of this scene, and Vince Gilligan addresses the liberties taken with reality here. He felt that since Gus was such an iconic character, he deserved an equally iconic death, hence the calm, cool, collected way he walks out of the room with half a face. Gilligan said he also wanted to briefly fake the audience out, as we see Gus walk out from his "unaffected" side first and assume he somehow survived the blast.
Question: Does anyone know the reason why Tarantino decided to show the events in this film out of order, with the sequence of Jules and Vincent trying to get the stolen briefcase back to Marcellus and the many mishaps they run across along the way shown at the end, even though chronologically that actually happens before Vincent takes Mia out for her birthday dinner, and before Butch's story where he tries to escape town with his father's watch?
Answer: Expanding upon the other answer, the scene in the diner between Vincent, Jules, Ringo, and Yolanda is the clear emotional and thematic climax of the film. Therefore, shuffling the linear progression of the film to put it at the end makes sense from a storytelling point of view. Ending it with Butch and Fabienne escaping (chronologically, the last event in the narrative) would not have worked as a final scene.
Answer: Tarantino felt that telling the stories in a nonlinear structure would make the narrative more engaging since it would keep the viewer on their toes. Basically because you have to really pay attention to what's happening and put it together in your head like a puzzle. I'd also personally elaborate that it changes the way you view certain scenes because it leaps back and forth in time. Ex. We eventually learn that Vincent is destined to die, so the way his scenes later in the film play out hits you in a different way then they would have if the film followed a traditional linear structure.
Question: If Violet knew that Roz was eavesdropping on some of the employees in the restroom, shouldn't she just confront her about it or let everyone aware that Roz was eavesdropping them and blab it on Hart?
Answer: She does let people know, at least she warned Judy. But Roz is cagey (remember how she pulled her feet up so it looked like her stall was empty). As for confronting her, Roz was her supervisor and the boss' pet. If she told Hart that Violet was harassing her, it would go poorly for Violet.
Question: In both Kevin and Wendy's pictures, there are hints towards their deaths on the train (this being Jason's blurred face and Kevin's face close up in the camera mimicking his face being smashed into the train window) but if this is the case is there any possible hint for Julie's death via train wheel?
Answer: Yes, she was posing in front of a merry-go-round. A fast spinning, wheel-shaped structure. Also, if you look closely, there's a circle-shaped decoration in the merry-go-round that looks like its about to hit her in the head.
Question: Kate says she wants to take a year off for her new baby, Hotch says her job is still there, but we never do see her again. Possibly a way of just writing her out due to Jennifer Love Hewitt being pregnant in real life? Also the character not being well liked?
Answer: The official explanation was that Love Hewitt was written out at the end of Season 10 was because she was pregnant. She was still pregnant when Season 11 began filming and unable to resume the show then. After giving birth, Love Hewitt wanted to focus on being a full-time mom and chose not to return. When the series was rebooted on Paramount+, she was already cast in another show. However, Love Hewitt's departure may have have been prompted by fans disliking her character, even though producers claimed viewers had accepted her by the end of the season. This allowed her a graceful exit.
Question: Evie pretends that she can't go home because Brooke is out of town. She says that Brooke sent Mel an email about it. Why doesn't Mel call her out on this lie, and make her go home? Mel says "I guess I didn't check my email", but it sounds like she is also pretending.
Answer: I got the impression that Tracy's family, being lower-income, doesn't have the Internet at home. This was not very unusual in the early 2000s. Internet service was still a semi-luxury for some families. Mel doesn't want to admit that she is not checking her e-mail often. She may not even have an e-mail address; also not very unusual for the time. (I graduated from high school in 2006, and some of my classmates still didn't care to use e-mail).
Answer: Evie does lie a lot in thirteen to Mel and Tracey to get her own way. She labels Brooke as her cousin, guardian, and changes up her story each time when saying she's been abused. She's desperate to live with Mel.
Answer: She didn't want to hurt her feelings or make her upset.
Question: After they blow up Madison Square Garden, as they are standing outside Godzilla makes an appearance after previously being assumed dead. How did it manage to get back to Madison Square Garden without being detected by anyone?
Answer: Everyone was so focused on the nest in the Garden, they all forgot about Godzilla.
Question: When Laura's hair is falling out in the school shower, she looks at Rochelle and says that she doesn't know what she did to deserve this. Why doesn't Rochelle say anything? She could at least point out the way that Laura bullies people, without revealing the witch coven.
Answer: Because unlike Laura, Rochelle is, or was, essentially a good person. And good people tend not to kick someone when they're down.
Answer: I think this moment shows how people don't always "learn their lesson" — at least not when you think they should learn it. Rochelle seems to realize that her spell has been useless because Laura is not changing. She can't imagine why she deserves this.
Answer: I think Rochelle was shocked to see Laura in such an emotional state and with almost no hair. It's likely she started to feel guilty for casting the spell on her.
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: 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.