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: When Brutus and Nero return Penny to the riverboat after catching her while she tries to run away, what would have happened if Medusa was already at the riverboat by then instead searching the swamp in her swamp mobile?

Johman

Chosen answer: She may have been very upset with Penny for running away. But she may have also had a talk with her like she does much later in the movie about why she needs her for finding the diamond.

Question: What was the name of the lotion that Cady gave to Regina? Also, which cosmetic brands were used in the movie?

Answer: The foot cream was Intensive Moisturizing Foot Cream with Alpha Hydroxy (peppermint scented) and the skin cleanser was Facial Cleansing Gel (peppermint scented).

Answer: Peppermint foot cream.

Answer: The other answer is wrong, Brian has shown a dislike for Quagmire - specifically because of Quagmire's dislike of him. Most likely Brian, who has shown feelings for Lois throughout the show too, is acting on his own feelings of guilt.

Answer: It is not that Brian and Quagmire both hate each other; it is actually just Quagmire who hates Brian, but Brian does not hate Quagmire. Brian tells Peter to move on from Quagmire's pocket dial because confronting him about it may result in him ruining his friendship and cause heartache for everyone involved.

Casual Person

Question: Why does the doctor call Allie 'Ms. Hamilton' when at the time they would still be married?

Answer: She doesn't remember being married. Using her married name would only serve to confuse and upset her.

Question: Why didn't werewolf Remus kill the marauders in animagus from? What difference did it make if they were in animal form then human form?

Answer: Remus, when in his werewolf form (and before the werewolf potion was invented) did not display aggression towards any other animals, only humans. This allowed James, Sirius and Pettigrew to be able control him at all times when they were transformed into their animagus forms.

raywest

Question: It's been established that the grandfather has no knowledge of Corrine's children. When they come across a copy of his will, it states that if it was ever discovered that Corrine had children from her first marriage, she would lose everything. Since he never knew he had grandchildren why was this clause ever added?

Answer: Because Connie and her husband were related (he was her uncle) and any children would be a product of incest. And if it was ever found out they had children, it would bring shame and disgrace to the family name.

Bishop73

Question: (Spoiler alert) If Annabelle and Dr. Trent simply wanted to murder Frederick, what was the point of Dr. Trent attempting to dispose of Frederick's body in the acid? Why the elaborate scheme to have him accidentally killed by someone else if they were going to destroy his body in acid anyway? They could have simply hit him over the head and dumped him in the pit.

Question: At the beginning of the film when Gordon is turning on the Bat signal, Ramirez asks Wuertz something about an investigation on the Batman. Wuertz replies that is an ongoing operation and throws some rubbish into the bin. At that moment, you can see a board with pictures of "possible Batman suspects", and you can see a picture of a "Man in the mountains, dressed in black." This man dressed in black looks like the "suit" Bruce Wayne wore when he was training with Ras al Gul in Batman Begins. My question is, how did the cops get that picture?

Answer: It's not a photo of Bruce Wayne in the mountains. The three pictures on the board are Elvis Presley, Abraham Lincoln and Bigfoot - in other words the police have no idea who the Batman is.

Sierra1

Question: The family's front door swings out rather than in. I know in places such as Florida, this is due to the hurricane weather so the door does not get blown in. However, in this movie, the family resides in California. We don't have front doors that swing outwards because we do not have hurricanes. Was this a mistake or was there a reason for the door to swing out?

Answer: Just because it's uncommon or even rare for an outer door to swing outwards, doesn't make it a mistake or even special.

Greg Dwyer

Answer: It was probably (or close to being) a "revealing mistake" - how something was done for movie "convenience" or effect. It is much easier, faster, and dramatic if someone can run out of the house and immediately attack someone compared to having to take time to "open the door" (inward, like it is usually done).

KeyZOid

Question: In the infirmary, when the Alien gets close to Ripley, and then (we realise why later in the movie) pulls back and leaves her, because she is carrying the queen chestburster, why doesn't the Alien hold her, take her with him, into the vent system and cocoon her like we see the others do to all those other humans in Aliens? It seems to be remiss of the creature to let her run around, as opposed to guarding her, especially since it seems to be a "guard."

dizzyd

Answer: Well at the time I'm sure it was just to keep the story moving but as far as the lore, this alien is a different breed (A Runner). They are meant more for acquiring food for the hive were as the drones (from Alien and Aliens) create the hive and the cocoon to hold incapacitated people. The drones can also be used for defending the queen/hive, scouting or gathering hosts for the facehuggers.

Chosen answer: 2 Reasons; 1. The entire rest of the prison was trying to find it and kill it. The Alien is fast and strong but if spent most of its time hovering around Ripley, it would be outmatched and killed. 2. The Alien probably knew that Ripley was an ally of the prisoners. They weren't trying to hurt her, so she didn't need guarding.

Dra9onBorn117

For 1) No, not yet they weren't trying to kill it, at this point in the movie noone believed her except possibly a deranged convict (lotssa help he'd be in any case) 2) That one is a little harder to dispel, but nevertheless, the alien would probably want to drag her, hide her, somewhere in the depths of the complex, just to be safe, and certainly to be present and available as a guard when the chestburster actually hatches.

dizzyd

A Day in the Life - S4-E15

Question: I'm not familiar with the law so if someone could answer two questions I would be very thankful. 1. In the very last case, the defendant discovers that anyone not arraigned before midnight is set free which causes him to waive the right to refuse the reading of the information. What exactly does this mean? 2. Dan immediately starts reading off the list of information getting the case turned over to a grand jury. How can Dan reading the information get the case turned over to a grand jury if the defendant waived the rights?

Answer: The jails are overcrowded, so any petty offenders whose case isn't heard by midnight will be let go. The defendant wants the details of his case read (Instead of just the typical summary of the case that Mack gives Harry) because he knows it'll take a while and run out the clock on the midnight deadline, also sparing him the grand jury trial. Dan speed-recites the document quickly enough for Harry to rule on the case and bang his gavel just at the stroke of midnight.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: Why didn't Triton kill or at least try and hurt Ursula with his sceptre instead of trying to destroy the contract? If destroying her is all it takes to nullify the contract, as seen at the end when Eric drives the ship into Ursula, killing her, then why didn't he do that instead of signing his own name saving Ariel and becoming one of Ursula's garden along with all the other merpeople she transformed too? Or better still, use his sceptre to turn the merpeople back to normal and then they all overthrow Ursula together?

Answer: 1. He's not a murderer. 2. As we see, he's not able to break Ariel's contract, so he wouldn't be able to break the other merpeoples' contracts either.

You Can't Win 'Em All - S4-E22

Question: I recently saw this episode for the first time in a few years and one scene seemed altered. When Cindy was asked about which side an egg would fall from a rooster, she said "neither side cause roosters don't lay eggs." For many years her answer was "neither side cause roosters crow...HENS lay eggs." This did not appear edited but was there more than one version produced which explains the difference in her line?

Answer: I watched this episode (well, only the part in question, once I found it) three times. Once on Hulu, once on YouTube (poor quality), and once on VCR tape a friend had made years ago (pretty grainy). All three times, Cindy replied the same way, and it doesn't quite match either version you submitted. The line is, "It won't roll off at all, 'cause roosters don't lay eggs." But I could totally hear, in my mind, the line you suggest in Cindy's voice. Cindy was sort of known for being a little snotty. Throughout the series, particularly in later seasons, a number of her lines took on the kind of mocking "not-this...THAT" prosody that this kind of utterance calls for. I wonder if you might be confusing her intonation from another line in another episode for this one. But assuming you are remembering correctly, then there must have been more than one version, as I also saw no hint of editing - not even a change in camera angle.

Michael Albert

Question: At the end, Chip gets airlifted to hospital because of the fall he sustained jumping from the top of the dish. But after he's discharged, would he be arrested by the police and convicted after everything he did throughout the whole movie? eg. Stalking, harassment, stealing, breaking and entering, making a false call to the police, spying, beating up Robin's new boyfriend, etc.

Answer: More than likely yes. And most probably sent to a phyciatric hospital.

The_Iceman

Answer: Could be very likely a no. I live in Alaska where someone attacked two women, was found "incompetent to stand trial" and released, and then he stabbed a woman in the back. She's now paralyzed from the waist down and he has again been deemed incompetent. He was released to psychiatric care, but if they deem him not a danger at any point, he can be released and nobody he's attacked would be notified about it. There's a really upsetting article about it on the anchorage daily news website, actually.

Show generally

Question: Kind of a long question but please bear with me. In one episode, Catherine and Vince have to rescue a boy who was being chased by a man who murdered his father. The boy claims to have a letter from his father detailing a crime that occurred and how he was killed for betraying the man. The end of the episode has the boy reading the letter out loud in court. The judge asks to see it and after a quick look over, he gives it to the man who was after the boy. When the man looks at it, there's nothing on the paper but squiggly lines. The judge then has the man arrested for murder. Why would the judge do this? There were no witnesses. All they had was the word of a boy and a piece of paper with nothing but wavy lines on it. No real evidence was presented to the judge at all.

Answer: (Episode 1x19 "Everything is Everything") It's not a regular court or judge, it's a Gypsy "kris" (court) to determine a new judgement for the boy, Tony, and it's headed by Milo, who is the Gypsy King. Milo had two sons, elder Eric (Tony's dead father) and Vick (Tony's uncle), who framed Eric for theft from the family business, and it was Milo (he didn't know the truth) who held the earlier "kris" which declared Eric, his wife and son, Tony, to be "marime" as if they're all dead and had them banished from the community. Then Tony's parents were in a fatal car accident in Chicago, and before Eric died he told Tony the truth about how and why Vick framed him. Now at the new "kris" Tony has the chance to speak to prove his father's innocence, and tells everyone that Vick lied and stole the money, then framed his father because Eric had been next in line to be the Gypsy King. Milo tells Tony that his word isn't enough for a verdict and he must show proof. Tony tells his grandfather that Eric gave him a letter, while on his deathbed, in order to clear his name and punish the guilty. When Tony pretends to read the letter (remember, we learned Tony can't read), he starts out as if the letter was written to his father, Eric, and cleverly pretends that it was written by Vick's accomplice from the theft (Vick's friend sitting behind him, who also works at the body shop), admitting to the frame-up. As Tony keeps "reading" we see Vick turn around to his accomplice and say, "You fool!" for the letter's admission of guilt, and then the accomplice replies loudly, "I didn't write no letter... You said nobody could prove nothin'!" for everyone to hear. So after the truth has come out, Milo shows Vick the letter which only has squiggly lines on it, just so Vick understands that even though the letter wasn't real, he and his accomplice still admitted their guilt for the theft, and now they will be "marime" as if they're dead and banished from the community. Vick did not murder Tony's father, and he's not arrested.

Super Grover

Question: After having so many disappointments over the way that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was filmed, Roald Dahl swore he would never be involved in any movie that was based on one of his books. How then was the rights to turn the novel "The Witches" into a movie acquired? Wouldn't the director have needed Roald's permission?

Answer: "The Witches" was made twenty years after "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", and in that time television adaptations had been made of "The BFG" and "Danny the Champion of the World" of which Dahl approved, so presumably he had relaxed his view of adaptations of his books - however he did hate the ending of The Witches film.

Sierra1

The Boys in the Band - S15-E1

Question: When Stewie is talking to Brian about songs not addressing baby issues, Brian says to Stewie "Well how could they address baby issues? Children's songs are written by adults. And dollars to donuts, white adults." Stewie then replies saying "Who are you mad at, Brian?" and Brian then says "How much time you got?" Did I miss a joke or something? What exactly was "And dollars to donuts, white adults" supposed to mean?

Casual Person

Chosen answer: "Dollars to donuts" is just a colorful expression meaning you're pretty sure about something (similar to saying "100 to 1" which in betting terms mean I'll put up $100 I'm right and you put up $1 that I'm wrong). Brian is just suggesting baby songs are written by white adults because he's saying white people don't have real problems.

Bishop73

The Boys in the Band - S15-E1

Question: When Stewie says he is going to write a song and that Brian can help, Brian replies saying "Well, I did write a musical about Alexander Hamilton." Stewie then looks puzzled by what Brian said and Brian says to Stewie "Not that one." First, who exactly is the Alexander Hamilton that Brian was talking about? And second, what exactly was Stewie supposed have been thinking of after Brian said Alexander Hamilton, but before Brian pointed out it "wasn't that one"?

Casual Person

Chosen answer: There's a Broadway musical called "Hamilton", which is about Alexander Hamilton. It's been very successful and won countless awards. Stewie gives Brian a look of disbelief that he wrote the popular "Hamilton" musical, so Brian is saying the musical he wrote is not the famous musical, but a different one.

Bishop73

Question: Why was Meredith so enthusiastic to make Tom "lose everything"? All she wanted was for him to be transferred or quit so he didn't find out about the changes on the production line, but she is asking him to see pictures of his family and trying to send him to Austin which would be sold, instead of another place. The book even mentions that Meredith was the one who was aiming to sell Austin. Why not just transfer Tom to another place and job in Digicom?

Answer: She needs to heavily discredit him in order to cover up her own mistakes. She wants to transfer him to Austin and then sell it so she can do it quietly and without ado.

Greg Dwyer

Question: After Pigeon Toady finds Junior and Tulip with the baby girl, he returns to Conservatoire to make the report to Hunter. While Hunter strategizes in tracking down Junior and Tulip, Toady points out that they don't know where they going. That reduces Hunter in planning to change the address of the baby's homing beacon. Why doesn't Toady use his phone to call Hunter once he finds Junior and Tulip, and why doesn't he continue to follow them?

Johman

Chosen answer: Toady is intent on impressing Hunter by reporting Junior and Tulip to him. He was likely so eager to report Junior and Tulip to Hunter that he forgot all about where Junior and Tulip were going off too, but instead to let Hunter know about what was happening and likely be given some recognition from him.

Casual Person

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.