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: The moment the United Nations van bomb goes off, you can see what appear to be tracks on the rooftops of the buildings. Those look to be the kind of tracks that they maneuver moving cameras on when they film. What are those really?

Answer: Those are track systems for window washers. A cart on the track suspends the window-washing scaffolding over the side and can be moved over the track for a thorough clean.

TedStixon

Answer: There appears to be a number of reasons. When Scheider signed onto the project, there was a different director and a script that he liked. He disliked the changes and had creative differences with new director Szwarc, who he felt spent too much time filming scenes with the kid actors.

raywest

Question: How did the UN bombing kill King T'Chaka, but leave T'Challa only somewhat hurt? Since both were nearest the windows and, therefore, roughly equally nearest all the flying glass and shrapnel when they got caught in the bomb blast, wouldn't it have been enough to kill them both?

Answer: T'Chaka is significantly older (implied to be at least in his 60s if not 70s), and thus his body is much more frail. Something that might not hurt or kill a younger, more able-bodied person can absolutely hurt or kill an elderly man or woman. (That's why it's such a big deal if an old person suffers a bad fall.) We also know for sure that T'Challa was under the influence of the "heart shaped herb" that gives him enhanced abilities by this point in time, whereas we do not know whether T'Chaka was still under the herb's influence. It's entirely possible that when T'Challa became the Black Panther, T'Chaka's powers were stripped, since there is only one Black Panther at a time.

TedStixon

Question: When Amy protests as Dan picks her up and jumps into the water with her, we cut to an underwater view of them plunging into the water together, and then Amy freezing up moments later. What happened that maybe triggered her the moment they went underwater?

Question: What was so wrong with Marty and Doc returning to the future and stopping Old Biff from stealing the DeLorean? If they stopped Old Biff from stealing it, he wouldn't be able to go back in time to give his younger self the almanac.

Answer: As Doc explained, they'd be traveling to an alternate future. A future where old Biff already has the almanac, and thus, the alternate old Biff wouldn't have a need to steal the DeLorean to give his younger self the almanac. (I believe there've been discussions on here about why did old Biff then return to the same future Doc and Marty were in instead of the alternate future, and it's implied he basically fades out of existence.)

Bishop73

Answer: To use Doc's example in the film, think of time as a linear straight line. Beginning at the point where the past was changed (i.e. Old Biff giving the almanac to his younger self in 1955), time would then continue linearly; therefore, traveling to the future from 1985-A would result in visiting the future of 1985-A. That's why Doc and Marty had to go back to 1955 to get the almanac back; once the anomaly was corrected (i.e. the almanac removed from where it didn't belong), the 1985-A timeline would vanish and time would resume its course the way it should in the original 1985 timeline.

Cubs Fan

Question: Ruth Meyers told Willy Jack that it would take two years to get his song on the radio. Why does it take so long, at least when this movie was filmed?

Answer: He's an unknown singer. It takes time to groom and refine a novice entertainer's raw talent, shape their image, build their career, book gigs, get a record contract, generate publicity, get a song recorded, and so on. Most radio stations are not going to play a random, unknown singer's song.

raywest

Question: When is Nikko's name (leader of the flying monkeys) actually stated in the movie?

Answer: I don't believe it ever was mentioned. However, the character can still be credited in the cast list to differentiate him from the lesser flying monkeys. There could also have been a deleted scene where his name was mentioned.

raywest

Show generally

Question: Has it ever been revealed what's under Double D's hat? If it hasn't, what is the best speculation?

Answer: Danny Antonucci thought it best to leave up to the viewers' imaginations where it'd be sure to be even more outrageous. My guess is one bad haircut.

Rob245

Show generally

Question: Throughout the series, Sarah has been shown to have excessive anger, as well as hostility towards her older brother. Is it ever revealed why she is so angry?

Answer: She's just a spoiled, bratty younger sister.

Rob245

Question: At the end of the film, and just after the shootout between Andre Davis and Captain McKenna, we can glimpse blood on McKenna's badge as he's knelt down, seriously injured. Is this a reference to Andre's previous statement that "There cannot be blood on the badge"?

Question: When Sarah was using the camera flashes as an impromptu light source, who was the figure trying to grab at her in the darkness the second she snapped the random picture?

Answer: It was herself when she was younger.

Answer: I think it's just a joke about how out of work and the limelight he had been. This episode aired in 1998. From '88-'94, Macaulay had been in 14 movies, 3 TV shows, 2 music videos, and appeared on over a dozen shows as himself (SNL host, late-night talk show guest, etc). After "Ritchie Rich" in 1994, he wasn't in anything or on TV. So he was nowhere to be found for 4 years. Although, prior to the airing of this episode, he did appear in Sonic Youth's "Sunday" music video. But I think this episode was created before the release of the video.

Bishop73

Question: Why does the first tripod kill every human in sight if that just leaves the others with not so many humans to harvest? The only purpose of the heat ray would be in defense.

Answer: It's unknown if the aliens needed to harvest every human, and doubtful the heat rays were only defensive. It appears to be a two-pronged attack: 1. Harvest the necessary number of humans or other lifeforms needed for their blood; 2. Eradicate all other life on Earth.

raywest

Question: What was happening with the reaper's back when he was biting Lighthammer?

Answer: From what I understand, this is simply somehow part of the reaper's digestive process. As the "sacks" inflate on its back, oozy liquid is also being expelled. If I recall correctly, in one of the commentary tracks, it's explained that this is basically how the reapers "defecate." Once they've filtered out the nutrients from the blood, it is expelled as the oozy liquid. Presumably the sacks have something to do with this.

TedStixon

Answer: Details are sketchy, but apparently NBC had renewed the series for a 5th season, but after unresolved contract disputes, the network canceled the show. 20th Century Fox, who produced the show, attempted to get other networks like FOX, TNT, and TBS to pick it up, but the studio was unable to reach favorable terms that would protect the show's artistic content.

raywest

Question: After Rizz brings Sandy to Danny as a surprise, Sandy runs off, and Danny looks at Rizz. Is it a look of being annoyed by Rizz, or is it "I'm sorry I hurt you before, I get why you've done this"?

Answer: He's hurt and he gives her a look of "You did this deliberately" - by bringing Sandy to meet him in front of the T-Birds, she blindsided him (and Sandy) and forced him to bring out his T-Bird persona during their surprise reunion. Obviously, that's not how he wanted his reunion with Sandy to go, and Rizzo is loving it. Rizzo is my fave character, but that bit is messed up. She may be doing it to get him back for using her as a one-night stand (before he met Sandy, not recently enough to have been the father of the suspected pregnancy like the other poster suggested). She may simply be doing it to spite Sandy because she dislikes her, and Danny is hurt and annoyed that she upset Sandy.

Answer: Personally, I've always wondered if Danny and Rizzo had a one-night stand, and that's the reason she's pregnant. She told Kenickie the baby isn't his.

No, Danny and Rizzo were an item at one point, but not at this time. Rizzo also tells Marty that it was not Kenickie's baby and "No, you don't know the guy," so none of the T-Birds could be the father.

Question: When Rose went underwater to retrieve her fallen keys, what was the story of the ballroom? Why was it flooded? Also, why did Rose choose to swim in the water fully clothed instead of just going in her underwear, to prevent her clothes from getting soaked?

Question: Spoiler! Did Skull shoot Tony in the back or spine?

Answer: Most likely, spine.

Question: How could Roy crush Eddie's head with a leather strap? This seems so unrealistic, even for this series.

Answer: It's highly unlikely, but it's actually not impossible. It's really dependent on how tough the leather strap is. Some leather can contend with a few hundred newtons of force before breaking. And a minor fracture or crack to one of the thinner parts of the skull can occur with as little as 15-20 newtons of force. Depending on where the strap was placed, it's possible it could crush enough bone to critically, or even possibly fatally, injure someone before it would snap. Again, highly unlikely, but it's actually not a totally unbelievable death.

TedStixon

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.