Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Umbopa's people wear colorful, patterned clothes, use metal weapons and bells. Yet there is no evidence of cotton fields, weaving equipment, mines or forges. Where did they get/make these items?

Answer: It's possible all these goods were traded for. Realistically, everything came from the MGM costume and prop department. Movies from this era seldom strove for historical or cultural accuracy. Native costumes and other possessions were often the embellished invention of imaginative costume and set designers, with little thought or regard to authenticity. The intent was to produce an exciting, colorful, entertaining movie.

raywest

Question: Excluding plot convenience and suspension of disbelief, how could the time machine be shipped to San Francisco when H.G. Wells was traveling into the future with it?

Answer: At the end of the movie, he said that he was going to dismantle the time machine, so it's not used again, thus ending this timeline and the timeline we know as H.G. Wells would come to pass. As for the time machine being in San Francisco, if the machine had never been moved or buried, he would have landed in London.

Answer: In the late 1970s, Wells' time machine and other belongings were sent to San Francisco as part of an H.G. Wells exhibit at a museum. It had been found two years earlier, buried under Wells' since-demolished London house. It was considered a non-working "curiosity" that Wells built and had inspired his novel, "The Time Machine." In the 19th century, when Wells chased Jack the Ripper into the future, that is where his time machine landed, apparently drawn to its 1979 counterpart in San Francisco. At the end, Wells returned to 19th-century London in the time machine, where it would eventually be found many decades later. And sorry, but there has to be some "suspension of disbelief" to explain the time travel.

raywest

Question: When Teasle and Rambo first meet, Teasle says something to the effect of "wearing that flag on that jacket, looking the way you do, you're asking for trouble around here." What does Teasle mean about Rambo wearing the flag? Is the town liberal, and he knows they wouldn't respect a veteran? I've never quite understood that line.

Answer: The exact opposite. He's saying Rambo looks like a long-hair peacenik, not a clean-cut veteran, so the town, being conservative, will not take kindly to his wearing the US flag in a way that they would interpret as disrespectful.

Answer: What he's actually saying is that many American soldiers returning from Vietnam were actually despised. America was incredibly divided over Vietnam in the 70s. Unfortunately, many vets were shunned in society.

Question: What did Professor Trelawney mean by "innocent blood shall be spilt" in her prediction?

Answer: My interpretation was that Trelawney's prediction referred to Sirius Black and the Dementors, who were going to suck out his soul. While his blood would not literally be spilled, it was still a death of an innocent person. It was more of a dramatic colloquial expression, like saying someone has "blood on their hands" for causing innocent people's deaths. The prediction could also include Buckbeak, who was being wrongly executed that same night. Her prediction was regarding events that would have occurred if Harry and Hermione had not traveled back in time and changed the outcome.

raywest

Question: If Wadsworth threw away the key to the cupboard (as we saw), how could Col. Mustard open it to get the wrench to do away with the motorist?

Answer: As Wadsworth explained to everybody, when he saw the motorist at the door, he didn't throw the key away but put it back in his coat pocket. While everyone's attention was on the motorist, Col. Mustard took the key from Wadsworth pocket and replaced it with a different key.

Question: Spoiler! Does this movie actually end with Dominic and his son Brian about to die and the bad guy Dante winning?

Answer: It does - it's a massive cliffhanger leading directly into the next (and apparently final) film. The team's plane has been shot down and crashed, seemingly killing them all (but let's be honest, that's unlikely...). Dom and Little B survive the drive off the dam and crash into the river. Dante looks down on them and arms massive bombs along the length of the dam, they apparently have nowhere to run to... End of film.

Jon Sandys

Show generally

Question: Which episode is it where the characters visit either a museum or an archaeological dig of the 20th century, and come across a voiceover/narrator/scientist making wild and wrong assumptions about the use of common objects? I've got a quote in my mind that's something like "here's where people would maybe do [something] perhaps."

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: In s02e06, "The Lesser of Two Evils", they go to "Past-o-Rama" amusement park. There's a hologram of an Old New York traffic and the voice over guy says something like "it was a forum for a free exchange of opinions", followed by New Yorkers yelling.

Bishop73

Thanks! I think what I was remembering was that combined with the Bigfoot video where the narrator says "In the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest dwells the strange and beautiful creature known as Bigfoot, perhaps."

Jon Sandys

Question: It didn't look that late when Buckbeak was executed, even though Fudge said it was at sundown, so how come it's really dark when they get out of the shrieking shack?

Answer: That is a too literal interpretation. Sundown (or dusk) can mean near the end of day when there is still full sunlight. The sun then sets fairly rapidly. Enough time had elapsed while everyone was in the Shrieking Shack that it would be quite dark by the time they emerged.

raywest

Question: Why does Hermione seem to hate Scabbers throughout this movie? I'm talking about before they find out the truth?

Answer: Hermione doesn't hate Scabbers. A rift had been ongoing between her and Ron. Hermione resented him constantly blaming her cat, Crookshanks, for chasing Scabbers. Ron was angry that Hermione never took responsibility for her cat's behavior. Even though Ron was justified, Hermione was being unreasonably protective and resentful. She didn't realise that Crookshanks sensed something odd about Scabbers. Also Ron and Hermione had other issues with each other, and the pets were merely an excuse to express their disagreements. It's also supposed to show the growing romantic tension between them.

raywest

Episode #1.8 - S1-E8

Question: As we know Gene died in 1953 so how did he save Alex in 1981 from the car bomb, he was already dead and in the purgatory world?

Answer: Have you finished watching the entire series? I don't think it's fair to answer this for someone who hasn't.

Bishop73

Answer: Agree with the other answer. This is not the place for spoilers. I suggest checking the series' entry on Wikipedia. There is a synopsis of each season's episodes that may have the answer you seek. Check here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ashes_to_Ashes_episodes.

raywest

Question: The older sister seems to hate Uncle Buck. Why does she hate him?

Answer: She doesn't seem to really hate him, per se. She's a rebellious teenager going through a hard time in her life, pretty much giving all adults/authority figures a hard time (including her parents). Like a lot of teenagers, she doesn't like being told what to do and thinks herself far more mature than she is. She starts off on the wrong foot with Buck before he even shows up, since she resents her parents for having him come in the first place; she thinks she's old enough to a) be left alone, and b) look after her two younger siblings. So, when he shows up, she immediately defies him and refuses to acknowledge that he is "in charge", since she is, in her mind, not a child anymore. Her relationship with him eventually thaws as she realises that he genuinely cares about her (something she doesn't think her parents do).

Question: The main characters were going to fly to the Caribbean at the end of the movie. Gordon was going to go back there with his sister. As for the rest of the crew, were they to travel there for good to escape authorities or just go on vacation?

Answer: Escape authorities.

Question: There's a scene where they are getting ambushed by the humvee and then Wex is cut in half. Right before that, it shows a soldier pick up a chopped off hand and put it in his bag. Why did he do that and secretly?

Answer: My thought when I saw it was that he just didn't want to leave any comrade behind, even if it was a small body part. It's gruesome but it appears he's being driven by his emotions and loyalty.

raywest

If I recall, one of the mottos used in the film was "Leave No Man Behind." So, as the other answer says, by picking it up he is making sure no part of someone is left behind.

Ssiscool

Question: When Coach Haskins allows players to "play their way" why is the team more effective?

Answer: Because it's a bi-racial team. While he worked to build a unified team, he recognizes that there are many differences between the members. He realises he needs to also allow them to play to their natural abilities and individual strengths, making them more effective players.

raywest

Answer: The army found out it was George Berger who fought in the war. If you look at the scene where they are standing over the grave, you will see Claude in civilian clothes. He should have been arrested for dodging the draft and having someone else impersonate him.

Answer: It is assumed the military will have worked out his actual identity by this time. He likely told someone between boarding the plane and his death, was drafted per his draft card, dying (needlessly, as did all those who went to and /or fought) in Vietnam. It was demonstrated on both sides that soldiers tended to shoot high, above their "opponents" heads - it is not within the nature of humans to wish to kill each other with no motivation (on the whole). War sucks, is part of the vast corporate money machine. This film is a tribute to peace, love and the human condition.

Question: Was it Annie or Hallie that put the rocks in Meredith's bag, put the lizard on her head, and Evian bottle?

Answer: It was Annie. I know because Hallie was ahead of everyone when they're were walking which means she knows the way to their camping site... Know that it's Annie's first time on their camping trip.

Question: What does Colonel O'Connell yell to his Legionnaires in French as the cavalry charge nears? And why does he then continue in English ("Steady, Steady...Fire!").

Answer: He is in the French Foreign Legion, which is a corps in the French army which allows foreigners to sign up. But, it is mostly led by French and a lot of French nationals are still a part of it. So hence why he speaks in multiple languages, being trained by French.

lionhead

Yes, I know, but what does he yell in French? Does anyone have the text? It's not in the script. Fraser is fluent in French, maybe it was his improvisation. I'd still like to know what he said.

tovangar

Ah yes, sorry. I was too focussed on the second question. He says "Prenez vos positions." Which means "take your positions!"

lionhead

Question: Hermione was the one who said that when a werewolf transforms he'd kill his best friend if he saw him, so why did she think she could talk to Lupin after he transformed?

Answer: Hermione was quoting what she knew from reading in text books. Now she was in a precarious real-life situation and she's going to try anything to survive. At first, Lupin (as a werewolf) seems passive and non-dangerous, prompting her to see if she can communicate with him. She quickly realises she's wrong.

raywest

I wonder why Lupin can't recognize Hermione while in his werewolf form, but he used to spend time with James, Peter, and Sirius, in their Animagus forms? So he was capable of recognizing friends.

All 3 friends of Remus managed to calm down werewolf Lupin as animagi after a while. But only Sirius wasn't enough apparently, plus it had been decades since they did that.

lionhead

Totally agree with Lionhead, but would emphasize that Lupin had no control whatsoever over his mind, did not know who he was, nor did he recognize anyone when he transformed into a werewolf. He simply related to James, Sirius, and Pettigrew in their Animagus forms as being other animals who could moderate his behaviour and kept him far away from humans.

raywest

De-Kahnstructing Henry - S3-E13

Question: When Minh says that Dale can buy the panda radio, and she tells him to address a check to her, why does he pretend not to know her name?

Answer: Dale probably wasn't serious about buying the radio. He was teasing Kahn by asking what Minh's name is. He is enjoying the fact that Kahn and Minh need to sell stuff at a yard sale, because they are normally arrogant, condescending people.

Question: Since I didn't notice it for a long time, I wanna make sure I'm right about this, so am I seeing a real tear roll down Hermione's face as she and everyone claps for Hagrid at the end?

Answer: Yes there is a tear you can see on her face. I think it is meant to be a happy tear because Hagrid is a kind and caring person to her and others at Hogwarts.

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