Answered 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: Did they have signs for smoking cars on the train windows in that era?

Answer: Yes they did. In 1868 the Railway Regulation Bill was passed in the UK which forced railway companies to designate certain cars as smoking cars. This bill was passed in response to companies banning smoking altogether on their trains.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: When the Kraken is attacking the Pearl, what was the point of hoisting all the gunpowder as high as possible? The Kraken is below the water and it's just the tentacles that are above the water. Did Will really expect it to kill the Kraken?

Answer: If they set it off too close to the deck, it could kill members of the crew or severely damage the ship. Hoisting it high and hoping that it would cripple the Kraken by maiming its tentacles was their best bet.

TedStixon

Question: The miscast spell made everyone who knew that Peter Parker was Spider-Man to appear in Tom's universe. Why didn't Mary-Jane, Harry Osborne and Eddie Brock from Toby's universe and Captain George Stacy and Gwen Stacy from Andrew's universe also appear as they knew Peter Parker was really Spider-Man?

Answer: Perhaps they did cross over, but they were not part of the plot, so we just didn't see them. They were all returned at the end anyway.

lionhead

Answer: It could be there were too many characters and too many subplots already, they only needed the characters that would cause the most damage to Peter's universe. There are confirmed sequels in the SCU and The MCU, who knows who could show up there.

Question: What is the machine that grabbed Neo, and why did it let him go after the cables that were attached to him get removed from his body?

Answer: The machine is probably a regular maintenance machine for the pods. It grabs hold of him as the cables are detached to prevent him from falling out. It let him go so the body could be drained for recycling.

lionhead

Answer: It let him go because he woke up and became self-aware. Everyone else was asleep in the Matrix fantasy world. The machines knew if anyone woke up, they would join the resistance, so Neo was considered defective and literally flushed away.

Question: So, Maverick is in Miramar (California) and must depart immediately for the Indian Ocean, some 12 time zones away. How do he (and all the others) get there in 24 hours, especially on the carrier, well rested and acclimated to the new time zone, ready to go to battle?

Answer: Who said it was 24 hours? When they move from one scene to another one, it's indicated that time has passed. Several hours to several days.

When they cut to the aircraft carrier, it says 24 hours later.

Question: Touching Lorna's computer Riggs unintentionally started a Three Stooges game which Lorna claimed to be a weapon. Why?

Answer: She didn't want him to see that she was a fan of those comical idiots. She was supposed to be a tough nonsense internal affairs officer. She was in fact his soulmate, exactly like him, wild and crazy.

Answer: There are two times when this happens the first time he is holding his guns. The second time he is holding a frog.

Question: Who is the character with him in the picture?

Answer: This question needs way more context. Who is the he you're referring to and what picture are you referring to?

Bishop73

If you're referring to the pictures that Eddie is looking at, the guy in the pictures next to Eddie is his brother Teddy who was killed by Judge Doom.

Question: How did the Marshalls know Kimble had been picked up by the lady when he was hitchhiking? (00:45:20 - 00:46:00)

Answer: They didn't. When Cosmo tells Sam that, "He's shacked up with some babe over in Whiting," they were actually talking about Copeland, who had also escaped and was with his girlfriend. Although the line was meant to let people watching the movie think they had found Richard, as eventually shown. It was really Copeland they had found.

Question: In The Matrix Reloaded, the Architect tells Neo that each incarnation of the One went into the Source while the machines killed everyone in Zion. If the machines knew where Zion was the whole time, then why did the machines need the code for the Zion mainframe?

Answer: Because that would make it easier to access Zion, like opening the gates and shutting off defences.

lionhead

Show generally

Question: I've heard they're a paper company but what do they make exactly? Just paper? Nothing but copy paper or do they make other stuff as well?

Rob245

Answer: They're a paper and office supply company. I'm pretty sure they never actually make the paper. But their main clients are businesses and corporations, not individuals, so they would sell business cards, pre-printed paper with letterhead, and other office supplies that they get directly from the paper or supply manufacture. They're basically the same as Office Max or Staples, but without stores for individuals to go and buy 1 pack of printer paper or a chair.

Bishop73

Question: What was the pamphlet that Forrest was given after graduating from college?

Answer: It was a recruitment pamphlet for the U.S. Army.

Bishop73

Show generally

Question: Even though we know in the pilot that Mike was widowed, the show kept Carol's status a secret if she was widowed or divorced (though TV guides in the 70's labeled her as widowed). It seems obvious that widowed would be the answer since the girls never kept in touch with their father at all (or ever mentioned him). So the main question here is regardless if Carol was widowed or divorced, why were her 3 daughters' last names changed to Brady? Marriage would only change Carol's last name.

Answer: That the girls be adopted was for good reason - it would not be "proper" to have girls housed with boys (or a grown man) they were not related to, even if only by marriage. They may not be blood relatives after their adoption, but their statuses as step-sisters to the boys (or step-daughter to Mike, now their step-father) help clarify their roles and set appropriate boundaries (especially prohibited sexual behavior).

KeyZOid

Answer: It's implied that Mike Brady adopted Carol's daughters, which would result in their last name being changed to Brady as well.

Bishop73

Question: What song was the President playing on the synthesizer?

Answer: Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer, which was originally used in the movie Beverly Hills Cop.

Casual Person

Answer: McKellen said he turned it down for two reasons: first, he had already played a famous wizard (Gandalf) and didn't want to do it again; and second, he didn't want to take over a role from Richard Harris after Harris had called him a "dreadful actor."

To clarify, Harris never said that McKellen was "dreadful." He was quoted in an article as describing McKellen as a, "technically brilliant, but passionless" actor. He was also including Kenneth Branagh and Derek Jacobi in that assessment and referred to them all as "nice actors" who were "careful." It was just his opinion about an acting style different from his own, which was more emotive.

raywest

Question: Why would Dracula need to put Wilbur's brain in the body of Frankenstein's Monster? I understand the Count wanted a Monster who would be much more obedient and easier to control, however it seemed like the Monster was that way already; he would follow Dracula's commands with "Yes, Master." So what did Count Dracula need Wilbur for again?

Answer: The monster may have seemed obedient, but its overall behavior is unknown to us. It's possible that it was at times defiant, obstinate, or just didn't follow instructions completely or competently. It's also just a plot device for a silly movie. There has to be some reason, however flimsy, why Dracula wants Wilbur's brain.

raywest

Question: Originally Christian says that when his biological mother overdosed he was taken to the hospital which is where Grace, his adoptive mother finds him. Then near the end of Fifty Shades Freed, they see the picture of the foster family where he and Jack were in the same foster home in Michigan. How was he in a foster home in Michigan, if Grace took him and adopted him when he was at the hospital?

Answer: Christian mentions he was in and out of foster homes for various periods of time before his mother overdosed and died. She had likely cleaned up enough to where Christian was returned to her custody, but she then reverted to her old ways and became involved with an abusive man before overdosing. Christian then met Grace at the hospital.

raywest

Question: Why did Mort/Shooter kill Chico the dog? I don't think he wanted to upset Amy, because she never finds out that Chico is dead. She calls his name when she takes the divorce papers to the lake house, where Mort/Shooter kills her.

Answer: "Shooter" (actually Mort), killed the dog as a threat and a warning to Mort, implying this will happen to him if he doesn't cooperate. Mort, as himself, has no recollection of doing this and believed "Shooter" was threatening his life. Mort then reports it to the sheriff, which only fed into his delusion that Shooter was real and shows he's losing his grip on reality. It wasn't about Amy.

raywest

Question: Why didn't anyone else hear the guy shouting for Carter? Others were mere meters away from Carter. Was everyone deaf?

Answer: His yells were already faint where Carter was sitting. The others were sitting together and talking and minding their own business, so they were not listening for him.

lionhead

Question: After John asks Muldoon to take one of the Jeeps to bring back his grandchildren, Ellie says she's going with him. They didn't at that point know the T-Rex had escaped, so why does Ellie insist on going with him? Considering the Jeep has four seats and there's five people spread across the two tour cars, how did Ellie expect to squeeze everybody in?

Answer: He was sent to bring back the grandchildren, not everyone. If anyone else wanted to leave they could be picked up later when Muldoon was finished bringing the children to safety. Hammond was just concerned about them and wanted them to be with him. Ellie went with him to be with Grant, to make sure he is safe as well. So she would stay with him anyway.

lionhead

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.