Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2014 September 24

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September 24

aircraft incidents on classic show

I was watching some episodes of Emergency! on hulu. In one episode, a boy was flying with his father who was having a medical emergency. Roy helped the boy administer oxygen to the father via unicom. Roy then helped the boy land the aircraft. In another episode, Johnny and Roy help other paramedics tend to a family of three. The family was flying a light aircraft when it crashed up in a tree. In another episode, the Station 51 crew evacuted people when another small aircraft was about to burst into flames. What types of aircrafts were those? Anyone know?74.66.90.189 (talk) 04:59, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

I know next to nothing about this show but I think the answers lie at the Internet Movie Planes Database. Not to be confused with the Internet Movie Cars Database or the Internet Movie Guns Database (yes, those are both real things).

Going through their entry on Emergency!, it looks like the boy and his father episode included a Cessna 182. The one in the tree was a Cessna 152. Though, having flown a 152, I don't know why you would want to fit three people in it. And the last I couldn't figure out from the images but, having seen the episode, I bet you can. Hope this helps! Dismas|^(talk) 05:13, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

The first aircraft you mentioned was introduced in 1977. The aircraft in the tree was in an episode from 1972. About the third aircraft, I can't figure out what it is. Hopefully, someone with some more knowledge could help me.74.66.90.189 (talk) 07:50, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

The 152 was the second that I mentioned but yes, I can see how it would be anachronistic. The 150 and 152 are nearly identical. Since the 150 was actually in service in 1972, I would say that it's a 150 then and the IMPDb has it slightly wrong. Dismas|^(talk) 08:00, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

Hard Science Fiction TV Shows and Movies

Dear all.

I am a very big fan of science fiction in pretty much every form (books, comics, tv shows, games and movies etc.). Although I love both Star Wars and Star Trek, I would very much love to get some much "harder" forms of sci-fi in movie or tv form. Do you have some tips for me?

Thank you very much for your answers.

All the very best.--178.195.94.230 (talk) 16:20, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

Do you mean the notion of Hard_science_fiction defined in our article, e.g. " by an emphasis on scientific accuracy or technical detail, or on both"? Technically this desk isn't really supposed to be a place to request opinions, but if we consider the question as "Is there a list of (the best) hard science fiction movies?", then I think it's fine. Here's one such list compiled by an IMDB user [1], but many of those are not too concerned with scientific accuracy. Here's a list compiled by Neil DeGrasse Tyson: [2], with the same caveat. Here's a list of 'most accurate' movies [3]. One movie not listed, Primer_(film) got a lot of favorable reviews for its non-standard depiction of time travel: the AV club said it was the 'most “realistic” (and complicated) time travel movie' [4]. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:57, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

Hi SemanticMantis, thank you for your response. I personally would define "hard science fiction" as having an emphasis on both scientific accuracy and technical details.--178.195.94.230 (talk) 17:05, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

For a 1950s perspective, look on youtube for episodes of a show called Science Fiction Theater. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:09, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

The most recent remake of the Outer Limits series impressed me. While the original series was a bit silly, at times (like the video phone with a rotary dial, homicidal ants with human eyes, poisonous plants that grow instantly and die when it rains, and a man in an ape/bird suit), The Outer Limits (1995 TV series) seemed to be superior. A rare case where the sequel is better. StuRat (talk) 22:12, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

Another tip would be to look for science fiction written by an actual scientist. I wonder if there is a list of such? Being too lazybusy to do a search, I'll provide an obvious example: Carl Sagan's Contact: A Novel.   —71.20.250.51 (talk) 22:46, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

Well, anything by authors such as Isaac Asimov (biochemist) and Julie Czerneda (biologist) would qualify as science fiction written by scientists. --Jayron32 12:33, 25 September 2014 (UTC)

That's a tricky one though, because though the book "I, Robot" is probably squarely in the hard scifi genre, the movie adaptation almost certainly is not... I'd suggest Vernor Vinge as a scientist author for the OP and others to check out, though I'm not aware of any film adaptations of his work. SemanticMantis (talk) 19:23, 25 September 2014 (UTC)

The closest that I found is: Ten Science Fiction Writers for Scientists and Science Enthusiasts —71.20.250.51 (talk) 22:58, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

Hard Sci-Fi is tough to find in movies or TV. There are some films, that probably qualify. 2001 is an obvious one, but also more modern ones like Moon (film).

TV shows with Hard Sci-Fi scripts usually get watered down by the studio to appeal to a broader audience. This often completely ruins them like The Starlost.

APL (talk) 17:48, 25 September 2014 (UTC)

Law & Order Season 7 Episode 1

This discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
I am not racist. Although a woman begged for her life, the guy still killed her. The woman was going to give up her car anyway, so why did he kill her? At the end, why does the [sonouva...] suddenly feel sorry fo killing her? How does anyone feel sorry for killing someone?(50.173.3.162 (talk) 21:15, 24 September 2014 (UTC)). The usual reason to kill a witness is to reduce the chance of being identified and captured. However, if they are caught, this can make for a much more severe sentence, so it's then in their interest to pretend they are sorry, in hopes of reducing their sentence. StuRat (talk) 22:06, 24 September 2014 (UTC) Plus, it's a fictional show. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:15, 25 September 2014 (UTC) No, my actual question is does that [sonouva...] actually have Remorse for killing that innocent woman who showed a Picture of her Family including Kids? The woman begged for her life. The woman also begged Killer not to Take her Away from her Husband & Children? Although McCoy gave 25 years till Life for the Killer, is that Killer actually Happy for the Woman's death? Why didn't the Guy wear a Mask to Steal that Woman's car? The killer didn't use a gun, but the Killer banged the Woman's head from Behind. Although the Killer didn't use a gun, is that Killer actually Happy for the Woman's death?(50.173.3.162 (talk) 03:40, 25 September 2014 (UTC)). Don't we get a question like this every few weeks? You are asking people to speculate about what is going on in a fictional show. There is no one answer. This should probably be closed like happens to the other threads of this sort. MarnetteD|Talk 04:17, 25 September 2014 (UTC) As with the OP's question below, he needs to find a fan forum where this question can be thoroughly hashed out. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:26, 25 September 2014 (UTC)

Superhero Movie

This discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
When the Fire-Man demonstrates his power, how does Fire-Man feel pain? Since Fire-Man knows how to control his powers, why does Fire-Man ask for water? Did Fire-Man forget that his powers consist of fire?(50.173.3.162 (talk) 21:18, 24 September 2014 (UTC)). What 'Fire-Man' are you talking about? Can you tell us the name of the movie? The only two relevant names I see on wikipedia are this one Fireman_(TV_series), and this one Robot_Master#000-008_.28Mega_Man.29 (from the Mega Man video games). SemanticMantis (talk) 21:25, 24 September 2014 (UTC) Maybe they're talking about Superhero Movie? Which is a comedy, so the answer to the questions asked is probably just "Because it was funny". (Except, I've heard that the movie isn't really that funny.) 74.113.53.42 (talk) 22:14, 24 September 2014 (UTC) A film can be marketed as a comedy despite not being funny. And a film intended to be serious can turn out to be funny. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:17, 25 September 2014 (UTC) I understand that movie was funny, but did Fire-Man actually forget what were his actual Powers?(50.173.3.162 (talk) 03:42, 25 September 2014 (UTC)). There is no way for any of us to answer that for you. It is a movie not a documentary. Speculating about real life humans and their motivations is difficult. Doing the same for fictional characters is impossible. You would seem to have two choices 1) Contact the writers of the film and ask them 2) Decide for yourself whether he did or did not forget and go with that. MarnetteD|Talk 04:13, 25 September 2014 (UTC) Or find a forum that discusses it, and see what various opinions are out there. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:25, 25 September 2014 (UTC) Comedies don't generally have strong enough continuities for there to be satisfying answers to questions like this. I haven't seen the film, but it sounds like you're describing a one-off gag. Basically, a funny moment or sketch included in the film only because it was funny. Sometimes one-off gags are included in a film even if they don't literally make sense. (Just like in musicals, it doesn't make logical sense for everyone to suddenly start singing.) APL (talk) 17:43, 25 September 2014 (UTC)