# The "This pop culture question doesn't deserve its own thread" omnibus thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555 "2017-04-16T12:25:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/21 "2017-04-17T22:30:08Z")
1. There was a movie I saw part of when I was a kid, so mid-'70s or earlier. I think it was a heist movie; at least the part that I remember involved stealing a painting. The painting was put in a long, thin box with a hinged and latched lid, then it was passed through a wall or something from one group to another, but inside the wall was a mechanism that undid the latches, opened the lid, removed the original painting and replaced it with a fake, then closed and latched the lid again, all while it moved along conveyor-belt style. It seems like it may have been from an episode of the original _Mission:Impossible_, but I tend to think it’s a movie. The scene-identifying powers of this place are legendary, I’ve just never bothered to ask about this one. 1. Has anybody done, or would anybody be interested in doing a sort of fractured movie logic thread? For example, could someone set out to prove, tournament bracket style, who the ultimate movie bad guy is? I think the final would come down to David Warner vs. Malcolm McDowell, with the win going to Warner because when they were both in the same movie (_Time After Time_) the bad guy role went to him. 2. Who are some actors with impressive SF/fantasy résumés but who aren’t primarily thought of for that genre? For example, Sir Ralph Richardson was in _Things to Come_, _Rollerball_, and _Time Bandits_. Not bad. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Anyway, there were enough cases of somebody suspected of being dead who “came back to life” after an hour, or even a whole day, that there would be nothing impressive about Jesus coming back to life after that short a time. He had to come back after being dead for three days. Even with the rather limited extent of medical knowledge possessed by people at the time, I don’t think anyone would have looked at someone who’d just been crucified and say “you just need a nap.” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/22 "2017-04-17T22:39:58Z")
**Robot Arm** , I’m taking a blind stab at your #1 and saying it’s, [“The Greatest Collection of Them All,” an episode of Banacek](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0518369/?ref_=ttep_ep8). Hey, it’s worth a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/23 "2017-04-17T22:56:57Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > **Robot Arm** , I’m taking a blind stab at your #1 and saying it’s, [“The Greatest Collection of Them All,” an episode of Banacek](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0518369/?ref_=ttep_ep8). Hey, it’s worth a shot. It could be; it’s the right era and the right sort of intricate plotting. And _Banacek_ episodes were 90 minutes, so that may be why I remember it as a movie. The really odd thing is, one of my cable channels was running _Banacek_ about a year ago, off and on, and I watched as many of them as I could. And there was another scene I remembered from childhood that was in one of them. “The Greatest Collection of Them All” didn’t come up in their rotation, though, or it did and I missed it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/24 "2017-04-17T23:02:13Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It could be; it’s the right era and the right sort of intricate plotting. And _Banacek_ episodes were 90 minutes, so that may be why I remember it as a movie. > > The really odd thing is, one of my cable channels was running _Banacek_ about a year ago, off and on, and I watched as many of them as I could. And there was another scene I remembered from childhood that was in one of them. “The Greatest Collection of Them All” didn’t come up in their rotation, though, or it did and I missed it. You know, that’s not so unusual; if there is something in an episode like a song or movie clip that’s integral to the plot, and they can’t get permission to use it or don’t want to pay the royalties, that epi goes to the basement–doesn’t matter if it’s part of a story arc, just leaves a big hole. That’s Hollywood. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/25 "2017-04-17T23:15:13Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > 1. > 2. Who are some actors with impressive SF/fantasy résumés but who aren’t primarily thought of for that genre? For example, Sir Ralph Richardson was in _Things to Come_, _Rollerball_, and _Time Bandits_. Not bad. Don’t forget he was also in Dragonslayer and The Man Who Could Work Miracles. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/26 "2017-04-17T23:23:08Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > You know, that’s not so unusual; if there is something in an episode like a song or movie clip that’s integral to the plot, and they can’t get permission to use it or don’t want to pay the royalties, that epi goes to the basement–doesn’t matter if it’s part of a story arc, just leaves a big hole. That’s Hollywood. ☹ **Robot Arm** , I don’t know the particulars of this site, but that episode of Banacek is apparently available [here](http://www.tvzion.pro/watch-banacek-season-1-episode-7-s01e07-online3-free-v1-1340). I also had the thought that what you saw was an epi of, “It Takes a Thief.” I remember a long while back, someone was splicing two episodes together to make a cheap “movie-for-a-dull-Saturday-afternoon” kinda thing. I should have a Polish proverb for that around here somewhere; I’ll get back to you. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/27 "2017-04-17T23:23:18Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > You know, that’s not so unusual; if there is something in an episode like a song or movie clip that’s integral to the plot, and they can’t get permission to use it or don’t want to pay the royalties, that epi goes to the basement–doesn’t matter if it’s part of a story arc, just leaves a big hole. That’s Hollywood. ☹ No, I think they probably ran it and I just missed it. For one thing, it was on at 2:00 in the morning. I’m a complete night owl, though, so that was still doable. But they’d run a week of _Banacek_, then a week of _Columbo_, _McMillan & Wife_, etc. So I didn’t always notice which weeks were _Banacek_ weeks, and the station may not have been scrupulous about running the episodes in order. Cool show, though, and some seriously odd mysteries and machinations going on. And I live in Boston so it’s interesting to see the city from the early-'70s. In the opening credits, Banacek helps a woman, presumably his date, out of a limousine and escorts her into Durgin Park. I’m sure the crew was only on location here for a week or two each year, and then shot the rest of the season back in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/28 "2017-04-18T00:54:19Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > No, I think they probably ran it and I just missed it. For one thing, it was on at 2:00 in the morning. I’m a complete night owl, though, so that was still doable. But they’d run a week of _Banacek_, then a week of _Columbo_, _McMillan & Wife_, etc. So I didn’t always notice which weeks were _Banacek_ weeks, and the station may not have been scrupulous about running the episodes in order. > > Cool show, though, and some seriously odd mysteries and machinations going on. And I live in Boston so it’s interesting to see the city from the early-'70s. In the opening credits, Banacek helps a woman, presumably his date, out of a limousine and escorts her into Durgin Park. I’m sure the crew was only on location here for a week or two each year, and then shot the rest of the season back in Hollywood. There’s an old Polish proverb that says: No matter how warm the smile on the face of the sun, the cat still has her kittens under the porch. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/29 "2017-04-22T12:17:05Z")
Has anyone in the Mission Impossible series’ of films and tv shows ever misheard or been distracted during the message sequence? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/30 "2017-04-22T13:46:47Z")
> [@](#): > > As always, should you or any of your I.M. Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. What the effity eff, you’re just going to leave me here to swing? Fuck it. Mossad will let me take the Sabbath off." Dan Briggs ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/31 "2017-04-22T14:06:34Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > There’s plenty of oatmeal available with no salt and no sugar. > > But I think this is probably a case of supply and demand. I’mm talking about ready-to-eat. Just pour on milk. How, exactly, does the “supply” of unsalted unsugared wheat affect the marketing? Maybe more farmers could be encouraged to grow unsalted unsugared wheat crops. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/32 "2017-04-22T14:16:14Z")
Well, it isn’t a question, it’s more of a :smack: I had heard this BBC Radio presenter state his name for years and never really thought about it. A couple of days ago, I did a Google search for Japanese-Brit James Kumarasami. Instead, I found Sri Lankan Brit James Coomarasamy [James Coomarasamy - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Coomarasamy) Now I feel silly for not understanding this for years. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/33 "2017-04-22T14:56:47Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I’mm talking about ready-to-eat. Just pour on milk. > > How, exactly, does the “supply” of unsalted unsugared wheat affect the marketing? Maybe more farmers could be encouraged to grow unsalted unsugared wheat crops. It’s not the supply affecting the marketing. It’s the demand. Meaning: Nobody wants to eat cereal without salt or sugar, therefore the supply is limited. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/34 "2017-04-22T16:09:11Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Well, it isn’t a question, it’s more of a :smack: > > I had heard this BBC Radio presenter state his name for years and never really thought about it. A couple of days ago, I did a Google search for Japanese-Brit James Kumarasami. Instead, I found Sri Lankan Brit James Coomarasamy [James Coomarasamy - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Coomarasamy) > > Now I feel silly for not understanding this for years. Now try saying that name correctly within one second of him answering the phone. The job of a telemarketer is harder than you think. ☹ FTR, Indian surnames are usually a piece of cake. All you need is a simple familiarity with Hindu theology and some neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/35 "2017-04-22T16:20:06Z")
Also FTR, my congressman is named Krishnamurti. Easy. My current bugabear is what may be Polynesian names. Just how many vowels am I supposed to pronounce? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/36 "2017-04-22T17:13:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Even with the rather limited extent of medical knowledge possessed by people at the time, I don’t think anyone would have looked at someone who’d just been crucified and say “you just need a nap.” There may have been exceptions for people who were decapitated, for all I know; I’m just reporting. People were left “in state,” of whatever, for three days, and then buried. I’m not sure if people whose third day was Shabbes were interred on the day before or the day after. At any rate, there is something odd about what is described in the gospels, and it sounds like Jesus was tossed in a cave to wait out his three days before being prepared for death, since he was essentially homeless, and this was misunderstood as his interment by people who reported or translated the story later, and didn’t know Jewish customs, because it appears that a group of women appeared to prepare the body for death after three days. If the cave was supposed to be his final interment, it would have been wrong to disturb it. At least, until enough time had passed that he would be nothing but bones, which could be placed in a ossuary. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/37 "2017-04-22T18:58:07Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Also FTR, my congressman is named Krishnamurti. Easy. My current bugabear is what may be Polynesian names. Just how many vowels am I supposed to pronounce? I’ll see your Krishnamurti, and raise you Meghna Chakrabarti (host on a local NPR show). ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/38 "2017-04-25T18:43:54Z")
I read on some Facebook link (“15 strange but true facts about Tom Cruise!”) that he does not allow his likeness on action figures or in video games. A 3 minute googling seems to back that up. My questions are 1. Why? Has he ever addressed this topic in an interview. 2. Is this unique to Tom? Are there other action movie stars who refuse to merchandise their likeness? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555/39 "2017-04-25T20:19:03Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > I read on some Facebook link (“15 strange but true facts about Tom Cruise!”) that he does not allow his likeness on action figures or in video games. A 3 minute googling seems to back that up. > > My questions are > > 1. Why? Has he ever addressed this topic in an interview. > 2. Is this unique to Tom? Are there other action movie stars who refuse to merchandise their likeness? This is just a WAG but I’ve noticed that a majority of action figures that are supposed to look like real people are really ugly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-this-pop-culture-question-doesnt-deserve-its-own-thread-omnibus-thread/784555.md?page=1)