Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2011 March 1

= March 1 =

Did Arabian Knight really win an award?
Great fan of the movie The Thief and the Cobbler. However, in a trailer for the "Arabian Knight" version (here ), and in the site article, it is said that "the film won the 1995 Academy of Family Films Award." But really, those are the only places where that award have even been mentioned. So now I am wondering: What other films have won that award? Does that award even exist? Grey ghost (talk) 07:47, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Well, it seems it did exist. The Academy of Family Films and Television appears to have been founded by the film historian Dr Donald A Reed in 1980, who also founded the better-known and still extant Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films (see Saturn Award).  Gloria Stuart seems to have won an AFFT award in 1997, and Flight of the Navigator won one too according to this.  Our own article Nick Mancuso says he won one for Ticket to Heaven (Nick_Mancuso).  But I can't find any evidence that it's still operating.  Ka renjc 10:52, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
 * (edit conflict) The LA Times says the Academy of Family Films and Television (often referred to as the Academy of Family Films and Family Television) was founded by Donald Reed in 1980. I suspect it is now defunct; Reed died in 2001.
 * Googling returns a lot of people/films/tv shows claiming to have won it, including Party of Five, The Gods Must Be Crazy, The Flamingo Kid, and Glory. Here's a short LA Times article from 1990 mentioning Glory getting an award.--Colapeninsula (talk) 10:58, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Stargate Atlantis - Atlantis Personnel
In the entire run of the show, has it been stated how many people where stationed at Atlantis ? Also what is the capacity (people-wise) for a city-ship like Atlantis ? 80.254.146.140 (talk) 11:29, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The Atlantis (Stargate) article describes the city-ship as "huge" with a "vast number of laboratories". Rapid access is provided by "transporter rooms" (again implying a size large enough to make walking a time-consuming business).  It goes on to say "...there is presumably enough room for thousands - if not millions - of inhabitants".  All this is rather poorly referenced, relying mostly on knowledge of the individual episodes.  I don't recall ever hearing it said on the show how many were stationed at Atlantis or how large the city was.  Astronaut (talk) 12:49, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
 * You can get a lot more detail on bits of Stargate:Atlantis continuity at the Stargate Wikia site at . As for the specific answers to your questions:  The initial size of the Atlantis expedition was at least 40+, as shown in this screen capture.   I don't believe a number was ever given in the show itself.  After travel to Earth was re-established, the complement presumably grew significantly.  The size of a city ship like Atlantis is roughly comparable to the size of Manhattan, so there is probably physically room for millions of people.  However, keeping them fed is another question. gnfnrf (talk) 04:51, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

'Spiral', French TV series 1 (2005) - final episode
I have watched series 1 of the French police drama 'Spiral', but depsite that have no idea who was found dead at the end of the last episode with his or head in a plastic bag. Did Laborde escape the consequences of his crimes? Can anyone tell me?

Mark Lawson —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.169.34.117 (talk) 13:58, 1 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Is it possible they made this intentionally vague, as a cliffhanger, so you will watch series 2 ? (Although the French seem to like vague endings, for their own sake, as well.) StuRat (talk) 23:22, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Radio DJ
What's happened to Simon Bates? He used to present on Classic FM, but no more. Any ideas, music lovers?86.184.189.82 (talk) 15:29, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
 * As per our article - Simon Bates - he left Classic FM in January and now presents the breakfast show on Smooth Radio. Nanonic (talk) 15:34, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

a film about dog sledding
I am looking for a movie that i saw when i was a kid and it was in the 80's early 90's. The film was about a teenage boy designed his own dog sledge on computer and built it himself (painted it orange and yellow) and he raced with that sledge. I am not sure if it was an american film, can be canadian or else... 94.172.110.27 (talk) 21:39, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Possibly Toby McTeague (1986)? Haven't seen it, and couldn't find a plot summary detailed enough to include the fact that your protagonist designs his own sled, but it's the only candidate I found which fits your time frame. ---Sluzzelin talk  04:02, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

This is it! Thank you very much! :)94.172.110.27 (talk) 20:56, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

A game called Tidley
Have you ever played Tidley? I’m not referring to tiddlywinks and I’m not sure how to spell tidley. Tidley is a street game we played as children during the early 1940’s, and for us, the game probably originated in the U.K. However, my wife played this game in Germany or Poland; and more likely by a different name? If you’ve played tidley, perhaps you can help me remember the rules and playing details. The rules I am writing below, are what I remember from bits of memory. Therefore, please don’t accept the following as being correct.

The game required a discarded broom or long shovel handle. A short 6” piece of the handle was sharpened at both ends to become the tidley. Less than a yard, or what was left of the handle, became a one-handed bat. A small slit trench was scooped out of the dirt on the side of the road. The trench would allow the bat to easily pass under the tidley placed across the sides of the trench.

One boy, who was to be “up,” placed the tidley across the trench. Using only the bat, he would scoop the tidley up into the air and out past his buddies standing in the street. They would attempt to catch or grab the tidley. The boy who was “up” places the bat across the trench. The buddy who got possession of the tidley must stay where he took possession of the tidley. From that place, he throws the tidley and tries to hit the bat lying across the little trench. If he hits the bat with the thrown tidley, it’s his turn to be up. If buddy misses, the boy who is “up” takes the bat to where the thrown tidley came to rest. At that place, he must swing the bat down on a pointed end of the tidley. This tilts the tidley up into the air where he must strike the tidley again, in mid-air, making it fly high out into the street. My wife remembers drawing a circle in the dirt, and now I vaguely remember we had a circle. Maybe the tidley was brought back to the circled area for hitting. The boy, who is “up” has three chances to hit the tidley in mid-air.

Where the batted tidley comes to rest, someone has another chance to throw the tidley to hit the bat resting over the trench.

This game could have been a forerunner of baseball. Bluenoser50 (talk) 21:03, 1 March 2011 (UTC)


 * This may be the book you need to get hold of. What part of the UK were you in?  Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:58, 1 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Your game sounds like Tip-cat --TrogWoolley (talk) 22:15, 1 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Quite similar to the Pee-Wee game Stan Laurel plays in Babes in Toyland (1934). Pepso2 (talk) 22:37, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Tip cat seems to be the more accepted name. Here are some sticks dating from the 16th century, and here is a personal recollection from WWII. John Bunyan apparently first heard the voice of God while playing tip cat on the village green at Elstow. Some slightly different rules are here. The names children give to games can be highly regionalised. Alansplodge (talk) 11:20, 4 March 2011 (UTC)