Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2013 July 31

= July 31 =

Baseball doubleheader
When is the last time the cubs and cardinals played double headers on the same day against someone other than themselves — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.177.17.152 (talk) 00:50, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
 * If I were doing that research, I would look at Retrosheet game logs year-by-year for both teams, starting backwards from 2012. It's been several years since doubleheaders were routinely scheduled, but makeup games still force doubleheaders sometimes. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:26, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
 * I found the answer quickly using Baseball-Reference team pages for the two teams. Not counting the doubleheaders they both played yesterday (July 30, 2013), it last happened on April 20, 2011: the Cubs hosted the San Diego Padres for a twinbill and the Cardinals hosted the Washington Nationals. Both teams split that day. See for the Cards' 2011 schedule and here for the Cubbies . --Xuxl (talk) 10:47, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Mountain movies
Which mountain films portray mountaineering techniques fairly accurately and in at least some detail? I've seen Touching the Void, Vertical Limit, Nordwand -- what others can you suggest? 24.23.196.85 (talk) 06:15, 31 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Dunno how accurate they are, but other mountain-climbing movies include The Eiger Sanction and Cliffhanger. Rojomoke (talk) 16:09, 31 July 2013 (UTC)


 * The Reception section of Cliffhanger makes it clear that it's not regarded as very realistic. For example... "Generally disliked is the film's unrealistic portrayal of rock climbing..." I gained the impression that one of its main goals was to show off Sly's body wearing nothing more than a torn singlet above the waist, while spending ages in the snow and in icy water. Now, THAT'S unrealistic. HiLo48 (talk) 07:49, 1 August 2013 (UTC)


 * I think it was Cliffhanger (film) where the hero's girlfriend is on a Tyrolean traverse when her carabiner bends open as though it was made of putty and she falls to her doom. As they are rated at about 2,500 kilonewtons, (ie 2.5 tonnes of force) I think it's a bit unlikely. My nomination is Touching the Void (film) which is a dramatised documentary about an actual mountaineering accident in South America. Alansplodge (talk) 08:39, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Yeah the OP already mentioned that one. --Viennese Waltz 09:04, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
 * D'oh! Alansplodge (talk) 16:48, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

See Category:Mountaineering films and IMDb - Mountaineering Films. Alansplodge (talk) 21:06, 1 August 2013 (UTC)


 * One of the climbers that worked on The Eiger Sanction is a man named Mike Hoover. If you can find whether his short films Up and Solo are available on the net somewhere you will see excellent examples of climbing techniques. I am sure that other of his films will fit your needs I just haven't seen them to give you a recommendation. MarnetteD | Talk 00:22, 2 August 2013 (UTC)


 * (un-indent) Thanks, everyone!  As it happens, The Eiger Sanction is the very next on my to-watch list -- I'll make sure to pay special attention to the mountain climbing sequences.  I'll also put the other movies on my list (except Cliffhanger, of course!) 24.23.196.85 (talk) 06:03, 4 August 2013 (UTC)

Husband of M (Judi Dench)
In Casino Royale, M is seen to have a husband (in an early scene, she is sleeping with an older-aged man when she gets called by MI6). In Skyfall, M mentions her poetry-loving "late husband" during an assembly with the Prime Minister. Was any official reason for her husband's death given? I haven't watched Quantum of Solace, was there any scene where he died? ☯ Bonkers The Clown  \(^_^)/  Nonsensical Babble  ☯ 12:41, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Two of the three writers have been the same for all three films, but there's always the chance a continuity mistake crept in. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 12:50, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
 * There's also the chance that the man seen in Casino Royale was not her husband. I don't remember if he's referred to as such but if not, it's just assumed.  Why? I don't know.  Because older women can have boyfriends as well.  That aside, just saying "my late husband" doesn't necessarily mean that the dead guy and the guy from CR are both the same man.  She could have been married when she was younger to a man that died.  The movies don't say how many husbands she has had.  Dismas |(talk) 13:03, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
 * In fact, on those rare occasions when Bond is at her home, doesn't she give the appearance of living alone? But as you suggest, it doesn't mean she might not have a little something going on occasion. Oddly, when she mentioned her late husband, I thought, "What? Lionel died? Oops, wrong series!" :) ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:49, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Nice reference! Dismas |(talk) 06:44, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
 * On As Time Goes By, they never talked about her secret life as "M". That would have been a security breach. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 12:33, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

Showrunner return
The Dan Harmon thing got me to thinking: have there been any other cases of a TV showrunner (especially an "auteurish" one) leaving a show and then coming back? --Lazar Taxon (talk) 22:07, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Al Jean was showrunner of The Simpsons 1991-1992 and 2001- Fuddle (talk) 03:57, 1 August 2013 (UTC)