tl/dr: Mr Ed was a talking horse that had a sitcom in the '60s. It was still playing in syndication by the '80s, so it would be known to most people in the US at the time.
I don't mean to be old-splaining here, but familiarity with Mr. Ed helps. It was in syndication during the '80s, so I remember it as a hokey show with a pretty catchy theme song. The question of "how did they get that horse to move his lips" in time to the voiceovers was a valid question. (Answer: mostly peanut butter).
In the Larsenverse, however, the horse requires no voiceover. He just needs to be properly motivated.
This should fill in any cultural/temporal gaps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Ed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cI-LXMyyDo
tl/dr: Mr Ed was a talking horse that had a sitcom in the '60s. It was still playing in syndication by the '80s, so it would be known to most people in the US at the time.
Let's not give people the wrong idea here. Mr Ed was a sitcom in the '60s about a talking horse.
Don't get this one. I see the lion but I'm not sure how this correlates to the horse taking
Yeah, the key phrase here is “made to talk” as if he’s being threatened or intimidated into talking.
I’m not sure but maybe it’s “talk or we’ll let the lion eat you”.
That's exactly what it's implying.
So Mr Ed was in danger then!
Not if he read his lines he wasn't.
He's a smart horse. He did the right thing.
I’m guessing it means the horse is going to talk, in an interrogation sense. I don’t know for sure though.
I don't mean to be old-splaining here, but familiarity with Mr. Ed helps. It was in syndication during the '80s, so I remember it as a hokey show with a pretty catchy theme song. The question of "how did they get that horse to move his lips" in time to the voiceovers was a valid question. (Answer: mostly peanut butter).
In the Larsenverse, however, the horse requires no voiceover. He just needs to be properly motivated.
I know what Mr Ed was. My question was specially about the Lions role
Scare the horse via threat of attack, speak or die essentially.
It was peanut butter, and sometimes fishing line, btw.
Set is quiet as they are waiting for Mr. Ed to say his line.
"Do you need the Lion Mr. Ed?"
Some potential other context for this: https://nitratediva.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/margaret-obrien-tcmff/