Best drama TV stupidity of all time

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City on a Hill picture

From Injustice Came the Way to Describe Justice - S1-E5

Stupidity: The police raid an apartment in search of guns. They should have used a ballistic shield for the point man to make entry and hit the apartment with a concussion device (flash-bang). The police officer who took a stomach full of lead would have more than likely survived had they been properly equipped. Ballistic shields have been around since 1977. This story takes place in 1992. (00:49:17)

More City on a Hill stupidity
Black Space picture

Episode #1.8 - S1-E8

Stupidity: There's a gunman that just opened the school doors, and he's looking at the police like "a deer caught in the headlights" and they are all pointing their weapons at him and he's holding a gun mind you, but somehow these cops let him run back into the school without even taking a singe shot at him. His background was clear too, so if the cops fired there would've been no collateral damage if they had a shoot out. (00:35:00 - 00:35:30)

More Black Space stupidity
Dallas picture

Winds of Vengeance - S1-E4

Stupidity: A hurricane is causing high winds in Dallas as it was making landfall on the coast. They say "A hurricane is coming!" as if Texas was tiny. Of course, no hurricane has ever hit Dallas, Texas; at its worst, it could be only be a storm by the time it travelled so far inland.

More Dallas stupidity
Doctor Who picture

The Power of the Doctor - S13-E9

Stupidity: After the crew of the space train have taken out the Cybermen, the Cybermen begin regenerating, which one of the crew points out. This guy seems to be aware of how regeneration works, but doesn't shoot at them again. In the series, it has been shown that shooting someone during a regeneration cycle will kill them instantly, but this idea is never considered.

Casual Person

More Doctor Who stupidity
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation picture

Who Shot Sherlock? - S5-E11

Stupidity: When Brass and Sarah enter the locked storage cellar where the boys are hidden, Greg, a graduated rookie, straggles along behind them when he should have known better to stay put. As anyone could have come along and locked that cellar door behind them, trapping them inside.

eaglegrad16

More CSI: Crime Scene Investigation stupidity
Stargate: Atlantis picture

Show generally

Stupidity: Characters repeatedly make note of how hard to kill the Wraith are, but sometimes, especially in the final episode(s) of season 1, they go down easily in a few bullets each, and then don't even regenerate as the characters turn their attentions elsewhere.

More Stargate: Atlantis stupidity
Andor picture

Reckoning - S1-E3

Stupidity: Andor and Luthen set a vehicle to drive and distract the security team. The vehicle is destroyed, and they immediately round the corner in full view of the team on a speeder and drive away, then blow up the vehicle. They could have driven away on any number of other streets without revealing that they weren't in the vehicle, keeping their escape secret. And if they blew it up before the team looked too closely they might have even been deemed to have been killed in the crash.

Jon Sandys

More Andor stupidity
Chicago Fire picture

Run Like Hell - S11-E14

Stupidity: Mouch is investigating an arson allegation. He states to a lady he's going to do his thing and speak to some of the residents. As he goes down the hall to speak with the residents he passes a huge stain on the carpet that looks like blood or something and walks right past it without stopping. (00:23:57)

Snag.1

More Chicago Fire stupidity
Roots picture

Season 1 generally

Stupidity: When Kunte/Toby saws himself free from his leg irons, he removes only the one, and then runs off into the night, dragging the other one behind him, which makes no sense, and is quite audibly heard in the near distance.

eaglegrad16

More Roots stupidity
The Wild Wild West picture

The Night of the Firebrand - S3-E2

Stupidity: West is introduced to, then knocked unconscious by Vixen as she hides a club behind her back. A trained Secret Service agent like West would not have let his guard down in this situation, as the entire fort was awash in bad guys.

Scott215

More The Wild Wild West stupidity
Better Call Saul picture

Show generally

Stupidity: Despite being a high-profile fugitive who was a local celebrity in his previous life, Saul does very little to alter his physical appearance, settling on just a mustache and glasses. Growing a beard, wearing a hairpiece, and altering his speaking voice around others would have gone a long way in preventing him from being made.

Phaneron

More Better Call Saul stupidity
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine picture

Waltz - S6-E11

Stupidity: Near the end of the episode, Sisko hits Dukat over the head with a metal pole and knocks him out but does not remove the phaser Dukat has on his person, which he promptly uses a short time later to steal a shuttlecraft, stranding Sisko.

More Star Trek: Deep Space Nine stupidity
Blue Bloods picture

Cellar Boy - S1-E21

Stupidity: Jamie is driving his Chevelle SS when he realises that he has no brakes. He's driving on a flat road. The car is an automatic transmission, and he doesn't shift the car out of Drive and into Neutral to stop the power and forward movement of the car. Instead, he shifts the car into Low before crashing the car into a Jersey barrier. (00:48:27 - 00:48:57)

Snag.1

More Blue Bloods stupidity
Whiskey Cavalier picture

When in Rome - S1-E3

Stupidity: A supposedly covert camera is placed in plain sight on a wall in a crowded room, with a prominent antenna showing, and a blinking blue light. (00:16:55)

toroscan

More Whiskey Cavalier stupidity
Charmed picture

Saving Private Leo - S4-E17

Stupidity: The brothers are angry at Leo because they say he's responsible for them dying because he chose to save other soldiers instead of them, Leo also blames himself for the same reason and says he should have stayed and gotten them out. But in the flashback it shows Leo helping them and then running off to help other soldiers, after he runs off the brothers are killed just a few seconds later. Even if Leo had chosen to stay with the brother he couldn't have gotten them out in time, the only difference would have been Leo would have died with them, but Leo dies in the same war so he didn't live much longer. Leo's guilt and the brothers' blame don't make any sense at all.

brianjr0412

More Charmed stupidity
Superman and Lois picture

The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower - S1-E3

Stupidity: Superman finally smashes the weirdly strong bad guy through a wall, then goes to Lois, says "he's gone", and whisks Sarah to hospital. But he has no idea if the bad guy is "gone" or not - they've just had an epic fight, he has some sort of super strength / resilience, and for all Superman knows he'll come around in 10 seconds and finish the job of murdering Lois.

Jon Sandys

More Superman and Lois stupidity
Agatha Christie's Poirot picture

Murder in the Mews - S1-E2

Stupidity: Hard to swallow that a group of vastly experienced policemen smart enough to figure other tricks out (such as the abnormal position of the gun) would be in any doubt about the victim being left or right handed when she is still wearing their watch on the right wrist - and attention is called by Poirot upon that particular detail right from the start.

Sammo

More Agatha Christie's Poirot stupidity
1883 picture

Show generally

Stupidity: The emigrants lack guns yet after several bandit raids the team does not take the guns and ammo from the bandits to protect themselves from future raids. It's not like they can swing by the local Cabelas and stock up on guns and ammo.

More 1883 stupidity
Kindaichi shônen no jiken bo picture

Magical Express Murder Case: File 2 - S2-E11

Stupidity: Kindaichi and the others are called up by Satomi, who is one of the performers, so they can be in attendance for the show. They don't get changed, but somehow they are so late for the show that they are the last people to arrive, and the show is already ongoing and displaying the most famous act. If Satomi warned them late, makes no sense that he wouldn't be in the theater to begin with.

Sammo

More Kindaichi shônen no jiken bo stupidity
Hotel Del Luna picture

Welcome to Hotel del Luna - S1-E1

Stupidity: The Mayor realises that Man-wol has approached him and taken out her rifle to shoot him with. Yet during the entire time she takes to aim the rifle at him and fire, the Mayor makes no attempt to flee the stage for his own protection. (00:38:15)

Casual Person

More Hotel Del Luna stupidity

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