Best mystery TV mistakes of all time

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Hustle picture

New Recruits - S5-E2

Factual error: The contract Stone and his team force Carlton Wood and Harry Fielding to sign guaranteeing Fowler's widow the royalties from his invention for life is signed under duress and is therefore invalid. It is hard to believe that none of Stone's team know this, but it is impossible to believe that Carlton Wood wouldn't.

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Columbo picture

The Most Crucial Game - S2-E3

Factual error: Probably an in joke - the wheels of the "airliner" shown landing at LA international airport are those of a B52 bomber. They are very distinctive and look nothing like those on any airliner ever made.

PEDAUNT

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Jonathan Creek picture

The Sinner and the Sandman - S5-E2

Plot hole: Ian Avery-Cooper loses his lottery ticket which is immediately picked up and appropriated by Leonard Corbyn. However, Avery-Cooper immediately reports the loss to the shopkeeper who sold him the ticket. All lottery sales staff are trained in what to do under these circumstances, because it happens a lot - they cancel the lost ticket and issue a new one. Since Avery-Cooper used the same numbers every week this would not pose a problem, but even if he didn't the ticket would be recorded on the seller's computers and could be precisely reconstructed. This would be even easier since Avery-Cooper reports the loss within a minute of it happening and we see that he has the receipt for the sale in his hand. Corbyn's stolen ticket would be worthless and Avery-Cooper would be able to claim his rightful winnings. If nothing else Ian could have simply bought another ticket with the same numbers.

PEDAUNT

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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation picture

Show generally

Factual error: In a number of episodes people are shown eating and drinking in the laboratories. For instance, in "Miss Willows' Regrets" Nick and Greg are seen eating fried chicken in the lab, and in "Overload" Sara eats a sandwich while watching Grissom experiment with her deli pickle. There are other examples. No reputable laboratory (which this is supposed to be) would allow its staff to eat or drink while in the lab. It is basic scientific protocol to prevent contamination of samples or the person picking up toxins on their food.

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Monk picture

Mr. Monk Goes to Jail - S2-E16

Factual error: When Monk visits the prison for the first time, he is searched, passed, and has a mini-panic attack because people have touched him. Sharona steps forward to comfort him, and she puts her arms around him. This is a very serious breach of procedure and it is not possible for the guards to miss it, because Sharona has not been searched. It's a common technique for trying to pass contraband called 'a touch through' - a person with an item to be smuggled into the prison (drugs, usually), passes them on to a person who has been searched and is therefore 'clean'. Monk would be taken back to the guard's station to be searched again. He would not be allowed leniency because the guards happen to know or to like him - visitor ingress and egress is always done under CCTV and the guard would know he was being watched - quite possibly by someone who doesn't know who Monk and Sharona are.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Sharona was searched first by the female guard.

In fact Sharona breaks away from the female guard to go to Monk. She has NOT been searched.

The correction is correct. The female guard already finished patting Sharona down before the male guard even had a chance to start his pat down of Monk.

Bishop73

Yeah, the correction is correct. I went back six times through that clip: Sharona and Monk both get searched, and then Sharona touches Monk.

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Law & Order picture

Second Opinion - S5-E1

Factual error: Ryan, the laboratory technician, eats his lunch of burger and fries while discussing a murder case with Assistant D.A. Claire Kincaid. Trouble is, they are in his laboratory. No lab technician ever, ever eats or drinks in a laboratory - it is the most basic lab protocol imaginable. He could contaminate his samples in any one of a hundred ways, he inevitably contaminates his gloves or fingers with residue from his meal and he risks poisoning himself with accidental transfer. This is not a character error - lab security is hammered into science students starting with the first day of first year and number one on the list is never, ever eat or drink in your lab.

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Criminal Minds picture

What Happens at Home... - S6-E10

Character mistake: After the murder that takes place while the team is at the church meeting, they gather together to talk about narrowing down the suspect list to the people who didn't show up to the meeting. Spencer shows up with a stack of papers and says 18 suspects didn't show up. We then see his actor break character and almost laughs when he looks over at Ashley, whose actress too almost breaks character from laughing.

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit picture

Wrath - S3-E2

Continuity mistake: Benson visits Stabler at his home to confronts him about the FBI detail he has ordered to protect her. They talk outside and then Benson is seen walking away. The next shot shows a side shot of Benson approaching him again in silence but mouthing words to him. (00:49:00)

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The Blacklist picture

The Harem (No. 102) - S4-E11

Continuity mistake: Right at the beginning of the episode a Cadillac Escalade gets stolen. The car is the newest model. The chase begins and the car is a new model right up to a scene when they crash into some other cars. That part was filmed with older model Cadillac. The damage is quite severe, but the chase continues again with the new model that has only one bit of damage - a mirror that has come apart.

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Law & Order: Criminal Intent picture

Anti-Thesis - S2-E3

Character mistake: Nicole Wallace has murdered and stolen the identity of Professor Elizabeth Hitchens, who was Australian. While speaking to Detective Goren she refers to her life in Melbourne, pronouncing it the American way : "Mel-born." No Australian would do such a thing - it is pronounced "Melbun." A detail-obsessed knowall like Goren would pick up on that immediately.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Not everyone who is Australian says 'Melbun' when referring to Melbourne.

Utter rubbish. I lived in Australia for thirty five years. Nobody - absolutely nobody - calls it "Mel-Bawn." It's "Melbun." Incidentally, this also applies to the American pronunciation of the capital of Queensland - "Bris-bayne." It's pronounced "Brisbun."

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Charmed picture

Be Careful What You Witch For - S2-E22

Plot hole: When teenage Prue has run away with the demon, and Phoebe and Piper find her in the park, teenage Prue is 'killed'. Her sisters drive her home to get Leo to heal her, but shouldn't they have just been able to call to Leo to orb to them when Prue was first hurt, and heal her in the park, and save driving back to the Manor, risking Prue dying?

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: I see orbing to the park but he didn't heal her, she was already dead and he can't heal the dead, that's why the genie brought her back - that's what Phoebe wished for.

But if they would have called for him right away - he would have been able to heal her before she died. However at this point in time I don't think they knew how to call for him.

Yes, they did know how to call him. At least Phoebe did, because when Piper got sick in the hospital from the disease she inherited from the illegal fruit, Prue and Phoebe screamed out Leo's name until he appeared in the attic.

They did, they first tried it in the episode when Piper was sick with an exotic disease and dying in the hospital.

It bothers me that they never used it again until Season 4. When Prue was held by Abby, Leo could have helped if she called, and so many other times... so annoying.

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The Twilight Zone picture

A Kind of a Stopwatch - S5-E4

Other mistake: When McNulty uses the stopwatch to rob a bank, he goes through a small wooden door and past the employees. With time frozen, the small door should have stayed open but immediately swings shut.

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Supernatural picture

All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 1 - S2-E21

Continuity mistake: Before the Roadhouse fire, Ash and Dean are talking on the phone. Ash looks at his watch, on his left hand, it says 8:10, and has a black dial/face. As Dean and Bobby go through the rubble, Dean identifies Ash by his watch. Still on his left hand, it is now upside down, evident by the crown of the watch (used to move the hands of the watch) which previously facing his hand, is now facing his elbow. Also, the dial/face of the watch is now silver instead of black. This is a different watch, and was inadvertently put on the burnt arm upside down.

rntracee1

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House, M.D. picture House, M.D. mistake picture

Kids - S1-E19

Factual error: When House is looking over his whiteboard of symptoms for the swimming patient, the symptom "Intercranial Hemorrhage" is shown on the board. However, this is an error. The correct term is "Intracranial Hemorrhage." Anything inside the head is referred to as "intra" not "inter." This is a common mistake for laypeople, however the highly trained and knowledgeable Dr. House should not have made that error. (00:31:25)

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Dexter picture

Dirty Harry - S4-E5

Continuity mistake: When Dexter listens to Officer Lundy's tape recording, we hear Lundy say that the Trinity killer's weight is 190 to 200 pounds. When we saw him recording that, he said 200 to 220 pounds.

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White Collar picture

Live Feed - S5-E10

Character mistake: When Neal tells Rebecca about an Indian Idol and describes the idol to her, she tells him it's the Hindu Idol of Seeta, the goddess of wealth. Actually the idol is of Goddess Laxmi.

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Manifest picture

Hard Landing - S1-E15

Factual error: A thief has stolen 75 million dollars. He runs out with two large duffel bags. All US bills weigh a single gram. This means that $1,000,000 in $100 bills - the largest bills in circulation - weigh around 10 kilograms, or a little over 22 pounds. $75 million would be 1,650 pounds. No way this could be carried in two duffel bags.

toroscan

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Bates Motel picture

Visiting Hours - S5-E9

Factual error: In Oregon and New Jersey, state law requires that a gas station attendant pump the gas. Romero pulls into an Oregon gas station and encounters a nosey person. They are both pumping their own gas.

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The X-Files picture

Paper Clip (3) - S3-E2

Visible crew/equipment: When Mulder and Scully enter the abandoned mine through a doorway, the viewer can see at right in the distance a number of people sitting on a wall, and one crouching in front of the wall with what looks like a dog. They are sitting still, but there is still movement there. (00:16:00)

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