Doctor Who

100,000 BC - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Ian and Barbara enter the TARDIS for the first time, Susan operates the door switch. Later on, when the Doctor electrocutes Ian, he uses the exact same switch.

Matty W

The Daleks - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: In episode three, Temossus claims the Thals have been travelling for four years. But in episode five, Ganatus claims it is one year.

The Daleks - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: The Dalek the crew ambush in episode three has a magnetic block in its sucker and, after the attack, a mud-covered eyestalk. At the beginning of episode four, the eye-stalk is visibly clear of mud, yet is later seen plastered with mud once more.

The Daleks - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: The Doctor removes his coat and it's left in the prison cell but in the brief shot of the Doctor and Barbara pushing Dalek Ian, the Doctor is inexplicably wearing his coat again.

Marco Polo - S1-E4

Continuity mistake: The caption slide at the end of episode two reads: 'Next Episode: The Cave of Five Hundred Eyes'. While the title slide comes up at the start of episode 3, it simply says "Five Hundred Eyes".

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Suggested correction: The original episode survives only as audio, so this mistake, if correct, must apply to one of the reconstructed versions (either telesnaps or animation), which probably therefore needs specifying.

The Keys of Marinus - S1-E5

Continuity mistake: In episode one, Barbara activates her travel dial only seconds before the others. But in episode two, she's been at Morphoton for quite some time - long enough to change clothes, pick fabrics and get food.

The Space Museum - S2-E7

Continuity mistake: In episode one, Vicki passes her hand through a museum display, making the point that the crew cannot interact with their environment. A moment later, she bumps into a statue, making it wobble.

The Smugglers - S4-E1

Continuity mistake: The rhyme the Doctor recites in episode 3 is different from the original rhyme heard in episode 1. (Apparently, the Doctor [William Hartnell] forgot his lines in episode 3, when he came to the point of reciting the rhyme. So he just improvised what he thought they were, rather than what had been scripted).

The Underwater Menace - S4-E5

Continuity mistake: In Episode 1, the TARDIS crew pass out from the change in pressure as they descend into the Earth. However, at the end of episode four, they climb out on foot and suffer no ill effects.

The Evil of the Daleks - S4-E9

Continuity mistake: (Animated version). Waterfield puts down the photo of the Doctor on his desk but the next time we see his desk the photo is no longer there and then later it's back on the desk again, without Waterfield having moved it.

The Ice Warriors - S5-E3

Continuity mistake: At the start of the story (the beginning of episode 1) the TARDIS materialises on its side, but at the end of the story (the end of episode 6) the TARDIS dematerialises right side up.

Planet of the Spiders - S11-E5

Plot hole: At the climax of episode 2, the Doctor is about to catch Lupton when the latter simply teleports to safety. So why didn't he do that in the first place, before engaging in a 15-minute chase?

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The Doctor: This is a situation that requires tact and finesse. Fortunately, I am blessed with both.

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Planet of the Spiders - S11-E5

Trivia: The first thing the Third Doctor does on-screen is collapse out of the TARDIS, which is also the last thing he does in that incarnation.

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Show generally

Question: In which season and episode is Gallifrey destroyed, or is it just a shocking new plot development for the new series?

Answer: It was never destroyed on-screen; it was intact at the end of the TV movie, and destroyed by the start of the 2005 series. It was destroyed in the novel "The Ancestor Cell," but in a completely different manner to what happened in the series.

DaveJB

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