CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000) - 30 mistakes in series 2

Audio problem: In one scene, when Warrick is in the prints lab, Nick claps his hands twice, but the sound track has him clapping three times.

Factual error: In the episode where the worker got electrocuted in a construction site the main character, before replaying the victim's fall, says that "terminal velocity is 9.8 seconds squared". What he should have said was that acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 meters per second squared.

Other: When Grissom goes to the crime scene to investigate, he finds the worker's drill hanging over the edge, still plugged in. Dropping the drill (35-45 pounds) 5-6 feet (the height of the worker) over the edge would have ripped the plug from the outlet and cause the drill to fall all the way to the ground with the victim. (Grissom barely puts any effort into unplugging the drill when he inspects it).

Factual error: Grissom sets up a little experiment to see if the deceased's blood is conductive to electricity. All are amazed when the blood does conduct electricity. All blood is naturally conductive. As a matter of fact, cardiac output is measured as a function of blood conductivity.

Factual error: Several problems surround the electrocution death and the investigation. First, there is the insinuation that the boots should have protected the victim from the electrocution because of the rubber soles. Regular shoes and standard work boots will not protect anyone from electric shock. You are still grounded. You have to wear special electrician's boots to insulate you from electric shock. These boots cost about triple standard work boots. Second, the CSI crew found a nail embedded in the boot. They theorized that is how the boots were grounded out. The problem there is the nail had to be pushed all the way through the sole and through the insole for it to work (the close up of the boot showed the nail in all the way). Even if the nail was barely through the insole, the victim would have felt the nail poking him at every step. With the nail all the way through, he wouldn't have even walked two steps before puncturing his foot on the nail. Third, there is the nail itself. When Grissom is examining the boots trying to find why they failed (failed to prevent the electrocution), he poses the question "What is the most common item found during construction?" The answer is a nail, and the nail in the boot appears to be a roofing nail. The construction site is for a multi-story prison. Nails aren't used in the construction of multi-story urban buildings: concrete and steel are. Carpenters come in after the building is erected and work on the interior, but the are no roofing nails.

Factual error: When they are explaining why a nail was hammered into the electrocuted workman's boot, it is said that cars are protected from lightning strikes because they are insulated from the ground by their tires. Actually, tires conduct electricity, because they contain carbon (see: http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Archive/1994/November/11.html). Cars are actually protected from lightning by the Faraday Cage effect, which is explained on http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/~kskeldon/PubSci/exhibits/E3/. Not a mistake CSI scientists would make.

Continuity: When Nick is staring intently at the doctors lapel area, the camera zooms in and we see some lint on the doctors left lapel. When Nick asks Catherine to get the tape on it, Catherine approaches the suspect and she starts to put the tape on the left lapel, but when the camera zooms in for a close-up of her getting the lint, the tape is being applied to the RIGHT lapel.

Continuity: Nick is eating a hot dog when he's handed a warrant. Depending on the camera angle, he goes from taking a bite out of the hot dog to holding the hot dog in one hand and the warrant in the other simply with camera angle changes.

Factual error: In the scene where Grissom is talking to the coroner about the bully who was shot, they talk about how the bully had "Dextrocardia" which is why all his organs are a mirror image of normality e.g. heart on right and liver on left. In actual fact Dextrocardia is only when the heart is on the right rather than left, the actual condition Grissom should have said was "Situs Inversus" not "Dextrocardia."

Continuity: In the scene where Nick and Catherine are interviewing Walden, Catherine's fringe moves from right to left and back to right. This continues throughout the interview.

Other: In the scene where Grissom is talking to the coroner about the man who was shot and strangled with his tie, you can see the actor that played the body breathing.

Factual error: The CSI team determine a woman died after accidentally ingesting ricin (which she tried to use to kill someone else). She died within minutes of sticking her ricin covered pen into her mouth. According to the CDC, death by ingestion of ricin will occur within 36-72 hours (depending on potency, amount, etc.), not a matter of minutes. And, death could not have been from inhalation during her manufacturing of the ricin. They make it a point to show her burnt-looking tongue as the place where ricin was introduced to the body.

Continuity: When Grissom enters the cage in which the woman is found, he goes to the wastebasket to examine the pen that rolled on the floor. As he first picks it up, he grasps it right at the point where the black grip section meets the gray barrel section. As the shot changes and he continues bringing it up to examine it, he is now grasping it near the end of the gray barrel. As it is supposed to be a continuous shot (conversation is uninterrupted the entire time), there is no time for him to change his hand position.

Visible crew/equipment: When Warrick is talking to Greg in the DNA lab comparing Brass's DNA, the boom mic is reflected on the back wall.

Factual error: The treasury officer stated that the couple was from "Las Vegas County". Anyone from the government (local/county/state/federal) should know Las Vegas is in 'Clark County'. Sara (who works for LVMPD/Clark County) did not react at all.

Continuity: When Warrick is talking to Dr. Robins, his collar changes place. During the close-ups, only the right side of his collar is tucked in. During shots farther away, both sides are tucked in.

Revealing: When Grissom finds Isabelle Millander dead in her chair, you can see her blink as the shot changes, even though she's supposed to be dead.

Revealing: After Grissom finds Isabelle Millander dead in her chair, he walks towards the bathroom. When the shot changes, you can see her shift her legs even though she's supposed to be dead.

Continuity: Supposedly, Paul Millander was 10 years old when his father was killed. A newspaper report read by Sara in 1x08(Time 39:45) says this. It also says that his father died August 17th, 1959. In 2x13(Time 43:18), in the last scene, Grissom looks at Paul's birth certificate. It says that Paul was born August 17th, 1956, which would mean that he was actually 3 years old when his father died.

Continuity: When Catherine goes into the diner with a man and Sarah is sitting talking to her date, in one shot they are talking and in the next immediate shot he has a cup to his lips.