Factual error: The establishing shot of Bedlam Hospital shows it with 18th-century neoclassical architecture, in an episode set in 1599, in the Elizabethan era. (00:23:20)
Factual error: The Globe has (and had) 20 sides, not 14.
The Sound of Drums (2) - S3-E12
Factual error: When introducing himself to the Toclafane, President Winters refers to himself as "President-elect of the United States of America." President-elect is the title given to the victor of an American presidential election who has not yet been sworn in, between early November and January 20. This was a mistake on Russell T Davies' part, as he was under the impression it was a longer, formal title for the American president. (00:37:40)
The Sound of Drums (2) - S3-E12
Factual error: The army shoot at Martha's car and you can see sparks where the bullets bounce off her windscreen. But, at that close range, one of those things can go through a brick! I know you're supposed to allow a bit of disbelief, but this is taking it too far.
The Sound of Drums (2) - S3-E12
Factual error: When they are running over the bridge, supposedly in London, you can see the Heddlu sign on the police station (Heddlu is Welsh for police). You can also see a Cardiff bus at the bus stop underneath.
Last of the Time Lords (3) - S3-E13
Factual error: When time is seen rewinding after the destruction of the Paradox Machine, the Earth and Moon are seen rotating and orbiting backwards. The Moon is depicted far closer to Earth than it actually is. (00:37:40)
Factual error: The opening shot of the episode reuses the zoom-in from orbit originally used in "Rose." The North Pole is sunlit, as it would be at the height of summer. "The Runaway Bride" takes place on Christmas Eve, four days after the Northern Hemisphere's Winter Solstice, when the Pole would be facing away from the Sun, in darkness. In fact, this was the second Christmas special in a row to make this mistake, after "The Christmas Invasion." (00:00:05)
Factual error: During the rooftop scene, Donna checks her watch and says that it's half past three, or 3:30 PM. In London on December 24, that's roughly 45 minutes before sunset. However, not only is the angle of sunlight during this scene much higher than it should be for the date and time, the Sun proceeds to remain up for some time longer, including during the wedding reception and when the Doctor discovers the tunnel underneath H.C. Clements leads to below the Thames Barrier, even though it really ought to have set by then.
Factual error: During the chase on the motorway, many deciduous trees sporting lush green leaves can be seen in the background, in sharp defiance of the fact that it's supposed to be Christmas Eve and their branches should be bare. In addition, despite having chosen to wear a sleeveless wedding dress, Donna is remarkably unbothered by the fact that it should be fairly brisk outside, probably somewhere around freezing.
Factual error: Colonel Mace says the Sontaran ship is orbiting 5,000 miles (8,050 km) above the Earth. However, in shots of and from the ship in both this episode and "The Sontaran Stratagem", the Earth appears far too small for the ship to be that close, with the ship's true distance appearing to be well over double that. (00:08:34)
Factual error: The Doctor sets the atmosphere on fire, but only the upper part burns. The atmosphere extends from the Earth's surface (where it is densest) upwards, and so the flames would come right down to the ground, burning everyone to death. Of course that wouldn't work with the plot, so artistic licence has been applied.
The Unicorn and the Wasp - S4-E7
Factual error: The hotel in Harrogate was not called the Harrogate Hotel as shown in the episode; it was called the Swan Hydropathic Hotel.
The Unicorn and the Wasp - S4-E7
Factual error: In Lady Edison's flashback, she's reading "The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd", her favorite book. However, this episode is set in 1926, and the dust cover is from 2006.
The Unicorn and the Wasp - S4-E7
Factual error: In real life, Agatha Christie's famous disappearance occurred in December 1926. This episode is quite plainly not set in winter, what with the outdoor garden party and lush green foliage.
Factual error: During the climax, the Moon is visible in the background, and is depicted as full. On December 24, 1851 in real life, the Moon was at first quarter phase.
Factual error: When the Immortality Gate is activated, there's a wide shot of Earth as the wave from the device goes around the planet. In another instance of a mistake made by a few previous Christmas specials, despite this taking place on Christmas Day, the North Pole is looking very, very sunny for what's supposed to be the dead of winter. (00:54:50)
Factual error: When the shot zooms out from Earth across the Solar System before revealing the narrator, Jupiter and Saturn are shown. Although scaling is somewhat exaggerated, Saturn appears to be closer to the Sun than Jupiter, which it most definitely is not in real life. (00:57:57)
The End of Time: Part Two - S4-E18
Factual error: The Vinvocci ship is said to be orbiting 100,000 miles above Earth, later refined to 105,000 miles. That's one-third of the distance to the Moon, and the Earth's apparent size from the windows of the ship is far too large for them to be that distance, or even 100,000 kilometres above the Earth's surface. Judging by the Earth's apparent size, the spaceship is actually orbiting 6,000-7,000 kilometres above the planet's surface.
Factual error: When the TARDIS is flying over London at the beginning, the London Eye is visible. It's supposed to be 1996, and the Eye was built later than that, for the new millennium celebrations. (00:00:30)
Factual error: When the Doctor spots Rory taking a photo of Prisoner Zero, we're shown a brief close-up of Rory's hospital identity badge. The date of issue is given as "30/11/1990". The main body of the episode is set in 2008, two years before Rory and Amy's wedding in 2010. It's further established in the episode that Rory and Amy played together as children after her first meeting with the Doctor in 1996, with Rory observing that Amy made him dress up as the Raggedy Doctor. Rory could not possibly have worked for the hospital for eighteen years at the time of the episode. (00:33:10)
Suggested correction: Continue watching the show as this is a clue and not a mistake. In later episodes Rory becomes the Last Centurion who watches over Amy for over 1,800 years while she is in the Pandorica. So while Rory was born in 1989, because of time travel and events that occurred to him, he's lived long enough to work at the hospital since 1990.
Bishop73
At that stage, Rory had not time-traveled at all. If he had been working at the hospital since 1990, he would have been a baby. And it was shown in "The Big Bang" that he works as a guard in the Museum where the Pandorica is kept in the alternate timeline, not at the hospital.