The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964) - 33 mistakes in series 1

Factual error: Solo blows open the ceiling vent of Illya and Marion's cell, and she stands on Illya's shoulders until Solo can reach her and pull her out. This leaves Illya with nothing/no one to stand on, no way to reach the vent and no apparent way out of the cell. But he's out just the same in the next scene, with no explanation as to how.

Other: Solo seems to forget just who called whom when he calls Illya on the communicator. After Illya picks up, Solo answers as though Illya had called him instead.

Revealing: Every time the villains' deadly gas, "hydro," is mentioned, the word is badly and very obviously dubbed in, and doesn't match what the actors' lips are saying. This occurred because the original name used, "freon," turned out to be an existing (and patented) refrigerant gas, so the name had to be changed to avoid a trademark lawsuit.

Continuity: In the intro, Illya gets into the car and as he's talking to Solo, finishes the last of his breakfast donut in close-up. When we cut to a two-shot, he finishes the donut all over again.

Revealing: Illya's stunt double during the balcony fight is painfully obvious: his face and bad wig are visible throughout the scene.

Plot hole: Illya dives into the pool to rescue Solo and Lavinia, who've been tied to mattresses and left to drown. Somehow, Illya divines that Solo will be able to free himself. He swims to Lavinia and cuts her free while Solo is still sinking, then heads for the ladder without looking back. Fortunately, his psychic powers are on target: an untied Solo soon appears, swimming free, behind him.

Revealing: Solo pushes the chief from Calcutta's wheelchair into an elevator in UNCLE headquarters. The floor going into the lift, however, is visibly solid, with no break to allow for a real elevator's movement.

Revealing: Solo is driving on a country road through a wooded area with no street lights. So what are all those bright round lights reflecting on the hood and windshield of his car? UFOs?

Factual error: Supposedly engraved on a ceremonial sword is the wrong date - 1443 - for the fall of Constantinople. That happened in 1453.

Continuity: When Danfield opens the briefcase, the bundles of money inside are disarrayed, and he jumbles them further. A few shots later, though he hasn't touched them again, they've straightened themselves into nice, neat piles.

Continuity: When they're being chased by the dogs, Illya pulls off Marion Raven's shoes so she can climb the tree. He tosses the shoes into the pool below. But in the next shot, as Marion begins to climb, her shoes are back on her feet - that is, until they both leap from the tree into the pool. Then, her shoes are off again, and already floating in the water.

Plot hole: Mr. Varner spots Illya down the street and says, "I think he's another U.N.C.L.E. agent." His uncertainty is odd: he helped identify and chase Illya earlier in the episode, so he already knew to be fact what he only "thinks" in this later scene.

Continuity: In the stairwell, Illya shoots the second Thrush gunman one time. When the man starts to fall, there are no holes or marks at all on his white jacket. A few seconds later, as he finishes falling down the stairs, three bullet holes suddenly appear in his coat, even though Illya only shot him once.

Continuity: At the end, Solo & Illya land the helicopter on top of the furniture van. But after the shot of them in the cockpit bumping to a landing, a wide shot shows the copter still hovering in the air above the van. Cut back to them in the cockpit and they're landed again; back to the wide shot, still in the air.

Plot hole: The typewriter case containing the secret plans is said to be boobytrapped with nitroglycerine. If dropped, says the Thrush agent, it "could blow us all up." Yet it survives a plane crash intact and is later wielded as a club several times in the cavern fight scene, and somehow it never explodes.

Continuity: Aboard the yacht, Solo tucks his gun into his waistband. Next shot, as he takes cash out of the box, the gun has disappeared. It reappears in the shot after that.

Revealing: U.N.C.L.E. headquarters must be full of elevators that don't go anywhere. When Mandy enters Solo's elevator car, she crosses a solid threshold with no break in the floor.

Continuity: In the hotel room, Solo gives Lavinia Brown one of his cards. She's holding it in her left hand and gesturing with it as she talks to him. But when the camera angle changes slightly, the card suddenly vanishes.

Continuity: In Waverly's office at the beginning, the contemplative Illya's hand is draped over his glasses salute-fashion in wide shot. But in close-up, it's suddenly curled into a fist at the side of his head. Next shot, he's "saluting" again.

Continuity: The gas-spewing suitcase that Solo tosses off the stopped train is gone a minute later when Stryker and Miss Parsons jump to the ground.