Hawaii Five-0 (1968) - 118 mistakes in entire show

Continuity: 9-4 "Man on Fire": McGarrett's blackboard already lists plutonium as the poison source before Dr. Ormsbee enters to inform him that plutonium was the poison source.

Visible crew/equipment: During McGarrett and Chin's interview with the Chinese bookie, the boom dips into the shot several times at the very top of the screen.

Visible crew/equipment: Several times in this episode, the side of McGarrett's shiny black Mercury sedan mirrors an entire bank of big square studio light reflectors.

Plot hole: 8-22 "Love Thy Neighbor, Take His Wife": The police cars speed to Tanaka's house with their sirens screaming, warning him in plenty of time to allow him to escape. Apparently these guys never heard of the law-enforcement standard "silent approach."

Plot hole: McGarrett is hunting for heroin dealers who've laced the drug with arsenic. Yet when he and Chin Ho arrest Harry Parch and find his stash, McGarrett performs the TV cop cliché of sticking his finger into the white powder and tasting it. Even that small a dose of arsenic could be lethal, and seasoned cop that he is, McGarrett would know that.

Continuity: As Kono talks to Johnny Kalama in the students' apartment, an orange lava lamp sits on the shelf between them. Each time the camera angle reverses, the wax bubbles in the lamp are very noticeably in different positions and configurations.

Plot hole: The first murder victim is so dim-witted that it strains the viewer's credulity. Her creepy blind date, who plans to kill her, is wearing surgical gloves already - but somehow she never notices.

Factual error: Don, who professes to be a Buddhist, chants in the jail cell and refers to Buddha as "god." Adherents to this religion do not worship the Buddha and never refer to him as god. Later on, Don chants to Krishna, a Hindu deity not even remotely connected with Buddhism. So, just what is Don - a Buddhist or a Krishna?

Factual error: McGarrett places the kidnappers' ransom tape on the reel-to-reel recorder, and before the tape is threaded or the machine properly turned on, the message immediately starts to play.

Deliberate "mistake": 9-12 "The Bells Toll at Noon": When McGarrett picks up Danny and drives away in his Mercury Grand Marquis, the rear view mirror is missing, probably removed to prevent it from blocking the actors' faces. It reappears later on.

Visible crew/equipment: In the office, when McGarrett hands Chin Ho the murdered cop's notebook, the microphone shadow can be seen moving across the set wall at the upper left of the screen.

Audio problem: When McGarrett and Danno pull away from the curb in McGarrett's big black Mercury, the tire-squealing sound effect begins before the car actually starts to move. (Doesn't happen unless you're flooring it and "peeling out," which they're not.)

Deliberate "mistake": Han is shot several times as he dives from the board into the pool. But when his body is shown slowly floating back to the surface, there's not a trace of blood on him or in the water.

Factual error: Danno, who's posing as a Marine, has hair that's far too long to be permitted in the Corps. In fact, all of the Marines in this episode have non-regulation (too long) haircuts. 'T'was the same then as it is now: US Marines are given "buzz jobs," and hair longer than an inch is not allowed.

Visible crew/equipment: Aboard the smaller boat that comes out to pick up McGarrett from the tug, you can plainly see a cameraman shouldering his camera and standing up to film the tug boat.

Continuity: There's much too abrupt a transition between Reese falling into the water and his body suddenly being back on the dock. As there's no time lapse implied at all, he seems to reappear on shore by magic. At least a brief shot of the body being fished out of the water might have helped.

Visible crew/equipment: 7-1 "The Young Assassins": The People's Attack Group van speeds past the camera and briefly captures the reflections of several film crew members.

Continuity: At the airport security checkpoint, Sam drapes a garment bag over the counter, but leaves after the inspection without taking it. Next shot, though, it disappears.

Continuity: Danno kicks one of the bad guys out of the van, leaving the rear doors swinging open. But when the shot immediately cuts to an exterior view of the speeding van, the doors are tightly shut again.

Audio problem: Throughout series: "Hawaii Five-O's" favorite sound effect was squealing tires, and the effect was nearly always added whether McGarrett's big black Mercury actually "peeled out" or pulled away at a normal speed. More than once, the tire squeal sounded when the car was sitting on beach sand. Nice trick - if you could do it. But alas, you can't "burn rubber" on a beach.