Best TV character mistakes of all time

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Hogan's Heroes picture

Show generally

Character mistake: In several scenes all over the show (though not always!), characters use the command "Raus!" to send somebody away from somewhere. Raus, short for "heraus" literally means "out" in the sense of "out of a building", which would be "aus einem Gebäude heraus" in German. Used as a command, it always means "get out", never "get away from there" or "get lost", in other words, the addressee must be inside of somewhere to be ordered "Raus." One example would be Schultz sending the prisoners away from general Burkhalter's car in S05E13.

Doc

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Suggested correction: It doesn't take much research to debunk this claim. Also, John Banner, the actor that most often used the term in the show, was German-born and raised. I'm sure he would have spoken up if it were wrong.

Sorry, what is the "not much" it takes to debunk that claim? By the way John Banner was not born and raised in Germany but in what was then Hungary-Austria. I, on the other hand, AM German born and raised, so if you think you know more about my native tongue than me, by all means, educate me. As for why it wasn't corrected, my guess is this: Words like raus, schnell, was ist los, bitte or danke are rather well known even in the US, so the audience would be able to follow the dialog.

Doc

Sorry, John Banner was born in Poland. He was not German.

Kevin l Habershaw

He was born in 1910 in the city once known as Stanislau, prior to being annexed by Poland in 1919. At the time of his birth, it was part of Austria-Hungary, and one of the official languages was German.

Bishop73

You're correct. I didn't read the IMDb page enough.

Kevin l Habershaw

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Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy - S2-E18

Character mistake: Annie when giving her gifts is holding two little mini flags to cover the possible ethnicity of Shirley's baby. One is a Chinese flag and the other is Zimbabwe. Annie makes reference to the fact that the ethnic food she made is one from Ghana. She makes Ghana ethnic food but does not get the right flag for Ghana. She decorates the table with numerous flags which are also Zimbabwe.

Lummie

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Catch A Falling Star - May 21, 1979 - S2-E10

Character mistake: In the preview for this episode, Charlie has trouble getting his countdown straight. He shouts that Sam is on in 50 seconds, then 47, then 48. In the episode itself, the mistake is corrected with a rather obvious overdub, changing the final number to 43. (00:02:05)

Jean G

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Slappy Holidays - S2-E7

Character mistake: Dan makes a reference to the movie "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" (the movie he's planning on the family to watch). He starts a sentence saying "by the time John Candy says 'those aren't pillows'." John Candy did not say that line in the movie - Steve Martin did.

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Do a Little Harm... - S2-E5

Character mistake: The firefighters state that the acronym for CPR is ABC for Airway, Breathing, Circulation. This is very outdated as in 2010 the American Heart Association changed the recommendation to CAB for Compressions, Airway, Breathing following evidence that compressions first in CPR saves more lives.

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Stop Me Before I Hug Again - S1-E13

Character mistake: In Brian's "Laws I Have Broken Since Joining FBI" list, item #30 misspells the word "recorded" - "30) Recoreded NFL Game Without Consent." He'd only have that knowledge if he was using NZT, and if he was, he wouldn't make a mistake like that.

THGhost

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Gently with the Women - S7-E1

Character mistake: The registration number of Alan Salt's car is HUA222B, but when Rachel is on the phone asking an officer to look up the car's registered owner she gives the registration number as B222HUA.

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Origin of Iron Man: Part 1 - S1-E11

Character mistake: When young Tony Stark is telling his father that their helicopter's anti-flak chip didn't kick in, he acknowledges that it was his fault by saying he blew it. When his father corrects him and says "No Tony, we blew it. Stark and Son," Tony defensively says "The anti-flak chip failed, it's not my fault," completely contradicting what he said seconds earlier. (00:14:00)

Phaneron

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Firestarter - S3-E2

Character mistake: In the beginning of the episode, the new social worker says "it's been raining all night, what do you expect?" whereas later in the 'flashbacks' he says, "what do you expect, it's been raining all night".

NikkiB

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On the Run - S3-E13

Character mistake: When Mrs Haldane is giving her statement to Regan she tells him that Cook was wearing dark glasses when she saw him outside her neighbour's house, but Cook wasn't wearing any glasses.

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Episode Sixteen - S2-E9

Character mistake: At the Roadhouse Cooper states that the second victim (Maddy) was found dead two days ago. It has been less than 24 hours since the body was found: he likely means she was murdered two days ago.

pinkwafer

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