Best comedy TV plot holes of all time

Underage Peter - S14-E14

Plot hole: They're in the Clam complaining that they can't drink when they make the revelation that Brian can because he's technically 56. But Quagmire should be able to drink, as in a much earlier episode, he's revealed to be over 60.

Can of Worms - S11-E6

Plot hole: Near the end of the episode Rimmer, Kryten and Lister are all in a Mexican standoff, each facing two shapeshifters who are impersonating them. The trouble is, thanks to Kryten's previous intervention Lister is now a soulless, unfeeling killing machine. Earlier he shot and killed a shapeshifter who could well have been Cat - he didn't know it was a shapeshifter and by his own admission he didn't care. We have already seen how fast on the draw he is - why didn't he just open fire on the six shapeshifters, Kryten and Rimmer in order to ensure his own survival? Don't tell me he was worried about being shot himself - fear is an emotion, too.

Be Careful What You Witch For - S2-E22

Plot hole: When teenage Prue has run away with the demon, and Phoebe and Piper find her in the park, teenage Prue is 'killed'. Her sisters drive her home to get Leo to heal her, but shouldn't they have just been able to call to Leo to orb to them when Prue was first hurt, and heal her in the park, and save driving back to the Manor and risk Prue dying?

Show generally

Plot hole: When Zach Young's grandfather died, Zach was said to be the sole heir of the fortune. However, Noah Taylor (the grandfather) had a daughter that appeared several times while Mike Delfino was looking for Deirdre. Where was Kendra Taylor while Zachary Young was spending Noah's fortune on dresses for Gabrielle Solis? Why didn't she claim her share? She simply disappeared.

Christmas Special (2) - S99-E2

Plot hole: Lee and Dawn overstay their tourist visa in the US, then fly back to the UK for the Office Christmas party. They then get into a taxi to go out to the airport in order to return to the US. They're kidding themselves. As I know (to my cost) when you overstay a tourist visa, the US Immigration Service finds out when you check in at the airport on departure. They'll be refused reentry, and probably barred from entering the US for up to six years. (I got a three year ban.) Neither Lee nor Dawn could possibly be unaware of this nor think they could beat the system as they would have been arrested when they checked in in Florida on departure (as I was), and they would have remained in small holding cells until the paperwork banning their return had been processed and their passports stamped 'Invalid for U.S. Entry', as mine was. (All this takes about seventy two hours, so they'd have missed the Christmas party anyway.) The mistake is NOT that they were able to leave the USA - that is explained (it's still not possible, but in the context of the show and the suspension of disbelief we are meant to believe it) the mistake is that they are on the way back to the airport to return. That's absurd. They would have been under no illusions as to their banned status re reentry to the USA.

SpongeBob Meets the Strangler / Pranks a Lot - S3-E20

Plot hole: In "Pranks A Lot", Patrick and SpongeBob scare Sandy. When Sandy runs, gets into her rocket and flies away. When she moved bubbles appeared meaning there's water in her tree house. There's no water in there in other episodes because she's a land animal and breathes air.

Shoeway to Heaven - S9-E1

Plot hole: When Dominique is on TV, she says she got the shoes from Al's store. Than the Amish guy comes out to confirm she broke her leg from the shoe he made. Al says yes. She got the shoes way before Al knew he had no more shoes and before they even hired the Amish guy. How can she break her leg from his shoe if he wasn't hired and making them yet?

Speed 3 - S3-E3

Plot hole: A plot point for this episode is that Pat Mustard is on the phone to Ted, cackling evilly, for most of the third act. However, after Pat Mustard makes the initial call, Ted uses the phone to call two other priests for backup. Yet later on we see that Pat Mustard is still on the line, when Father Jack picks up the phone and listens in. So how could Ted make that other call when Pat Mustard was still on the line?

Mr. Monk Goes to Jail - S2-E16

Plot hole: It is unrealistic that a prison cook who did not punch out would not be missed or found until the next day, especially after a lock-down scenario as portrayed in this episode, where a meal has been poisoned - likely in that very kitchen.

To market, to market - S6-E1

Plot hole: In this episode Carrie runs into Aidan, who now has what looks to be about a 6 month old baby (Tate). This doesn't seem possible, as Carrie and Aidan would have only broken up about a year ago, and Miranda was around 6 months pregnant when they broke up. Brady is only about 5 months old at this point in the series, leaving Aidan only roughly 8 months to have this baby - but Aidan lay in bed for about a month and then dated Nina Katz for awhile. Timeline just doesn't seem to fit.

I Hate A Mystery - S1-E10

Plot hole: Hawkeye calls a number of people into the mess tent over the PA - the ones he allegedly suspects of being behind the thefts he is suspected of himself. Interestingly enough, Ho Jon, later revealed to be the guilty party, is not on Hawkeye's list - yet he shows up uninvited, just to be ensnared by Hawk's clever ploy. Note also that he had no way of knowing what the purpose of the meeting was, so we cannot ascribe to him the motive of wanting to find out how much Hawkeye knew.

Doc

The Hot Tub - S7-E5

Plot hole: When Elaine is searching for Jean Paul in the streets, one of her verbal flashbacks is of Jean Paul saying, "I trust Elaine, she is my friend." However, Jean Paul made this remark to Jerry, and Elaine was not there to hear it. How could she have a flashback of it?

Season 4 generally

Plot hole: The Winslows' younger daughter, Judy, disappeared from the show in 1993 (halfway through the series' run) with no explanation.

Prom Wrecker - S2-E5

Plot hole: In this episode all the students say Hollywood Arts has never had a prom before. But in the first episode, 'Pilot', Rex says to Cat after she runs out to tell Tori, Robbie, Andre and him that Sikowitz wants them to come back into the classroom, "Just like you wanted a date to the prom last year."

And the First Degree - S3-E24

Plot hole: Caroline helps Max get her degree, since Max didn't graduate high school. However, in episode 5 of season 1, Caroline and Max are raising money to pay off Max's student loans.

Viva Las Lapras - S2-E32

Plot hole: Officer Jenny asks Ash what he knows about the "trio" when he tells her that the pirates are likely Team Rocket, but he hadn't said anything about there being three of them before that. And Jenny obviously didn't know anything about Team Rocket, either. (00:05:30)

You Pet It, You Bought It - S8-E6

Plot hole: When Jesse and Michelle wake up in the morning, you can see that the picture Danny got was behind the couch, resting on the seat in the alcove. Later, when Danny goes into the living room and screams, Shorty is standing in the middle of the room, with his head in the picture, and the picture is facing the family. There is no way that the donkey could have put his head in that way.

E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt) - S11-E5

Plot hole: When the Simpsons run away from the duel, they go to Homer's childhood farmhouse. But Homer and Grandpa burned the farmhouse down in the episode "Grandpa vs. Sexual Inadequacy".

Dear Sally Rogers - S5-E21

Plot hole: Sally Rogers appears on the Stevie Parsons show which is a late night talk show, the next morning she receives letters from as far away as Hawaii... the US mail isn't that fast.

Boy Next Door - S3-E16

Plot hole: Throughout the show it is reported several times that Billy and Ally met when they were both eight years old in a park by sniffing each other's bottoms. However, when Billy is buried in season 3 his tombstone reads, 1968-2000, making him 32 years old. Ally is only 29 and does not turn 30 until later in that season which would at the very least, put them 2 years apart. (00:41:15)