Best crime TV factual errors of all time

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New Amsterdam picture

Show generally

Factual error: This series uses a beautifully-rendered CGI sequence of New Amsterdam C. 1650 morphing into New York City of the present day. The Native American tribe we see at the start of the sequence, however, never inhabited the New England area. They look more like the Lakota plains tribes seen in Dances With Wolves. The North-Eastern tribes didn't build teepees as seen here, either. The dwellings should be longhouse wigwams made of wood.

Jean G

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Cold Case picture Cold Case mistake picture Video

Thrill Kill - S5-E1

Factual error: When Dylan gets out of jail, a palm tree can be seen in the background behind him. This reveals that the scene was filmed in Los Angeles, not Philadelphia.

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Sherlock picture

His Last Vow - S3-E4

Factual error: Sherlock takes pains to explain in detail that he will deliberately corrupt the magnetic code stripe on an access control card he intends to use to enter the elevator to the villain's penthouse, by carrying it next to an operational cell phone. (This is possible due to the low frequency magnetic field from a phone's vibration motor.) But when he actually goes to access the elevator, he simply touches his access card to the reader instead of swiping or inserting the card through a slot, which is how a magnetic stripe reader would operate. The elevator uses an RFID proximity reader, not a magnetic stripe reader - a phone wouldn't corrupt an embedded RFID tag.

Stringman

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The Dresden Files picture

Birds of a Feather - S1-E1

Factual error: Talking to Dresden, Bob refers to his first grimoire (a book of spells & magic). But the closed captioner, apparently unfamiliar with the term, has rendered the line, "My first Renoir," which, though amusing, makes no sense at all in the context of the conversation. (Refers to the aired version: the error was corrected on the DVD release.) (00:24:00)

Jean G

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Knight Rider picture

The Topaz Connection - S1-E16

Factual error: A secret file is password-protected on a computer, requiring a six-digit numerical access code. KITT states that the possibilities "are virtually unlimited." In truth, if each digit can be 0 through 9 (numerical meaning no letters or symbols), the possibility is 1 in 10^6, or 1 in a million. A supercomputer like KITT should have no problem running each number systematically until a correct code is found.

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The Borgias picture

The Poisoned Chalice - S1-E1

Factual error: In the Pope's coronation procession they play the anthem Zadok the Priest. It was composed by Handel for the coronation of George II in 1727, 235 years after this coronation took place.

Necrothesp

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The A-Team picture

A Nice Place to Visit - S1-E14

Factual error: When the team is in uniform for their friend's funeral, Smith and Peck (both commissioned officers) have their Special Forces insignias on their berets when they should have their rank insignia.

Mister Ed

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Medium picture

I Married a Mind Reader - S1-E11

Factual error: A nitpicking mistake, but on the set of "I Married a Mind Reader", the front door is a modern steel design. Back in the 60's, front doors were almost always wood (steel doors weren't available until the 1970's or 80's), and the window design would have been larger on a 1960's fan-window wooden door.

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine picture

Pontiac Bandit - S1-E12

Factual error: When Jake is given a burner phone by Doug Judy, he receives a text message from the 'Pontiac Bandit'. The phone is an old cellphone from the late 90s, but the text message makes an iPhone sound/tone from the late 2000s. He receives another text message again later with the same tone. (00:09:55 - 00:12:50)

Hani Hariprabowo

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The Brief picture

Show generally

Factual error: At one point the barristers are seen going into the old arch entrance of the Old Bailey. However, you cannot actually go in that way, it's blocked off, you have to go in the more modern entrance and through a series of security checks.

David Mercier

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Wanted picture

Rush - S1-E1

Factual error: When Rose is introduced to the entire team McGloin shakes her hand and says that he (respects or admires) anyone that has survived the POW school. She smiles, nods and walks away. McGloin then explains to the last remaining teammate that all NIOs attend the POW school and explains briefly what it is. First: It is the SERE school. Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape not really POW. Second: Not all, not even most, NIOs attend SERE school, just some.

Rlvlk

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Point Pleasant picture

Who's Your Daddy? - S1-E3

Factual error: When she's giving the historical tour, Sarah talks about how the Puritans who settled in Point Pleasant faced hardships during their first winter there. But the first village at Point Pleasant was built in 1817, a century and a half after Puritans ceased to exist as a distinct group.

DavidK93

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit picture

Pique - S2-E20

Factual error: In the final scene where Grace Mayberry's house is raided in Trenton, NJ. a New Jersey State Trooper is wearing a badge on his chest. The NJSP has always worn a triangular shaped badge on their hats.

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Murder, She Wrote picture

Thicker Than Water - S8-E4

Factual error: At the end of the episode after Wayne is shot, there is a brief shot of the outside of the hospital where he has been taken. The sign outside the hospital says Dalesboro, Ohio. Why would someone shot in coastal Maine end up in a hospital in Ohio?

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Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Not entirely true; although they are rare and may no longer exist now, I've seen traffic lights that followed the red, yellow, green pattern as recently as the mid-1990s.

zendaddy621

Interesting. What state (s) did you see this in? I'm assuming going from red to yellow was to encourage cars to cautiously enter the intersection in case someone was running a red light?

Phaneron

Traffic lights in the UK do this - it's more to give you a second to get ready, in gear, etc., then as soon as the lights turn green you can go. Otherwise you get no warning of when the lights are about to change.

In Illinois; as I said, such traffic lights are rare, but they did exist at least as recently as the time this episode of the series aired, and they may still possibly exist in larger cities such as New York City.

zendaddy621

This traffic light set-up (red to yellow to green) still exists today in the UK. From what I understand, it is to alert the driver that the light will be turning green imminently and to prepare themselves to put their car in gear, as manual cars are still pretty common in Europe. I'd wager this light cycle was phased out of North America due to the abundance of automatic cars today. Could have been different in 1994 though.

critterbonus

It should be noted that traffic lights that go from red to yellow before going green keep the red light illuminated so that both red and yellow are lit up. However, that's not what happens in the scene. I've never seen a traffic light operate the way it's shown. And Massachusetts still has traffic lights that go from red to yellow, however, when red and yellow are lit up together, this allows for pedestrian crossing.

Bishop73

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Matlock picture

The Madam - S5-E3

Factual error: Radio talk show host David Campbell works at "WRQE 480 AM." There is no such frequency. The AM radio dial begins at 530.

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