Best crime TV mistakes of all time

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Ashes to Ashes picture

Episode #1.8 - S1-E8

Factual error: When the bullion van leaves the yard a 1995 N reg Rover 600 is parked on the left hand side of the road, before Ray drives off in his Granada. In 1982 the Rover 600 was not even on the drawing board.

paulnjsmith

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Suggested correction: Tony and others say many things that aren't accurate. While season one gives the firm impression that the house is sold, it's not confirmed on screen. There may have been a deal where the intended buyer couldn't get financing or a closing never took place for other reasons.

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Life on Mars picture

Episode 5 - S1-E5

Revealing mistake: When the Capri crashes into the goal net & they go to arrest the suspect you can see sky satellite dishes on the houses in front of them. Satellite TV didn't start in the UK until the 80s.

peter mcgougan

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The Wire picture

Storm Warnings - S2-E10

Continuity mistake: They check up Pyramid Inc at the Eastpoint Insurance register for the Volvo S80 to GPS track at the beginning of the episode. Next scene they're putting a tracker on a S60. (00:01:53)

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Castle picture

For Better or Worse - S6-E23

Continuity mistake: At the end of the episode, the Mercedes S class that is burning is not the same car that Castle drove previously in the episode, it's an older model one. Either it's a mistake or has to do something with the plot resolution, decide yourselves...

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Hawaii Five-0 picture

Lehu a Lehu - S6-E2

Visible crew/equipment: Danny is supposed to be looking for the suspect in the woods by himself and you can see another person on the top right hand side of the frame. The crew member looks as if he knows he is in the way and slowly backs away. (00:35:15)

laufenberg1

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Murdoch Mysteries picture

Murdoch.com - S2-E10

Factual error: Enid, the telegraph operator, exclaims that "He is sending an SOS." However, in the 19th century, distress calls did not include the letters "SOS," It was not until the early 20th Century that SOS was chosen as the international distress call.

goofyfoot

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Suggested correction: The show is set in the early 1900's, which is the early 20th century. By the time this event transpired, SOS would have been established as a universal distress signal.

The show starts in 1895 and by season 2, it was still the 19th century and before Germany adopted SOS in 1905.

Bishop73

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Wild Bill picture

Show generally

Factual error: Bill wears four medal ribbons, in order: Diamond Jubilee Medal (awarded to all people with five years' service in a British uniformed service in 2012), Golden Jubilee Medal (the same in 2002), Queen's Police Medal (a very prestigious award, a handful of which are awarded every year to long-serving police officers for exceptional service) and Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (awarded for 20 years' unblemished service in the British police). Not only are these in the wrong order (it should be QPM, Golden Jubilee, Diamond Jubilee, LS&GCM), but he's not entitled to any of them! He's an American who hasn't previously served in the British police. A chief constable's uniform doesn't just come with medal ribbons for the look of it; only those that have been earned may be worn.

Necrothesp

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JAG (1995)

JAG picture

Washington Holiday - S2-E9

Factual error: In the whole episode, Romania is depicted as a monarchy with the king in a position that allows him to make political decisions. However, Romania ceased to be a monarchy in 1947. By the time depicted in the episode (circa 1997), Romania was a republic and its head of state was the president. Members of the ex-royal family did not hold any positions in the Romanian government and were certainly not authorized to represent Romania in international events.

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Numb3rs picture

Prime Suspect - S1-E5

Continuity mistake: When Charlie Epps is writing a quadrillion on the whiteboard, the writing alternates between shots. Most noticably when he first writes it down, there is a significant downward tendency of the 000 groups. In the next shot, they are pretty much horizontal. Also the shapes of the commas alter.

Ronnie Bischof

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Forever Knight picture

Forward into the Past - S2-E4

Factual error: Nick tells fellow vampire Aristotle, "You still owe me for that time at the Battle of Hastings." Nick was brought across in 1228, or so the intro told us every week. The Battle of Hastings, as any British school kid knows, was fought in 1066, over 100 years before Nick's mortal birth. (00:29:30)

Jean G

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Lie to Me picture

The Best Policy - S1-E7

Visible crew/equipment: At about 30 minutes into the episode, right after Cal says: "if Jeffrey knows about priox, he's going to jail. But I'm gonna be damn sure before I send him there", you can see a hand in the top right corner of the screen.

catri

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Lupin picture

Chapter 1 - S1-E1

Plot hole: The protagonist gets in the exclusive, multi-millionaire, invites-only auction because the invitation is on a printed letter that he faked. This means that the guards at the entrance don't have a guest list to check, and since nobody knows who this person is, the staff does run a background check on his identity when he makes the first outrageous bid...by looking his name up on Wikipedia. That's mighty low standards of security, especially for an auction that was supposed to be for a selected audience and the most important in France.

Sammo

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