Best TV deliberate mistakes of all time

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Leave It To Beaver picture

The School Picture - S4-E30

Deliberate mistake: Although it was done for plot purposes, no school photographer would only take just one shot of a class photo. They generally take up to 15 to 20, as it is difficult to get everyone to look at the camera and smile at once (and hopefully not pull silly faces).

Gavin Jackson

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The Outer Limits picture

The Invisible Enemy - S2-E7

Deliberate mistake: Though by 1964 it was already suspected (and later confirmed by Mariner IV) that Mars has an atmosphere humans can't breathe and temperatures too low for humans to tolerate, Merritt and his crew are here exploring the planet sans spacesuits. This was "fudged" because space helmets A)are expensive, B)reflect cameras, and most importantly, C)obscure the actors' faces. (00:24:00)

Jean G

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The IT Crowd picture

Yesterday's Jam - S1-E1

Deliberate mistake: When Roy and Moss are in Jen's office talking about her slipping up, the computer monitor disappears from her table in the wide shots so you can see the actress.

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

Suggested correction: It's there the whole time. It's a thin monitor and it lines up with Roy's leg, so it might have been hard to see.

Bishop73

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Wizards of Waverly Place picture

Wizards vs. Vampires on Waverly Place - S2-E26

Deliberate mistake: Justin tells his dad he will write the idea on the white board (the theme in the restaurant/add more of an experience) yet he just scribbles, and in the scenes where you see a bit behind him, the whiteboard has scribbles instead of words where he was supposed to write.

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The Waltons picture

The Carousel - S9-E11

Deliberate mistake: After Elizabeth goes upstairs with the pillowcases for Cindy, in the following shots there are a few long shots of Colonel Brunson's car on the road, and a couple of those shots are flipped - noticeable due to identical trees shown the opposite way. (00:03:55)

Super Grover

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Jonathan Creek picture

The Grinning Man - S4-E7

Deliberate mistake: When Joey and Jonathan get in Joey's car at Metropolis (just before heading to the police station), the car has headrests. When they get to the police station, see Lance Gessler leaving and then follow him, the car no longer has headrests. Obviously removed so as not to obstruct the actors.

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The Greatest American Hero picture

Season 1 generally

Deliberate mistake: When the show premiered on March 18th, 1981 Ralph's last name started out as Hinkley, but after a couple of episodes had aired on TV, on March 30th a man named Hinckley shot then U.S. President Reagan and three other people, so in the remaining episodes of season 1 Ralph's last name was changed to Hanley. His last name was changed back to Hinkley in season 2.

Super Grover

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Leverage picture

The Stork Job - S1-E6

Deliberate mistake: When filming the fake movie with Sophie playing the nun, many holes are made in the door, but when she slowly kneels to the ground, there isn't a hole behind her, so it seems like she's been miraculously saved. But as the scene continues, the nun starts to bleed and dies. Technically, they couldn't safely put a squib that close to her. (00:21:15)

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Community picture

Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking - S2-E16

Deliberate mistake: This episode is meant to be entirely a documentary made by Abed. At the end of the episode, there's a shot where the gang is looking into Pierce's window, except the camera is right in front of the window they're looking through. If Abed was filming this he would literally be right in front of the gang, completely obscuring their view through it.

deadexcel

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Hustle picture

Cops and Robbers - S1-E4

Deliberate mistake: When Sam first meets Mickey (who is posing as a bank robber), Mickey says he needs Sam to state that he needs Mickey's help in robbing a bank, so if Sam turns out to be an undercover cop, Mickey can plead entrapment. This is a classic error. Entrapment only exists where a cop actively persuades a criminal to do something he otherwise wouldn't have done - which is not the case here. If Mickey as a con artist knows this (which is likely), it's a deliberate mistake, otherwise it's a factual error. (00:30:09)

swordfish

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The Adventures of Tintin picture

The Secret of the Unicorn: Part 1 - S1-E3

Deliberate mistake: After Francis Haddock kills Red Rackham, he lights a fuse to the explosives. The fuse that was lit is only a foot long, yet he is somehow able to climb out the ship without anyone noticing, get into a boat and swim all the way to land before it explodes. At a foot long it would have exploded in 10 - 15 seconds, all of that would taken at least 10 minutes. (00:18:45)

Casual Person

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