Best drama TV plot holes of all time

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.

And Those We Left Behind - S4-E6

Plot hole: The very ending scene where Peter (in this version died in the ice as a boy so Walter's wife never met him) takes off some of the dust covers then picks up a toy airplane. The toy airplane he got as a child from ... Walter's wife when she was trying to placate him in an earlier episode for trying to run "home". This toy airplane wouldn't have been his as a child in this version of the universe. (00:42:00)

The Sinner and the Sandman - S5-E2

Plot hole: Ian Avery-Cooper loses his lottery ticket which is immediately picked up and appropriated by Leonard Corbyn. However, Avery-Cooper immediately reports the loss to the shopkeeper who sold him the ticket. All lottery sales staff are trained in what to do under these circumstances, because it happens a lot - they cancel the lost ticket and issue a new one. Since Avery-Cooper used the same numbers every week this would not pose a problem, but even if he didn't the ticket would be recorded on the seller's computers and could be precisely reconstructed. This would be even easier since Avery-Cooper reports the loss within a minute of it happening and we see that he has the receipt for the sale in his hand. Corbyn's stolen ticket would be worthless and Avery-Cooper would be able to claim his rightful winnings.

An Invisible Thread - S3-E25

Plot hole: If Noah could be brought back from the dead with Claire's blood why couldn't they bring back Nathan? Was turning Sylar into Nathan really the first thing they could think of?

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.

Pilot - S1-E1

Plot hole: Brian calls Rebecca after he has been shot. She asks him "Where is the bullet? Is it in your leg still?" Brian never mentioned he was shot in the leg. (00:30:20)

John Doe - S2-E14

Plot hole: In this episode, Kellerman insists that there is no way of identifying Stedman. The brothers ask about DNA, dental records, etc. Kellerman states that they were erased. However, Stedman's DNA can always be tested and compared to that of the presidents. DNA will show that they are siblings. There is no "erasing" that.

Planet of the Spiders - S11-E5

Plot hole: At the climax of episode 2, the Doctor is about to catch Lupton when the latter simply teleports to safety. So why didn't he do that in the first place, before engaging in a 15-minute chase?

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

Bad Moon Rising - S2-E19

Plot hole: In Season 1, Episodes 5&6, it's mentioned several times that Zoey is already 19 a few weeks before she starts college. Yet in this episode, Charlie points out to Leo and the President later tells Oliver Babbish that Zoey was 17 when she was filling out her enrollment forms for college, therefore a parent had to sign them. These are enrollment forms, not application forms - it's extremely unlikely that they were filled out over a year before she started school.

Season 4 generally

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

...About Last Night - S5-E4

Plot hole: In this episode, the Duboises make such a big deal about Ariel being old enough to finally learn to drive. However, two episodes previously ("Things to Do in Phoenix When You're Dead") Ariel drove herself to school and Joe complimented her on her prowess.

Show generally

Plot hole: Live 50th anniversary episode, aired December 9th 2010 - When Sally is allowed into the rubble to comfort Molly as the firemen attempt to free her, one of them says they'll get Sally a hard hat. But when we see her talking to Molly in the rubble, she has no hard hat on and instead one of the firemen is holding his hand above her head.

Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office - S2-E1

Plot hole: In this episode Tony tells Janice that he has just put their mother's house on the market. In season one, the house had already been sold.

Elogium - S2-E4

Plot hole: In this episode Kes states that she has to decide now whether to have a child or not because Ocampa women can only get pregnant once and deliver one child. If that was the case they would have died out a long time ago, or never even evolved, as two people only getting one offspring would reduce the population to 50% of the original figure each generation.

What's My Line? (1) - S2-E9

Plot hole: If Spike and his gang only take a few hours to break through the door to Ford's club in 'Lie To Me' (which we are told is six feet of solid steel), why can't Angel break through a thin wire door that visibly shakes every time he hits it, given the same amount of time? (00:38:05)

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)

100 Light Years From Home - S5-E19

Plot hole: At the end of the episode, Dawson is seated in the kitchen talking to Pacey in a normally loud voice. At the same time, Joey and Charlie are awake and talking in the pup tent in the living room, very close to the kitchen. Later in the Season we learn that Joey had no idea Dawson had driven down to Florida to see her, as apparently he left without seeing or talking to her. But being in such close proximity that morning; there is no way Joey would not have been able to hear Dawson's voice as he talked with Pacey. The living room was close enough to the kitchen, so it doesn't make sense that Joey wouldn't have known Dawson was there and if she did-she would have gone to talk to him.