Best TV plot holes of all time

Please vote as you browse around to help the best rise to the top.

Bones picture

The Man in the Fallout Shelter - S1-E9

Plot hole: At first the victim (Careful Lionel) is described as not returning to pick up his new shirt in November 1958, and possessing love letters dated from 1957 through early winter (November) 1958. Booth reports the fallout shelter where Lionel's body was discovered was sealed in 1958. Later Lionel is described as reported missing by his boss in January 1960, and the illegitimate child he fathered was born in 1960 as well. That would mean his boss didn't notice he was gone for over a year, and his pregnant girlfriend was with child for at least 14 months.

More Bones plot holes
Bewitched picture

Santa Comes to Visit and Stays and Stays - S6-E14

Plot hole: Mrs. Kravitz, while standing in the Stephenses' front doorway, sees Santa Claus and assumes that it's Darrin in costume. However, the very next shot shows Santa exiting the kitchen (around the corner from the front door) and starting up the hallway toward the living room. There is no possible way Mrs. Kravitz could have seen him when she said she did. (00:09:30)

Jeff Swanson

More Bewitched plot holes
Lucifer picture

The Would-Be Prince of Darkness - S1-E3

Plot hole: During the credits, Chloe said of the victim "coroner puts her time of death between 1 and 3am", and she does indeed ask Ty's obsessive fan / ex-gf where has she been during that timeframe. When she looks at the security tape, the timecode starts rolling at 22:18 and goes on "for 3 hours." That does not account for the time of the murder at all, she has no alibi for the second half of the suspected timeframe! Not to mention, she said she saw Ty kiss the victim. When could she possibly have seen that? It's unlikely that before 10pm Ty was already drunk and getting randy with the girl, with the house full of guests. (00:25:00)

Sammo

More Lucifer plot holes

FBI (2018)

FBI picture

Outsider - S2-E6

Plot hole: The FBI is looking for a "very tall" guy who has been identified as such by various witnesses and by their own expert due to the entry angle of a fatal bullet wound - 6'5" at least. They send Elena into a bar near the end of the show to meet the Albanian perp who when he arrives is barely average height.

bnemirow

More FBI plot holes
Charlie's Angels picture

Circus of Terror - S2-E7

Plot hole: After Sabrina and Tarloff have finished their rehearsal, Kris is able to pick the real sword with no hesitation. There are still six swords left in the basket (one is real, five are fake). They all look the same, so how could Kris know the exact position of the real one? (00:43:30)

Great_Captain

More Charlie's Angels plot holes
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries picture

Raisins and Almonds - S1-E5

Plot hole: It turns out in the climax of the episode that there are no bullets left in the gun and Miss Fisher knew it. That would mean then that she deliberately wasted minutes with Simon bleeding out on the floor when Chaim was holding them at gunpoint with an empty revolver, for no discernible purpose.

Sammo

More Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries plot holes
Boy Meets World picture

What A Drag! - S7-E11

Plot hole: At the beginning of the episode, Eric and Jack call the cops on Luther for planning an illegal rave at the college, but the cops let him go because he had not started the rave. He still broke into the student union building, and therefore should have still been arrested. He even threatens Eric and Jack afterwards right in front of the cops, and they do nothing about it. (00:00:20 - 00:02:10)

Phaneron

More Boy Meets World plot holes
The Mandalorian picture

Chapter 7: The Reckoning - S1-E7

Plot hole: The boss of the boss murders Werner Herzog because he knows that the baby is not in the crib. Yet it takes Mando's message (somehow intercepted) for the troopers to start moving in pursuit. The heck were they waiting for? They have overwhelming forces in the area and a previous deal with Karga. (00:33:10)

Sammo

More The Mandalorian plot holes
Good Luck Charlie picture

Show generally

Plot hole: In the episode where Gabe wants PJ and Teddy to pretend to be his parents when his teacher wants to see them after getting in trouble at school, it is established that Gabe's elderly teacher is short-sighted. When he asks "How many fingers am I holding up" his teacher gives an incorrect answer. However, later in the episode, his teacher spots Teddy on a date at the cinema (movie theatre) and assumes she's cheating/having an affair. How could she have seen Teddy from a row in-front, when Teddy is facing the audience and not the teacher, if she couldn't see how many fingers Gabe was holding up close to her face?

itsemilylm

More Good Luck Charlie plot holes
Leverage picture

The Hot Potato Job - S4-E5

Plot hole: Parker gains access to the external room using a valid security card, they figure out the CEO's passcode which opens the burn room door...and yet the room inside is still protected by a swarm of lasers. Was the CEO supposed to dance through the laser sensors like Parker does every time he goes in?

Jon Sandys

More Leverage plot holes
Degrassi: The Next Generation picture

Show generally

Plot hole: In the start of season 4 we meet Liberty's little brother, Danny. J.T. and Manny are making fun of him because he is new to the school and is starting out. If he is starting out, then he should be in the 7th grade, because it is stated in the first episode that the school changed into a 7-12. Liberty, J.T., Manny, Emma,Toby etc. are all in the 10th grade so how does it end up that Danny is a grade below Liberty?

Movieman123

More Degrassi: The Next Generation plot holes
Hogan's Heroes picture

My Favorite Prisoner - S4-E18

Plot hole: In several occasions throughout the story, e.g. S4E18, Hogan attends parties at Stalag 13 wearing an immaculate US dress uniform. Where did he get that? Dress uniforms are not part of the usual kit a bomber crew brings along with them on their missions.

Doc

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

Suggested correction: Considering they have a tailor (Newkirk) and are air dropped everything from explosives to penicillin, a Class A dress uniform would hardly be a challenge to make or receive.

stiiggy

Klink: "Hogan, where did you get that uniform?!" - Hogan: "Oh, I had OSS airdrop it together with our latest shipment of explosives and ammunition. We brought it in through our tunnel last night and stored it there."

Doc

I got it from the Red Cross.

stiiggy

Only a few high ranking intelligence officers are aware of Hogan's mission. Hogan's activities would under normal circumstances be considered fraternisation. While it might be true that he could theoretically obtain a class A uniform via the red cross, doing so would brand him as a collaborator and traitor.

Doc

More Hogan's Heroes plot holes
Hawaii Five-O picture

Season 8 generally

Plot hole: 8-22 "Love Thy Neighbor, Take His Wife": The police cars speed to Tanaka's house with their sirens screaming, warning him in plenty of time to allow him to escape. Apparently these guys never heard of the law-enforcement standard "silent approach."

Jean G

More Hawaii Five-O plot holes
More Futurama plot holes
Eastenders picture

Show generally

Plot hole: Why is it that no-one in the square owns a washing machine. Surely this would mean the launderette would always be crowded.

More Eastenders plot holes
Smallville picture

Lucy - S4-E16

Plot hole: In episode 4-16: "Lucy," there is no reason for the criminals to be chasing Lucy on the ski slopes at the beginning of the episode. We learn later that she's been working with them all along; she calls Lois during the chase, and the call is part of Lucy's plan with the criminals. Lucy being chased by the criminals would make sense given the story she gives Clark during the next part of the episode, but it doesn't make sense for what we ultimately learn is the truth. And nobody from Smallville is anywhere near the ski chase, so it also doesn't make sense as any kind of a ruse.

DavidK93

More Smallville plot holes

ER (1994)

ER picture

Show generally

Plot hole: There are always family members right in the room while the doctors are literally cutting into the patients. The family is always creating a fuss or whatever, until someone asks for them to escorted out. A real hospital would never let family members into the room while they are cracking open their loved one's chest.

More ER plot holes
More Blackadder plot holes
CSI: NY picture

The Fall - S1-E17

Plot hole: The CSIs catch a murder suspect putting down a drink can when reviewing security footage of a robbery, and immediately realise they didn't see it at the scene so assume one of the first cops on the scene must have removed it. Thing is though, the murderers shot out the security camera before the actual shooting occurred, meaning there was loads of time off-camera for the killers to take the can with them, but the CSIs never even consider this - they jump to the conclusion a cop took it even though there's no actual evidence for that.

Jon Sandys

More CSI: NY plot holes
Forever Knight picture

Father Figure - S1-E14

Plot hole: When the two henchmen who break into Nick's loft to kill Lisa are captured, the case is closed. But the two thugs were reporting back to a boss who wasn't caught, and who surely would have sent more hitmen after Lisa. So the case shouldn't have been closed.

Jean G

More Forever Knight plot holes

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.