Best thriller TV factual errors of all time

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The Fugitive picture

Wife Killer - S3-E17

Factual error: The Baker City Herald's office door misspells the word "personnel" with a sign reading, "Authorized Personel Only." Pretty poor editing for a newspaper office. (00:29:25)

Jean G

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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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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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The ABC Murders picture

Episode #1.1 - S1-E1

Factual error: This is set in 1933. When the killer comes back to his lodgings in episode 1, Lily on the stairs is humming "Somewhere over the rainbow", which was written for The Wizard of Oz in 1939. She also happens to wear bright red shoes, which feels like yet another Wizard of Oz reference. Interesting enough, the subtitles say that she is humming a different song, "Night and day" which she openly sings throughout the series and was already a hit in 1932. (00:44:10)

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Blindspot picture

Existential Ennui - S5-E3

Factual error: The episode states that there is border control between Germany and Czechia. There is no border control within the Schengen area of the EU (which includes Germany and Czechia). You can cross borders by car or fly in a plane without showing your ID.

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Revelations picture

Hour Six - S1-E6

Factual error: Jonah tells Richard that Saturn has a "rogue moon" in a retrograde orbit that travels "at four times the speed" of Saturn's other moons. The graphic on Jonah's computer shows that the moon in question is Phoebe, which does indeed orbit in the opposite direction from other Saturnian moons. And the graphic correctly shows Phoebe's orbit as being much further from the planet than the other moons. However, as a direct consequence of its greater orbital radius, Phoebe is actually among Saturn's *slowest* moons. It has a longer orbital period (or "month") and a slower orbital velocity than all the Saturnian moons with smaller orbital radii, of which there are twenty.

DavidK93

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Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers picture

Return of the Green Ranger (2) - S2-E45

Factual error: Billy, Kim, Rocky, Aisha, and Adam return to Angel Grove in the 1700's...and there are British Redcoats there. On the West coast, in California. England never deployed troops to California, especially considering it was part of the empire of Spain at that time.

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Dark Shadows picture

Episode One (Pilot) - S1-E1

Factual error: Willie opens the secret room in the Collins family mausoleum, and a flock of bats flies out. It's a hidden chamber that's been sealed (without even small openings - it's imprisoning a vampire) for 200 years. There'd be no way for the bats to get in. (00:15:00)

Jean G

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Threshold picture

Shock - S1-E5

Factual error: Molly and Ramsey find out that the van they are looking for was ticketed in Baltimore City at "the corner of Pennington and Fifth," and they are looking at a computerized map of the area. However, the map can be easily matched up to the actual Mapquest map of the area around the corner of Fifth St. and Patapsco Ave., except that the latter has been relabeled as Pennington. There is a Pennington Ave. in Baltimore City, but it runs parallel to Fifth, about a mile east of it.

DavidK93

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The Outer Limits picture

It Crawled Out of the Woodwork - S1-E11

Factual error: When the energy monster kills his entire research staff by stopping their hearts, Dr. Block brings them all back to life (with their minds and personalities intact) by installing pacemakers. But when the heart stops functioning, brain death occurs within minutes. For this to work, he'd not only have to operate on several people simultaneously, he'd also have to be the fastest heart surgeon on Earth. (00:40:00)

Jean G

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Before We Die picture

Show generally

Factual error: Superintendent Kane wears the insignia and uniform only worn by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, not only six ranks above the rank he is supposed to be, but in an entirely different police force.

Necrothesp

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The Handmaid's Tale picture

Show generally

Factual error: In several different episodes characters are escaping on foot to Canada, as evidenced by Ontario license plates. But the show is set in New England, and the only way to get to Ontario through the Eastern United States is by crossing a major body of water: The St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, The Niagara River, or Lake Erie. You can't walk there.

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V (1984)

V picture

V: The Final Battle: Part 3 (2 Hrs) - S1-E5

Factual error: When the world celebrates the Visitors' flight, there are scenes of joyous people from all around the world. Curiously, in each of these scenes it is daytime - even in Italy, China, and India, where it would be either night or dawn, given that L.A. time of the attacks is between 11 and 12 AM.

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Without A Trace picture

Upstairs Downstairs - S3-E4

Factual error: After the two women found out the guy was dead, there is a truck with the writing "K-9 Unit" on the front, but it is not backwards as it should be.

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