The Thorn Birds

Audio problem: When Meggie and Stu see the fire he cries "Oh my God". His mouth, however, is open when he begins to speak, then closes it, and it remains closed throughout the rest of the line.

Audio problem: When Meggie cries "It's starting to rain" over and over, as she hugs Stu tightly her lips are not moving, even though she is still speaking.

Continuity mistake: When Mary Carson is touching Father Ralph when he is shirtless her hands keep changing position between shots.

More mistakes in The Thorn Birds

Dane O'Neill: Mom, is this you? Oh, you were beautiful.
Meggie Cleary: Were? Oh the cruelty of youth.
Fiona 'Fee' Cleary: It was a lovely dress. Blue wasn't it?
Meggie Cleary: No, Mum, yours was blue.
Ralph de Bricassart: Meggie's dress was rose. "Ashes of Roses", it was called. And in it, she was the most beautiful thing any of us had ever seen.

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Question: Fee tells Mary she has two deceased sons. She tells her this before the deaths of Stuart and Hal. I don't remember any other of the Cleary children dying in the novel, what two sons is she referring to?

Answer: When Fee was very young, she had an affair with a man and became pregnant. To avoid a scandal, she was quickly married off to Paddy Cleary, a good and honest man, but someone far below Fee in social class. The eldest son (from Fee's previous relationship) never felt that he fit into the family, and both he and the second eldest son left home early on and met premature deaths. Neither character appears in the TV series, they are only mentioned. Stu and Hal are killed later in the story.

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