10th Feb 2020
Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler - S4-E9
Corrected entry: When Sydney Freedman asked Capt Chandler if he wasn't in the Army or a B-29 bombardier, that would be impossible. The U.S. Air Force was established Sept 18th, 1947. They controlled all bombing missions and bombers with only U.S. Air Force crews only.
11th Oct 2013
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.
Suggested correction: Of course Ho-Jon would come to the tent; it makes perfect sense, since he is the "houseboy" of the Swamp and, consequently, a sort of personal assistant to the Swampmen (Hawkeye, Trapper, and Spearchucker). He simply followed Trapper and Spearchucker to the tent after the announcement, probably figuring they might need him in some way.
It's late evening. It's, as far as anyone knows, an official meeting. Ho Jon isn't "standing attendance", he's sitting at the table (which is very convenient for him to hide his hands later). If he WERE standing attendance, it would be the only time in the series he does so in the mess tent instead of the swamp. It would also be the only time he's attending a meeting anyone called. Also he isn't a "house boy" - that would be totally out of character for Hawkeye, see "The Moose" - he's more an adoptee and roommate who makes himself useful. And last but not least: What a convenient coincidence, that just the guy who turns out to be the culprit would turn up uninvited, because he "might be needed" instead of staying the hell away because he is guilty and suspicious of the whole affair! Had - HAD, which he hasn't - Trapper said "Ho Jon, you better come too", you could call it a Deus Ex, but the way it is, it's just a plot hole, to quote Margaret Houlihan, "period, end of sentence."
16th Aug 2016
Corrected entry: In this episode, Potter and company are being introduced to white phosphorous that is starting to be used. But in Season 2, Episode 1, "Divided We Stand", as Henry and Hawkeye come out of the O.R. a wounded soldier is brought in on a Jeep with white phosphorous burns, and they knew what to do.
Correction: Even if they knew how to deal with it at the time, the information might not have been common knowledge. As WP came to be used more frequently, the Army would send instructors to field hospitals to make certain everyone was up on the latest technique for dealing with it. (Col. Potter was also not in the earlier episode you mention, and he wants to hear the information).
Understood, but Potter was there in Season 4, Episode 24 "Deluge" when a WP case was brought in.
Remember that the main plot of this episode is that Col. Potter made a rookie mistake that almost cost a kid's life, and is fearing that he's too old to hack it as a doctor anymore. If the Army's learned something he doesn't know, he wants to know it.
Correction: "New" to the doctors on the front lines and "new" to the doctors back at HQ could be two different things.
It might be old news to the 4077th but new to the Army in general. Without asking a real Army doctor, Instructional briefings like this aren't optional. They don't ask if you already know it. The point of the scene is NOT "How many times has the 4077th already done this?" The point is "Potter thinks he's too old and can't hack it anymore, so IF the Army has learned something new, HE wants to hear it." And also shows us "Potter is on edge about something. Maybe we should call Sidney Green."
You could be the world's top expert in White Phosphorus, but if you're in the Army, and they tell you "You're going to attend a lecture on White Phosphorus," That's called an order and you do it, Mr. White Phosphorus, whether you like it or not.
Correction: Captain Simmons said the new weapon is "white phosphorus rounds." Phosphorus before then was likely used as part of artillery shells.
Correction: I know you can't worry about MASH's timeline or you'll go insane, but six seasons pass between this episode and that one. The Army medics could have learned some new things about treating the injuries in whatever time passed. And again, Col. Potter thinks he's slipping in this episode, so he wants to hear every word, and that's the main point of the scene.
23rd Jan 2017
Corrected entry: Batman takes the shock gloves from Electrocutioner's body, but he doesn't take the battery packs that charge the gloves, just the gloves themselves. Later, he fights using the gloves despite them having no power source.
Correction: Having built all of his own gear, Batman is skilled enough in engineering and micro-circuitry to rig up a power source smaller than the Electrocutioner's gear to operate the gloves.
I think that's a reach - just because we're not shown something doesn't mean it doesn't happen. And Batman's gear clearly has a power source already.
We didn't see every stage of the construction of the Batmobile either, but it exists. We can presume there was some time-compression where we didn't see Batman yank wires out of the walls and make spot-welds on circuit boards. Just because we didn't see that doesn't mean he didn't.
20th Feb 2018
Last Laugh - S6-E3
Corrected entry: Leo Bardonaro supposedly left his hat at the hotel where he used BJ's name as an alias. General Fred Fox made BJ put on the hat to prove he was at the hotel. When Leo shows back up at the Swamp he has his hat back on.
Correction: He could easily have more than one hat.
6th Jan 2019
Trivia: After Harry Morgan joined the cast as Col. Sherman T. Potter, the character is shown numerous times painting portraits of the main characters. However, he never painted them. The studio prop master farmed out the work to local talent who was happy for the work. None of those artists have been named.
Suggested correction: This entry is contradictory with another Trivia item which states that Harry Morgan, being an amateur painter in real life, did indeed produce at least some of the paintings.
Really? I had not seen that bit, as no mention came up as I entered it (similar entry, etc.). Then if so, I stand corrected and offer my thanks, Doc.
6th Jan 2019
Revealing mistake: While painting Winchester's portrait, the camera looks across Potter's position. As it does, the picture is totally finished, though Potter acts like he's working on it.
19th Dec 2018
Character mistake: Toward the end of the movie, the behavior of Newt is totally out of character - not just for him, but for any sane person. Newt tries to save Credence, and he has just gotten him to stop attacking and actually listening - when the other wizards blast what Newt knows to be essentially a traumatized and abused child to kingdom come. But Newt isn't the least bit distressed or mad, he just shrugs it off in a "shit happens, life goes on" kind of manner, catches Grindelwald for them and helps them save the world, happy as a flea and not giving a damn about the recent death of Credence. Only a complete and utter sociopath would be totally unmoved by the death of a child they were trying to save. A sane, feeling person (like Newt) should be at the president's throat spells blazing, cursing her and the whole American Wizard-hood to the nether regions of hell and not giving a blue damn whether or not they are exposed and in trouble, and whether or not Grindelwald goes free, because in that moment, in his eyes they would be hardly better than him. It is even more out of character since Newt is until that moment depicted as extremely protective of his creatures.
Suggested correction: Newt certainly does show sorrow for not being able to save Credence, but you are putting too much on Newt. Through the whole movie we are shown and told multiple times that Tina is the one close to Credence. She is the one who saved him once before and lost her job for it. Newt is a stranger and tries to help. And also not a powerful enough wizard enough to start fighting the President and her aurors. You decide he shows no emotion which he does, but at the end of the day he is not the one with closest connection to Credence.
Yes, he does show sorrow (which I never claimed he didn't), but only for a moment, and not nearly as much as say he earlier showed when his suitcase, containing mere animals, was taken from him. His reaction neither feels natural nor would be considered normal in a psychological review. Also you completely overlook the fact that newt is close to Tina, and come to think of it, her reaction is hardly normal either considering her history with Newt. Yes, admittedly I drew a rather colorful picture of a possible reaction newt might show, "spells blazing" is probably a bit on the extreme side. He'd probably rather tell her to go to hell and solve her own problems though instead of being eager to help.
26th Aug 2003
Corrected entry: After the American who wears glasses has had his eyes and tongue taken by Imhotep, he still is able to articulate words pretty well, which, if his tongue was really gone, would be impossible-try talking without moving your tongue sometime, and see how unintelligible you are. (01:04:25)
Correction: It is not true that one cannot verbalize at all without a tongue. Actually the actor does a pretty good job simulating the effect a missing tongue would have on a person's speech. (Ignoring for the moment the fact that a person who just had their tongue and eyes ripped out wouldn't talk at all but scream pretty much non-stop for the time being).
21st Oct 2003
Corrected entry: When our heroes open Impotep's sarcophagus, Evie translates something carved into the inside of the lid ('He has left us a message') For someone trapped inside a coffin while alive he carves quite neatly doesn't he? (00:56:30)
21st Oct 2003
Other mistake: Evie explains that if Imotep was resurrected he'd bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt. This is followed by (in no particular order) a plague of Locusts, Flies, Water running to blood, the sun being eclipsed and a plague of boils. At the plague of boils Jonathan says 'last but not least, my favourite plague - boils and sores'. How does he know this is the last plague? Aren't there supposed to be 5 more? (01:23:10)
Suggested correction: This may be taking the dialog too literally. It may be foreshadowing, in the sense of "uh, oh, they've got us now" or Jonathan may simply be expressing the fact that he's had enough plagues now and would like it to stop please. By the way, you forgot the fire raining from the sky, so technically Imhotep did six, not five.
The fact that Evie stated specifically 10 plagues, it makes no sense for Jonathan to say "last" on the 6th one, without considering it a mistake on the parts of writers, actor, or director.
Jonathan doesn't simply say "last", but rather "last but not least" - a statement that is regularly used on things the speaker knows for a fact to be, in fact, not the actual last. Taken as a sarcastic remark it makes perfect sense in the situation.
I know he said more than just "last", but that was the keyword to point out that the mistake is in fact valid. "Last but not least", weather said sarcastically or not, is never meant to be said about something that is in fact not last. It's always said to indicate the last item is not necessary the least, such as at Christmas when the last gift remains or when the last graduating student is given his or her diploma.
Also it's a possibility that off screen there was death of livestock, lice, raining frogs and death of first born children. Just want to show which we missing and it's obvious why, as in a movie raining frogs or dying livestock isn't all that threatening to the main characters and doesn't look cool. And for the movie showing first born children die is just stupid. And lice, that's just too much like flies.
6th Nov 2003
Other mistake: A German U-boat could dive in less than 30 seconds. By the time the boarding party even got to the conning tower the boat would already have been submerged.
Suggested correction: Just because it can, doesn't mean it has to. Not a mistake.
Yes mistake. The order to crash dive is heard. On a German sub the cry "Alarm!" always implied an order to crash dive as quickly as possible. A bit later the order to dive is given again. Practice on German subs was to open the quick-release vents as soon as the prompt "hatch latched" was given - in case of air attack often before that, meaning the vents were already open while crew members were still dropping through the hatch, resulting in the last guy getting an involuntary shower. True, the boat couldn't have dived in record time because they had no way in the ship, but still, at the very least the first thing the boarding party should have needed to do after taking the Central of U-571 should have been to close the vents and blow the tanks.
27th Aug 2001
Factual error: The submarine gets buzzed by a single engine German fighter. They are somewhere between the US coast and Greenland. The Germans had no aircraft carriers nor bases in the area. Since it was not a float plane how did the fighter get there? It could not possibly have flown the several thousand miles from continental Europe.
Suggested correction: This is explained in the film saying that the plane came from the destroyer on a recon mission.
If that is the explanation the film gives, it is a mistake in is own right. Firstly, destroyers did not carry recon planes, and secondly, recon planes are always equipped with floats, because they were launched from the ship by a catapult, but had to land on the water next to the ship to be lifted aboard by a crane.
27th Aug 2001
Factual error: Depth charges explode at a distance of some 10 meters from the boat without any fatal effect. In reality fatal (i.e. destroying) distance was some 50 meters. (00:06:00)
Suggested correction: The second sentence is in error. Hull-rupture maximum distance is approximately FIVE meters. K-gun DISPERSION range was selectable from the attacking DD or DE: (1) Mk-6 at 50, 75, and 120 yards, (2) Mk-9 at 60, 90, and 150 yards. Citation: http://uboat.net/allies/technical/depth_charges.htm states "The pressure hull of the U-boat was strong enough to withstand anything but a charge exploding 10 or 20 feet from its hull.", and http://www.math.iitb.ac.in/~manishk/msc_project/OR-Notes-Mirror/OR-Notes/mscmga.ms.ic.ac.uk/jeb/or/intro.html states "As mentioned above the standard 250lb depth charge was believed to have a lethal radius of only 5-6 metres."
I have seen German sources which suggest any depth charge going off closer than 100 meters would be instantly deadly. I don't know where those sites you cite get their info from, but descriptions of battles from the era of from a submariner's perspective make it look extremely unlikely that bombs of the stats which you describe would have been an effective weapon at all.
100 metres is 330ft. If depth charges were that effective, the Battle of the Atlantic would have been won in days. Escort ships used to drop ten charges in a pattern to sandwich the sub when they exploded.
18th Dec 2018
Good-Bye Radar: Part 2 - S8-E5
Corrected entry: Radar tells Klinger that "nobody helped me when I took the job." However, when Potter complains about Klinger's performance, Mulcahy tells him about Blake taking Radar under his wing and helping him grow into the job.
Correction: It is made clear that Colonel Blake was inept and had very little understanding of Radar's job. While Blake may have been supportive of Radar, Radar still had to learn the job on his own.
If he had little understanding of the clerk's job, then Mulcahy's statement that "Henry took Radar under his wing and helped him grow into the job" is moot.
Not necessarily as such. Both "taking under one's wing" and "growing into the job" are rather generic statements after all. Blake may very well have just kept his back while he learned the job, even though he may not have been such a great source of topical information on company-clerking in particular. For the question at hand however one should keep in mind that neither Radar nor Mulcahy are laying down historic facts when they make their respective statements, but try to make their points, which are, to wit: Radar thinks Klinger should stop bitching and try to find his feet, and Mulcahy thinks Potter needs to be supportive of Klinger.
24th Aug 2013
German Bridge Is Falling Down - S1-E7
Corrected entry: In the very beginning, the prisoners are all in formation for a count. Shultz completes the count at 15, reports it, and Klink calls Hogan over to talk. This leaves 14 in formation. Hogan says "Smoke if you have them". Unbeknownst to Klink, the men are in an arrow formation to point the way to the bridge for the bombers. The aerial shot from the planes shows at least 25 lighters lit. Where did the other 11 guys come from? With Hogan, his barracks only had 15 men who would've been in on it.
Correction: First, it's not true that only the men from Hogan's barracks are in on their operations. It's mentioned in several episodes that they've used other men during their missions. During S1E22 Hogan sends his people out to find a pizza recipe which is hardly the most inconspicuous thing to ask in a POW camp. During S1E27 Hogan asks Kinch if there's a Safe cracker among the prisoners in the camp, so he obviously has no problem recruiting people from outside his barracks. Second, the moment Hogan steps towards Klink, the prisoners break ranks and start to mingle. We simply have to assume that not only Hogan's barracks were ordered to fall out, but other barracks as well, (which would only be logical) even though it happens out of frame. The reason is obvious as well - it's hardly news that the producers of Hogan's Heroes were kept on a pretty tight leash budget-wise. Last but not least, it's true that Schultz counts to 15, but if you count yourself, you will find that not 15 but 19 people are in formation in front of the barracks in the first place. In conclusion, there is a valid mistake right there, but it's not the fact that the arrow consists of more than 15 people.
I stand corrected.
16th Nov 2018
Corrected entry: It would be impossible for Radar's bee Blitzen to sting the general as drones do not have stingers. (00:17:05)
Correction: Since it did sting him, it seems that Radar had misidentified it as a drone.
20th Feb 2017
Corrected entry: Between season 2 and season 3, the interior decoration of the officers' club changes radically. Up to season 2, it's furnished with wicker chairs and tables and has a picture of General MacArthur at the wall, from season 3 on, it has the familiar look with the tables made from tires and the unit insignia on the wall.
Correction: As you say, it happens in-between seasons. Given the 4077th's successful track record, the higher-ups may reward them with better equipment for the Officers' Club. (At one point, they save the life of an officer's son, and he gives them an upgrade to the club as well. Who's to say that hasn't happened more than once?).
Actually, it isn't so much an UPgrade as a DOWNgrade. In the 2nd season, it had nice wicker chairs and tables and even local bartenders. In the 3rd season and on, both the decoration and the furniture have a much more home-brew/scrounged air to them. I think it's more likely the producers or production designers noticed the officers' club was out of whack with the rest of the production design and adjusted it.
Again, the officer gave them the upgrade, he'd get to pick the decor and they'd just have to learn to like it. What you call an upgrade and what he calls an upgrade might be two separate things.
The basic problem with what you say is always the same however: There is exactly nothing in the dialog to support any of your theories.
There's also nothing but your own personal flair for design to say that the officer's idea of "That's what I call an upgrade" was, in fact, a downgrade. The taste of the officer who's giving them the upgrade is what decides if it is or isn't, and if his "upgrade" sucks, there's not a lot that the 4077th can do but say "Gee... thanks... sir..." and learn to like it.
"In reward for your dedicated service, I decided to replace your barkeeper with no barkeeper. You also won't have to look at the ugly mug of MacArthur any more, I've found you some nice random unit insignia instead! What's not to love, eh?"
Yeah, it sucks. I hear it's this thing called The Army.
26th Sep 2016
Trivia: One puzzling point for newcomers to "Hellboy" through the cinema was the scene in which Hellboy rhetorically asks John Myers, "You know what'll kill me, don't you?" The question is left open and unanswered for the rest of the movie (and it remains unanswered in "Golden Army," as well). Long-time readers of Mike Mignola's comics, however, have known for years that the only thing that can kill Hellboy is ripping his heart out of his chest. This is precisely what happened in the 2011 Hellboy comic entitled "The Storm and the Fury," when the dragon-witch Nimue unexpectedly ripped out Hellboy's heart, killing him on the spot and sending his soul back to Hell.
Suggested correction: He was rhetorically alluding to his love for Liz, and how it is metaphorically "killing" him that they can't be together. He even blatantly nods in her directly after he says the line. You're looking into it WAY too far... it's not supposed to be an inside reference to the comics.
19th Jun 2006
Corrected entry: BJ gives his home phone number as 555-2657; in the 1950's, phone numbers were generally given in a TWo-letter-five-number format e.g. "PEnnsylvania-6-5000" or "BEechwood-4-5789".
Correction: This is not a mistake. First 'generally' doesn't cut it - they might be the exception. Also, film makers are required by law to use unassigned telephone numbers, and have always used 555 as a prefix as such numbers are never used in real life.
They don't have to use the 555 prefix, it is just better that they do. They also used KLondike 5 or KL5 before the local area name was dropped.
Correction: 555 was never an area code. Original area codes all had a 0 or a 1 as the second number. 555 was an exchange that was never used for general public but it was used for some information numbers such as the time and weather. Usually Klondike 5 was used in movies or shows instead of 555 but either one is correct although in the 50's, it would be common to say Klondike.
Correction: The place name in the numbers mentioned actually translates to a three-digit code, the two letters merely were an abbreviation of that place name. It is simply an area code. The code 555 was reserved and never assigned to any real city in the US. To avoid people prank-calling numbers they heard in songs or movies, movie directors often used the 555 prefix. As detailed above, songwriters were often a lot less squeamish about using real, assignable phone numbers. There are several cases on file where phone numbers used in songs had to be reassigned and reserved, because people would call it "just to see whom it actually belonged to"
The place name and next number weren't the area code, they were the exchange. Usually giving the general neighborhood for the local number.
Correction: This may be taking "The Army" too literally. It may technically be incorrect, but in this case, one probably could substitute "The Armed Forces", especially out of the mouth of Sidney, who certainly isn't a stickler for military tables of organisation. What bugs me about this is that from the writers' perspective the distinction would have been much more of a given. I guess one could argue either way, so let the voting begin.
Doc ★