Jean G

24th Aug 2008

Burke's Law (1963)

Who Killed the Rest? - S2-E25

Factual error: It isn't catering to American tourists (the guests are from all over the globe), but the Posada Angelita Hotel in Mexico has only American flags out front. (00:03:15)

Jean G

23rd Aug 2008

Batman (1966)

The Penguin Declines (3) - S2-E39

Factual error: Joker, Penguin and no less than four henchmen all manage to hide in the Batmobile's trunk and leap out when it enters the Batcave. Even for Batman, this is stretching credibility more than a bit. There's no way the Batmobile's trunk could hold six adults and still close (and it was closed). Two might fit, even three in a pinch - but not six. (00:17:30)

Jean G

15th Aug 2008

Batman (1966)

The Bat's Kow Tow (2) - S2-E30

Factual error: Batman ingeniously deduces that the sympathetic vibration needed to escape Catwoman's sound-trap is the note F-sharp above high-C. What he proceeds to hum, however, is a D, and Robin hums an E. Neither of them reaches F-sharp, but the sound chamber dutifully explodes and frees them anyway. (00:02:30)

Jean G

13th Aug 2008

Batman (1966)

The Joker's Provokers (2) - S2-E22

Factual error: Tsk. After all his lectures to Robin about the importance of education, Batman should and would know better. On the chalk board, where he's written out Joker's message (dictated to him over the phone), the caped crusader mis-punctuates the phrase "a gargoyle's key" by leaving out the apostrophe. Definitely not a mistake that stickler-for-correctness Batman would make. (00:09:30)

Jean G

5th Aug 2008

Torchwood (2006)

Something Borrowed - S2-E9

Factual error: Jack calls Gwen, and when Rhys takes the phone and hangs up on him, Jack's cell phone, for the second time in the series, sounds an audible, impossible dial tone. (00:13:00)

Jean G

3rd Aug 2008

Batman (1966)

The Clock King Gets Crowned (2) - S2-E12

Factual error: Trapped in the overturned hourglass, Batman and Robin lie flat and begin furiously digging in the sand, making the hourglass roll out the door. But to cause such rapid movement, they'd need to be applying their weight against one of the glass sides (like a hamster in a ball). Just digging in the sand wouldn't get them anywhere, at least not that quickly. (00:04:15)

Jean G

30th Jul 2008

Batman (1966)

The Spell of Tut (1) - S2-E7

Factual error: King Tut is said here to have been a 4th Dynasty ruler. Just as in the previous Tut episode, Egyptian history seems to have entirely escaped Batman's writers. They previously mis-identified Tut's namesake as a 14th Dynasty ruler, and this time around, guessed wrong again. In fact, Tutenkamen's brief rule was part of the 18th Dynasty. (00:03:30)

Jean G

30th Jul 2008

Hawaii Five-O (1968)

3,000 Crooked Miles To Honolulu - S4-E4

Factual error: The professional hitmen murder their victim in the hospital with a silenced .38 revolver. You'd think the mob would know better. Silencers have absolutely no effect on revolvers. They only work on closed-chambered, automatic weapons. (00:46:20)

Jean G

The Hand of God - S1-E24

Factual error: The Cylon commander orders his centurions to "continue into the galaxy." This is roughly tantamount to the GPS in your car instructing you to "continue to the nearest planet." It makes no sense, as they're not entering any other galaxy (nor could they). Yet again, the writer obviously confused his terminologies, and should have written "system," not "galaxy." Speculating that he meant this galaxy is just silly; it's clearly not what was intended. (00:06:45)

Jean G

29th Jul 2008

Winds of War (1983)

Show generally

Factual error: Part 6: As Roosevelt is getting onto the train, the superimposed title identifies his location as "Silver Springs, Maryland." But he's in Silver Spring (no S), not Silver Springs.

Jean G

The Hand of God - S1-E24

Factual error: Apollo's monitor picks up the "Tranquility Base here: the Eagle has landed" message of the first moon landing, complete with a full shot of the LEM sitting on the moon's surface - not from the onboard or outboard cameras, but from several yards away. There's absolutely nothing to indicate that this is some edited rebroadcast (that's one stretch of a rationalization). The implication is clearly that it's live. And when the Eagle first landed there were, of course, no cameras on the moon. (Nor is it necessary to insist that the series would have to be set in the Earth-time 1960s for this to be so. A live signal could take many, many years to reach the Galactica.) (00:43:30)

Jean G

22nd Jul 2008

Torchwood (2006)

Captain Jack Harkness - S1-E12

Factual error: When Gwen finds Toshiko's hidden message from 1941, she realizes that it was written in blood, and her flashlight reveals the bright red letters on the now-yellowed piece of paper. But after 60+ years, the iron in the blood would oxidize. The writing on the note should be rust-brown, not red. (00:33:40)

Jean G

17th Jul 2008

Batman (1966)

The Curse of Tut (1) - S1-E27

Factual error: Though he's a bastion of knowledge and a member of the museum board, Bruce Wayne completely mangles Egyptian history - twice. He says that King Tut ruled in the 14th Dynasty, and that the museum's mummy was a 14th Dynasty king who ruled in 1500 BC. Wrong on both counts. Tut reigned from 1336-1349 BC. The 14th Dynasty ran from 1773-1650 BC. Wayne would have known that - and so would his well-educated colleagues, none of whom points out the error. (00:13:00 - 00:15:00)

Jean G

16th Jul 2008

Torchwood (2006)

Combat - S1-E11

Factual error: Between getting disconnected by the bad guy and calling Ianto, Jack gets a dial tone on the dead man's cell phone. Cell phones don't generate dial tones. (00:11:10)

Jean G

12th Jul 2008

Batman (1966)

Not Yet, He Ain't (2) - S1-E22

Factual error: When the Penguin steals the Batmobile, Batman spies on him from a tiny camera he says is hidden behind the car's fuel gauge. But the picture he and Robin are viewing has been shot from several feet away from the car, not from inside it. (00:11:15)

Jean G

9th Jul 2008

Batman (1966)

5th Jul 2008

Hawaii Five-O (1968)

28th Jun 2008

Winds of War (1983)

Show generally

Factual error: Part 4: The cord on the telephone Pug uses to call Pam should be a straight wire. Instead, it's coiled: a design not yet in use in the 1940s. (00:13:30)

Jean G

27th Jun 2008

Winds of War (1983)

Show generally

Factual error: Several times throughout the miniseries, parts of London are shown with the flags of various allied nations flying from buildings. These include the Canadian maple leaf - which wasn't adopted until 1965.

Jean G

The New Lion of Sonora - S4-E14

Factual error: In the 1870s, poker chips were made of wood and either branded or painted with denominational values. But the brightly colored chips on General Casados' table in this episode are very obviously made of plastic. (00:38:30)

Jean G

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