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.
Movie Nut
16th Aug 2016
M*A*S*H (1972)
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.
24th Aug 2013
Hogan's Heroes (1965)
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.
12th Dec 2018
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Character mistake: At the trial, the witness said that "With the first shot, we lost our gravitational field. I found myself weightless, and unable to function." However, the first shot caused the ship to start listing to port. It was the second shot that caused the gravitational failure.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: People misremember events all the time, especially if the events are unexpected and chaotic. At best a character mistake.
I called it a character mistake.
He could also simply be lying in order to explain why he did not do whatever he should have after the 1st shot, since he was an easy target for the intruders and did not die in battle, which would have been honorable. Klingons are not the most honest of people.
18th Dec 2018
M*A*S*H (1972)
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 Jun 2014
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Corrected entry: When the truck is straddling the gap of the halves of the drawbridge in the beginning, the rear axle falls off and rolls down the slope. While funny, this is mechanically impossible.
Correction: This is an absolutely possible mechanical failure. When the momentum of the rotating mass of the wheels is suddenly stopped by coming into contact with the bridge it sheers the bolts off the springs and the continued rotating energy backed by the momentum of the weight of the axle could easily break the universal joint in turn separating the axle from the truck body. Failures like this can also be seen in drag racing where sudden changes in directional motion are extremely prevalent.
I stand corrected. I should have remembered from High School Auto Mech class. Thank you.
22nd Jun 2009
Star Trek (1966)
Corrected entry: As powerful as the Enterprise is, a 229 meter vessel would not really stand a chance against a several mile long planet destroyer. Despite this, the Enterprise survives several hits with only minor damage.
Correction: Size matters not... sorry, wrong space opera but the correction still stands. There's no way to make this claim without knowing the specific effects from the attack. The size of the ships is irrelevant. Birds brought down a jet in Manhattan not too long ago.
While you have a valid point, consider that the Constellation was turned into essentially drifting junk, after being attacked with the Planet Killer's beam. The Enterprise was attacked by the same power levels, but only gets minor internal damage. If the beam was powerful enough to slice up a planet, and lay critical waste to a starship, then the Enterprise should have met the same fate.
11th Jul 2016
Hogan's Heroes (1965)
Question: In multiple episodes we see a box hanging just inside the barracks door. What is that? It is mostly blue, and appears to have flowers or something painted on it.
Answer: After careful inspection, the aforementioned box is a decorated holder for the boxes of long matches needed to light the stove.
Chosen answer: In different episodes of "Hogan's Heroes, " the arrangement of items in the barracks varies. Sometimes there is a sink on one side of the door. Sometimes there is a chest of drawers on the other. I have seen episodes where a hanging box is there, as you describe. To my eye, the decoration appears to be a kind of camouflage design. I had assumed it was where mail was delivered to the prisoners. It could also be a storage for small items, such as a medicine container. I don't recall ever seeing it opened or otherwise used. Normally, in situations like this, when questions arise regarding set pieces, set decoration or costumes, I attempt to look up the show's crew members IMDb.com to pose the question to the source (when I can find them on, say, Facebook). In this case, however, all of the gentlemen responsible for set decoration on "Hogan's Heroes" have since passed away.
I have the series on DVD, and have been able to scrutinize the blue box. It is a decorated holder for the long matches used to light the stove. Occasionally, you can see part of the word 'matches' through the slot on the side.
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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).
Captain Defenestrator
Understood, but Potter was there in Season 4, Episode 24 "Deluge" when a WP case was brought in.
Movie Nut
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.
Captain Defenestrator
The dialog explicitly states that the enemy "has started using something new", which is phosphorus rounds. If they had to deal with it before, it's logically not so new, ergo the mistake is at the very least plausible.
Doc ★