Continuity mistake: Humphrey shows the outside of the murder scene to his girlfriend; when he casts the torchlight on the balcony, before the cut you can spot his right arm holding the torch at the left of the frame. He is holding the torch with his left hand before and after. (00:07:25)
Continuity mistake: Martha and Humphrey are toasting. Watch out at the moment of the long scream; both Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton hold wine glasses but those keep changing position between shots. She puts hers down, it is up again a moment, and down at the next cut, while he puts down his, releases his fingers from it, and in the next shot the fingers are still squeezing it only to release the glass again in a repetition of the gesture later. (00:03:45)
Continuity mistake: DI Humprey Goodman and Martha Lloyd get on a boat at the beginning of the episode. Humph is to Martha's right when they begin, but midway through Martha is sitting to Humphrey's right, with her bag also switching place with Humphrey's accordingly. (00:00:35)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: Before the series' opening, the camera scrolls towards the body. Esther is lying on the rocks, her feet apart. When Goodman and Florence check the body, the feet moved closer. (00:04:00 - 00:06:20)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: After the interview unveiling the secret of the writer and her assistant, Humphrey is at the police station recapping the case. He says "Either one of them could have done it", leaning into the board, hand on his hips. Dwayne says "Maybe they were in it together?", and Humphrey's position is entirely different. (00:36:50)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: JP Identified the woman in the bungalow. Humphrey says "So Sylvie's sister, is living on her estate", with his hand on the spine of the book, and at the cut he's holding it by the bottom side. (00:26:10)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: When Florence hands Goodman the framed picture she got from the bar the night before, her hand position changes between shots. (00:25:30)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: When Catherine yeeeuchs at the name of the new candidate for mayor, pay attention to the bottle in Dwayne's hand; he holds it with his right hand only, turning into both hands, and it changes tilt between shots when he takes a sip from it. (00:22:35)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: Professor Patricia Lawrence pretends not to know about the harassment charges. Florence then pretends to call the University, and the professor begins to talk. Florence goes between shots from holding the phone to her chest, to have it below the belt. It's not just a little jump ahead in the scene, because the continuity is wrong also with the professor's hair; she has a wisp to the right side of her neck, or not, depending on the angle. (00:19:50)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: Dwayne and JP found a woman living in the cabin, and Dwayne just asked her about the events occurring supposedly at 1:25. When she responds "Sorry, no", she puts her hand on the frame, but it's back to her cheek in the reverse shot. (00:15:05)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: Inside Esther Monroe 's room, Florence asks "Anything from her phone?" She had her hands crossed in front of her belly but put them down to her hips; cut, and the motion repeats itself. (00:14:00)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: DI Humphrey Goodman reads the suspicious suicide note. In the reverse shot, the envelope is higher than in close-up, and the wind blows harder, with the loose rubber glove flapping all over the place. (00:08:05)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: The spot on the ground where Florence and JP are standing as Esther's belongings are shown, differs between shots. (00:07:50)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: Esther's belongings are positioned differently between the panning shot on the ground and the wide shot; just look at the angle of the diary and the pen's. (00:07:50)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: Humphrey, Dwayne and Florence move to the cliff the victim seems to have committed suicide from. JP's arms are down his sides in the first shot, on his belt in the wider angle. (00:07:25)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: In the overhead shot of the corpse when the police checks it out, Florence has her hands on her hips, but she is writing in the following close-up. (00:06:30)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: When for some reason Humphrey's staff is nagging him about receiving the text message, the position of his hand on top of the file cabinet changes between shots. He is right at the edge of it, but further behind later. (00:05:05)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: After the opening, Humph makes his way to the file cabinet almost moonwalking and whistling a jaunty tune. Dwayne looks askance at this merriment turning towards Florence. That is in the wide shot, but in close-up Dwayne is looking still at his paper, and only a second later turns towards her. (00:04:45)
The Secret of the Flame Tree - S6-E2
Continuity mistake: There is a long lecture by the editor, Patricia Lawrence, at the beginning of the episode. The victim reaches the cliff where she will meet her demise. Meanwhile Patricia says "Exploring the many pathways that will eventually lead..." and there is a cut to a close-up of the writer. During the instantaneous, mid-sentence cut, the wind on set increased exponentially; all of a sudden it even moves the earrings of the woman enjoying the conference behind Sylvie Baptiste. (00:03:40)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the episode Commissioner Selwyn Patterson warns Dwayne against equating him to farmyard animals. His hat switches hands during the scene, as you can see when he turns around to leave, and his left arm is down his side instead of bouncing the hat as shown in the next shot. (00:49:50)
Answer: There's probably no particular reason. Sets and props on long-running TV shows often change as needed and for various reasons throughout a series run.
raywest ★