Doctor Who

Battlefield - S26-E1

Deliberate mistake: Look for the "creases" in the wall inside the TARDIS, which look as if the wall was just a sheet hung up behind the console. (In fact it actually WAS a sheet and not a "solid" wall - the TARDIS wall prop was apparently unusable due to water damage, due to poor storage between seasons. This also explains the lack of TARDIS interior scenes throughout the rest of season 26: it was not thought worth repairing the TARDIS set [or building a new one] when the show was in imminent danger of being cancelled after season 26).

Destiny of the Daleks - S17-E1

Deliberate mistake: The shot of the alien spacecraft flying in the sky is the same in episode 4 as in episode 1, only it's reversed. The taking off and landing are the same too, except smoke and rubble have been added.

Daz

The Curse of Fenric - S26-E3

Deliberate mistake: One major mishap occurred just prior to editing, when a videotape containing various close-up and insert shots was accidentally wiped. At that point, there was no way that the director (Nicholas Mallett) could go back and rerecord the material, and so he was forced to work without it. This meant using footage that would usually have been discarded or replaced. The 'give aways' that reveal that Mallet had to work around the problems of the missing footage are (a) the lack of any close-ups of any of the actors in the final 10 minutes of episode 4, and (b) the continuity error involving the flames in the laboratory for the same period...the flames go from low to high and back to low from shot to shot.

Doctor Who mistake picture

Genesis of the Daleks - S12-E4

Deliberate mistake: Chief of Security Nyder wears an iron cross on his uniform which mysteriously disappears in episode 3 - apparently the producers felt it was too close a reference to Nazism so it was removed from the show. (Source: DVD commentary).

Daz

The Ark in Space - S12-E2

Deliberate mistake: In episode three, the Doctor and Vira meet a half-changed Noah. He holds a gun on them, then drops it at Vira's feet and the door is suddenly closed. This is because the scene was originally longer and involved Noah begging Vira to kill him before the Doctor shuts the door. It was trimmed down to get it past BBC censors.

The Web Planet - S2-E5

Deliberate mistake: In episode 3 of 'The Web Planet' (titled 'Escape To Danger') watch as one of the Zarbi operators, his vision impaired by the costume, runs right into the camera. So far behind schedule was the recording of this episode, however, that this mistake was retained in the finished episode, as there was no time left for a re-take.

The Green Death - S10-E5

Deliberate mistake: When the Doctor and Benton are throwing fungus at the maggots in episode six, a shot of a chunk of fungus rolling down a hill between two maggots is repeated.

Castrovalva - S19-E1

Deliberate mistake: The newly regenerated Fifth Doctor is wearing completely different shoes than the Fourth Doctor did in the previous story. This is deliberate. The boots worn by the Fourth Doctor were actually privately owned by actor Tom Baker. Still, a mistake but this is why.

More mistakes in Doctor Who

The Doctor: This is a situation that requires tact and finesse. Fortunately, I am blessed with both.

More quotes from Doctor Who

Planet of the Spiders - S11-E5

Trivia: The first thing the Third Doctor does on-screen is collapse out of the TARDIS, which is also the last thing he does in that incarnation.

More trivia for Doctor Who

Earthshock - S19-E6

Question: In Earthshock, season 19, at the end of episode 3, the Cyber Leader views his troops marching down the corridor. Each column is headed by a Cyber Leader. Is this a mistake, or is there more than one Cyber Leader allowed per army?

Answer: In 'The Five Doctors', three separate Cyberleaders are definitely used. So it's likely that Cyberleaders are like unit commanders, of which a fair-sized army might have several.

Daria Sigma

More questions & answers from Doctor Who

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.