Doctor Who

Genesis of the Daleks - S12-E4

Revealing mistake: During the Doctor's early conversation with the Time Lord, there is fog swirling around them. When the Doctor agrees to take on the mission, it suddenly appears very concentrated around the tip of the rocks behind them, as if generated from a source behind the rocks. Normal fog would not do this, and it's clear that dry ice was used as the fog effect (DVD commentary confirms this). (00:02:45)

Daz

The Robots of Death - S14-E5

Continuity mistake: From time to time in episode four, the "frozen" robots on the command deck can be seen to wobble - the most noticeable is when SV7 is threatening Uvanov over the communicator.

The Monster of Peladon - S11-E4

Continuity mistake: In episode three, Eckersley turns on the security monitor. The very first image is of the entrance to the refinery, but it does not show the Doctor and Gebek trying to break in. Eckersley then flips through the images and finds one of the refinery with the Doctor and Gebek breaking in.

Spearhead From Space - S7-E1

Audio problem: When the Doctor arrives at UNIT HQ in his stolen car, he speaks to a guard. We see close ups of the guard twice...but watch the brief clip of the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) between the two and you can just see that his lips aren't moving even remotely in synch with the words. (In fact, it is just a repeat of the previous shot of the Doctor, with new lines dubbed in).

The Daemons - S8-E5

Revealing mistake: When the Brigadier crosses over to the RAF and the plane, you can see the plane is a model with a stick to control it just under the nose.

Pyramids of Mars - S13-E3

Factual error: The Doctor states that the radio waves take two minutes to get from Mars to Earth. The time interval can vary dramatically depending on where the two planets are in their orbit. But at absolute closest approach, Mars is just over three light minutes from Earth.

The Curse of Fenric - S26-E3

Factual error: When Kathleen's baby Audrey is revealed for the first time, the baby is clutching a "SuperTed" teddy bear (circa 1984). The story is supposed to be set in 1943...

City of Death - S17-E2

Continuity mistake: When the Count's henchmen come into the café to get the Doctor, Romana and Duggan, they usher them all out at gunpoint. When you see them in the location filming in Paris, Duggan's not there...but back at the Count's place (in the studio in London) he's reappeared.

The Power of the Daleks - S4-E3

Revealing mistake: The Daleks that appear in this and other Doctor Who stories were rather expensive, so some ingenuity was required to make the small number available look like they were more than they were. Tricks employed in "The Power of the Daleks" included making four Daleks look like an army by having them circle around the set a few times (note the delay between the fourth Dalek exiting and the "fifth" Dalek entering), and the blatant use of photographic blow-ups in place of "real" Daleks.

The Tomb of the Cybermen - S5-E1

Revealing mistake: During the fight scene between Toberman and the Cybercontroller, the Cybercontroller uses a very visible harness to lift Toberman over his head, and the wires attached to the harness Toberman is wearing are also very visible. When Toberman, in return, lifts the Cybercontroller above HIS head, it is obvious that what Toberman is lifting is an empty costume, with no-one inside it.

The Chase - S2-E8

Revealing mistake: When the robotic Doctor first appears - and in many of the later scenes involving the jungle on Mechanus - it is very obviously not William Hartnell playing him, but a vaguely similar double. In addition, his lines have been dubbed by Hartnell and do not always match the movements of his mouth.

Planet of the Spiders - S11-E5

Revealing mistake: In episode three, when Tommy peers into the room where the Doctor and Sarah are talking to Cho-Je, the camera moves forward - and bumps into a wall with an audible thud and noticeable jerk.

Inferno - S7-E4

Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the third episode, the countdown reads 49:18:32 in the close up, but when the Brigadier walks across the room it now is on 49:15:01. (In other words three minutes thirty one seconds have elapsed). Yet these two events are about ten seconds apart. Also, the timer should never read either of these times. The professor moved the countdown forward to exactly 49 hours (49:00:00).

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - S14-E6

Continuity mistake: In episode 1, when the Doctor and Leela leave the TARDIS, the door is open and is not moving. They then walk away from the TARDIS for a few seconds. When they hear the attack on Bullard (the Cab Driver) and run past the TARDIS again, the door is magically closed.

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The Five Doctors - S20-E7

Continuity mistake: After the Raston Warrior Robot has killed all the Cybermen, watch the dead Cyberman in the back right of the picture. His arm position changes as the robot teleports away.

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The Chase - S2-E8

Trivia: Such was the popularity of Doctor Who in Britain in the mid-1960s that even the Beatles wanted to make an appearance in the show. So a scene was written into "The Chase" to allow them to appear. The idea had been devised of including a scene on the Time and Space Visualiser depicting a Beatles fiftieth-anniversary concert in 2015, with the Fab Four dressed up as old men. John, Paul, George, and Ringo themselves were interested in the proposition, but it was vetoed by their manager, Brian Epstein. It was then thought that an appearance by the Beatles on Top of the Pops might be used instead, but no such footage was available. Fortunately, the Beatles were scheduled to perform "Ticket to Ride" at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith on April 10th, 1965, and that footage was used instead.

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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

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