Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined - S3-E10
Other mistake: When the eye doctor has Lucy repeat the same letters on the eye chart that she claims Ricky got all wrong, she repeats the same letters out loud, then moves closer to the eye chart and repeats the same letters out loud, then pauses in error when she read them all off correctly: P E C F D.
The Séance - S1-E7
Continuity mistake: After Lucy tells Mr. Merriweather that he's invited to the seance, when it cuts to Lucy unfolding the card table legs, note the couch behind her with one normal seat cushion on the left, but in the next wideshot there's an additional shorter cushion under the normal cushion. The small towel also repositions itself neatly on the couch. (00:11:55)
Revealing mistake: At the Brown Derby, when Lucy bumps into the waiter causing him to trip and spill the tray all over William Holden, we can see that the waiter's hand is taped to the bottom of the tray for the stunt to be done efficiently. (00:15:15)
Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio - S1-E32
Visible crew/equipment: At the start, after Fred and Ethel walk in, when Lucy and Ethel walk away from the kitchen shutters carrying things, the stage microphone and stand can be seen at the right side of the screen. (Later in the episode, when Lucy and Ricky appear in the quiz segment an identical microphone is on stage with them). (00:00:35)
Continuity mistake: When Lucy's locked out on the penthouse balcony, Ethel places the broom handle through the small round finger hole of the scissors, with the large oval finger hole to the right of the round hole and the blades pointing out, then holds the scissors in place as she puts the broom over the balcony rail. When Lucy retrieves them from the broom, the scissors have flipped over. The blades are pointing out and the broom handle is still through the small round finger hole, but now the large oval hole is to the left of the round hole. (Impossible to do on its own. Try it). (00:19:05)
Continuity mistake: After Fred secures the chain lock to the front door, with the chain mounted onto the frame of the door, Fred then slides the chain into the door's slide-catch to show Lucy the "burglarproof chain." When Ethel opens the door the chain itself is ripped off the frame, leaving the chain (and the piece that was screwed to the frame) dangling from the slide-catch attached to the door, but in Ethel's closeup the chain is still mounted to the door's frame. (00:01:40)
Visible crew/equipment: While Lucy and Ethel are at their charm school, when they're standing in front of Miss Emerson's desk, in the widehots a small tape mark is visible on the floor in front of Lucy's feet. Then, when Lucy and Ethel are in sweatpants there are two small tape marks on the floor, and when Ethel walks to the other side of the room to join Lucy, there's another tape mark which Vivian even looks down at to confirm her foot's position.
Lucy's Showbiz Swan Song - S2-E17
Other mistake: While Lucy and Ethel are auditioning their act for Ricky at the club, just as Lucy spins around watch her hands as she very quickly pulls on the string at her waist, which causes her pantaloons to loosen and fall to the floor. (00:12:05)
Visible crew/equipment: When the chicks are running loose in the living room, and Lucy, Little Ricky, Fred and Ethel are trying to corral them, you can see the chicken wire and braces set up to keep the chickens on the set. (00:20:20)
Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans - S2-E31
Visible crew/equipment: When Lucy decides to use the scissors to cut the TV wire on the roof, she and Ethel walk out of the kitchen, and at the start of the next shot we can see the end of the set wall and black cables on the floor, at the right side of the screen.
Ricky's Old Girlfriend - S3-E11
Continuity mistake: In Lucy's dream, when Carlota Romero comes to their apartment, Little Ricky is sitting in a highchair with a hat on his head. Although later in the scene, you see his hat fall off, the first close-up shot of Little Ricky shows him without the hat. Then immediately, when you see a wide-shot of the scene, his hat is back on his head again.
Lucy Wants New Furniture - S2-E28
Revealing mistake: When Ricky startles Lucy in the kitchen just as she's getting the salt, she climbs up through the kitchen/living room window, and in the shot from the living room when she and Ricky step down onto the chair, we can see the four long metal brackets which bolt the chair to the floor for safety. (00:13:15)
Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her - S1-E1
Visible crew/equipment: When Ricky and Lucy are dancing in the living room, the camera swings too far to the left, and the edge of the set wall and the adjoining bedroom set can be seen briefly.
Visible crew/equipment: When Ricky is with John Wayne in his dressing room at the studio, getting yet another set of footprints on the block of cement, three T-marks are visible on the floor. One of those T-marks can be seen closeup when Wayne is lying on the table for his rubdown. (00:18:10)
Revealing mistake: At the end of Lucy and Van Johnson's dance, Ricky and everyone else clap as Lucy walks through the curtain to head "backstage', and in the next shot just as Lucy walks through the curtain we catch a glimpse of Desi Arnaz standing there waiting for his cue. Then in a few moments Ricky, Ethel, Fred, and Caroline all rush in excitedly to congratulate Lucy. (00:24:55)
Visible crew/equipment: At the start, when Lucy pulls into the "gas station" the thin cable pulling the Pontiac is visible in front of the car, and when Ethel walks in front of the car note that the actress quickly glances down and steps over it, just as she says they're lost. Additionally, the glass windshield and rearview mirror are gone.
First Stop - S4-E14
Visible crew/equipment: While Lucy and Ricky are lying in the sagging mattress "canoe", when the train passes and their bed rolls towards the bunk bed, the end of the set wall is visible at the right side of the screen. (00:17:30)
First Stop - S4-E14
Revealing mistake: After the cheese sandwich experience at Skinner's diner, when Lucy takes the wheel and they all drive off heading to Cincinnati, the Pontiac's glass windshield and rearview mirror are gone, and they're gone again when they end up back at that diner the second time. (00:09:20 - 00:10:35)
California, Here We Come! - S4-E13
Visible crew/equipment: When they're all finally in the Pontiac ready to leave NYC, just as Ricky starts to drive away we can see cables jiggling under the Pontiac, to the left of the front tire, pulling the car. Funny to see how Ricky puts his hand on the gear stick, but never actually does anything with it. (00:23:40)
Visible crew/equipment: While Ricky and Fred are trying to clean up the volcanic rice eruption, when Ricky slips on the floor the second time the front edge of the raised kitchen set's platform can be seen. (00:19:15)
Answer: There is no reason. It's a just a silly plot device, typical of the era. Women characters were often portrayed as making uninformed assumptions or decisions.
raywest ★