Lucy Changes Her Mind - S2-E14
Visible crew/equipment: When Ricky begins to talk to Ethel about the night they all went out to dinner, it cuts to the start of his flashback and it's a closeup of Ricky sitting on the couch calling out to Lucy, and as the camera pulls back into a wideshot we see the shadow of the moving camera/equipment. (00:01:15)
Lucy Wants New Furniture - S2-E28
Continuity mistake: After Lucy mentions the ad for a couch and coffee table, when she walks over to the desk note the shadow and lighting change on the back of the desk. (00:02:10)
Lucy Wants New Furniture - S2-E28
Continuity mistake: At the start of the episode, when Lucy puts the baby in the crib there's only one bumper pad and it's on Lucy and Ricky's side of the crib rails, but in the baby's closeup there's a bumper pad at the rails behind him - which is the opposite side of the crib. (00:00:45)
Other mistake: When Ricky is eating out of the can of baked beans, the top of the label has tape hiding the brand name to prevent it from being seen (it looks like Van Camp's). (00:16:50)
Continuity mistake: While Lucy's taking a tally of who everyone's voting for, the writing on the posterboard changes in Lucy's closeups. (00:14:45)
Lucy Goes to the Hospital - S2-E21
Revealing mistake: When Ricky, Fred, and Ethel are rehearsing the hospital run, we can see the area to the left and right of the couch, as well as the back wall by the desk. The problem is the telephone cord doesn't actually lead anywhere, it's just coiled up under the couch and not connected to anything. When Lucy says it's time to go to the hospital, Ethel uses the phone to contact the doctor but gets a busy signal, which would be quite impossible. (00:09:55)
Lucy Becomes A Sculptress - S2-E20
Visible crew/equipment: When Fred steps down from the table hunched over and dressed in his long johns, he walks over to the edge of the couch, and there's an L-shape actor's mark on the floor where he stops and cracks a joke about bowling. Then later, when the art critic tries to lift Lucy's head from the table, more tape marks are visible on the floor. (00:18:15)
Visible crew/equipment: After Ricky and Juanita's song rehearsal, when they both join Fred and Ethel at the side table and talk about doing an afternoon performance, the shadow of the moving overhead boom and mic is visible on the wall and curtain, behind Fred and Ethel. (00:17:50)
Visible crew/equipment: When Lucy's sitting on the piano looking out the window at their new car, just as Ricky walks into the living room we can see the shadow of the mic equipment moving overhead, likely adjusting to the actor's position. (00:07:10)
Cuban Pals - S1-E28
Visible crew/equipment: Right after Lucy phones for a cab the doorbell rings, and when she opens the door for Fred the cabbie, the shadow of the moving boom and mic appear on the kitchen door. (00:17:20)
Cuban Pals - S1-E28
Visible crew/equipment: When Renita rings the doorbell, just as Lucy opens the door the shadow of moving equipment (likely the boom mic) is visible at the top of the screen, between the kitchen door and front door.
Visible crew/equipment: After Ethel tells Lucy that she lives dangerously, when Lucy mentions the incident at the carnival the year before, the shadow of the moving boom mic is visible at the right, by the window. (00:01:45)
Continuity mistake: After spending the night at the hotel, when Ricky goes to the front desk to speak with the "Justice of the Peace" it's 7:30 on the wall clock. Then, when Mr. Willoughby stands by the stairs and calls to his wife it's almost 7:40, but when Ricky gets ready to propose it's 7:30, but it's 7:45 when Mrs. Willoughby comes downstairs in the closeup, then back to 7:30 in the wideshot. (00:17:40)
Visible crew/equipment: When Ethel is about to open the door because Fred is too "busy" to do it, the shadow of moving boom equipment is visible on the wall to the right. Then after Ethel opens the door to find Lucy dressed in her starlet outfit, when Lucy walks in disappointed that she was recognized, in the next shot facing Ethel the shadow of the moving boom mic can be seen on the door. (00:10:40)
Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer - S1-E11
Continuity mistake: When Ethel walks in while Lucy's vacuuming, Ethel has the folded newspaper under her arm and there's only small print on the paper, but after Lucy offers Ethel a cup of coffee now the headline can be seen on the still folded paper under Ethel's arm. Then, when Lucy unfolds the paper we see both the front and back page filled with pictures and the headline, but that area of small print which was seen in the earlier shots does not exist on either side. (00:00:40)
The Benefit - S1-E13
Visible crew/equipment: While Ricky and Fred are in the kitchen, when Ethel tells Lucy she needs her help getting Ricky for the club benefit, in the shots facing Lucy the shadow of crew/equipment movement is visible on the shutters to the right. (00:04:30)
Continuity mistake: When Lucy crawls into the New Neighbors' apartment she's startled by the stuffed bear head, and in the closeup of the bear head it's in front of a bare wall, but in the rest of the shots it's in front of furniture. Additionally, other things change as well between shots: the books under the bear, the hat, etc. (00:10:15)
Visible crew/equipment: When Ethel's reading aloud from the book while Lucy's standing beside her in the living room, the shadow of a crew member can be seen moving around on the surface of the desk's back. (00:04:25)
Visible crew/equipment: When little Ricky enters the living room, you can see a man's hand quickly open the door for him. (00:19:20)
Continuity mistake: The step up into the kitchen is no longer there in later shows such as "The Fur Coat" and others.
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 ★