The Dick Van Dyke Show

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)

28 mistakes in season 5 - chronological order

(16 votes)

No Rice at My Wedding - S5-E4

Other mistake: Sam tells Rob "Laura could be late because of the rain". Yet neither Sam, Laura, Millie or Clark had any wet clothes, jackets, hats etc. Rob was the only one that had gotten soaking wet. Also when looking into the window he taps on the glass with a white glove (which he didn't have on when he got into her house).

Liz Blue 1970

No Rice at My Wedding - S5-E4

Factual error: In the Army or Military it is mandatory that the name tag is worn the same as the Dress Tan/Green/Blue and must be worn in either configuration. Ribbons are worn the same as the Dress Tan/Green/Blue. Special Skill Badges, Distinctive Unit Insignia (Unit Crest) are also worn the same. Rob and everyone else in the army was not wearing a name tag in any of the episodes.

Liz Blue 1970

The Great Petrie Fortune - S5-E6

Plot hole: If Rob was just 12 or 13 when he last saw his grandfather (that's what they said in this episode, also he never called his grandfather ever from what it looks like) then his grandfather wouldn't know that he has been working on a TV program. (He started working on the Alan Brady show when he was 20, not before).

Liz Blue 1970

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: First of all, it is Rob's great-uncle, not his grandfather. And what makes you think he wouldn't know? Off the top of my head, I can think of a dozen ways he could have known. He was watching the show and saw Rob's name in the credits. His brother called him to brag about his grandson. He read a magazine article about television comedy writers. Etc. Etc.

The Great Petrie Fortune - S5-E6

Factual error: Rob tells this lady that the guy that passed away was his great-uncle and that the last time he saw him was when Rob was 12 years old... This is the same Grandpa that was also seen in the episode "What's in a Middle Name" (in this episode in season 5 Richie would be 10 or 11. But the other episode he was supposedly 8).

Liz Blue 1970

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: You seem to be confused about Hezekiah's relationship to Rob. He is Rob's great-uncle which means he's the brother of Rob's grandfather, the character from "What's in a Middle Name?" (And by the way, the scene in that episode took place before Richie was even born. The fact that they were arguing over his name should have been a clue).

Body and Sol - S5-E10

Factual error: Rob told Sally and Buddy that he hit "Boom Boom" in the appendix. When we see Rob punch that guy he hit him right in the upper stomach. Rob would have won the boxing match. Because "below the belt" refers to all the area of the body that lies below the line of the opponent's navel, including the groin area, legs, and crotch.

Liz Blue 1970

Body and Sol - S5-E10

Revealing mistake: While Rob is having a boxing match and Laura is really mad at Rob. I noticed that some of the punches are actually to the hand region when Rob is in the corner and supposedly gets a boxing glove to the face. They aren't hitting each other that hard either.

Liz Blue 1970

Fifty-Two, Forty-Five or Work - S5-E13

Continuity mistake: Rob tells Sally, Buddy and Mel "It was rough... Out of work, new house, no furniture, a baby on the way, 1 single dime in the bank!" In several other episodes Rob said they either already had a kid, or they were on their way to the hospital in the cab, on their way to the hospital in the back of a laundry truck, or were already at the hospital. They already had furniture in the other episodes when they brought Richie home from the hospital.

Liz Blue 1970

Fifty-Two, Forty-Five or Work - S5-E13

Other mistake: Right at the beginning of this episode Rob says "9 years ago right in this office... I just came on as head writer 2 months was all... Buddy, Sally and I were sitting at this desk, writing a sketch, and you (Mel) came in with some special news." (so on and so forth with that line.) Rob, Sally and Buddy weren't in "this office" building... Didn't even have the same desk or furniture.

Liz Blue 1970

Who Stole My Watch? - S5-E14

Character mistake: When Sally asks if Rob would give his party guests malaria, Rob responds later on with, "Oh, Roe, I would never suspect you!" Roe was Rosemarie's nickname on set.

Who Stole My Watch? - S5-E14

Other mistake: Evan from the insurance company comes over to ask Laura and Rob several questions but not once does he find out any names from the party. But the next day Buddy, Sally, Mel, Jerry and Millie all get really angry because of Rob and his interrogator just assuming that they stole the watch.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Evans says he had all the preliminary information from Rob's earlier phone call including the names of the party guests.

I Do Not Choose to Run - S5-E16

Character mistake: Rob tells his council men that "Richie loves helping his mom in the kitchen" yet every time she's in the kitchen cooking or doing anything of the sort. Richie is nowhere to be seen. The only times Richie is near the counter is when he's hiding under the counter, or drying his hands like the rest of the family.

I Do Not Choose to Run - S5-E16

Factual error: When Rob tells the name of the street he lives on in this episode "Bonnie Meadow Lane" that was not the same as the past episodes which was "Bonnie Meadow Road" in all the other episodes except for when Rob and Laura were buying the new house beside Jerry and Millie's house.

Remember the Alimony - S5-E20

Other mistake: That mirror behind Rob at the hotel in their room has fog (condensation) on it which means that the humidity there in "Mexico" is really really high or it's over 100°F in their room with humidity or unless it was raining inside their room, the window behind the bed is perfectly clear. (Real life that mirror would not be all foggy.) Also Rob, Laura and the hotel guy would have been sweating up a storm if it was really really hot out there. Which it wasn't. (00:13:52)

Liz Blue 1970

Dear Sally Rogers - S5-E21

Plot hole: Sally Rogers appears on the Stevie Parsons show which is a late night talk show, the next morning she receives letters from as far away as Hawaii... the US mail isn't that fast.

Pam-I-am

Buddy Sorrell, Man and Boy - S5-E22

Other mistake: Rob got a new watch for his birthday a few seasons back. Yet he's still wearing his old watch. And also his watch time says it's 3:00. Rob and Sally would still be at work if it was actually 3:00.

Rob Petrie: I want to take a nap before I go to sleep.

More quotes from The Dick Van Dyke Show

Season 4 generally

Trivia: During the fourth season, actress Rose Marie suffered the tragic loss of her husband to whom she had been married for 20 years. Amidst her mourning, Marie felt that the grief and pain of loss was too much to bear and wanted to leave the show entirely, just before the fifth and final season. John Rich, one of the show's directors, was there to console her and convince her to come back and finish out the remainder of the show.

Liz Blue 1970

More trivia for The Dick Van Dyke Show

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.