Factual error: The main apartment in the show is located in Pasadena, Calif. When looking out the window in the background, mountains are shown in the distance and far away. In reality, Pasadena lies right underneath the long mountain range so the mountains would be up close, not far away.
Suggested correction: Not true. I lived in Pasadena for years and in some areas, the mountains do look further away. The view from the San Pasqual apartments, you can barely see the mountains.
The Hot Troll Deviation - S4-E4
Factual error: Howard's claim that characters in World of Warcraft can engage in sexual activities is wrong, also while there is a Bridge of Souls currently in the game, there is no way to get under it.
Suggested correction: I can only assume you have never played on a RP server? ERP is a big thing, some players even make gold from it.
Continuity mistake: Sheldon puts the bag in the bin at the start of the episode so that the handles are facing the ground. When he gets the bag out, the handles are at the top of the bin.
The Adhesive Duck Deficiency - S3-E8
Factual error: Maybe I'm wrong but I've had the dislocated shoulder experience and shouldn't hers be in a sling at her side not across her front right to left? This just seems odd.
Suggested correction: That type of sling is the best for preventing movement of the shoulder joint. It is the proper one.
The Large Hadron Collision - S3-E15
Factual error: At the very end of the show, Leonard and Raj arrive at the hotel, which is supposed to be in Geneva, Switzerland, to visit CERN. If you look out the "hotel" window, it looks like they're half way up Matterhorn, but in Geneva there are no big/rocky mountains anywhere near the city itself.
Corrected entry: Several times throughout the show, Leonard makes reference to having sleep apnoea, a condition where the airways close up when you are asleep and you stop breathing for periods of time before your body's reflexes kick in and wake you up. However we also see him sleeping numerous times but he doesn't have any form of cpap (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. This is vital for anyone who has sleep apnoea as it pumps air into the users airways via a nasal cannula or face mask to keep the airways open and stop the user from stopping breathing. Since sleep apnoea in the most extreme cases can cause death (depending on type of sleep apnoea) a cpap machine is vital and should be seen whenever we see Leonard sleeping or in bed.
Correction: There is no mistake simply because he chooses not to use one (if he even owns one). There are individuals with sleep apnea who don't use them and just deal with waking up in the middle of the night. If Leonard says he has to use a CPAP machine every night and then is seen not using one at night, that could qualify as a mistake, but this isn't the case.
Correction: This is simply not true, I suffer from sleep apnoea, albeit a mild form, and have never used a cpap machine. I suggest learning the facts before posting on here.
Correction: Everyone seems to be missing the important point here: Sheldon. Remember how Sheldon acted when Leonard had to have the nose operation? Would Sheldon EVER let Leonard sleep without his CPAP mask knowing Leonard has sleep apnea? Would Sheldon EVER not know that Leonard has sleep apnea? Would Leonard ever allow himself to be caught without his mask on if he has sleep apnea, and he knows that Sheldon knows - keeping in mind we all know just how often Sheldon walks right in on Leonard in bed.
The Pork Chop Indeterminacy - S1-E15
Corrected entry: Sheldon asks Missy why she doesn't tell her friends that he is a toll taker on The Golden Gate Bridge. There are no toll takers on the Golden Gate Bridge. Tolls are paid by credit or debit card, a prepaid account or by invoice to the registered car owner's address. There is no way Sheldon would not know this.
Correction: S1-E15 aired in May, 2008, but the Golden Gate Bridge didn't switch to all-electronic toll collection until March 2013, and the decision to convert to electronic toll collection wasn't made until January, 2011.
Correction: Sheldon was just suggesting that being a toll taker or something of that profession is as ridiculous as her telling everyone he was a "rocket scientist." Even if the statement was indeed true it doesn't affect my point.
Factual error: Characters sometimes talk to one another on video calls, and a character (A) often watches these from an angle rather than face on, allowing the viewer to see both character A and the character on the call (B). When this happens, character B is shown turned a little to one side, to give the impression that they are looking directly at character A (as they would be if they were present in the same room). In reality, this means that character B is looking off to one side of their monitor and not at the image of character A, something that it makes no sense to do. No matter what angle the laptop is shown from, provided character B is visible, they should appear to be facing the viewer.
Suggested correction: Since we almost always see these video calls using full-screen, people sitting side-by-side would be on different sides of the screen. You wouldn't look into the webcam itself to see them. You would look at the screen, and move your head slightly to look at the left part versus the right.
The Proton Regeneration - S11-E6
Character mistake: While bedridden after his vasectomy, Howard asks Bernadette to grill up a couple steaks instead of picking up Chinese for dinner. She gives him a disapproving look and he says "Kung Pao Chicken, please." A major ingredient of Kung Pao Chicken is peanuts. A major allergy for Howard is peanuts. (00:09:04)
Suggested correction: Since they are both quite well aware of it, they likely have either found a Chinese restaurant that doesn't use them, or they get it without peanuts.
Yup. My friend is allergic to peanuts and our local Chinese restaurant makes hers with almond instead of peanut.
Continuity mistake: In the early episodes, Leonard is depressed and buys cat stuff. He comments that he has taken in to account Sheldon's asthma with a hyper allergenic cat. Later in the series it is Leonard with asthma and Sheldon who gets all the cats.
Suggested correction: Presumably Sheldon also buys non-allergenic cats.
The Fetal Kick Catalyst - S10-E6
Factual error: When Raj, Howard and Bernadette are in the car, Raj puts on Batman the Animated Series to distract Howard from his back pain. Howard says "I'm in too much pain to watch cartoo-oh, this is a good one!" However, there is no way he could know that it's a good episode of the show because the opening theme song can be heard playing and the name of the episode does not appear until after it.
Suggested correction: He meant the cartoon is good, in general. Not the specific episode.
Nah, he was told right beforehand that it was Batman: The Animated Series. A nerd like Howard definitely knows which cartoon that is and that it's a good cartoon without needing to look at it.
The Confirmation Polarization - S12-E13
Corrected entry: Sheldon meets two new fellow scientists, one of which is Sean Astin, who played Sam Gee wise in the Lord of the Rings. Surely, Sheldon would know who he is.
Correction: Suspension of disbelief has to play a part here. Actors are allowed to play other roles, and being many years later, Sean Astin looks quite different, so even if there was a meta element of "this person looks like the actor who played Sam", Sheldon wouldn't necessarily even notice the similarity.
Correction: I'm not sure if this is meant to be a troll entry or a joke. Sean Astin doesn't play himself in this episode, he plays Dr. Pemberton.
Continuity mistake: In "The Luminous Fish Effect" (S1E04) Sheldon tells Penny he weighs 140 pounds. In "The Porkchop Indeterminacy" (S1E16), he tells his sister he weighs 165. 25lbs difference would be a noticeable change, but he looks the same.
Suggested correction: Lying to Penny but not to his sister, not inconsistent with the characters and his relationships.
Revealing mistake: Most of the time, though not all the time, Leonard has no lenses in his glasses.
Suggested correction: Not obvious at any point in the show.
The Big Bran Hypothesis - S1-E2
Character mistake: Sheldon does not do his 3x OCD knock on Penny's door.
Suggested correction: That quirk wasn't brought into the series until halfway through the first season. The one-knock Sheldon happened a couple of times before it became the three knock habit.
Continuity mistake: Raj talks in front of Penny near the beginning of the episode, then picks up dishes, walks toward the kitchen, and just disappears from the set.
Suggested correction: Couple of points here, 1. Raj talking in front of Penny is already listed. 2. Raj doesn't pick the plates up until Penny has left after the Halo game. 3. He then stays in the kitchen area while we see Penny come back and settle down to go to sleep and Leonard and Sheldon go to bed and turn the lights out. Raj then creeps out the apartment and scares Penny.
The Excelsior Acquisition - S3-E16
Plot hole: In Series 1, Episode 7, "The Dumpling Paradox, " Sheldon makes an oblique reference to his financial status: "Frankly, if I could afford the rent, I'd ask you [Leonard] to leave, " meaning he cannot pay the rent on his two bedroom apartment by himself - not that he doesn't want to, he can't. However, in "The Execlsior Acquisition, " we find that he does not even cash his pay cheques. He doesn't even deposit them into a bank account - he leaves them in a drawer in his desk. In Series 2 Episode 14 "The Financial Permeability", he lends Penny a large amount of money from a huge bankroll he just happens to have lying about - again, without cashing his pay cheques! He is obviously independently wealthy. Either he doesn't have enough money to afford the rent or he has enough to work without being paid while practically giving large amounts of cash away. Can't be both.
Suggested correction: Not being able to afford doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have the money, especially a man like Sheldon. He works with a budget and he sticks to it. In his budget he has a certain amount set aside for rent, anything more than that and he can't afford it alone.
Nonsense. If he was sticking to a "rigid budget" he wouldn't have even thought of lending a hopeless credit risk like Penny a single cent. Instead he throws a huge bankroll at her without even discussing a repayment plan.
Rubbish, I stick to a strict budget but still have the money to lend to close friends. Like Penny is to him.
He might have different budgets for different things. People could get a higher margin because they could be of more use to the scientific mind of Sheldon.
The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary - S3-E5
Continuity mistake: Bernadette speaks regular here. In future episodes she suddenly has a higher-pitched voice.
Suggested correction: This isn't really so much a mistake as it was a character tweaking, which happens often in TV series.
The Hamburger Postulate - S1-E5
Character mistake: When Sheldon knocks on Penny's door to seek advice about the tie on Leonard's doorknob, he does not use his typical triple knock. (00:07:43)
First time he knocks 3 times is in Episode 2 of Season 1. First time knocking 3 times followed by saying the name is episode 10 of Season 1. The ritual of 3 knocks and 3 times saying the name and then stopping is Episode 5 of season 2.
Sheldon knocks three times because he once walked into his parents bedroom and saw his father with another woman. He's been doing the triple knock since he was a teenager.
Yet, he didn't in the show till Season 2. Funny ain't it?
Suggested correction: A one-time lapse in someone's usual behavior does not count as a "character mistake", even in the case of someone given to ritualistic behavior as Sheldon is.
Ah, but in an episode he explains he had developed this particular ritual at age 13 after walking into his parent's bedroom without knocking and seeing his father having sex with another woman. He says he started knocking 3 times since then and would never forget. So its not consistent and a mistake as this is not the only example one can name.
The Big Bran Hypothesis - S1-E2
Other mistake: Leonard is awoken by the apartment door closing. When he walks into the living room the door is open. (00:08:55)
Suggested correction: He's awoken by a door closing, not necessarily the front door. He could have heard Sheldon closing his door.
