Mission: Impossible (1966)

The System - S3-E15

Continuity mistake: Phelps takes the tape from the recorder's right-hand spindle. When he opens the acid vat, we can see the tape he just removed back on the recorder - but on the left spindle. The tape he then drops into the acid doesn't remotely resemble the one he pulled, and when he drops it, the recorder's left spindle, where the full tape was in the last shot and where the empty reel should be, now has nothing on it at all. (00:02:50)

The Bank - S2-E4

Character mistake: The 'perfect' German postcard Rollin has written is full of mistakes: 1) The 'sie' must have a capital 'S' because it's a personal pronoun; 2) The only sentence stops in the middle and makes no sense; 3) The word 'Besten' has to be written without a capital because it's not a noun; 4) In Germany the house number stands after the street name, not before; 5) The streetname makes no sense. Too many mistakes for a so-called 'perfect' card. (00:04:40)

The Carriers - S1-E10

Continuity mistake: While the team discusses whether they might already be infected with the plague, the items on the desk change positions between takes. (00:25:30)

A Spool There Was - S1-E9

Revealing mistake: During the warehouse fight scene, Rollin's stunt double's face is visible in several shots. (00:32:30)

Operation Rogosh - S1-E3

Revealing mistake: When Briggs disguises himself as Rogosh's defense attorney, the glasses he puts on very obviously have no lenses in them. (00:26:05)

Trek - S2-E2

Visible crew/equipment: During the prison escape, as Phelps and Cole are stealing the car, a microphone can be seen above them, hanging more than a foot into the shot. (00:18:20)

Operation Rogosh - S1-E3

Visible crew/equipment: At the end, the wind-wing glass on the Rolls Royce briefly reflects part of the camera crew when the car door is opened. (00:47:40)

Odds on Evil - S1-E6

Continuity mistake: When he's talking to the arms dealer, Barney's right hand is free and gesturing until the shot cuts: then he's suddenly holding his drink in that hand. (00:12:20)

Echo of Yesterday - S2-E14

Character mistake: There are two minor German mistakes. The sign 'Nur für Arbeitnehemere' should be 'Nur für Arbeitnehmer' (the last word is totally wrong). And the title of the German newspaper 'Die tagliche Zeitung' should be 'Die tägliche Zeitung' (the two points over the German Umlaut are missing). (00:05:35 - 00:41:05)

The Elixir - S3-E7

Continuity mistake: When Willie reassembles the electrical socket he puts it in with the ground on the top. Then they show Barney putting his socket together and switchback to Willie, but when the scene shows him putting in the plug it is on the bottom.

The Heir Apparent - S3-E1

Continuity mistake: While Barbara Bain is opening the puzzle box, Martin Landau is removing pieces of his disguise. First, he has a handkerchief in his right hand. Next, the handkerchief is gone and he is peeling off his left leather pocket, and the left leather lapel is already gone. Next, he removes his mustache with a handkerchief. Then, while removing the left leather lapel, the left pocket is back in place. (00:39:45 - 00:41:25)

Kidnap - S7-E11

Visible crew/equipment: The surface of Casey's shiny red van shows us the entire film crew, along with several lights and reflector panels. (00:17:00)

Hit - S7-E9

Factual error: In what is supposed to be a maximum security prison, the inmates (all of whom have stylish but non-prison-regulation haircuts) have a pool-cue brawl in a completely unsupervised rec room. Not a guard in sight.

Season 7 generally

Continuity mistake: Because episodes were not aired in production order, both Lynda Day George (whose character is said to be on a prolonged assignment in Europe) and Greg Morris' mustache appear, disappear and re-appear throughout the seventh season.

Invasion - S6-E9

Continuity mistake: Channing turns off the tape recorder. But in the next shot, as he walks away, we can see the recorder's reels still turning. (00:18:00)

Squeeze Play - S5-E12

Visible crew/equipment: When Carlos confronts Dana about the gold watch, the microphone shadow can be seen moving on the wall above him. (00:30:15)

The Rebel - S5-E11

Audio problem: Throughout the episode, Alex's voice is very badly overdubbed, and his lips never quite match the spoken words.

Death Squad - S4-E24

Continuity mistake: After Jocarro douses Paris with a pitcher of water, the front of Paris' uniform is either soaking wet or entirely dry every time the angle changes from close-up to master shot. (00:33:15)

Terror - S4-E20

Continuity mistake: Everyone in the rescue party is covered in dust and grime after crawling through the cave. But when they emerge, their white shirts are completely clean and spotless. (00:45:30)

Terror - S4-E20

Character mistake: On Barney's counterfeit military ID, the word "sergeant" is misspelled as "sargent." (00:10:30)

Gitano - S4-E18

Visible crew/equipment: When the dignitaries' limo pulls away, its doors mirror several studio lights and reflectors. (00:34:15)

The Seal - S2-E9

Continuity mistake: When Cinammon is in the gallery and turns around after seeing the seal to follow Taggart, we can see that her jacket is different from behind.

The Seal - S2-E9

Continuity mistake: When Mr Phelps finishes choosing the mission candidates he closes the bag and puts it on the table. When they show us the bag with the IMF typing on it, it is now open again.

The Ransom - S1-E8

Continuity mistake: When the doctor tells the agent he has to step behind the shield while they take the pictures, you can see that Augie's chest strap has already been secured. The very next camera shot shows Cinnamin (as a nurse) just starting to secure his ankle area with the straps, and you can see the chest has not been secured yet. A second mistake in the same timeframe shows Augie's unconscious head turned to his left. When she starts to secure his ankles, you can see his chin pointing straight up.

Snowball in Hell - S1-E21

Continuity mistake: When Dan comes from the tunnel and through the rope to the prison room door, first we see that the door lock is on the left, but then when Dan tries to open it, it is on the right.

Snowball in Hell - S1-E21

Continuity mistake: When the prison commander sees that Barney has been flogged from marks on his back, after he leaves, Barney and Rollin move and we can see that there is nothing on Barney's back. (00:16:00 - 00:16:45)

The Hostage - S5-E13

Revealing mistake: While Robert Siomney and Jorge Cabal are watching the news, the pictures on the screen, behind the news commentator, extend past the outside of the TV set and so can be seen against the wall in the room where Siomney & Cabal are standing.

Nicole - S3-E22

Continuity mistake: The shots of the tape recorder giving Phelps his assignment don't match. Each time the camera angle changes, the tape reels are spinning at different speeds and in opposite directions.

Doomsday - S3-E17

Continuity mistake: During Phelps' mission briefing, the amount of tape on the left-hand reel, which should be diminishing as the assignment is read to him, increases instead. (00:01:45)

The Glass Cage - S3-E16

Continuity mistake: When the Major checks the prison log book, the box next to 27 where the time entry should be is blank. He closes the book and holds it under his arm while conversing with a subordinate, and when he opens it again to show it to the other man, the time box has, impossibly, been filled in. (00:43:30)

The Execution - S3-E5

Continuity mistake: As Phelps listens to his assignment in the opening sequence, the distinctively different tape reels on the recorder switch positions twice. (00:02:20)

The Contenders (2) - S3-E3

Continuity mistake: When Rollin confronts Wesley about the supposedly shaved dice, the two are inches from each other. When the shot cuts to a wider angle, they're several feet apart. (00:08:35)

The Contenders (2) - S3-E3

Continuity mistake: Barney is on the floor unconscious when the scene fades out for a commercial break. When we fade back in, he's still unconscious, but his head is in a different position. (00:14:40)

Recovery - S2-E25

Continuity mistake: As Phelps receives his assignment, the amount of tape on the recorder changes several times between shots. So does the style/design of the plastic reels. (00:02:05)

A Game of Chess - S2-E17

Visible crew/equipment: When Phelps is in the phone booth getting his assignment, the camera can be seen reflected in the booth's glass door. (00:01:10)

The Photographer - S2-E15

Continuity mistake: In the opening sequence, the tape giving Phelps his assignment is running backwards in some shots, isn't threaded properly in others, and in reverse angles, it's running twice as fast as it is in the previous shots. (00:02:30)

The Astrologer - S2-E13

Revealing mistake: The "microfilm" that Rollin and Barney steal from the safe isn't micro at all. It's a conventional single frame of 35mm movie film, not coincidentally the same film stock on which Mission: Impossible was shot. (00:36:05)

The Astrologer - S2-E13

Visible crew/equipment: In the final scenes at the airport, the camera crew and lighting panels are reflected in both the limo door and the sides of the white panel truck. (00:48:20)

Charity - S2-E10

Visible crew/equipment: The fire on the bed is contained within a small space by a visible asbestos pad. (00:21:45)

Charity - S2-E10

Continuity mistake: When Rollin sets the bed quilt on fire, the burned portion gets larger, then smaller, then larger again in alternating shots. (00:21:05)

Charity - S2-E10

Continuity mistake: The drink Cinnamon ultimately knocks off the edge of the pool table moves several inches between takes, and in one shot disappears altogether. (00:23:40)

The Council (1) - S2-E11

Visible crew/equipment: When Phelps and Barney shove Frank into the back seat of the car, the door captures a clear reflection of the camera crew. (00:36:20)

Charity - S2-E10

Continuity mistake: When Hagar's wife opens the Mercedes' trunk, the deflated silver mat is wrinkled and covers the entire space. When she picks it up, it's less than half its original size and has no wrinkles in it at all. (00:47:50)

The Bank - S2-E4

Continuity mistake: The gray dye job on Rollin's hair varies noticeably (from lighter to darker and back) throughout the episode.

The Bank - S2-E4

Continuity mistake: When the two baddies are counting out the money stolen from their latest victim, the piles of currency change positions on the table between takes.

The Bank - S2-E4

Continuity mistake: Cinnamon watches the bank secretary get up and walk to the manager's door. After a cut, the woman is once again seated at her desk, stands and again approaches the door. (00:32:15)

The Bank - S2-E4

Visible crew/equipment: When Barney is in the vault, the clear plastic casing covering his circuit board reflects the studio light panels. (00:41:30)

The Traitor - S1-E27

Continuity mistake: Tina demonstrates her contortionist abilities by crawling through the cubicle shelves in Briggs' apartment. A large orange cat figurine on the upper left shelf is brightly lit when she's doing her demo. The moment she finishes, though, the cat is in shadow and its orange tones are muted to brown. (00:05:00)

A Cube of Sugar - S1-E26

Continuity mistake: During the prison corridor scene, Cinnamon is crying over her "dead" husband, and her hair changes from frazzled to neatly combed and back as the angles shift between full shot and close-up. (00:39:15)

The Confession - S1-E22

Continuity mistake: Though Briggs hasn't touched the canvas to paint them over, the green brushstrokes that McMillan makes on the portrait disappear a few frames later. (00:41:50)

A Cube of Sugar - S1-E26

Audio problem: When Barney and Willy are digging their tunnel toward the prison basement, Barney's voice and lip movements are badly out of sync. (00:31:05)

The Reluctant Dragon - S1-E16

Continuity mistake: The 8-track tape Briggs listens to is in shadow when he inserts it in the car's player. A few shots later, though, it's brightly illuminated so that we can see the tape spinning inside. (00:02:00)

Fakeout - S1-E12

Continuity mistake: During the mission briefing, Cinnamon's hair alternates from messy to neatly combed several times. In fact, her hairdo changes combing styles throughout the episode. (00:05:00)

Fakeout - S1-E12

Continuity mistake: Throughout the car chase and the scenes leading up to it, Poltroni's rear-view mirror disappears and reappears repeatedly. (00:35:30 - 00:43:00)

Fakeout - S1-E12

Continuity mistake: All of the lighting and sound equipment Barney loads into the back seat of the police cruiser disappears during the car chase. (00:43:45)

The Diamond - S1-E19

Continuity mistake: Rollin strikes the duplicate diamond with a hammer and chisel, and it breaks cleanly into several pieces that fly out of the dish entirely. In the next shot, however, all the pieces are not only back in the dish, they're crushed into a fine powder. (00:35:30)

The Reluctant Dragon - S1-E16

Continuity mistake: After the gun goes off during his fight with Yankovski, blood appears on the right side of Rollin's mouth: it wasn't there a moment before. And a few shots later, the blood is on the left, then changes back to the right. (One shot in the sequence was, for some reason, flipped.) (00:48:00)

The Reluctant Dragon - S1-E16

Continuity mistake: At the restaurant bar, two beer mugs that were in front of Rollin on the table disappear when he gets up to leave. (00:11:10)

Fakeout - S1-E12

Continuity mistake: When Briggs finishes listening to his assignment tape and gets up, the tape recorder is on the very front edge of the seat. Next shot, as he walks away, it's moved itself to the back of the seat. (00:03:00)

The Diamond - S1-E19

Character mistake: Durvard has just flown Briggs' group to his compound, yet somehow fails to notice that Cinnamon wasn't on the plane. He tells Briggs he has accommodations for her and seems surprised when Rollin says she's not there. (00:39:10)

The Legacy - S1-E15

Factual error: Reel-to-reel tape recorders were threaded left-to-right and pulled the tape in a L-R direction. The machine playing Briggs' assignment in the opening sequence, however, is running backwards. It also changes to a different reel and a different machine when he removes the finished tape from the wrong side of the recorder. (00:02:00)

The Legacy - S1-E15

Factual error: For supposedly being Hitler's heirs, the three conspirators are pretty lousy Nazis. None of them notices that on their copy of their idol's book, Mein Kampf, Der Fuhrer's name is prominently misspelled "Adolph" instead of "Adolf." (00:13:00)

The Legacy - S1-E15

Continuity mistake: When Rollin is struck and falls onto the bed, he knocks over the table lamp and crushes the shade. When the shot cuts, not only is the lampshade in a different position, it's completely undamaged. (00:34:30)

Wheels - S1-E7

Continuity mistake: When Briggs listens to the recording giving him his assignment, the tape isn't even threaded, so the machine shouldn't be playing anything. When he stops it, the tape is now threaded - but it's now a completely different tape reel on a completely different machine. (00:02:05)

Old Man Out (2) - S1-E5

Revealing mistake: When the girls are fighting at the end, the "grass" underneath them develops visible wrinkles. It's artificial turf laid down over stunt mats. (00:41:20)

Old Man Out (1) - S1-E4

Visible crew/equipment: When Rollin leaps from the prison wall, the stunt man is apparent: he's shorter and more muscular and his hair is a different color. (00:26:10)

The Reluctant Dragon - S1-E16

Continuity mistake: After Rollin is in a fist fight he has blood on the left side of his mouth. After a quick scene switch to another person when it goes back to him the blood is on the right side. Another quick switch and back to him, the blood is back to his left side.

The Party - S5-E22

Continuity mistake: The tape recorder giving Phelps his assignment has a clear plastic lid/cover that disappears and reappears repeatedly. The amount of tape on the reels also changes several times. (00:04:10)

The Seal - S2-E9

Continuity mistake: When the episode starts, Mr Phelps put a black cassette to listen, during the mission announcement, we can see that the cassette color is white and even the cassette player is different.

Leona - S7-E4

Character mistake: Barney tells Joe Epic that a Miss Davis stayed in room 408. Later he calls her Miss Evans.

Wheels - S1-E7

Continuity mistake: Using a thin wire, Briggs loosens the lower half of the circular seal on the voting machine. But when they open the machine, the seal is loose from the top. (00:43:25)

Old Man Out (1) - S1-E4

Revealing mistake: The circus act supposedly begins at 7 p.m. every evening. But the shadows reveal that the sun is directly overhead and that it's midday, not evening. (00:30:00)

Old Man Out (1) - S1-E4

Visible crew/equipment: When Cinnamon visits Rollin in the prison, an equipment shadow is moving on the wall behind her. (00:39:30)

Old Man Out (1) - S1-E4

Revealing mistake: The cardinal is being held in an Eastern European prison, yet the nearby carnival spectators all wear very American clothing. In fact, the same people wearing the exact same clothes are there watching for all four days of the circus' performances. (00:28:15)

Echo of Yesterday - S2-E14

Plot hole: The fake Hitler yells at the woman - in English. Nobody can be fooled by an English-speaking Hitler - and the whole plan would crumble. (00:42:20)

The Astrologer - S2-E13

Revealing mistake: When Rollin and Barney are setting up the fake Kurzan, the "dummy's" eyes move several times. (00:42:45)

The Survivors - S2-E3

Continuity mistake: At the end, Rollin holds a rifle pointed straight at Stavak. When the shot cuts to a different angle, he's instantly holding the gun lengthwise and at a lower level. (00:46:35)