Starring: Melvyn Hayes, Windsor Davies, Don Estelle, Donald Hewlett
Continuity mistake: In "Down in the Jungle" (2-2) Beaumont says that both his parents have died, but in "Twenty-One Today" (4-8) he is reading a book that his mother has just sent him. Then in "The Last Roll Call" (8-7) Beaumont again says he doesn't have a mother.
Continuity mistake: The university that gunner Graham was educated at varies from Oxford to Cambridge. He's only got a single degree, so can't have gone to both.
Revealing mistake: It's obvious by his hand movements that Gunner Graham isn't actually playing the piano.
Suggested correction: If I take some random episodes, S7E5 (01:54) or S3E1 (21:51) or S7E1 (13:21), it's either real or at the very least the touch matches the notes in time. This is all on YouTube for easy check-up. S8E2, which centers on him playing something complicated, doesn't show his hands, so avoids a mistake. Glimpses during opening credits are less well-matched over the seasons, but then, that is supposed to be the score only. Claims that it's all very obviously fake just don't seem to ring true.
Suggested correction: I have recently watched the whole run of the series, every single episode, and I do not agree for two reasons. First, there are no close-up shots of hands on the keyboard. Sometimes it's bound to be a recording, for example when the monsoon breaks and the piano is full of water. But that is not a mistake. Second, the show released its own LP record, and actor John Clegg is credited for playing one musical number on that album. So I'm not so sure if he wasn't the real pianist all along. It makes sense that they'd cast someone who could actually play well enough.
If you look carefully, it obvious to any one who plays the keyboard, he's not playing. Also its as plain as the nose on his face that in shots with him playing the accordion, it's a fake.
Of course the accordion is fake - that is just the one episode where they were sent to the front line, so they needed to do something. But I'd very much like to get an episode & time where it's "plain as the nose on his face" please, apart from special situations like in the pouring rain. (I repeat, no-one else is ever credited for the piano, not even on the record album; and it would be strange casting then, since he was always the mediocre pianist from day 1).
Trivia: Jonathan Ross appears in this episode as an uncredited extra, he's a soldier in the demob centre.
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.