Best TV mistakes of 2020

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The Queen's Gambit picture

Doubled Pawns - S1-E3

Character mistake: When Beth and her mother discuss the agent's fee of 15%, Beth says it is $49.54. However the prize money was $500, the expenses were $172.30, which leaves them $327.70. 15% of $327.70 equals $49.16. (00:10:00)

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The Haunting of Bly Manor picture

Show generally

Plot hole: If the Lady of the Lake walks every night to her room and kills those in her path, why didn't Flora and Miles' parents die in their room by the hands of the Lady in the Lake when they first moved in?

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Selena: The Series picture

Opening Act - S1-E4

Factual error: At the beginning, the screen shows that the year is 1988 in Corpus Christi, TX, then the camera pans into Selena and her sister eating tacos when their friend Jake arrives wearing an Arizona Diamondbacks shirt. The Diamondbacks did not exist in 1988. Phoenix was awarded a Major League Baseball expansion team in 1995 and the Diamondbacks made their debut in 1998, 10 years after this scene takes place. (00:00:30)

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Upload picture

The Funeral - S1-E3

Deliberate mistake: Though it serves the drama and black comedy of the scene, it's highly unlikely a modern, let alone future broadcasting network would neglect the importance of delay (usually around 30 seconds) between recording and "live" broadcast. Specifically, to prevent unexpected gruesome incidents like the exploding head seen in this episode from making it to air.

Anson Gordon-Creed

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Away picture

Negative Return - S1-E2

Factual error: The communication delay for earth-moon communications is around 2.6 seconds. Yet Emma's daughter simply dials a cell phone and is connected to her Mom in space past the moon in less than that. The communication has no time lag. (00:18:45)

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Star Trek: Picard picture

Season 2 generally

Plot hole: Dr. Adam Soong is initially presented as a discredited scientist, banned from the scientific community; he gets debarred and his funding revoked. And it's not an internal matter; he is publicly exposed for it. His daughter in episode 6 even finds out this information on Google. Several news articles call him "mad scientist" and such. However, this same person at the same time throughout the rest of the season has every bit of pull and influence, not just through undercover channels, but is treated with the utmost honor and deference by the NASA PR people at public events.

Sammo

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The Owl House picture

Yesterday's Lie - S2-E10

Plot hole: During Vee's flashback, she sees that Luz is a human, and then sneaks through Eda's portal door while Eda and Luz are distracted by the crowd. However, during the first episode when this flashback takes place, Eda closes the portal door way before the crowd even shows up. (00:12:27)

KingofDemons!

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Space Force picture

It's Good to Be Back on the Moon - S1-E9

Factual error: The Apollo 11 flag gets knocked over by the Chinese rover...but the flag was blown over by the Eagle's takeoff thrust, witnessed by Buzz Aldrin. This was confirmed years later by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which showed shadows of the flags planted at all six Apollo landing sites, bar Apollo 11's. The other 5 were all planted further from their landing craft precisely for that reason. It's also widely assumed that the flags on the moon would have been bleached white by decades of unfiltered sunlight, not in good condition like the one shown.

Jon Sandys

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Young Wallander picture

Episode 4 - S1-E4

Continuity mistake: Kurt is still recovering from the beating he took in the previous episode with bad cuts on his forehead, checks and temple area. They are red and impossible to miss while he is in the police station. The cuts have miraculously disappeared in the next scene when he goes to visit Mona.

bnemirow

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FBI: Most Wanted picture

Predators - S1-E8

Character mistake: The FBI team responds to a murder crime scene. The victim is lying face down in the bed with blood everywhere. The team leader takes the victim's wrist with his bare ungloved hand. A trained FBI agent would never touch a murder victim without gloves - one to protect himself and two not to contaminate the crime scene. (00:10:00)

Snag.1

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Dracula picture

The Dark Compass - S1-E3

Other mistake: At the end, when the reflection of burned Lucy still shows her beautiful, Dracula's reflection shows him as he is seen; not old and ugly as in his usual mirror reflections.

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Tales from the Loop picture

Control - S1-E5

Revealing mistake: As Ed slowly backs away from the camera (from the foreground to the background), the towering Scrapper robot moves slowly forward (from the background to the foreground) to take Ed's place facing the camera. The lumbering robot is plainly casting a long shadow across this night-time shot towards the right side of the screen. But, as Ed and the giant robot pass one another, the CGI robot's shadow never falls across Ed at all. Throughout the shot, Ed remains uniformly illuminated, revealing that the digital-effects artist neglected to add the shadow passing over Ed. (00:38:55 - 00:39:19)

Charles Austin Miller

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All Creatures Great and Small picture

A Cure for All Ills - S1-E6

Factual error: At the end of the episode, as the veterinarians are leaving the pub, the camera pans up to the sky and you can see the full moon right next to the north star and the big dipper. In the northern hemisphere the moon is always to the south.

hgwalters

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Locke & Key picture

Echoes - S1-E9

Continuity mistake: When Eden confronts Kinsey by the lockers, as the angle changes so does Kinsey's arm. In some shots, she has her arms crossed and the locker door is closed, in some shots she has one arm up, holding the (open) locker door.

Twotall

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Hunters picture Hunters mistake picture

Eilu v' Eilu - S1-E10

Continuity mistake: When Jonah confronts Meyer after the death of the surgeon, Meyer's holding a drink in his left hand as he turns to face Jonah. The shot changes angle and the drink is suddenly in his right. (00:48:40)

Jon Sandys

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Defending Jacob picture

Show generally

Continuity mistake: Throughout the series, the Barbers pull their cars straight up their driveway. But the cars are nearly always shown coming back down the driveway driving forward.

bnemirow

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Tough As Nails picture

Facing Fear - S3-E4

Factual error: The teams are at a US Coast Guard base. Two coasties are introduced. One as a chief (correct) and one as a "Captain." He is not a Captain, he is a Lieutenant. The USCG uses naval ranks, so the person with the two bars is a Lieutenant. A Captain is three pay grades above this, and uses eagles as insignia.

toroscan

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