Doctor Who

100,000 BC - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Ian and Barbara enter the TARDIS for the first time, Susan operates the door switch. Later on, when the Doctor electrocutes Ian, he uses the exact same switch.

Matty W

Marco Polo - S1-E4

Continuity mistake: The caption slide at the end of episode two reads: 'Next Episode: The Cave of Five Hundred Eyes'. While the title slide comes up at the start of episode 3, it simply says "Five Hundred Eyes".

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Suggested correction: The original episode survives only as audio, so this mistake, if correct, must apply to one of the reconstructed versions (either telesnaps or animation), which probably therefore needs specifying.

The Daleks - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: In episode three, Temossus claims the Thals have been travelling for four years. But in episode five, Ganatus claims it is one year.

The Ice Warriors - S5-E3

Continuity mistake: At the start of the story (the beginning of episode 1) the TARDIS materialises on its side, but at the end of the story (the end of episode 6) the TARDIS dematerialises right side up.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - S14-E6

Continuity mistake: Magnus Greel puts Leela in the distillation chamber and switches it on. Cue red lights, special effects, and Leela writhing about. Then the Doctor arrives and throws a battle-axe into the works. Sparks fly, and the machine stops, presumably broken. Later, however, when Greel is pushed into the chamber, it turns on and does its thing just as if nothing had happened to it. Oh, and the axe thrown earlier disappears too.

The Daleks - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: The Dalek the crew ambush in episode three has a magnetic block in its sucker and, after the attack, a mud-covered eyestalk. At the beginning of episode four, the eye-stalk is visibly clear of mud, yet is later seen plastered with mud once more.

The Keys of Marinus - S1-E5

Continuity mistake: In episode one, Barbara activates her travel dial only seconds before the others. But in episode two, she's been at Morphoton for quite some time - long enough to change clothes, pick fabrics and get food.

The Ark in Space - S12-E2

Continuity mistake: When the Doctor and Harry arrive in the cryogenic chamber, they walk around for some time inspecting the chamber and talking. Towards the end, they notice a green slime trail newly appeared on the floor. But the trail was visible in the very first overhead shot of the chamber.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs - S11-E2

Continuity mistake: In episode 2, when the Doctor and Brig arrive at the scene to stun the dinosaur, they leave the stun gun in the jeep. Mike Yates glances down at it and we can see that the sabotage disk is already attached - although he doesn't actually put it on until later.

The Dominators - S6-E1

Continuity mistake: At many points in this story there are problems with the costume that Zoe is wearing...the zip is often jammed part or all the way open. Not only does this leave most of her back exposed, but the position of the zip tends to change position during scenes, as while off camera Zoe tries to pull the zip back up, only for it to open up again minutes later. (It is a little unkind to say it, but possibly the costume was a little bit too tight for Zoe, causing it 'self unzip'?).

Planet of the Daleks - S10-E4

Continuity mistake: At the end of episode one, when the Doctor and Taron spray paint onto the invisible Dalek, they use two different colors. At the start of episode two, the Dalek is suddenly black and painted on all sides.

Earthshock - S19-E6

Continuity mistake: In episode four, as they approach the TARDIS, the female member of the remaining troopers is grabbed and doesn't make it inside. But when the troopers do get inside the TARDIS, it's a man that's missing.

Doctor Who mistake picture

Inferno - S7-E4

Continuity mistake: In episode 4, the Doctor's bow shrinks from when he talks to Liz Shaw while in prison, to when he stows aboard a jeep later. In the DVD commentary, producer Barry Letts blames himself for this mistake. (00:13:00 - 00:19:50)

Daz

Pyramids of Mars - S13-E3

Continuity mistake: When Sarah Jane is sitting on the floor inside the transparent tube and the two gold-trimmed mummies/guardians appear in the background, you can see the dust on the surface of the tube change noticeably as the fade occurs.

The Daemons - S8-E5

Continuity mistake: The hoofmarks seen by both Yeats and Benton from the helicopter appear to be huge when seen from the air. Yet, when the helicopter lands, the hoofmarks are suddenly much, much smaller.

Planet of the Spiders - S11-E5

Plot hole: At the climax of episode 2, the Doctor is about to catch Lupton when the latter simply teleports to safety. So why didn't he do that in the first place, before engaging in a 15-minute chase?

More mistakes in Doctor Who

Terror of the Zygons - S13-E1

The Doctor: You can't rule the world in hiding. You've got to come out on the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle, if you pardon the expression.

More quotes from Doctor Who

Planet of Giants - S2-E1

Trivia: This Doctor Who story was originally scripted and produced as a four-episode story, but, just two weeks before transmission, upon viewing the story, co-creators Sydney Newman and Donald Wilson felt that the final two episodes (Episode 3, 'Crisis'; and Episode 4, 'The Urge to Live') should be combined into a single episode. The new 'condensed' episode incorporated the opening titles of 'Crisis' with the closing credits of 'The Urge to Live'.

More trivia for Doctor Who

Earthshock - S19-E6

Question: In Earthshock, season 19, at the end of episode 3, the Cyber Leader views his troops marching down the corridor. Each column is headed by a Cyber Leader. Is this a mistake, or is there more than one Cyber Leader allowed per army?

Answer: In 'The Five Doctors', three separate Cyberleaders are definitely used. So it's likely that Cyberleaders are like unit commanders, of which a fair-sized army might have several.

Daria Sigma

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