Best crime TV deliberate mistakes of all time

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Jessica Jones picture

AKA The Sandwich Saved Me - S1-E5

Deliberate mistake: Kilgrave tells a man to throw a cup of coffee in his face, which he then does. Due to how hot the coffee was, it leaves the man in severe pain. The coffee cup was fairly small, had no lid and was exposed to the cool air, so even if the coffee had been boiled recently, it should have cooled down fairly quickly. (00:10:25)

Casual Person

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The Rockford Files picture

Tall Woman in Red Wagon - S1-E6

Deliberate mistake: When the workers hit the coffin lid with the shovel, it is (obviously) fully buried and they moved just a little bit of soil off it. Rockford moves closer, and instantly the inside of the coffin is covered by the thinnest layer of dust, uniformly. (00:02:30)

Sammo

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The Adventures of Tintin picture

The Secret of the Unicorn: Part 1 - S1-E3

Deliberate mistake: After Francis Haddock kills Red Rackham, he lights a fuse to the explosives. The fuse that was lit is only a foot long, yet he is somehow able to climb out the ship without anyone noticing, get into a boat and swim all the way to land before it explodes. At a foot long it would have exploded in 10 - 15 seconds, all of that would taken at least 10 minutes. (00:18:45)

Casual Person

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Hustle picture

Cops and Robbers - S1-E4

Deliberate mistake: When Sam first meets Mickey (who is posing as a bank robber), Mickey says he needs Sam to state that he needs Mickey's help in robbing a bank, so if Sam turns out to be an undercover cop, Mickey can plead entrapment. This is a classic error. Entrapment only exists where a cop actively persuades a criminal to do something he otherwise wouldn't have done - which is not the case here. If Mickey as a con artist knows this (which is likely), it's a deliberate mistake, otherwise it's a factual error. (00:30:09)

swordfish

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Leverage picture

The Stork Job - S1-E6

Deliberate mistake: When filming the fake movie with Sophie playing the nun, many holes are made in the door, but when she slowly kneels to the ground, there isn't a hole behind her, so it seems like she's been miraculously saved. But as the scene continues, the nun starts to bleed and dies. Technically, they couldn't safely put a squib that close to her. (00:21:15)

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Prisoner: Cell Block H picture

Episode #1.57 - S1-E57

Deliberate mistake: After MacNelly enters the ladies room to confront the red haired lady, she shoots the woman in the chest, but there's no gunshot or bullet hole or blood anywhere. But the red haired lady dramatically collapses to the floor. Then during a closeup, glances upward at MacNelly, and then her head droops downward.

eaglegrad16

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The Practice picture

Public Servants - S5-E22

Deliberate mistake: A witness during the murder trial says she was home watching "Boston Public." That series was also created by David E. Kelley, but takes place in the same fictional reality as "The Practice," as evidenced by the two series having a two-part crossover earlier in the season in which Ellenor defended a coach from being fired.

Vader47000

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