Best crime TV factual errors of all time

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New Amsterdam picture

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Factual error: This series uses a beautifully-rendered CGI sequence of New Amsterdam C. 1650 morphing into New York City of the present day. The Native American tribe we see at the start of the sequence, however, never inhabited the New England area. They look more like the Lakota plains tribes seen in Dances With Wolves. The North-Eastern tribes didn't build teepees as seen here, either. The dwellings should be longhouse wigwams made of wood.

Jean G

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Sherlock picture

His Last Vow - S3-E4

Factual error: Sherlock takes pains to explain in detail that he will deliberately corrupt the magnetic code stripe on an access control card he intends to use to enter the elevator to the villain's penthouse, by carrying it next to an operational cell phone. (This is possible due to the low frequency magnetic field from a phone's vibration motor.) But when he actually goes to access the elevator, he simply touches his access card to the reader instead of swiping or inserting the card through a slot, which is how a magnetic stripe reader would operate. The elevator uses an RFID proximity reader, not a magnetic stripe reader - a phone wouldn't corrupt an embedded RFID tag.

Stringman

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The Sopranos picture

Isabella - S1-E12

Factual error: During Tony's assassination attempt he struggles with one of the "hit men" for control of a pistol. One can see that the pistol does not contain a magazine.This would limit the shooter to 1 shot, providing the pistol is not equipped with a "magazine disconnect" if it is than it can not be fired at all. It seems unlikely that a "hit man" would be so ill prepared.

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The Dresden Files picture

Birds of a Feather - S1-E1

Factual error: Talking to Dresden, Bob refers to his first grimoire (a book of spells & magic). But the closed captioner, apparently unfamiliar with the term, has rendered the line, "My first Renoir," which, though amusing, makes no sense at all in the context of the conversation. (Refers to the aired version: the error was corrected on the DVD release.) (00:24:00)

Jean G

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The Borgias picture

The Poisoned Chalice - S1-E1

Factual error: In the Pope's coronation procession they play the anthem Zadok the Priest. It was composed by Handel for the coronation of George II in 1727, 235 years after this coronation took place.

Necrothesp

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Knight Rider picture

The Topaz Connection - S1-E16

Factual error: A secret file is password-protected on a computer, requiring a six-digit numerical access code. KITT states that the possibilities "are virtually unlimited." In truth, if each digit can be 0 through 9 (numerical meaning no letters or symbols), the possibility is 1 in 10^6, or 1 in a million. A supercomputer like KITT should have no problem running each number systematically until a correct code is found.

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit picture

Pique - S2-E20

Factual error: In the final scene where Grace Mayberry's house is raided in Trenton, NJ. a New Jersey State Trooper is wearing a badge on his chest. The NJSP has always worn a triangular shaped badge on their hats.

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Medium picture

I Married a Mind Reader - S1-E11

Factual error: A nitpicking mistake, but on the set of "I Married a Mind Reader", the front door is a modern steel design. Back in the 60's, front doors were almost always wood (steel doors weren't available until the 1970's or 80's), and the window design would have been larger on a 1960's fan-window wooden door.

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine picture

Pontiac Bandit - S1-E12

Factual error: When Jake is given a burner phone by Doug Judy, he receives a text message from the 'Pontiac Bandit'. The phone is an old cellphone from the late 90s, but the text message makes an iPhone sound/tone from the late 2000s. He receives another text message again later with the same tone. (00:09:55 - 00:12:50)

Hani Hariprabowo

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The Brief picture

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Factual error: At one point the barristers are seen going into the old arch entrance of the Old Bailey. However, you cannot actually go in that way, it's blocked off, you have to go in the more modern entrance and through a series of security checks.

David Mercier

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Wanted picture

Rush - S1-E1

Factual error: When Rose is introduced to the entire team McGloin shakes her hand and says that he (respects or admires) anyone that has survived the POW school. She smiles, nods and walks away. McGloin then explains to the last remaining teammate that all NIOs attend the POW school and explains briefly what it is. First: It is the SERE school. Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape not really POW. Second: Not all, not even most, NIOs attend SERE school, just some.

Rlvlk

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Point Pleasant picture

Who's Your Daddy? - S1-E3

Factual error: When she's giving the historical tour, Sarah talks about how the Puritans who settled in Point Pleasant faced hardships during their first winter there. But the first village at Point Pleasant was built in 1817, a century and a half after Puritans ceased to exist as a distinct group.

DavidK93

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Life on Mars (US) picture

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Factual error: The camera starts out-of-focus looking down a crowded sidewalk full of background actors in period clothes and hairstyles (1973). As the camera racks into focus, Sam is walking toward the camera with many awnings visible in the background - a large blue one reads "24 Hr ATM". Though versions were invented prior to 1973, they didn't come into wide usage until the mid-to-late-80's and certainly weren't available in East Village bodegas at the time of this episode.

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Rillington Place picture

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Factual error: With two exceptions, all the policemen shown in both 1949 and 1953 are wearing the old-fashioned tunics with high, closed collars. The Metropolitan Police adopted the more modern open-necked tunic with collar and tie in 1948, and this is shown worn by the policeman who visits Christie and by the officer who arrests him.

Necrothesp

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Murder, She Wrote picture

Thicker Than Water - S8-E4

Factual error: At the end of the episode after Wayne is shot, there is a brief shot of the outside of the hospital where he has been taken. The sign outside the hospital says Dalesboro, Ohio. Why would someone shot in coastal Maine end up in a hospital in Ohio?

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The ABC Murders picture

Episode #1.1 - S1-E1

Factual error: This is set in 1933. When the killer comes back to his lodgings in episode 1, Lily on the stairs is humming "Somewhere over the rainbow", which was written for The Wizard of Oz in 1939. She also happens to wear bright red shoes, which feels like yet another Wizard of Oz reference. Interesting enough, the subtitles say that she is humming a different song, "Night and day" which she openly sings throughout the series and was already a hit in 1932. (00:44:10)

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