Best crime TV mistakes of all time

Please vote as you browse around to help the best rise to the top.

More Law & Order: Organized Crime mistakes
Rosemary & Thyme picture

In a Monastery Garden - S3-E2

Other mistake: When the old well needs filling in, for safety reasons, Ryan is breaking up bricks. If you are filling up a well, first, you'd need lots of bricks and stones, heaps more than Ryan's small pile, and, two, why does Ryan have to break up the bricks? They're going into the well - it doesn't matter if they are big or small.

kh1616

More Rosemary & Thyme mistakes
More Magnum, P.I. mistakes
More Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) mistakes
The Punisher picture

The Whirlwind - S2-E13

Other mistake: In the hotel room shootout, bullets are being fired through the wall easily and tearing up the place as you'd expect. Frank then dives through the damaged wall and they shoot at each other with Frank behind a cupboard and Pilgrim behind an internal wall. But bullets empties into both of these bits of flimsy cover leave the men behind them miraculously unscathed.

Jon Sandys

More The Punisher mistakes
Jessica Jones picture

AKA Ladies Night - S1-E1

Revealing mistake: Towards the end of the episode she picks up her phone but the screen shows the incoming call still coming through, and the screen doesn't go dark when she puts it to her ear. (00:29:30)

More Jessica Jones mistakes
Fugget About It picture Video

Show generally

Continuity mistake: When Bentley says how Maple Man can "gobble my knob", he briefly pauses between each word. When Theresa then plays back Bentley's confession, he says "gobble my knob" without pausing. (00:18:58)

More Fugget About It mistakes
Walker, Texas Ranger picture

In Harm's Way: Part 2 - S8-E1

Character mistake: Trivette hands the man in yellow a bullet recovered from the plane Walker and Alex were traveling on, which was shot down by an assassin flying a P-51 Mustang. This man, and later Trivette, mistakenly refer to the round as a "50mm," when in reality, Mustangs were equipped with M2 Browning .50 Caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns. (00:30:25)

More Walker, Texas Ranger mistakes
Lethal Weapon picture

As Good as It Getz - S1-E15

Continuity mistake: When Riggs is talking to Agent Palmer about being hungry, he's holding one red folder. When he asks if she was going to eat, he sets the folder down. In the next shot, he's holding a folder again.

More Lethal Weapon mistakes
The Fugitive picture

Tiger Left, Tiger Right - S2-E6

Continuity mistake: Kimble's been kidnapped and held for ransom. He had nothing with him when he was taken, yet when he leaves the abandoned house with the kidnappers, he has a small suitcase. When they drop him off on the road, he doesn't have it. When, in the epilogue, he's shown walking, he's carrying a different, larger suitcase. (00:46:00 - 00:49:00)

Jean G

More The Fugitive mistakes
Perry Mason picture

The Case of the Lucky Loser - S2-E2

Visible crew/equipment: After leaving her husband at train station, Harriet takes a cab to meet a man at a cabin. After a few mins, she takes the man's car to go home. As she drives away, there's a reflection of a man, in suit with glasses (possibly the director) standing offscreen. (00:05:20)

Keiferct

More Perry Mason mistakes
Adventures of Superman picture

The Dog Who Knew Superman - S2-E9

Other mistake: A gangster pushes a dog into a well and the dog can be heard splashing around. The man's wife is furious and several people are unable to retrieve the dog. Superman tunnels into the ground and into the bottom of the well and emerges holding the dog. Both he and the dog are completely dry.

More Adventures of Superman mistakes
Las Vegas picture

Year of the Tiger - S1-E9

Revealing mistake: When Danny is driving Mr. Zhao in his convertible at night, you can really see that the background is a bad fake and since even though Danny is driving with the top down, his hair and clothing does not get ruffled at all by the wind.

More Las Vegas mistakes
NYPD Blue picture

Show & Tell - S6-E10

Continuity mistake: During a conversation with Diane, Jill says that her son is with his dad. In the conversation she calls the dad "Ken." In future episodes Jill's husband is called "Don." (00:03:55)

More NYPD Blue mistakes
The Rookie picture

Revelations - S3-E6

Continuity mistake: When Tim puts Lucy in the squad car after "arresting" her, the rear door on the driver side is open, but when the camera pans back to her it's suddenly closed without making a sound.

Tanngrisnir

More The Rookie mistakes
Cold Case picture Cold Case mistake picture Video

Thrill Kill - S5-E1

Factual error: When Dylan gets out of jail, a palm tree can be seen in the background behind him. This reveals that the scene was filmed in Los Angeles, not Philadelphia.

More Cold Case mistakes
Blind Justice picture

Rub a Tub Tub - S1-E3

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Karen is about to process the sample from the bathroom the vial is in her right hand and the swab in her left. In the next shot the vial is in her left hand and the swab in her right.

More Blind Justice mistakes
Veronica Mars picture

Like a Virgin - S1-E8

Continuity mistake: When the video of Kimmy plays on the school announcements, and she talks about Duncan being hung up on Veronica, there is a cut to Duncan reacting with raised eyebrows in the foreground, while Veronica can be seen in the background with a passive expression. Then it cuts to a close-up of Veronica having a visible reaction with her whole face falling. But since Veronica and Duncan were reacting to the same thing, Veronica's reaction should have been visible in the first shot as well.

DavidK93

More Veronica Mars mistakes
Beauty & the Beast picture

An Impossible Silence - S1-E11

Continuity mistake: When Catherine enters the precinct station, the desk sergeant places a small white file box on the counter. There's nothing else sitting next to this, but when the shot reverses, a tall black police radio with an antenna sticking up has appeared there. (00:16:10)

Jean G

More Beauty & the Beast mistakes
The Bill picture

Show generally

Continuity mistake: Season 19, Episode 159. When Des Taviner flips and drives the area car wildly around an industrial estate and into a gas storage facility, you can see that during the sequence the Vauxhall Vectra he is driving starts off as a Y registration, then changes for several shots to a P registration, and then finally back to a Y registration when it blows up inside the building.

More The Bill mistakes

Join the mailing list

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.