Best crime TV revealing mistakes of all time

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The Sweeney picture

Hard Men - S4-E2

Revealing mistake: When Freeth, Carter and Regan raid the flat, Freeth breaks the door down - the door starts to fall before Freeth hits it.

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Law & Order picture Law & Order mistake picture

Patient Zero - S14-E3

Revealing mistake: When Briscoe and Green investigate the auto yard with the stolen, blue SUV, Briscoe handcuffs the owner. When he cuffs him, he turns him, showing his back and his hands behind his back. You can see the actor isn't cuffed, just holding the handcuffs as he walks. (00:06:35)

Matdan97

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Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries picture

The Green Mill Murder - S1-E3

Revealing mistake: When the band in the nightclub performs the made up song "Mr. Music Man", the suave Mr. Stone, the musician Miss Fisher ends up dancing with, is doing one heck of an hilariously incompetent job at faking to play an instrument, basically playing air-banjo strumming about 3 inches above where the chords are, and wildly off tempo. In the closing bit of the song (as the singer sings "To sin") he even moves his hand at the side of the strings and not above them. (00:03:30)

Sammo

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Hawaii Five-0 picture

Kahania - S5-E19

Revealing mistake: When the gunman are shooting at McGarrett and the barber shop at the beginning of the episode, the head gunman is firing his weapon without his finger even being on a trigger. (00:07:00)

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Burke's Law picture

Who Killed the Rest? - S2-E25

Revealing mistake: "Who Killed the Rest?" The boat we see speeding toward shore explodes - but in the brief shot of it just before the detonation, the substitution of a model is apparent. The two vessels don't look anything alike. (00:02:00)

Jean G

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JAG (1995)

JAG picture

Trinity - S2-E6

Revealing mistake: As Harm & Mac are returning to the US, we are told they are flying out of London Heathrow. But the stock footage of an airport used is actually London Gatwick, identified by its distinctive control tower, and not Heathrow.

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Southland picture

Identity - S4-E4

Revealing mistake: In the scene where Cooper takes the homeless man's photo on his iPhone, if you look to the bottom left of his iPhone's screen where it shows pictures that you have already taken, you can see that the homeless man's photo has already been taken, indicating that perhaps this scene was shot a few times, and the photos taken during those scenes were never deleted.

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Law & Order: Criminal Intent picture

Family Values - S8-E9

Revealing mistake: Paul Devildis calls the bank to discuss his restructuring plan. During the shots of the two bankers, on the desk is a notebook-sized, plain brown box. It is very distinctive as it is blank except for a single square white label on the front. Later in the episode Paul delivers his restructuring plan with the bomb inside to the bank. It is in this same box.

Guy

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Elementary picture

The Woman - S1-E23

Revealing mistake: It's a valiant effort, but the scenes of Sherlock & Irene in a London street are shot in New York. Not only is the architecture wrong but you can see a U.S. pedestrian crossing signal over Irene's shoulder. (00:16:15)

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Batman: The Animated Series picture

Heart of Ice - S1-E3

Revealing mistake: When Batman - disguised as a security guard - opens his utility belt, the belt opens and shows a configuration of buttons and a split-second later, a key card materializes out of thin air in front of the buttons. (00:11:30)

Phaneron

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Boston Legal picture

Race Ipsa - S2-E23

Revealing mistake: When Denise is showing Brad how to kiss, the first kiss is a typical "stage kiss" with their lips pretty clamped shut, but she then details what he's doing wrong with his tongue, which clearly wasn't at all involved with the sort of kiss they just shared.

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Iron Fist picture

Lead Horse Back to Stable - S1-E11

Revealing mistake: When Danny and Colleen are fighting in the rain at the end of the episode and Danny starts explaining how they should stop fighting, raindrops from the camera can be seen dripping from the top left of the screen.

THGhost

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Human Target picture

Pilot - S1-E1

Revealing mistake: When the target's iPhone rings and Christopher Chance answers it, he swipes his finger across the bottom of the screen, which is the regular gesture to answer a call on the iPhone. Trouble is that we see the screen at the time, and it's not showing an incoming call, just some sort of list - he swipes his finger over nothing of any significance at all.

Jon Sandys

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