Best drama TV factual errors of all time

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MacGyver picture

Seeds + Permafrost + Feather - S3-E17

Factual error: Bozer and for that matter I would assume all of the team went to a spycraft academy. A basic subject in any of such academies is surveillance, including proper techniques to follow and stake out someone. Bozer being so inept at tracking MacGyver's father is inconceivable given their training.

toroscan

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The Looming Tower picture

Tuesday - S1-E9

Factual error: At O'Neil's retirement party, '2-Way' by Lil Romeo is playing while one of the characters is dancing. This scene is set in the summer of 2001, the song was released in April 2002, nearly a year after the retirement party took place.

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Mr. Sunshine picture

Episode #1.1 - S1-E1

Factual error: The American flag shown waving outside the White House is the current present-day flag with 50 stars. From 1896 to 1908, (the time period that this show is set in) the US flag only had 45 stars as Oklahoma, New Mexico, Nebraska, Alaska and Hawaii were not recognised as states in that time period. The flag did not have 50 stars until 1960. (00:04:30)

Casual Person

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Fallout picture

The End - S1-E1

Factual error: Looking at a nuclear explosion that close will burn your retinas irreparably. One can be blind 30 miles away, just by seeing the flash. The little girl at the start is looking directly at the explosion when it hits, and continues to watch.

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Beverly Hills, 90210 picture

Class of Beverly Hills - S1-E1

Factual error: In this debut episode of the show, Andrea takes a bus home to "Van Nuys." After showing the bus heading to the valley on the 405 freeway, as she exits the bus, the street sign states "Gramercy Pl" which is in L.A. (not Van Nuys or the San Fernando Valley where she is supposed to be in). In addition, her house shows 548 to be the address. All addresses in Van Nuys are either four or five digits.

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Hawaii Five-0 picture

Pua a'e la ka uwahi o ka moe - S9-E7

Factual error: A 1932 haulage receipt is shown on screen. It says Hawaii, HI. There was no such abbreviation used for Hawaii until June 1963. The territory was spelled out in full. In June 1963 it was HAW, and then changed to HI in October 1963 with the advent of ZIP codes. (00:38:50)

toroscan

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Narcos picture

Season 2 generally

Factual error: The Columbia paramilitary is seen throughout the 2nd season carrying M4's. The M4 configuration of the M16 was not available during the period Norcos took place. In one seen in fact an M4 has an EOTech optic mounted on it...backwards. Not only is the optic backwards, EOTech was not founded until the late 90's or early 2000's.

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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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Chicago Fire picture

A Volatile Mixture - S7-E5

Factual error: In the scene at O'Hara airport the paramedics meetup with a TSA officer. The TSA officer has a gun as a part of his uniform. TSA officers do not carry firearms. In addition, the CBP officer in the scene does not have on a proper CBP uniform. The CBP officer uniform has rank epaulets and officer has no epaulets, and the CBP uniform doesn't have a bar tie clip and the gun belt buckle is brass not stainless metal. (00:42:00)

Snag.1

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House of Cards picture

Chapter 35 - S3-E9

Factual error: When Doug Stamper sits down at his laptop and throws the contents of his cup at the screen, the image immediately freezes and distorts. This would not happen so quickly in a real world event. It may eventually happen but not instantaneously. (00:23:10)

Mike Walker

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Matlock picture

The Madam - S5-E3

Factual error: Radio talk show host David Campbell works at "WRQE 480 AM." There is no such frequency. The AM radio dial begins at 530.

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Life on Mars (US) picture

Show generally

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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Ghost Whisperer picture

The One (2) - S1-E22

Factual error: The tail section of the crashed plane is from an early model 737, based on the curvature where the forward edge of the vertical stabilizer meets the top of the fuselage. The maximum seating capacity would have been about 130 passengers, while the number of crash victims was given as approximately twice that.

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Pride and Prejudice picture

Show generally

Factual error: During Lizzie's visit to Rosings Park, Lady Catherine presses her to stay longer, saying that if she will stay another month, she will be able to accommodate Lizzie "on the barouche-box" as far as London. This is nonsensical. What Austen actually wrote (Ch. 37) was: "And if you will stay another month complete, it will be in my power to take one of you as far as London, for I am going there early in June for a week; and as Dawson does not object to the barouche-box, there will be very good room for one of you. . ." The box is the coachman's seat on top of the carriage. Dawson is a servant, but if there were enough room inside the carriage, she would ride inside. What Lady Catherine is doing is offering Dawson's inside place to Lizzie. But in the movie, she is offering to let Lizzie ride outside next to the coachman. Not much of a treat.

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The Dead Zone picture

Cold Hard Truth - S3-E4

Factual error: When Johnny and Bruce are riding in the truck, listening to the 'shock jock', Bruce turns off the radio by turning the volume control on the left side of the radio. Johnny says he wants to hear it and turns the radio back on by turning the knob on the right, which is the tuning dial.

wizard_of_gore

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