Best TV factual errors of all time

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The Simpsons picture

The Bonfire Of The Manatees - S17-E1

Factual error: Alec Baldwin, as an expert on manatees, says that they are also called dugongs. Manatees are found in Atlantic coastal waters and in the Amazon and tributaries. The dugong is a distinct species found in the coastal waters of the Indian and southwest Pacific oceans.

CC

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Longmire picture

Carcasses - S2-E2

Factual error: Several times firearms registration is mentioned, but Wyoming has basically no gun laws. No registration is required, and no concealed carry permits are required.

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Dexter picture

If I Had a Hammer - S4-E6

Factual error: In the newspaper article from the Trinity killers past - the report states that someone called 911 and dispatch gave them instructions. The death occurred in 1959. The first 911 call was made in 1968. (00:39:24)

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Fringe picture

Pilot - S1-E1

Factual error: When the 747-aircraft of the fake German airline is being shown, you can see the German flag on the plane. But you also see an "N-xxxxx" registration which stands for USA. If it were a real German plane, it would have a "D-xxxx" registration.

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Frasier picture

The Club - S2-E18

Factual error: When Frasier goes back to The Club to talk to the president about giving his membership to Niles, the butler comes over to offer him an 1896 port. But the bottle is actually a Baul Madeira, not a port. (00:19:40)

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Batwoman picture

The Rabbit Hole - S1-E2

Factual error: Alice and Kate's little reunion underwater is disrupted by policemen that fire at them, and one of the shots reaches the transport truck, ignites it and makes it explode. The scene is baffling; forgetting the complete disregard for fellow policemen in the vehicle, how would bullets have enough strength to penetrate into an armored truck deep underwater, reach a critical weak point from that angle (the truck is upright, they should be barely get to shoot the roof of it) and still underwater cause inside the completely immersed vehicle a spark that would ignite fuel and make the whole truck explode? (00:31:45)

Sammo

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Z Nation picture

Show generally

Factual error: Throughout the series, there are scenes of decapitated heads speaking with audible voices, in spite of the fact that they have no diaphragms, lungs or larynxes. Even if a decapitated head was somehow fully animate, it still couldn't utter a sound.

Charles Austin Miller

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The Ark picture

Hoping for Forever - S1-E10

Factual error: Trust called Proxima B an "eyeball" planet, meaning according to him a planet that does not spin on its own axis and always has one side facing the sun. That is incorrect. If only one side faces the sun it means the rotation on its axis and its revolution around the sun are the same.Otherwise, the planet would seasonally have all of its surface facing the sun once every solar year.

toroscan

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Green Acres picture

Wings Over Hooterville - S2-E1

Factual error: In a flashback scene, Oliver is hanging from a tree after getting shot down in WWII. They ask him where he is from, and he says the US Air Force. The US Air Force wasn't formed till 1947. During WWII, it was the Air Corps.

terry s

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Fresh Off the Boat picture

Gotta Be Me - S2-E22

Factual error: When Luis is in the video store, they pan out to show the video rack he was looking at. They show Disney's Tarzan on one of the racks. Being that this show is set between 1995-1998 for all 4 of the seasons, Tarzan should not be on the shelf as it was not out until 1999.

Blakely Cohen

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Murdoch Mysteries picture

Murdoch.com - S2-E10

Factual error: Enid, the telegraph operator, exclaims that "He is sending an SOS." However, in the 19th century, distress calls did not include the letters "SOS," It was not until the early 20th Century that SOS was chosen as the international distress call.

goofyfoot

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: The show is set in the early 1900's, which is the early 20th century. By the time this event transpired, SOS would have been established as a universal distress signal.

The show starts in 1895 and by season 2, it was still the 19th century and before Germany adopted SOS in 1905.

Bishop73

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The Twilight Zone picture

Elegy - S1-E20

Factual error: The astronauts land on an asteroid said to orbit a binary star 655 million miles from Earth. This is impossible, as that distance would place them well within our solar system. In fact, they'd be inside the orbit of Saturn, where of course there aren't (nor could there be) any extraneous suns. The nearest star to our system is, in fact, trillions (not millions) of miles away. (00:02:15 - 00:04:00)

Jean G

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Gunsmoke picture

Custer - S2-E3

Factual error: In the opening scene Marshal Dillon walks in Boot Hill cemetery. Dates on grave markers include 1883 and 1882. At the end of the episode Marshal Dillon and Chester discuss an Army deserter who had just been acquitted of a murder that Marshal Dillon was sure he had committed. The army deserter is being sent back to his unit to fight the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians under Gen. Custer. The viewer knows the army deserter will soon die in the Battle of Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876 - seven years before the date on one of the grave markers. (00:00:25 - 00:24:30)

Junius

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Downton Abbey picture

Episode #4.5 - S4-E5

Factual error: When Lady Edith visits a Harley Street doctor his nameplate is shown outside his surgery. His name is prefixed with "Dr." However, one of his post-nominal qualifications is "FRCS." As a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, his name should be prefixed with "Mr.", as with all qualified surgeons in the British Isles.

Necrothesp

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Alias picture

Show generally

Factual error: In the episode where Sydney is supposed to be in Helsinki, there are visible skyscrapers in the background. There are no skyscrapers in Helsinki.

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Designated Survivor picture

Commander-in-Chief - S1-E14

Factual error: The building shown between the stated times is located in Japan instead of the US/Washington DC as suggested by the actions in the scene. This is proven by by the Chinese characters In the Dark-gray concrete wall in the lower left side of the frame, as well as the red and blue colored circular road signs in the lower far right of the frame which are not in use in the US but in this combination unique to Japan. The street furniture, such as the road markings, the vegetation and the buildings also resemble Tokyo. (00:06:55)

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Married... with Children picture

Poppy's By the Tree (1) - S2-E1

Factual error: At the end of the episode, the killer shoves a long machete up through the mattress. This isn't possible considering he's under a bed and there's not enough vertical space to shove a machete straight up.

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