Best sci-fi TV character mistakes of all time

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Quantum Leap picture

Catch A Falling Star - May 21, 1979 - S2-E10

Character mistake: In the preview for this episode, Charlie has trouble getting his countdown straight. He shouts that Sam is on in 50 seconds, then 47, then 48. In the episode itself, the mistake is corrected with a rather obvious overdub, changing the final number to 43. (00:02:05)

Jean G

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Doctor Who picture

Rose - S1-E1

Character mistake: When Rose thinks Mickey is dead, she says she'll have to tell his mother. But in Rise of the Cybermen in Series 2, she says that Mickey's mother has been dead since he was a child. (00:30:17)

TheIrishMovieBuff

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ALF (1986)

ALF picture

For Your Eyes Only - S1-E6

Character mistake: During the radio show, the radio host gives the radio station's phone number as 555-4455, Alf then softly repeats the number back before he gets to the phone. He then picks up the headset and dials a number, but the numbers he presses on the phone don't match up to the number given by the radio station. (00:04:10)

Justin Davis

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Twin Peaks picture

Episode Sixteen - S2-E9

Character mistake: At the Roadhouse Cooper states that the second victim (Maddy) was found dead two days ago. It has been less than 24 hours since the body was found: he likely means she was murdered two days ago.

pinkwafer

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Thunderbirds picture

Sun Probe - S1-E11

Character mistake: During the television report about the Sun Probe, a diagram shows the solarnauts' control cabin within the Probe Module. But we later see that the control cabin is within the body of the Probe Rocket when the Module is fired into the solar prominence.

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Smallville picture

Tomb - S5-E14

Character mistake: While Clark and Chloe are at Daily Planet, Clark asks her what is wrong with her mother. Chloe responds that her mother left when she was twelve years old. In the episode Lineage, Chloe and Clark are looking for Rachael Dunleavy and Chloe says her mother left when she was five.

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The Orville picture

Old Wounds - S1-E1

Character mistake: After Mercer's speech to the entire crew he dismisses everyone except for the senior staff but everyone, including the senior staff, starts walking away as if they were dismissed as well.

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

Suggested correction: They were walking away, but not as if they were dismissed. The group of senior officers and Mercer are in a completely different part of the room (or possible an entirely different room). Notice the doorway where Mercer is standing. At the beginning, he's in the doorway and it has a white boarder and a 2nd set of doors. Then he's standing in front of a doorway with a blue boarder and no 2nd set of doors.

Bishop73

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds picture

Strange New Worlds - S1-E1

Character mistake: The Enterprise is targeted by projectiles from the planet. Spock identifies them as "plasma torpedoes", and Captain Pike reacts with surprise; "Plasma torpedoes? That's 21st century tech" and from that they all establish that the civilization they contacted is not yet capable of warp drive. Plasma torpedoes are the main weaponry of the Romulans centuries later, and Earth itself did acquire warp drive in the 21st century, so this claim and deduction don't seem to add up. (00:22:15)

Sammo

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Knight Rider picture

Deadly Maneuvers - S1-E3

Character mistake: The sign in front of the tank Lt. Ladd is trapped in reads "ORDINANCE TESTING FIELD, DANGER.", but an ordinance is a type of decree or law. They probably meant 'ordnance', which is another word for artillery.

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine picture

The Way of the Warrior (2) - S4-E2

Character mistake: During the Defiant's flight to save the Cardassian officials, Worf says something to the effect of, "I've never been aboard a Federation ship equipped with a cloak before". However, he was aboard the Enterprise during the Pegasus incident, where The Ship was temporarily equipped with a cloaking device.

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Star Trek: Picard picture

Remembrance - S1-E1

Character mistake: Picard and Data are playing poker at the beginning of the episode. Before the actual faces of the players are revealed, we are shown close-ups of their hands as they put down the chips for the bet. When Picard says his first line in the series it's "See", and it is literally true, because in the previous shot, Data put his 5 cards down on the table and face up. (00:00:50)

Sammo

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The Mandalorian picture

Chapter 9: The Marshal - S2-E1

Character mistake: Cobb Vanth says that he's never seen anything but the dragon's head and had no idea about the size of the dragon...but at the beginning of the episode we could see the beast pass through town (conveniently right in the main road without damaging anything else) and its enormous lengthy body was perfectly noticeable. (00:31:20)

Sammo

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Henry Danger picture

Dream Busters - S1-E19

Character mistake: When Charlotte is going into Henry's dream for the first time, while she is talking, in the background, you see Henry move his head and open his eyes.

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Superman: The Animated Series picture

Mxyzpixilated - S2-E8

Character mistake: In the third instance where Superman manages to get rid of Mxyzptlk, he uses an article full of typos which spell the latter's name backwards as KLTPZYXM. Among the incorrect words is the word "citrimes", in which Superman has included an I and a T, so the correct word in context with the rest of the text should read "crimes" and thus the errors would spell KL-I-TPZYXM. Since there are no vowels in MXYZPTLK, however, what is the additional I doing here - and why didn't Mxyzptlk bother to mark it as a mistake, either?

Daniel4646

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The Man in the High Castle picture

The New World - S1-E1

Character mistake: When Juliana puts the film on the projector she loads the reel backwards.The film is supposed to drop from the front of the reel, not the back.

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