Best sci-fi TV mistakes of all time

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

More Battletech mistakes
The Invisible Man picture

Show generally

Plot hole: "Sight Unseen": Wells has the key to Lori's shackles. Weston, who knows this, knocks Wells out, but instead of taking his keys, uses a completely unnecessary (and considerably more difficult) set of bolt cutters to break the leg cuffs. (00:32:30)

Jean G

More The Invisible Man mistakes
Jericho picture

Heart of Winter - S1-E14

Continuity mistake: Just before the robbery, Jake throws some water bottles and a flashlight over a small mound into the bushes, to hide them from the thieves. But when Mimi later picks them up, they are much closer to the truck, and on the other side of the mound. In fact, the bottles and flashlight would have been in plain sight for the robbers where she picks them up.

Twotall

More Jericho mistakes
More The Originals mistakes
The Outer Limits picture

The Human Factor - S1-E8

Continuity mistake: When the lab equipment shorts out after the earthquake, the unconscious Major Brothers is lying with his head propped up against the wall. But when Hamilton reaches him in the next shot, he's suddenly lying flat and is nowhere near the wall. (00:21:45)

Jean G

More The Outer Limits mistakes
Dark Angel picture

Flushed - S1-E4

Revealing mistake: When Logan goes looking for Max at Jam Pony, as he starts talking to Normal there is a woman in a blue jacket with a black-and-yellow bike helmet walking behind him. She travels past the group and can be seen heading for the lockers behind OC and Sketchy. After Normal says, "I can't help you," the same woman walks behind Logan again, going the same direction. (00:16:55)

Phoenix

More Dark Angel mistakes

Show generally

Continuity mistake: It is established that having matter from one universe in another causes it to deteriorate, but the parallel universe doorway closed, even though the photo of Ben and Buster is left in the alternate house. There was brief panic that the chaos wasn't over, when they thought Buster had brought a new collar from the alternate reality, but the photo was forgotten about and the worm-hole thing closed, despite the photo being on the wrong side.

Dan Moat

More Powers mistakes

UFO (1970)

UFO picture

Computer Affair - S1-E21

Revealing mistake: In the interior shots of Mobile 1's cockpit, we see that there's a crew of 3 and that the pilot is black. But in shots of the exterior (miniature model stock footage), there's only one occupant, a pilot, and it's a doll with distinctively Caucasian features. (00:26:30)

Jean G

More UFO mistakes
The Incredible Hulk picture

Show generally

Continuity mistake: Whenever Banner changes into Hulk his clothes rips, only his pants stays on. But when Hulk changes back to Banner, he suddenly has all his clothes on, no rips or tears at all.

Budoshi

More The Incredible Hulk mistakes
More The Strain mistakes
Eureka picture

Phased and Confused - S3-E6

Other mistake: Captain Eureka losing his finger makes absolutely no sense. He doesn't cry out in pain, there's no blood, and where the finger ended up is completely illogical. The finger didn't just sever on its own; it's shown that severing only occurs when passing through objects. Captain Eureka goes through a wall that is a good fifteen feet away from where the finger is discovered, and it is implausible to think it could have rolled there on its own.

Knever

More Eureka mistakes
FlashForward picture

137 Sekunden - S1-E3

Factual error: When browsing for information about the crow deaths in the Ganwar Region of Somalia, the computer indicates that the CDC requested additional funding from DHS. The only problem with that is, DHS was formed in 2002, 11 years after the incident in Ganwar. (00:40:05)

klaser

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

Suggested correction: Although the Department of Homeland Security - commonly abbreviated as DHS - was not formed until 2002, in the later episode "Revelation Zero" it is indicated that DHS stands for an agency called Demographic and Health Services.

More FlashForward mistakes
The Sarah Jane Adventures picture

Sky: Part 1 - S5-E1

Continuity mistake: The baby carrier little Sky is in as the group heads towards the car changes between takes. When they are walking down the driveway, it is open, and Sarah Jane quickly closes it when Gita comes up. Gita opens the carrier, to discover the baby, and Sarah Jane closes it again. There is more dialogue and Gita goes back to cooing at the baby. When did the carrier open again? Then the car alarms go off and if you look closely, you can see it's closed again, which is confirmed when the baby is handed off to Clyde.

Trigger

More The Sarah Jane Adventures mistakes
More The Twilight Zone mistakes
Dollhouse picture

Ghost - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the motorbike scene, Matt performs a wheely and overtakes Echo. In the following shot Echo is in front of him again.

THGhost

More Dollhouse mistakes
Agent Carter picture

Now Is Not the End - S1-E1

Factual error: There is a periodic table shown in the background of the lab, showing an accurate periodic table as of now. During 1945, at least 21 elements had not been discovered. (00:17:40)

More Agent Carter mistakes
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog picture

Act II - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: During "Brand New Day", at one point, Dr. Horrible stabs a picture of Captain Hammer attached to a dartboard with a handful of darts, all right in the center of the picture. A few shots later as Dr. Horrible sits, suddenly the darts are far-more spread out. (It's in the background and can be hard to see, but it's noticeable.)

More Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog mistakes
Star Trek: Discovery picture

Context is for Kings - S1-E3

Factual error: Science Officer Tilly calls the planet Trill a "very big" planet. It has an area of 500 million square kilometers. But that is not so large a planet. The Earth has an area of 510,100,000 square kilometers. So Trill is slightly smaller than Earth. Not really a "very big" planet.

toroscan

More Star Trek: Discovery mistakes
Invasion picture

First Day - S1-E10

Continuity mistake: Invasion 2021 Season 1 Episode 10 While riding in a car with Hitomi's father, he recalls that she loved a compass she had. She would take it everywhere and loved to follow the red arrow north. But later, when Hitomi's girlfriend finds the compass among her things, the arrow is black with a white tip.

toroscan

More Invasion mistakes
More My Favorite Martian 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.