Best thriller TV stupidity of all time

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Black Space picture

Episode #1.8 - S1-E8

Stupidity: There's a gunman that just opened the school doors, and he's looking at the police like "a deer caught in the headlights" and they are all pointing their weapons at him and he's holding a gun mind you, but somehow these cops let him run back into the school without even taking a singe shot at him. His background was clear too, so if the cops fired there would've been no collateral damage if they had a shoot out. (00:35:00 - 00:35:30)

More Black Space stupidity
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation picture

Who Shot Sherlock? - S5-E11

Stupidity: When Brass and Sarah enter the locked storage cellar where the boys are hidden, Greg, a graduated rookie, straggles along behind them when he should have known better to stay put. As anyone could have come along and locked that cellar door behind them, trapping them inside.

eaglegrad16

More CSI: Crime Scene Investigation stupidity
Mr. Robot picture

405 Method Not Allowed - S4-E5

Stupidity: Elliot and his crew are trying to take down the Dark Army and Whiterose, they are being monitored by them via surveillance vans which Elliot just burned, etc. However, with Elliot and friends trying to be secretive he somehow manages to text Phillip Price on his cell phone about Tyrell. Phones are the easiest to intercept. Whiterose doesn't trust Phillip and plans on killing Elliot once their projects transferred to Africa. (00:07:20)

More Mr. Robot stupidity
The Wild Wild West picture

The Night of the Firebrand - S3-E2

Stupidity: West is introduced to, then knocked unconscious by Vixen as she hides a club behind her back. A trained Secret Service agent like West would not have let his guard down in this situation, as the entire fort was awash in bad guys.

Scott215

More The Wild Wild West stupidity
Agatha Christie's Poirot picture

Murder in the Mews - S1-E2

Stupidity: Hard to swallow that a group of vastly experienced policemen smart enough to figure other tricks out (such as the abnormal position of the gun) would be in any doubt about the victim being left or right handed when she is still wearing their watch on the right wrist - and attention is called by Poirot upon that particular detail right from the start.

Sammo

More Agatha Christie's Poirot stupidity

24 (2001)

24 picture

Day 4: 12:00 A.M.-1:00 A.M. - S4-E18

Stupidity: After leaving the power plant to pursue the terrorists and retrieve the nuclear football, Jack orders the helicopter to take out the first Jeep. After he realises parts of the football are missing, why does he not order the helicopter to pursue and take out the other Jeep, preventing any further trouble from Marwan? (End of season 4's story, most likely).

More 24 stupidity
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX picture

Duel Distractions: Part 1 - S1-E36

Stupidity: When Bastion shouts during the duelling exercise, Syrus and Chumley fall over and drop their cards. About 15 seconds later, Chumley stands back up, but leaves some of his cards scattered on the floor. First, his cards could have got dirty or damaged, so Chumley deciding to leave them on the ground is very foolish. Second, Bastion doesn't seem bothered that the cards are still on the ground, despite the whole point of the exercise is about being ready for duelling. (00:04:05)

Casual Person

More Yu-Gi-Oh! GX stupidity
Altered Carbon picture

Nightmare Alley - S2-E3

Stupidity: "Rei" comes into the circle, having been champing at the bit to "turn him into a smear on the floor." She's wielding a sword, Kovacs is unarmed, and she...slices him a bit, instead of a quick killing blow.

Jon Sandys

More Altered Carbon stupidity
More Haven stupidity
Person of Interest picture

Q & A - S4-E15

Stupidity: Harold isn't sure whether to trust the flash drive Claire gives him, worrying connecting it to his laptop will send Samaritan all his personal connections. Somehow it doesn't occur to him to just use a completely disconnected / airgapped laptop, in a Faraday cage or similar like the one he kept Root in. If the flash drive had malicious code on it, nothing could be transmitted anyway.

Jon Sandys

More Person of Interest stupidity
The Sopranos picture

Mayham - S6-E3

Stupidity: Paulie and an associate just killed 2 drug dealers or stash house guards, and they are rummaging throughout the apartment touching appliances and other surfaces without any gloves. Paulie was previously arrested and did time so his fingerprints are on file. Paulie also used a knife to stab one of the Colombians without any gloves on, and he just left it in his body. The police would have no problem linking him to this crime within a week after forensics did their sweep. (00:03:00 - 00:04:17)

More The Sopranos stupidity
More Tales from the Crypt stupidity
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine picture

Waltz - S6-E11

Stupidity: Near the end of the episode, Sisko hits Dukat over the head with a metal pole and knocks him out but does not remove the phaser Dukat has on his person, which he promptly uses a short time later to steal a shuttlecraft, stranding Sisko.

More Star Trek: Deep Space Nine stupidity
More Black Summer stupidity
Designated Survivor picture

Home - S2-E8

Stupidity: While discussing his arrest with Emily, Seth mentions that he didn't tell the arresting officer that he works for Kirkman. As the White House's liaison to the media, Seth has a high degree of visibility; it would extremely difficult, if not downright impossible, to keep his place of employment concealed from the police for very long in the time between his booking and arraignment and when Kendra bails him out the following day.

Cubs Fan

More Designated Survivor stupidity
Columbo picture

A Deadly State of Mind - S4-E6

Stupidity: In the final scene: Columbo lays a trap for the murderer (George Hamilton). The 'eyewitness' when Hamilton fled the murder scene was a blind man. Hamilton is aware of this. Columbo's gambit depends on Hamilton's assumption that Columbo has coached the witness to act as though he was sighted so as to convince Hamilton that there is evidence against him. In fact, Columbo has the witness' brother, who is sighted, pretend to be the eyewitness and identify Hamilton as the man he saw driving away. When Hamilton falls for Columbo's trap and, believing he is in the presence of the blind man, tries and fails to 'prove' the man can't see. By doing so he reveals his knowledge that the witness was blind, incriminating himself. The problem is, that only a minute or so previously, Columbo had placed Hamilton under arrest, and failed to read him his Miranda Rights. Considering that Hamilton's slip up is the ONLY evidence Columbo has against Hamilton, this was a spectacularly stupid move on Columbo's part. Regardless of how many officers were present to witness this, the fact is that Hamilton was under arrest and had not been advised of his right against self-incrimination; meaning nothing that he said when under arrest can be used against him.

More Columbo stupidity

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