Best TV factual errors of 2002

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Monk picture

Mr. Monk Goes to Jail - S2-E16

Factual error: When Monk visits the prison for the first time, he is searched, passed, and has a mini-panic attack because people have touched him. Sharona steps forward to comfort him, and she puts her arms around him. This is a very serious breach of procedure and it is not possible for the guards to miss it, because Sharona has not been searched. It's a common technique for trying to pass contraband called 'a touch through' - a person with an item to be smuggled into the prison (drugs, usually), passes them on to a person who has been searched and is therefore 'clean'. Monk would be taken back to the guard's station to be searched again. He would not be allowed leniency because the guards happen to know or to like him - visitor ingress and egress is always done under CCTV and the guard would know he was being watched - quite possibly by someone who doesn't know who Monk and Sharona are.

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

Suggested correction: Sharona was searched first by the female guard.

In fact Sharona breaks away from the female guard to go to Monk. She has NOT been searched.

The correction is correct. The female guard already finished patting Sharona down before the male guard even had a chance to start his pat down of Monk.

Bishop73

Yeah, the correction is correct. I went back six times through that clip: Sharona and Monk both get searched, and then Sharona touches Monk.

More Monk factual errors
Foyle's War picture

Casualties of War - S5-E2

Factual error: The naval captain in this episode has a military mustache as prescribed by army regulations. The Royal Navy regulations, however, prohibited separate mustaches and beards - if facial hair was worn, a "full set" of beard and mustache with the beard joined to the mustache was mandatory, and that to be grown to the commanding officer's satisfaction within six weeks.

Macxlii

More Foyle's War factual errors
CSI: Miami picture

Show generally

Factual error: Calleigh Duquesne frequently wears completely inappropriate clothing throughout the whole series. She often wears blouses that are so low cut that the neckline is below the lower curve of her breasts. No officer of the court in the US would be allowed to dress this way. There is no grey area here, and this is not a character mistake - first time a CSI turned up at work dressed like that, she'd be sent home to change. Second time, she'd be on suspension until she agreed to change her dress standards. Also (and this regularly happens in CSI: NY as well) she is regularly wearing high heels - also a certain no-no for as CSI. Incidentally, male CSIs have equally strict dress standards.

More CSI: Miami factual errors
The Wire picture

All Prologue - S2-E6

Factual error: The police "clone" the cargo dock's computer, as though it were a cell phone, so that they can watch all the cargo traffic and see when containers disappear. In reality, to "clone" a computer would simply make an exact copy of that computer's hard drive at a specific point in time. In order to see what is happening on a specific computer in real time, it is necessary to install some sort of spyware on The Target machine.

More The Wire factual errors
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius picture

The League of Villains - S3-E16

Factual error: As the villains are approaching to Earth, South America is shown just under Asia, connected to the Arabian Peninsula and the southern tip of India. The two continents are nowhere near enough to each other to be seen at the same time from space, much less connected. They are on opposite sides of the Pacific ocean, over 10,000 miles (16,000 km) apart. (00:06:45)

More The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius factual errors
That's So Raven picture

Mind Your Business - S3-E18

Factual error: The saboteur sabotages Raven's business by pouring lots of kernels in the popcorn machine. However, the saboteur pours the kernels into the glass holding box instead of the pot, so the kernels would not have heated up enough to cause the popcorn mountain.

More That's So Raven factual errors
More Spooks factual errors
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

More The Dead Zone factual errors
Kath and Kim picture

Season 1 generally

Factual error: Whenever Kim's phone rings during the first series, you can hear a polyphonic ring-tone yet she owns a Nokia 3315, which is a monophonic type.

More Kath and Kim factual errors
Without A Trace picture

Upstairs Downstairs - S3-E4

Factual error: After the two women found out the guy was dead, there is a truck with the writing "K-9 Unit" on the front, but it is not backwards as it should be.

More Without A Trace factual errors
Good Morning, Miami picture

Looking For Love in All The Wrong Cages - S2-E9

Factual error: The zoologist tells Gavin that he is handling a deadly coral snake. The snake is red, with black and yellow stripes, which is indeed the coloring of the coral snake. However, the yellow bands are inside pairs of black, and only the black touches the red. "Red touch black, good for Jack. Red touch yellow, kills a fellow." This is a harmless milk snake.

DavidK93

More Good Morning, Miami factual errors
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: From a different perspective it's not a factual error. Because Jane shot multiple bullets. It means the gun still can be shot after the space suit case got pierced from the first bullet. So it's a possibility that the characters thought wrong (even though it's a bit silly for space travellers to not know this fact but doesn't mean it won't happen).

Terry Tim

More Firefly factual errors
Balamory picture

Living Statue - S2-E5

Factual error: When PC Plum picks up a set of keys from the table, Eadie McCredie claims they are her keys for her minibus. She drives an LDV Convoy minibus and the key is from a Vauxhall, a completely different design.

GalahadFairlight

More Balamory factual errors
Taken picture

Show generally

Factual error: In the opening sequences of the show, B-17s are over the Ruhr in August 1944, and yet they're being attacked by nothing but yellow-nosed BF-109E's. The yellow nose was discontinued at about the end of the Battle of Britain, and the "E" model was discontinued even before that.

More Taken factual errors
8 Simple Rules... For Dating My Teenage Daughter picture

No Right Way - S2-E6

Factual error: When Kyle and Kerry go to the arcade, they look around to see which game they want to play. Kyle suggests the dancing game, which, although the name is not displayed, is Dance Dance Revolution. The current screen is the song select, which only appears after a token has been inserted and the game has started. It takes at least two presses of the start button to get to that screen, yet Kyle still feels the need to insert a token for some reason. Also, although this is trivial, the difficult setting on which they play is Beginner, which is laughably easy and doesn't require any of the theatrical dance moves that Kyle and Kerry perform.

Knever

More 8 Simple Rules... For Dating My Teenage Daughter factual errors

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