Best drama TV factual errors of 2016

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More Stranger Things factual errors
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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Houdini and Doyle picture

Show generally

Factual error: The show starts in 1901 with a woman constable working for the Metropolitan Police Service (Scotland Yard). However women didn't join the Metropolitan Police until 1919 (which is also when the first woman's police uniform was created). Prior to that, women volunteered in the Women's Police Service, but that wasn't formed until 1914.

Bishop73

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Victoria picture

A Soldier's Daughter - S2-E1

Factual error: Captain Souter is shown lying dead in the snow following the massacre at Gandamak. In fact, Thomas Souter was one of the few who survived to be captured by the Afghans and was later freed.

Necrothesp

More Victoria factual errors
MacGyver picture

Seeds + Permafrost + Feather - S3-E17

Factual error: Bozer and for that matter I would assume all of the team went to a spycraft academy. A basic subject in any of such academies is surveillance, including proper techniques to follow and stake out someone. Bozer being so inept at tracking MacGyver's father is inconceivable given their training.

toroscan

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Lethal Weapon picture

Pilot - S1-E1

Factual error: When Riggs and Murtaugh go to investigate the scene where the body of Ramon Alvarez is discovered Scorsese states that Alvarez's dog tags say "SEAL" on them. His dog tags would not say that he is a SEAL on them. The information listed on dog tags is as follows: Name, Social Security Number, Blood Type, Service Branch, and Religious Preference. There is no way to tell what a given service member's MOS (job) from his or her dog tags. (00:14:00)

03Outlaw

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

Suggested correction: Scorsese never mentions the dog tags. Riggs just happens to be looking at them while Scorsese is giving them the information they've already gathered about Alvarez, including the time he served from.

Bishop73

More Lethal Weapon factual errors
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Underground picture

Show generally

Factual error: "Underground" is set in 1857 Georgia, yet the padded baseball glove August Pullman gives to his son is of a type used during the early 20th century. Before 1883 when padded gloves were first manufactured, gloves were either not used by baseball players or railroad brakeman's gloves were used.

Scott215

More Underground factual errors
The Good Place picture

Somewhere Else - S2-E12

Factual error: As Eleanor walks in the corridor to Chidi's office at St. John's University, there's an exit sign mounted in the ceiling above her - a North American style red Exit sign. As she is in Australia, it should either a white on green Exit sign or an international "running man" style sign, as North American style signs were never legal in Australia. (00:20:55)

Douglasac

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Westworld picture

Trace Decay - S1-E8

Factual error: When the armed party comes into town to steal the safe in the bar, the leader points a repeating rifle at a victim on the ground and shoots. When he fires a used cartridge flies from the gun. Repeating rifles do not eject cartridges when they are fired. Automatic weapons eject a spent cartridge when fired. Repeating rifles only eject the cartridge when the lever is wrenched. (00:32:20)

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Riverdale picture

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Graduation - S5-E3

Factual error: Archie revealed that he joined the Army to avoid repeating his senior year and was shipping to Basic Combat Training the following morning. Before leaving he would need to wait for his background and medical checks to be completed (including getting his dropped murder charge reviewed for suitability), which could take weeks. Also, the Army usually requires a diploma or GED to ship to basic. There were brief periods when the Army was accepting dropouts but it was not when this episode took place.

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Roots picture

Part 3 - S1-E3

Factual error: At the picnic, a woman says she is going to New York by train. It is 1828. Railway passenger service in the United States did not begin until 1830 and it would not be possible to travel from North Carolina to New York until some years after that.

Necrothesp

More Roots factual errors
Queen of the South picture

Cuarenta Minutos - S1-E2

Factual error: When they're traveling to the farm to rescue her friend, (when a drone is filming from above following the truck down the road) there is light snow on the ground. Throughout the series in different parts, when they speak they're blowing mist/fog from it being cold. It isn't cold, snowing or any fall leaves in Mexico. Nor do those things hardly ever occur in southern Texas either.

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This Is Us picture

Katie Girls - S3-E3

Factual error: Randall flies out last minute across the country to Los Angeles to be at his sister's side for her surgery. The scene where he arrives at the hospital and meets up with her husband Toby in The Waiting Room is prefaced by an exterior shot of the supposed hospital building. The sign outside the hospital indicates the name as "Sutter Health Alta Bates Summit Medical Center," which is a hospital in Berkeley - the San Francisco Bay Area - about 400 miles north of Los Angeles. (00:19:30)

Paco386

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SS-GB picture

Episode #1.3 - S1-E3

Factual error: Dunn says he's researched at the British Library. It wasn't called that until 1973. Before then it was the British Museum Library and always referred to either as that or simply as the British Museum.

Necrothesp

More SS-GB factual errors
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Doctor Thorne picture

Show generally

Factual error: The story is set in the 1850s, but when Greshambury Manor is shown at night, it is obvious that the front of the building is illuminated by electric lights.

mdwalker

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