Other mistake: After speaking with Dave Bowman on her TV, Betty lays her head on the table and we see an obvious cut & paste as her form shifts slightly. (01:09:35)
2010 (1984)
1 other mistake
Directed by: Peter Hyams
Starring: Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, Roy Scheider, Bob Balaban
Factual error: In the scene where the crew members are doing a simultaneous countdown in Russian and in English, the Russian crewmember skips the number four (chetiri). She goes straight from 5 (pyat) to three (tree). (01:44:14)
HAL-9000: Dr. Chandra, will I dream?
Dr. Chandra: I don't know.
Trivia: An interesting scene to watch is when Heywood Floyd is talking to his associate on the bench in front of the White House, there is a long shot when you can see a person feeding pigeons. It is none other than Arthur C. Clarke in a cameo appearance. (00:10:59)
Question: In the original film, the Discovery's onboard computer states: "I am a HAL 9000 Computer, Production Number 3. I became operational at the HAL plant in Urbana, Illinois, on the 12th of January, 1992." So, "HAL" was a manufacturer identification prefix (standing for Heuristically-programmed ALgorithmic Computers), "9000" was its model number, and "No.3" was its production lineage. In this sequel, however, Dr. Chandra is chatting with one of HAL's earth-based twin computers which has a feminine voice and is called "SAL"; but how can they arbitrarily change its manufacturer identification prefix? Being produced by the HAL plant in Urbana, Illinois, and being identical to the computer aboard the Discovery, the twin's name should have a different production number, but it should still be called "HAL," should it not?
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Answer: The most likely reason the name was changed was probably a literary one. It makes it easier for the audience to differentiate SAL from HAL, showing how they are two distinct computers playing different roles in the film. It may also just be a feminine nickname being that SAL has a female voice.
raywest ★
I thought perhaps "SAL" was a nickname, also, until I saw that the computer's maker nameplate reads "SAL 9000" (visible in close-ups of SAL's glowing eye).
Charles Austin Miller