Continuity mistake: Morning after the storm, Honore Police Station. During the scene, the shadow cast on the wall by Tobi Bakare changes position (on/off the door behind Kris Marshall) multiple times. (00:40:00)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the episode, Goodman puts on the table his pie, "piping hot." JP has his bottle of fake beer between both hands, which turns into one hand at the cut when Dwayne says "Great..." (00:50:35)
Continuity mistake: At the botanical gardens, DS Florence Cassel is showing the photo of the deceased to other visitors. In close-up, she lowers the left hand with the notepad, but she has that hand up in the faraway shot that follows. (00:12:45)
Continuity mistake: The decoration in Aunt May's glass during the chat about Humphrey's Marvellous Magic Show changes position between shots. (00:19:35)
Continuity mistake: When JP picks up the passport of the victim, in close-up he holds it with his right hand at the bottom - but it's at the top at the first cut. (00:25:20)
Continuity mistake: Goodman is at the hospital, tasting the soup famously loathed by his predecessor DI Richard Poole. Florence opens the door with her right, and the case file folder in her left. Cut, and the folder is in her right, rolled. Cut again, and she's holding it straight. (00:25:50)
Continuity mistake: The white lid of Humphrey's soup changes position between shots; it sticks out from the board during certain close-ups (like when Catherine cautions the police people or Aunt May says "nuts to that"), not so in the wider angle. (00:26:00)
Continuity mistake: When Aunt Mary is writing on the whiteboard at the hospital, the word "killed" changes style between shots. (00:31:40)
Continuity mistake: Ella, when asked, says that she does not know about the money, and leans back with her left hand on the lounger - but she has her arms in her lap in the next shot. (00:32:20)
Continuity mistake: Neil Jenkins starts spilling the beans about being previously acquainted with Robert Daws' character. Right before the flashback when he meets him at the hotel, he is putting the towel around his wife's shoulders, at the edge of the frame. Several seconds later, after finishing the story, his wife is sitting on the lounger and he puts the towel around her shoulders again, this time with better framing. (00:32:30)
Continuity mistake: Neil Jenkins is sitting while his wife is swimming in the pool. She comes out; notice Jenkins' left arm and his watch; the watch faces towards Dwayne when he asks "So why did you lie to us?", towards his right when he answers. (00:33:15)
Continuity mistake: Commissioner Selwyn Patterson puts down at the end of the episode a deck of cards and the glass with his drink. He then helps Aunt Mary up, and with the table again in view, both the deck and the glass shifted to the right by a couple of tableboards. (00:44:50)
Continuity mistake: When Humphrey opens the bag, various items fall on the table including a small trophy cup, which lands perfectly vertical on its base. In the subsequent close-up of the messy table, the cup is lying down, and all the various items (look at the conch) are just scattered around differently than before. (00:45:00)
Continuity mistake: When at the end of the denouement Neil Jenkins and Freddie Hamilton are face to face, the tears that were running all the way down the face of the actor have been wiped clean, leaving just a bit below the eye. (00:45:10)
Continuity mistake: DI Goodman holds the recently sharpened knife and goes through a few smug ways to tell Dwayne the chef was left-handed. The knife faces a different direction depending on the shot's angle - towards Dwayne in Danny John-Jules' close-up, upwards when he says 'left-handed'. (00:07:30)
Continuity mistake: Classic mistake of the series (happens at least in a couple episodes per seasons); the Detective Inspector writes down names on the whiteboard, but they are written in different penmanship in close-up compared to the wider angles. In this particular case, the detail that is most telling is how Humphrey puts a little underline on some of the names, which is at very obviously different distance for the victim and the pastry chef. (00:14:00)
Continuity mistake: When Florence calls Humphrey's attention announcing that the brother of the victim has a criminal record, she's holding the pen with the cap towards herself. Cut, and the pen is pointed in the opposite direction. (00:16:30)
Continuity mistake: Florence drives into the pothole by Goodman's instructions; when he goes "Whaa!" and throws the papers in the air, the actress' hands turn around on the wheel, with the right hand at 2 o' clock - but it's nowhere to be seen in the next shot, and the left is almost at the zenith, when the wheel was turning the opposite direction. (00:17:40)
Continuity mistake: Goodman and Cassell are interviewing the pasty white brother of the victim at his hut. During the scene, the folder Humphrey holds close to his body is positioned differently (horizontal/vertical) as the two main camera angles alternate in the dialogue. When Gary puts on a shirt, the folder even switches hands, blatantly. (00:18:10)
Continuity mistake: The victim's fiancée prepares a green smoothie and answers the questions of the police about the private investigator's findings. When she points the picture on the counter, notice how in close-up there are no photos directly by DS Florence Cassell's arm, and in the other shots there are. The whole position of the pictures seems to vary at each cut. (00:20:50)
Answer: There's probably no particular reason. Sets and props on long-running TV shows often change as needed and for various reasons throughout a series run.
raywest ★