Doctor Who

Doctor Who (1963)

34 mistakes in season 12 - chronological order

(3 votes)

Robot - S12-E1

Revealing mistake: Perhaps criticizing the special effects is unfair, but the extremely obvious use of toy tanks and a rag-doll Sarah in certain scenes is one of the worst examples in the history of the show.

Robot - S12-E1

Continuity mistake: At one point in the story, the Doctor hurriedly types out a letter to leave for the Brigadier and Sarah Jane, and pins it to the TARDIS. Later when Sarah Jane reads the note, you can see it's been handwritten.

Robot - S12-E1

Plot hole: The linchpin of the plot makes no sense whatsoever. In an effort to diffuse international tension, the superpowers would allow Britain to publish the codes that would allow anyone in the world to launch their nuclear missiles? And then, after going through the drama of not one but two countdowns, it's revealed that the superpowers can just activate safety over-rides to prevent the launch. So how in Hades did the SRS have any threat whatsoever to wield over them and issue their demands?

Robot - S12-E1

Audio problem: When the Doctor chops a brick in half, you can tell that the brick is really made from balsa wood by listening to the sound it makes when it hits the ground.

Robot - S12-E1

Plot hole: The SRS has, at their command, a robot who can punch through armor plate and dig through solid rock. So why do they go to such great lengths to get the disintegrator gun - only to use it to open a safe the robot could easily have ripped open?

Robot - S12-E1

Revealing mistake: In the last part, the giant robot steps on a soldier. There are several things wrong with this scene. 1) You can see the matte halo around the robot's foot. 2) The robot does not leave a footprint. And 3), after the soldier gets squashed, his arm is visible waving over the robot's foot.

The Ark in Space - S12-E2

Continuity mistake: When the Doctor and Harry arrive in the cryogenic chamber, they walk around for some time inspecting the chamber and talking. Towards the end, they notice a green slime trail newly appeared on the floor. But the trail was visible in the very first overhead shot of the chamber.

The Ark in Space - S12-E2

Revealing mistake: As the cast move through the transom of the space station, observe the starscape through the lower windows. At certain points you can see a thin strip of light where the black curtain used for the stellar backdrop meets the studio floor.

The Ark in Space - S12-E2

Deliberate mistake: In episode three, the Doctor and Vira meet a half-changed Noah. He holds a gun on them, then drops it at Vira's feet and the door is suddenly closed. This is because the scene was originally longer and involved Noah begging Vira to kill him before the Doctor shuts the door. It was trimmed down to get it past BBC censors.

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The Sontaran Experiment - S12-E3

Continuity mistake: In Episode 2, when the Doctor calls Harry from the Control Room and Harry enters the room next to the Cryogenic Chamber, there is an oblong yellow panel next to the door. It extends from about Harry's waist line to about 200mm below the top of the door. But in Episode 3, when Noah calls Vira from the control room part way into his transformation, and everyone runs into the adjacent room, the panel is mounted differently. It now extends from about Harry's mid-torso, to the top of the door frame. (00:03:35 - 00:09:32)

Genesis of the Daleks - S12-E4

Continuity mistake: When Sarah falls from the scaffolding, a plank of wood saves her from death. Trouble is, she fell a foot from the outside of the scaffolding and most of the plank was inside the scaffolding, therefore her feet would have hit it and she could only have landed with her head pointing inwards. But when we see her, her head is pointing outwards. (00:01:25)

Daz

Genesis of the Daleks - S12-E4

Revealing mistake: During the Doctor's early conversation with the Time Lord, there is fog swirling around them. When the Doctor agrees to take on the mission, it suddenly appears very concentrated around the tip of the rocks behind them, as if generated from a source behind the rocks. Normal fog would not do this, and it's clear that dry ice was used as the fog effect (DVD commentary confirms this). (00:02:45)

Daz

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The Chase - S2-E8

Trivia: Such was the popularity of Doctor Who in Britain in the mid-1960s that even the Beatles wanted to make an appearance in the show. So a scene was written into "The Chase" to allow them to appear. The idea had been devised of including a scene on the Time and Space Visualiser depicting a Beatles fiftieth-anniversary concert in 2015, with the Fab Four dressed up as old men. John, Paul, George, and Ringo themselves were interested in the proposition, but it was vetoed by their manager, Brian Epstein. It was then thought that an appearance by the Beatles on Top of the Pops might be used instead, but no such footage was available. Fortunately, the Beatles were scheduled to perform "Ticket to Ride" at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith on April 10th, 1965, and that footage was used instead.

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Earthshock - S19-E6

Question: In Earthshock, season 19, at the end of episode 3, the Cyber Leader views his troops marching down the corridor. Each column is headed by a Cyber Leader. Is this a mistake, or is there more than one Cyber Leader allowed per army?

Answer: In 'The Five Doctors', three separate Cyberleaders are definitely used. So it's likely that Cyberleaders are like unit commanders, of which a fair-sized army might have several.

Daria Sigma

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