Star Trek

Shore Leave - S1-E16

Continuity mistake: Don Juan tears Yeoman Barrows' tunic at the right shoulder. Near the end, when she changes from the fairy tale dress back into the tunic, the torn right shoulder is suddenly mended. They're cut off from the ship by the power drain, so she couldn't have beamed up for a new one. She emerges from the bushes after changing, and now her tunic is torn at the left shoulder. (00:43:25)

Jean G

Operation -- Annihilate! - S1-E30

Continuity mistake: When they put the satellites in orbit, Sulu announces they are in place. Then Kirk says "Energize" and the next shot shows the helmsman station and Sulu is absent - some guy in a red shirt is there instead. (00:45:30)

The Changeling - S2-E3

Continuity mistake: After Spock mind melds with Nomad, Kirk hustles him out into the corridor. In the shots taken from behind Kirk, the Captain's left hand is high on Spock's shoulder. In the reverse angles, his hand is several inches lower on Spock's arm. (00:35:00)

Jean G

The Paradise Syndrome - S3-E3

Factual error: When Kirk is given the medicine badge, it's a stretchy elastic/Spandex headband. This is supposedly a completely pre-industrial culture paralleling the early Native American tribes. They have no fabric, no yarn, no spinning wheels - only hides and animal hair, neither of which can stretch a la Spandex. (00:14:40)

Jean G

Devil in the Dark - S1-E26

Continuity mistake: After his initial mind meld with the horta, Spock tells Kirk, "That's all I got, Captain: waves and waves of searing pain." A minute later, he says that it's "a highly intelligent, extremely sophisticated animal" that calls itself a horta. Apparently, waves of searing pain were not all that he got after all. Unlike Spock to be so imprecise.

Jean G

Assignment: Earth - S2-E26

Continuity mistake: When Isis meows and enters the inner office, the door is open several inches and the lights inside the room are on. When Gary Seven follows her in a few moments later, the door has nearly closed itself and the lights inside are off. (00:20:25)

Jean G

Wolf in The Fold - S2-E14

Continuity mistake: In the briefing room, Hengist and the Prefect are sitting in chairs against the wall at least a foot apart, with bright overhead lighting that casts no shadows on the wall behind them. When we cut to a two-shot of them, however, they're suddenly shoulder-to-shoulder with almost no space between them, and the lighting changes to cast very dark shadows behind them. (00:28:20)

Jean G

Metamorphosis - S2-E9

Continuity mistake: The shiny gold blanket covering the dying Commissioner Hedford is tucked up to her neck in close-ups, but only reaches her upper waist in full shots. (00:36:45)

Jean G

Space Seed - S1-E23

Continuity mistake: When the landing party beams over at the beginning, the transporting officer is wearing a blue jumpsuit, but when they go to the closeup of his hands, they have a red uniform, two braid stripes, and are the standard shot they use when Scotty does the transporting. (00:05:05)

Friday's Child - S2-E11

Continuity mistake: During the coup attempt, one Capellan fights with the leader and gets stabbed. Before and after he is stabbed, the man's outfit changes entirely (look at the fur scarf, which goes from purple to orange.) His costume also changes color.

The Corbomite Maneuver - S1-E11

Continuity mistake: As Balok's 10 minutes are counting down, McCoy comes onto the bridge wearing a standard blue velour uniform. A few minutes later, when Spock says he can bring up Balok's image, McCoy is suddenly wearing his medical tunic with the different fabric and collar. Then when Bailey starts losing it, McCoy is back in the regular velour costume again.

Jean G

Spock's Brain - S3-E1

Revealing mistake: After Kirk and the crew arrive underground, he stuns Kira and removes her bracelet. After he removes it, the unconcious woman quite deliberately lays her hand flat on the ground. (00:21:15)

All Our Yesterdays - S3-E23

Character mistake: Spock tells Zarabeth he came from a world "millions of light-years away." The galaxy is only about 100,000 light-years across - the area the Federation has explored even smaller.

Spock: Live long and prosper.

More quotes from Star Trek
More trivia for Star Trek

Answer: Kirk was getting his physical and Dr. McCoy probably turned off communications, because if he hadn't, Kirk would have left and headed straight for the bridge, leaving McCoy irritated.

More questions & answers from Star Trek

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.