The King of Knaves Affair - S1-E13
Factual error: Supposedly engraved on a ceremonial sword is the wrong date - 1443 - for the fall of Constantinople. That happened in 1453. (00:33:15)
The Re-Collector's Affair - S2-E6
Factual error: Posing as an art collector, Solo tells the Re-collectors that he owned a valuable painting looted 20 years ago by the Nazis during the war. Improbable at best, and oddly, they don't seem at all curious as to how the 30-something Solo might have afforded such a treasure when he'd have been 12-15 years old at the time. (00:08:45)
The King of Knaves Affair - S1-E13
Factual error: For a supposed language expert, Illya speaks very poor German. Entering the night club, he introduces himself with the line, "Ich bin Herr Strickland." That's terrible grammar. It should be, "Ich heisse Herr Strickland." (00:10:00)
Factual error: Ole and all the Thrush baddies call the missing chemical component a "catalyzer," repeating the term throughout the episode. This was a scriptwriter's error, which only David McCallum, to his credit, corrected: he had Illya say "catalyst," which is what the writer meant. "Catalyzer" isn't a word. (00:10:45)
The Round Table Affair - S2-E27
Factual error: Artie refers to Illya as "an American citizen abroad," and Illya agrees, apparently forgetting that he isn't. (He's a Russian citizen.). (00:03:00)
The Prince of Darkness Affair (1) - S4-E4
Factual error: Solo is supposedly in Iran, yet there are scores of women in the crowd wearing skimpy, sleeveless tops and mini-skirts. Even in the Shah's Westernized Iran of the 1960s, this was still a Muslim country. Women (including tourists) were not permitted to appear in public without "modestly" covering their arms and legs. (00:11:00)
Factual error: Thrush lands a rather large private jet right next to its secret lab. In the Arabian desert. In the sand. Without a runway. (00:39:20)
The Five Daughters Affair (2) - S3-E29
Factual error: Somehow, Thrush lands its big jumbo jet at the polar ice cap. In the snow. Without a runway. (00:33:05)
The Cap and Gown Affair - S3-E30
Factual error: The jailed student protestors are dancing in their cell to a jazzy tune. But they have no radio or record player - just one guy with a guitar. They seem to have conjured the accompanying saxophone, jazz clarinets and percussion section out of thin air. (00:11:00)
The Monks of St. Thomas Affair - S3-E5
Factual error: Illya leaps onto the rope in the monastery tower, causing the bell to ring. After sliding down the rope to the floor, he then identifies the tone as "B Major 7th." But the musically-literate Illya should know better. B Major 7th is a chord (B, D-sharp, F-sharp, A-sharp), not a single note. (00:41:45)
Factual error: Mark Slate's hidden spy camera sure is sophisticated. It cuts to close-ups, pans, zooms, and even edits the live picture, all by itself. (00:05:15)
The 'J' for Judas Affair - S4-E3
Factual error: Apparently, U.N.C.L.E. bullets can do 180s. Illya fires at the fleeing Thrush limo from behind, and without hitting any of its other (closed) windows, somehow puts two bullets through the car's front windshield. (00:48:20)
The Monks of St. Thomas Affair - S3-E5
Factual error: Though he's tied up at the time, Solo somehow calls Illya on the pen communicator in his pocket. This leaves us to wonder just how he managed to uncap the pen, extend the antenna and "dial" the frequency (all of which was always necessary before) without the use of his hands. (00:31:30)
The Deadly Goddess Affair - S2-E17
Factual error: Solo's communicator starts transmitting all by itself. He's bound and tied when Illya calls, but somehow the "ring tone" stops and the frequency opens, allowing Illya to hear what the bad guys are saying, all while the unanswered and untouched device is still in Solo's pocket. (00:27:55)
The Bridge of Lions Affair (2) - S2-E21
Factual error: Dr. Gritsky over-rejuvenates himself at the end and turns into a young boy - who for some inexplicable reason still has the adult doctor's mustache. (00:47:00)
Factual error: Betsy orders and picks up the rare drug for Willoby at the pharmacy, without a doctor's prescription and without identifying who it's for. Even in the 1960s, FDA laws weren't that lax. No pharmacist would have filled such an order. (00:23:20)
The Never-Never Affair - S1-E25
Factual error: Mandy reveals at the end that she's been carrying the microdot hidden inside her contact lens. Ouch. Any foreign object placed inside a contact, especially the hard glass contacts of the 60s, would cause irritation severe enough to make the lens unwearable and the eye very, very red. (00:44:15)
The Bridge of Lions Affair (2) - S2-E21
Factual error: While Solo prepares the explosive, Waverly's line to Joanna is, "If you and I are wise like Lot's wife, we'd better not look." The scriptwriter got this backwards. Lot's wife was unwise and did look, and turned into a pillar of salt. (00:41:00)
The My Friend, the Gorilla Affair - S3-E14
Factual error: When Baby the gorilla walks around, he consistently does so bipedally, like a human. While gorillas can walk that way over short distances when carrying food or when defending themselves, they more commonly move quadrapedally on their knuckles.
Answer: He must have ridden in an Eaton's store elevator while he was in Canada at some point. For some reason, this elevator reminds him of it. The show's original concept had Solo being a Canadian, so this may be a minor nod to that fact.
raywest ★