The Big Bang Theory (2007)

63 continuity mistakes in season 1 - chronological order

★★★★☆

(13 votes)

Starring: Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Melissa Rauch, Simon Helberg, Jim Parsons, Kunal Nayyar

Genres: Comedy

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Season 1 generally

Continuity mistake: In "The Luminous Fish Effect" (S1E04) Sheldon tells Penny he weighs 140 pounds. In "The Porkchop Indeterminacy" (S1E16), he tells his sister he weighs 165. 25lbs difference would be a noticeable change, but he looks the same.

MFWills

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Lying to Penny but not to his sister, not inconsistent with the characters and his relationships.

LordKelvin

There's been several episodes showing Sheldon is not a good liar.

Bishop73

Yes and no. If you consider S1 E7 I think it is where he creates a very elaborate situation to avoid telling Penny she's a terrible singer. That takes a good amount skill to establish all that. But as you say, there are episodes where he can't.

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Sheldon is talking about the particle going through both slits, he has his hand on his bag strap. Camera cuts to Leonard opening the door and his hands have moved off the strap. (00:00:15)

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: Leonard walks into the doctors at the start and has a piece of paper in just his right hand. Camera cuts to a long shot and now he is holding the paper with both hands. (00:00:25)

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Leonard and Sheldon are sitting in the sperm bank waiting area, the position of Sheldon's bag strap keeps changing. (00:01:20)

Hamster ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Penny sits in Sheldon's seat, the cushion on the other side of the couch rotates itself; evident by the buttons sewn on it. (00:08:10)

Hamster ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Leonard shouts "Sheldon, sit!" his hand rests on the arm of his chair, then it is off, and then back on the arm again. (00:08:10)

Hamster ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: During the scene where Penny, Sheldon and Leonard eat takeaway and converse, the blue throw hanging over the couch behind Penny continually changes from neat and uncreased, to messy and creased up. (00:08:40)

Hamster ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Sheldon is told to sit he does so with his legs crossed. Camera changes and they aren't. (00:08:50)

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Leonard, Sheldon and Penny start to eat, the containers are on the table still sealed. Camera cuts and now Sheldon has one in his hands opened with a fork in it. (00:08:50)

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When eating at the start, the position of Sheldon's container keeps swapping in his hands. (00:09:00)

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Sheldon goes on his rant about star signs, Penny has her hair tucked behind her ear. Camera changes and it isn't. (00:09:50)

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Sheldon sits in his spot his hand and one leg are on his knee. Camera cuts and they are both down. (00:11:50)

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: After Penny gets in the shower and throws her towel to the floor, the towel changes position in the next shot, as well as her boots and clothes on the counter as well. (00:15:50)

Hamster ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Penny is in the shower, there is a red comb on the cistern of the toilet. In the next shot, it has moved without anyone touching it. (00:15:50)

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Leonard, Sheldon, Penny, Koothrappali, and Wolowitz are driving at the end to get some dinner, the cars outside are constantly changing drastically.

Ssiscool ★

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Penny, Sheldon and Leonard are sitting on the sofa Penny's hair moves from in front of her ears, to behind her ears to only behind one ear for the whole scene.

The Big Bran Hypothesis - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: When Leonard and Sheldon are pushing the box up the stairs, the position of the box on the stairs changes instantly. In one shot it is flush against the wall, then in the centre of the stairs. (00:05:20)

Ssiscool ★

The Big Bran Hypothesis - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: When shifting the box along the floor of the 3rd floor landing, Leonard's grips on the box is constantly changing. (00:06:00)

Ssiscool ★

The Big Bran Hypothesis - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: When Sheldon is cleaning, he moves an iPod dock and the iPod lights up. Camera changes and the iPod is unlit. A few shots later it's lit again. (00:09:00)

Ssiscool ★

The Big Bran Hypothesis - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: When cleaning Penny's apartment, Sheldon is holding up a jacket. Camera cuts and he is no longer holding the jacket up. (00:09:50)

Ssiscool ★

More for The Big Bang Theory

Mistakes

The Pork Chop Indeterminacy - S1-E15

Character mistake: In his conversation with Missy Sheldon makes it clear that his superior intelligence is a result of a random, mutated gene. Since Missy isn't similarly intelligent she obviously isn't carrying this mutated gene (which would be a billion to one shot anyway) so her offspring wouldn't inherit it. Sheldon would know this - his offspring would carry the mutated gene for superior intelligence, Missy's would not. Anyone knowing enough about genetics to use the term 'randomly mutated gene' understands enough to know that the mutated gene would only be expressed in a direct line from the carrier - Sheldon. Also bear in mind he has a model of the DNA molecule in his living room - it is obviously an interest.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Genes can be dormant. Which allows them to skip generations. Therefor Missy's children could actually get the "mutated" gene. This is especially true since Sheldon and Missy are twins. Also, since the episode is about who out of Leonard, Howard or Raj, Sheldon would allow to "mate" with his sister, there is the added "insurance" of getting any smart genes from any of the 3 Lothario's mentioned above.

If you are going to try to argue with a geneticist about genetics, please use the correct terms. Sheldon is not referring to a recessive gene - there is no such thing as a dormant gene - he is speaking of a randomly mutated gene. Those are the words he used. If he had inherited a homozygous recessive karotype - one recessive gene from each of his parents - then somewhere in his family tree there would similarly gifted people, in which case he would use the correct term - a recessive gene. If Missy is a heterozygotic dominant karotype possessing the recessive gene for super-genius and the dominant for ordinary intelligence then mating her with Howard, Raj or Leonard would be a waste of time as their dominant genius gene would prevent the recessive super-genius gene from being expressed in the phenotype of the resulting child. The child would be highly intelligent but not on Sheldon's standards. It doesn't matter if Sheldon does not know any of this as he refers several times to a randomly mutated gene, not a recessive one. Missy does not carry the super-genius gene. The posting is correct.

Sheldon is prone to magical thinking when necessary to preserve his obsessive need to control his environment. He may have simply ignored the flaw in his reasoning, as even the most intelligent humans do when venturing outside their ares of expertise. He may be interested in the science of genetics, but his Ph.D. in physics doesn't qualify him as an expert in that field.

More mistakes in The Big Bang Theory

Quotes

The Extract Obliteration - S6-E6

Stephen Hawking: Do you like brain teasers?
Sheldon Cooper: Oh, I love brain teasers.
Stephen Hawking: What do Sheldon Cooper and a black hole have in common? They both suck. Neener, neener.

More quotes from The Big Bang Theory

Trivia

The Holographic Excitation - S6-E5

Trivia: In this episode, Sheldon and Amy are trying to decide on couples' themed Halloween costumes. Sheldon is standing in front of the dry erase board. There are 2 columns written on the board. One named "Couples I Like" and the other "Couples You Like." Under the "Couples You Like" column, one of the couples is Blossom and Joey. Blossom is the name of the television character played by Mayim Bialik in the 90s and Joey was one of her brothers.

More trivia for The Big Bang Theory

Questions

The Euclid Alternative - S2-E5

Question: Though it comes up in other episodes as well, this one is focused on Sheldon needing a ride everywhere he goes because he can't drive, not to mention his not being welcome on the bus. Of course, this story element would be nonexistent if there was a simple answer, but it does beg the question: Does Pasadena not have taxicabs?

MFWills

Chosen answer: It does. The variable cleanliness of the cab and the habit of taxi drivers to engage customers in small talk would be too much for Sheldon to handle, and not an option for him.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Sheldon DID finally use a taxi when going to the airport to see and propose to Amy in New Jersey.

More questions & answers from The Big Bang Theory

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