The Sweeney

The Sweeney (1975)

2 continuity mistakes in Bait - chronological order

(5 votes)

Bait - S4-E7

Continuity mistake: When the camera is looking out the window of the flat being used for surveillance, Lennie and Tolman drive past the parked Sweeney silver Ford Granada, a red Peugeot, a blue Peugeot estate, an empty space, then a white Hillman Superminx. The camera then changes to inside the car - Lennie and Tolman pass the Granada and the two Peugeots a second time but there is a brown Ford Cortina parked where the white Hillman Superminx was. Lennie and Tolman drive round the block and drive past a second time, you see the brown Cortina, but when Lennie parks the car in the empty space next to the blue Peugeot estate, the white superminx is back where the brown Ford Cortina was.

Bait - S4-E7

Continuity mistake: When Tolman and Lennie first drive past Joan's flat, the Sweeney's silver Ford Granada is parked right up against the Mini parked behind it. When they drive past a second time there is a gap between the Granada and the Mini.

In from the Cold - S3-E2

Other mistake: During the hold up when Medhurst is sprung from the police van, the breakdown truck used to pull the doors of the van reverses towards the police van twice after releasing the chains off the doors before driving away, and the camera lights are reflected in the side of the white getaway car.

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Trivia: The blue Ford Cortina squad car seen in series 1 and 2 has the reg number NHK 296M. Sometimes it is fitted with a false number DLO 97M on the front (as has been noted as a mistake). The programme makers had been supplied with two cars from Ford, this Cortina and a Consul GT. The Cortina was fitted with this false plate to make the squad look like it had more cars, and only one number plate (the white front one) was made up to keep costs down, as the Sweeney had a small budget. In the series 3 episode "Pay Off" DLO 97M is on a white Cortina, in series three the same Triumph 2000 is seen with number plates TPA 931N and UUV 931N - again it is the same car with different number plates.

eric 64

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Hit and Run - S2-E5

Question: Towards the end of this episode the squad car has to double park so Regan can use a phone box, as Regan gets out of the car a van has to drive round the squad car and the driver sounds the horn, Regan gesticulates and shouts "up yours" at the van driver. I wonder if this was scripted or was a random moment and John Thaw was ad-libbing?

eric 64

Answer: Scripted.

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