The Sweeney

The Sweeney (1975)

17 continuity mistakes in season 3 - chronological order

(5 votes)

Selected Target - S3-E1

Continuity mistake: When Kibber, Oates and Finch are riding in the Ford Zephyr after swapping cars after walking over the railway bridge, they pass the same blue and red parked van twice, and also the same rubbish skip with the same cars parked behind it twice.

Visiting Fireman - S3-E3

Continuity mistake: In the final scene, when Regan is mixing a drink while on the phone to Carter, he opens the fridge and pulls a green bottle out and puts it on the worktop. The scene cuts back to Carter, but when it cuts back to Regan the bottle has disappeared and Regan is pulling ice cubes out of an ice bucket that wasn't there before. Also another green bottle on the worktop has moved away from the wall.

Tomorrow Man - S3-E4

Continuity mistake: At the end of this episode, when one of the robbers drives off in the grey Vauxhall, Carter drives off after him in the security van. But in the following scenes, when the Sweeney are fighting with the rest of the gang, the security van is still parked where it was before Carter drove off in it.

May - S3-E7

Continuity mistake: When the squad are following Don on the motorbike in their white Ford Cortina they turn outside a shop called "Chelsea Typewriters". In the shots taken inside the car there is a white Riley parked between the red Fiat and silver Datsun, but in exterior shots there is a space where the Riley is parked.

May - S3-E7

Continuity mistake: When the Jaguar is driving across the wasteland some accident damage to the front offside wing and rear door appears that wasn't in previous shots.

Sweet Smell of Succession - S3-E8

Continuity mistake: The first scene when Steven and Arlene are in the office you can see a major road through the windows behind them. When the camera is on them in alternate shots the vehicles seen on the road in the first shots should been seen when the angle changes but are not.

Down to You, Brother - S3-E9

Continuity mistake: When Meadows is riding in his Rolls Royce he gives his driver some money to buy a present, the Rolls is about to pass two parked cars - a yellow Daf and a blue Maxi - at the end of this scene the Rolls passes the same two parked cars a second time.

Pay Off - S3-E10

Continuity mistake: After the shootout at the quarry when the squad go back to their vehicles, some of the vehicles have changed location from where they were parked when they arrived, and the white Ford Cortina has disappeared.

Loving Arms - S3-E11

Continuity mistake: When Regan and Carter search Blakeley's garage the squad car is parked to the left of the garage entrance, after they have returned to the car the shots from inside the car show it is parked across the garage entrance.

Loving Arms - S3-E11

Continuity mistake: When the squad car pulls up outside Blakeney's garage, in the shots outside the car there is a large space between the red mini parked behind, but in the shots inside the squad car the red mini is parked directly behind.

Lady Luck - S3-E12

Continuity mistake: The man who is robbed at the bookies arrives in a mauve Jaguar that he parks outside the shop, but a few moments earlier, when the robber is crossing the road to enter the shop, he passes the same mauve Jaguar, which is already parked outside the shop.

On the Run - S3-E13

Continuity mistake: When Cook throws "Uncle" down the stairs and then out the window the actor playing "Uncle" has so obviously been replaced by a stunt double who has more hair of a darker colour than the actor.

On the Run - S3-E13

Continuity mistake: Carter arrives at the hotel to tell Regan about Cook escaping. Regan introduces his girlfriend to Carter as Pat Knightly, but later on when Regan phones the hotel to ask to speak to Miss Knightly Carter asks "is that Pat's name, 'Knightly'?"

On the Run - S3-E13

Continuity mistake: The fixture list on the inside wall of the cricket pavilion where Cook is hiding state the name of the club as Edgemere but when Regan and Carter are on surveillance in the scoring shed the name has changed to Edgebury.

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.

More mistakes in The Sweeney

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

More trivia for The Sweeney

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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