The Saga of Muley Jones - S5-E26
Revealing mistake: The Cartwrights' second cousin shows up and sings a lot. His singing breaks glass all over town. 1/4 of the way through the episode, while at the ranch, Ben is about to serve tea or coffee while Huley is singing upstairs. As Ben goes to pour it into a cup, the pottery kettle shatters but no tea or coffee or water comes out of the pot, showing it was empty.
Other mistake: Ben and Little Joe do not see the horse belonging to Ben's brother Will, who is staying with the Cartwrights. Joe says, "I'll see if he's in his bedroom." Joe is out of the scene for only five seconds, then returns and says, "He's not there." Five seconds is not nearly enough time to go upstairs, check a bedroom and come back downstairs.
Continuity mistake: Laura Dayton is at a party at the Ponderosa but leaves and goes outside because she has a headache. Ben Cartwright's brother Will comes out and says he'll take her home via horse and buggy. It is night and the sky is dark, but when they reach Laura's house, it appears to be early evening. The sky is much lighter and the trees are casting long shadows on the ground.
The Hostage - S6-E2
Other mistake: A gang kidnaps Ben Cartwright and holds him for ransom. He is chained to a post in an abandoned mine. When the men walk around inside the mine, the sound of their footsteps make it obvious that the floor of the mine is actually plywood covered with a layer of dirt. Additionally, when Ben finishes eating stew that was brought to him and sets the container down, it makes a loud "clunk."
Thanks for Everything, Friend - S6-E4
Factual error: Adam has fallen into the river. As he is spotted by Tom Wilson from his campsite, a car is visible passing far across the valley.
Continuity mistake: The sheriff of Morris Flats suspects Adam of being a bandit and puts him in jail. The window of Adam's cell has four vertical bars, but when the "knight" comes to talk to Adam from outside the cell window, the window has five vertical bars.
Revealing mistake: Near the end of the episode, Tracy Ledbetter is carrying a double barreled shotgun, trying to get her dogs back. There is the sound effect of a shotgun blast, then video of another blast with Hoss running inside the barn. She gets inside the barn and another shot goes off inside without her reloading. How did the third shot come from the gun? It only holds two shells.
Continuity mistake: When Adam goes after Howard, he doesn't have his jacket on. When they sing "Endless Road," he is wearing his jacket again.
Continuity mistake: In The Beginning of the movie, Adam goes from wearing a black shirt to a yellow jacket after he fights the man that stopped the couple on The Wagon.
Continuity mistake: When Ben comes in the house he's carrying his coat. When he passes Adam he doesn't have it. When he goes into Hoss' room he's got it in his hand again.
Continuity mistake: When Lothario Larkin is visiting the girl he left at the altar, (Nancy I think) the scene opens, showing Lethario's carriage horse with a feed bag on. Moments later as the two are sitting together, the side of the horse is behind them and it turns its head into view, but there is no feed bag.
Visible crew/equipment: Two horses are tied to the hitching rail in front of the jail. In an interior shot, Lothario Larkin flings the jail door open and runs outside and to the right. The background is obviously a painted backdrop. It shows no horses, only the dusty street and a building on the opposite side. Larkin casts a shadow on the backdrop as he runs out.
Found Child - S7-E7
Factual error: The episode opens with Hoss discovering a wrecked wagon with three dead adults. He spots a Raggety Ann doll and realises that a child may be nearby. Raggety Ann dolls weren't invented until 1915, at least 48 years after the shows time frame.
Continuity mistake: As Hoss and Joe walk down a trail, the sound of a roaring wind is heard and dust is blowing in the foreground but all the surrounding trees are motionless.
Continuity mistake: Hoss and Joe are tracking a cougar. In the stock footage shots of the cougar, the sky is a very deep blue and clear. In the scenes showing Hoss and Joe, the sky is a very pale blue with a few wispy clouds.
Five Sundowns to Sunup - S7-E12
Other mistake: The Lassiter brothers have kidnapped a judge and a posse is searching for them. One of the men says they should quit for the day because "it's almost sundown." Judging by the shadows of the men, their horses and nearby trees, the time appears to be around 1 PM.
Ride the Wind: Part 1 - S7-E17
Factual error: "Bonanza" is set in the 1860s and the Pony Express mail service operated from 1860 to 1861. In this episode, Curtis Wade and his partner set up a Pony Express office in Virginia City and begin hiring riders. Wade tells them that the job will not be easy, adding, "I won't be giving you sweet cakes and cotton candy." Cotton candy, originally called "Fairy Floss," was invented in 1897 by William Morrison and John Wharton.
The Trouble with Jamie - S7-E25
Continuity mistake: Little Joe is pitching hay into the cattle pen. A load of hay lands on the head of a calf. In the long shot, the calf has no hay on its head. In the next close-up of Joe and the calf, the hay is back. It disappears again in the following long shot.
The Unwritten Commandment - S7-E28
Factual error: Wayne Newton sang "Scarlet Ribbons." "Scarlet Ribbons" wasn't written until 1949. The TV show Bonanza was set in the 1860s.
Continuity mistake: Near the start, the sarge orders the men to prepare to mount up, the soldiers walk over to the horses, and are ordered to mount. The soldier right behind the main characters starts to mount but has trouble and falls back down. Then they go to a wide angle shot and everyone is mounted.
