Revealing mistake: Magnum confronts on the beach the slimy journalist and he 'threatens' him. He then turns around to leave. Close-up on Reporter Eric Daniels and after a second you can see in the left corner of the screen a tiny bit of Magnum's maroon hawaiian shirt pop in view. He never left. (00:18:50)
Revealing mistake: When Higgins shows Magnum the article that (allegedly) manipulates his words to support the thesis that Karen was driven mad by 'Nam, the paper uses the famed recurring filler text that many Earl Hays Press papers use ("An immediate investigation is assured") that appears in dozens of movies. (00:15:50)
Revealing mistake: In the close-up of the newspaper with the headline about Karen being the suspect in the serial killings, the same 3 paragraphs are plastered randomly all over the page. (00:06:50)
Revealing mistake: In one of the many cartoonish scenes involving Rick, he gets utterly stunned by the weak silly airplane-spin like movie Borgnine performs on him and after a chirping birds sound effect is played, he - or rather, his stuntman - does a Ric Flair faceflop. The stuntman is wearing tennis shoes with clean rubber soles. After his scene with Higgins, Magnum arrives with TC and Rick in a headlock - Rick falls in that shot, and he is wearing patent dress shoes with black soles. (00:27:20 - 00:29:40)
Revealing mistake: When Magnum stops the car right by Higgins who is tending to the plants, there's a close-up of the car tyres raising a lot of dust - or not, actually; it's as if the tyres were vacuuming the dust in! The footage is played backwards. (00:28:05)
Revealing mistake: When Earl punches Rick in the jaw, he's wearing his beanie hat. He (or rather, Mr. Borgnine's stunt double) uses his foot to flip him over, and he is not wearing a hat. When he releases Magnum from the 'Detroit death grip', we're back to a beanie-wearing Ernst Borgnine. (00:32:00)
Revealing mistake: When Earl is carrying TC across his shoulders, Roger E. Mosley is replaced by his stunt double - you can even see his face, and he's also wearing a different belt - Mosley's is of a reddish brown, the stunt person's is dark chocolate. (00:26:20)
Revealing mistake: Mr. White Death intervenes to even the odds as Magnum and TC are getting beaten up. He grabs one guy right away and sends him flying against a wall - but the extra does not fancy headbutting a wall, and even if his character goes KO for the rest of the fight, it's obvious that he connects with the wall with both palms and the head stays inches away from it. (00:06:45)
Revealing mistake: In the fight at the wrestling match joint, both Magnum and TC's stunt doubles are with their faces in plain view when the beatdown begins and Magnum with his arms blocked kicks the bad guys away. (00:06:25)
Revealing mistake: At the beginning of the episode, the young tennis player hits a ball that smashes in many pieces. It does not produce the thick goopy juice that is squirted from a spot off camera in the next shot though, and the racket is entirely clean. (00:02:40)
Revealing mistake: In the fight against the chauffeur that covers the retreat of Morgan Fairchild, the face of Tom Selleck's stunt double and his thinner moustache are noticeable in several shots - in particular the beginning when they fight close to the camera, and when the bad guy bearhugs Magnum. (00:44:00)
Revealing mistake: The Simon brothers manage to make their escape and Magnum and TC get back to Robin's nest reaching Rick and Higgins. From the open door you can see a single real plant, and a matte painting to act as background. (00:34:15)
Did You See the Sun Rise? - S3-E1
Revealing mistake: Going through the database with Lieutenant Maggie Poole, Magnum spots finally Ivan's picture. This involuntary puts a rather hilarious twist to one of the most famous and dramatic endings of a TV episode, since that picture from the military intelligence database is exactly from the 'future', aka the ending of the episode; Ivan is wearing the same black suit and tie (pretty weird already with the setting) that he will wear in the ending, and is even in front of the same tree leaf by leaf. (01:13:30 - 01:34:20)
Revealing mistake: In present day, Magnum is flying with TC to the old house. Selleck and Roger Mosley are talking inside the vehicle about being there before, and TC's shirt is dark red. However in the wide shot of the landing, whoever is piloting the chopper is wearing a yellow shirt. (00:43:40)
Revealing mistake: In the flashback of the massacre in Africa experienced by the man in the opening when he stares at the moon, one of the extras is supposed to fall struck down by a rifle shot, but she is blatantly using the arms to soften the fall, and then tries to adjust flat on the ground, making it all look like she just decided to start doing push-ups on the spot. (00:03:15)
Past Tense - S3-E4
Revealing mistake: In the sequence when the three baddies are pushed down the slope, stunt doubles are used, with the black haired guy's being especially obvious. The stunt person is noticeably younger and leaner and with longer hair. (00:23:50)
Did You See the Sun Rise? - S3-E1
Revealing mistake: The actress playing Julie Barbara has short dark hair as is abundantly clear during the lengthy scenes involving her. But for the shot of the explosion, the stuntperson wears a long blonde wig. (00:41:40)
Past Tense - S3-E4
Revealing mistake: As the helicopter takes off with the prisoner, guards shoot it repeatedly. In particular in a close-up they shoot off two grills on the engine combustion fuel drain. Looking at the close-up, you can see the wires used to detonate the charges, and bits of the black paper/gaffer tape that kept the explosion rigging together, flapping now in the wind. (00:07:55)
Did You See the Sun Rise? - S3-E1
Revealing mistake: Mac suggest to drive Magnum and Julie to watch the sun rise at the Pali lookout. When Magnum collapses, his watch is at 10 minutes to 2. In April (Queen's birthday), the sun rises in Hawaii around 6, surely Mac did not plan to drive them around for 4 hours. (00:42:00)
Did You See the Sun Rise? - S3-E1
Revealing mistake: MacReynolds is summoned by his superior officer on the observation site. The officer holds his binoculars perfectly still and mostly horizontal, but in the POV shots the visual keeps shifting higher and higher following the missile's trajectory. (00:12:00)
