# worst continuity error ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404 "2003-06-08T04:45:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/161 "2003-06-18T13:42:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > \*\*Oh yeah, > > R2 can fly. \*\* R2 had his memory blanked also. Perhaps whoever performed that little overhaul removed the rocket motors. Perhaps they burned out and never got repaired. Who knows? Fun with books: In Michael Moorcock’s Hawkmoon books, one character is killed twice and a clock strikes thirteen times at midnight. The biggest error comes in The Sword of the Dawn, however, when Hawkmoon and d’Averc use the dimension-travelling rings of the Warrior in Jet and Gold and captured enemy spy Elvereza Tozer to go on a mission. When they return, they find that Tozer has escaped by recovering his ring - a ring that was at the time being worn by a man 5,000 miles away in another dimension. David Gemmell also made a couple of tactical errors in his new Drenai novel, White Wolf, while drawing together continuity. In Gemmell’s first novel, Legend, someone asks the notoriously truthful Druss if he really fought the werebeast in the mountains of Pelucid and he answers that he didn’t; in White Wolf, Druss fights werebeasts in the mountains of Pelucid. Meanwhile, the Old Woman turns out to be Hewla - a character who had previously killed herself - and thinks back on how beautiful she was in her youth when she’d previously admitted to always being ugly. (He also gets the name of a minor character wrong throughout, but I’ll give him tyop on that.) ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/162 "2003-06-18T17:52:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samarm \* > \*\ ***Ocean’s Eleven SPOILER** > > There seemed to be a lot of plot holes in Ocean’s Eleven. In fact I still don’t fully understand how they got the fake cash into the vault! Good movie, but the confusing… \*\* There was REAL money in the vault. The fake money (not really money, but cut up paper) that got switched into the white van was brought in with the SWAT team. The SWAT team then loaded up the bags with the REAL money that was originally in the vault. I think they left some real money in the vault along with the rest of the cut up paper that didn`t end up in the white van. Though I`d have to see it again to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/163 "2003-06-18T18:11:33Z")
I hate to bring this up, but in the first season of my beloved Sports Night the length of the show within the show would flucuate between a half hour and an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/164 "2003-06-18T19:10:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eutychus \* > \*\*Yes there was. There was a scene when a lady goes into a store looking for a copy of the record and is told by the storekeeper that he couldn’t keep them in stock. \*\* Huh. Guess I recalled incorrectly. 🙂 Too bad, 'cause it’d be such an easy inconsistency to fix – just have the lady in the store ask if the record was out yet, and have the storekeeper reply that no, it wasn’t, but she was the thousandth person to ask in the past few days. That would still establish the song’s popularity without the logistical snafu. But then, I guess _OBWOT?_ wasn’t really meant to be taken all that seriously anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/165 "2003-06-18T19:45:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Starship Troopers: (I just saw this one, so it’s fresh in my mind). Denise Richards has been stabbed through the shoulder by one of the bugs, but a few minutes later gets up and starts firing a machine gun as they escape. As someone who recently had a Grade II shoulder separation, I can confidently state that she would have spent that escape scene screaming in agony, dragging her useless arm behind her. When I saw this trainwreck in the theater, every time Denise Richards had a line, my SO said “I’ve got a hole in my shoulder!” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/166 "2003-06-18T20:55:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > \*\*On MASH, one mid-season episode focuses on a canvas bathtub Hawkeye and BJ get mail order in the middle of a heatwave. In the end they forced to trade it by Col. Potter. The next season, Hawkeye uses the same bathtub to lower a patient’s temperature by filling it with ice. \*\* You sure that wasn’t a coffin? > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Dewey Cheatem Undhow_ > **But then, I guess OBWOT? wasn’t really meant to be taken all that seriously anyway.** Which explains all the little anachronisms. George “Babyface” Nelson getting captured in the wrong state three years after he died, the governor is based on one from Texas and uses the campaign song of a Louisiana candidate two years before it was written, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/167 "2003-06-18T21:44:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Evil Death \* > \*\*As far as Cleese goes; Desmond Llewellyn had been saying that he’d done his last Bond film on each of the three Brosnan movies. He had been coaxed out for each one because he did love doing it and they paid him befitting his iconic status for the two days work, but they knew he wouldn’t last forever and so introduced Cleese as an assistant Q was grooming to succeed him. Unfortunately, Llewellyn’s tragic accident prevented them filming the handover scene. \*\* I thought they _did_ have a handover scene in **The World Is Not Enough**. Wasn’t there a scene where Q says goodbye to 007 and rides a little elevator thing down into the floor? I remember it because it was kinda sad, seeing Q go for the last time. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Stranger\_Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Another\_Stranger\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Stranger_Me)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/168 "2003-06-18T21:52:17Z")
If we are looking for the _worst_ ever, then how good the movie it comes from should be considered. That being said, there is a glaring c.e. from one of my favorite flicks, **Braveheart**. A multi-academy award winning movie, I might add. In a scene where William Wallace is charging the British army, the camera switches between Wallace in front of the Scot army, and the British. At first he’s got his Claymore in his hand, then he’s reaching behind his head, where his sheath is, then he’s got nothing, and finally his sword. But what makes it extra special, and beyond just out-of-order editing, is for a brief shot somewhere in the middle of all that, he can clearly be seen holding an axe. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/169 "2003-06-18T23:31:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Winston Bongo \* > \*\*I thought they _did_ have a handover scene in **The World Is Not Enough**. Wasn’t there a scene where Q says goodbye to 007 and rides a little elevator thing down into the floor? I remember it because it was kinda sad, seeing Q go for the last time. ☹ \*\* He didn’t hand over the job that I recall. He introduces Cleese as his assistant and IIRC lets him do much of the explaining, but he is there. Also, Llewelyn had announced shortly before his death that he wasn’t retiring from Bond. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/170 "2003-06-18T23:42:03Z")
I saw _Romancing the Stone_ the other night on AMC, and it has a script continuity error: Kathleen Turner has just been rescued by Michael Douglas, and as they’re trekking through the jungle, Zolo and his men start shooting at them. Michael Douglas looks at her and says: MD: “Wait a minute, they’re not after me, they’re after you! Who are you?!” KT: “Well, I’m a romance novelist…” MD: “You’re a WHAT?” Then more bullets ricochet nearby, and they run and hide behind a log. Michael Douglas starts mumbling to himself as he reloads his shotgun, and says “Romance novelist my ass. Well, pay attention, b/c you’ve got a real live Jesse goin’ on right here.” Jesse is the lead character in her Romance novels. Obviously a scene in which she tells him about “Jesse” was filmed and cut - there’s no way he could know who “Jesse” was at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/171 "2003-06-19T02:52:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Jesse is the lead character in her Romance novels. Obviously a scene in which she tells him about “Jesse” was filmed and cut - there’s no way he could know who “Jesse” was at that point. This is an example of what I call Psychic Character Syndrome. It’s when someone mysteriously knows information that they shouldn’t. Like in _Volcano._ The hero’s cell phone falls into some lava and is destroyed. He takes a cell phone from a fireman to make a call. Later, someone at the command center calls him **on that cell phone.** It’s not his phone, so how did how did they know the number? Another instance of PCS is in _Jurassic Park._ Near the end, this one guy has to go outside to do something important (I forget what). The raptors kill him before he gets back. None of the other characters know that he’s dead, but they leave the island without him, not even mentioning their missing buddy. They’re either the most cold-hearted bunch of jerks on the planet, or they’re victims of PCS (having learned of the guy’s demise thru some extra-sensory means 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/172 "2003-06-19T04:25:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Near the end, this one guy has to go outside to do something important (I forget what). The raptors kill him before he gets back. None of the other characters know that he’s dead, but they leave the island without him, not even mentioning their missing buddy. Not sure who you mean, here. There’s the Australian guy that accompanies Ellie to the power station thingy, but she can be pretty sure he was eaten by the raptors after there were, you know, surrounding them completely. Then there’s Samuel L. Jackson, whose severed arm is found by Ellie in the same place. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/173 "2003-06-19T17:43:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diceman \* > **This is an example of what I call Psychic Character Syndrome. It’s when someone mysteriously knows information that they shouldn’t. Like in _Volcano._ The hero’s cell phone falls into some lava and is destroyed. He takes a cell phone from a fireman to make a call. Later, someone at the command center calls him on that cell phone. It’s not his phone, so how did how did they know the number?** I haven’t seen _Volcano_, but if his initial call was to the command center, is it too far-fetched to think the command center has caller ID? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/174 "2003-06-19T18:26:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dewey Cheatem Undhow \* > \*\*I haven’t seen _Volcano_, but if his initial call was to the command center, is it too far-fetched to think the command center has caller ID? \*\* Exactly right, **Dewey**. The first call was to the guy covering for him at the command center. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/175 "2003-06-19T22:48:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Not sure who you mean, here. He’s the guy that was about to shoot a raptor, when he saw that another raptor was about to pounce him. His last words were “Clever girl.” I don’t remember anyone being with him when he died. What bugs me is that noone mentions him again. Not even a “What happened to Whatshisname?” They all seem to know that he isn’t coming back. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/176 "2003-06-19T23:43:31Z")
There’s a couple of crackers in _The Fifth Element_. There’s a scene where the Evil Planet eats all the galaxy’s communications satellites, yet no form of communication is impaired thereafter - most notably Ruby Rhod’s radio show, which would need them for live broadcast. The other one concerns the stones. Korben gives them to Ruby Rhod in the opera house, then they go out into the main atrium where they are ambushed by Mangalores. During the gunfight neither of them has the stones. The next time we see the stones, Cornelius has them - but he had no opportunity to get them as he was either under armed guard or on camera the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/177 "2003-06-20T01:53:17Z")
> [@](#): > > He’s the guy that was about to shoot a raptor, when he saw that another raptor was about to pounce him. His last words were “Clever girl.” I don’t remember anyone being with him when he died. Ahh, okay. That’d be Muldoon, and actually, Ellie was with him right before he died. They were walking toward the power station together, when he tells her “we’re being hunted…” She says “oh my God” and he tells her to run. Granted, she never actually sees him die, but it wasn’t too much of a stretch for her to think so. You are right that they never speak of him again, though. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/178 "2003-06-20T05:19:54Z")
In MASH, Hawkeye originally has a mother and sister, later it is said his mother died while he was still young and that he was an only child. As for the Data issue in the last ST movie, since Lor was deactived by Data, it is presumable that his body (if the term is appropriate) is in the possession of Star Fleet. The crew probably knows where it is so they wouldn’t think that the new body was his. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/179 "2003-06-20T05:30:14Z")
It’s also interesting to note that Mystique, from the X-Men movies, apparently has a cell phone lodged just under her rib cage. In the first movie, the Senator guy is on a helicopter, talking on a cell phone. He hangs up and hands it to his assistant, who puts it in his jacket pocket. A few scenes later, he suddenly morphs into Mystique and the suit disappears. Where’d the phone go? ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404/180 "2003-06-20T07:05:02Z")
IIRC it was in _Jaws 87_, and Michael Caine climbs into a boat, wearing a light blue oxford shirt, and he’s dripping wet; the camera cuts away from him for a few seconds and when we see him he is now completely dry! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-continuity-error-ever/180404.md?page=10)