Episode 8 Great TV Mistakes

Hello, I'm Robert Webb.

Welcome to Great TV Mistakes.

Now, I know what you're saying - "But people in telly don't make mistakes.

"They're all perfect, like you, Rob."

Not true. Everyone makes mistakes.

You just called me Rob, for instance.

And no-one, but no-one, calls me Rob unless I give them permission. Understand?!

Don't worry. People in telly are just like you.

They mess up. A crew member appears in the back of shot, a prop changes colour,

someone commissions another series of My Family.

Mistakes get made, and that's where we come in.

We find these embarrassing errors and make a show out of them.

Some people might call that schadenfreude. I just call it funny.

Enjoy.

Hey, look, those crafty ancient Greeks are attacking Troy

after sneaking into the city in the belly of the Trojan horse.

There they are, in their rubber helmets.

But, according to this episode of Xena, they weren't alone.

It's your job to fight her first.

Oh, no, cos also stowed away in the horse's bumhole was...

This bloke! There he is, squatting on the battlements. You numpty.

Here's Sarah Michelle Gellar

walking through a creepy wood late at night.

Careful, Buffy, watch out for vampires!

Oh, my God, what's that?!

It's a monster with a huge...!

Microphone. Oh, dear, it's the boom operator.

Thunderbirds, and ignore this foreign baddie.

Damn those Welsh Iraqi pilots.

Watch Tintin,

held in the vice-like grip of this serial killer turned puppeteer.

His nails aren't normally that dirty -

he'd just finished burying another body.

So what did you do that made Dad cut you off?

OK, team, no clues.

See if you can spot the mistake in this clip from Friends.

Yeah, but it wasn't for me, it was for a friend.

Boy, did we make friends with the wrong sister!

You missed it, didn't you? Forget the pretty actors, look at the pretty cameraman.

It's amazing what you miss when you're laughing. And when you're not.

It's gourmet night at Fawlty Towers and a very funny scene featuring

a fine example of the easily missable TV mistake.

Missed it, didn't you? Here it is again.

This time, forget the action and concentrate on the BBC techie bloke

squatting behind the double doors.

A classic mistake from a classic comedy that just got funnier with age.

If only the same could be said for John Cleese.

-I mean, look at that!

-Can I help?

-Yes, go and kill yourself!

Its Charmed, the series about a bunch of friendly witches.

Or am I thinking of Loose Women?

Anyway, ignore this trespasser and instead feast your eyes on

the director sitting in the next room listening to his iPod.

You're supposed to sit behind the camera, not in front of the pointy end.

See that book? As soon as they turn the camera off, they're going to hit him with that.

Its Doctor Who from 1975, back when children everywhere

could be found hiding behind the sofa, avoiding gaffes like this.

Keep your eyes on the baddie's bottom, or rather what's under it.

I can move! Oh, dear.

That floor assistant's thinking,

"If I move my hand away slowly, no-one will see a thing."

But we did.

The maybe of Mike Delphino.

It's Desperate Housewives,

and Susan's just broken into a neighbour's house

to return a Pyrex jug, but finds time to take a moment alone with just her thoughts for company.

And that bloke crawling behind the sofa.

Yes, it's the guy who just set fire to the curtains,

whose idea of keeping out of shot is crawling across the screen on his hands and knees.

Wait for it. You're...f-f-fired!

Ha-ha! Sorry.

An emotional farewell scene in Lost as Charlie says goodbye to Hurley.

That's uncool, man.

But for once, try to keep your eyes off the unfolding drama and Hurley's boobs,

and on the cameraman clearly visible to the left of shot.

You can see his sandals, his camera and, if you really squint, his P45.

Wait!

Its 24, and everything, as always, is very, very tense.

A tense Tony is ignoring a call from a tense Nina.

Pick up.

Unbeknown to tense Nina, there's someone else in the barn with her.

And here he comes, wandering in from the right.

A cameraman.

And if you want to know how he's feeling, I'll tell you. Tense.

Clothes.

Clothes can go seriously wrong.

Just look at Lady Gaga or anyone from Germany.

If there's one department in telly that gets overlooked, it's wardrobe.

It's rare to see wardrobe taking a leading role -

except in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, of course.

Though frankly, the lion and the witch got all the best lines.

Consequently, every now and again, the wardrobe department fights back.

It's Henry VIII in a scene from rollicking royal soap The Tudors.

Here's Henry's (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived),

first wife Catherine of Aragon - looking moody, and who can blame her? -

getting a rousing reception from this crowd of 16th century peasants.

Although, for a bunch of proles, they're doing pretty well for themselves, cos...look again.

Verily, sire, that's a nice wrist watch.

He made that himself out of straw and bits of the plague.

Lovely Buffy. Not only is she sexy, fun, and good at killing vampires,

she can swap shoes in a microsecond.

See, as she attacks the vampire wearing white party pumps...

Then, alley-oop, suddenly swaps them for a pair of

black boots when required to kick him in his undead nuts.

That is my kind of woman.

Where are your jibes now?

My Mick is open to anything.

James Corden is a bit of a quick-change artist on the side.

Oh, yeah, look. One minute he's wearing his dinner jacket, and the next, he's lost it.

The jacket, not his temper. Although it's a wedding - there's always one fight.

Under normal circumstances, the last person I'd want to see frolicking

in a wet T-shirt is Hurley from Lost.

Unless, of course, he was dancing around a pole - and even then, only maybe.

Here he is teaching Charlie to fish and how to be both sopping wet...

..and dry at the same time. Maybe he's just really hot.

Hot "warm", not hot "sexy".

Unless he was dancing around a pole. Phwoar!

Hey, David Banner is rescuing a bit-part actress from a cliff.

Spin on, and sure enough, he turns into The Incredible Hulk.

And as usual, his massive green muscles completely tear the shirt from his back.

But seconds later, the shirt reappears,

then disappears, then finally reappears again,

having mounted its curious green host once more.

All right, come on, come on!

Well, there WAS a lady present. But sadly, no continuity person.

Thanks to all of our contributors for being so sloppy.

Good job it's telly and nothing more important,

like a paper round, otherwise you'd have been fired. Bye-bye!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd