Anachronisms in TV shows and movies you can't stand

You know, a TV show/movie is supposed to take place in such and such time and place, but something you notice takes you out of it and ruins your enjoyment of said TV show/movie.

I remember an episode of The Wonder Years,a show that takes place in the late sixties/early seventies, having baseball cards from the late eighties as props. It annoyed me to no end when I saw that episode, since I was a baseball card collector at the time. Sort of like how I heard That '70s Show using the new Hasbro SW figures as props to represent the original Kenner versions.

This one is not so much a anachronism, but a nitpick: In The Wedding Singer, which takes place in May, 1985, there's a scene where some kids are dressed up as Freddy Krueger. Even though A Nightmare On Elm Street was released in late '84, kids never really dressed up as Freddy, and he didn't become a pop culture icon, until at least '86-'87, at least by my reckoning.

 

2001 had an A.I.

WHERE THE HELL IS HAL?

 

In an episode of That 70's Show (in 1977), Eric mentions Boba Fett.


Really irked me.

 

The other examples really aren't anachronisms - just examples of bad research in a period show, or predictions of the future that didn't pan out.

Here's one that will always bug me: Star Trek: The Next Generation - they had a freaking therapist sitting at the Captain's side, offering deep analyses such as, "He is very angry!" and "He's lying!" I guess people in the 80's assumed that therapists would play important roles in decision-making. But still, can you imagine a therapist sitting in on a military operation? Ridiculous.

 

What about the circa-2003 dell computer monitors used in V for Vendetta (which takes place in like 2030)? That was definitely an AAARRRRRGGGHHHH moment for me. What, they can't get props to brush up the computer screens with some silver paint to make it look more futuristic?

 

When the characters of that 70s show went to Canada in an episode and got pulled over by a mountie played by Joe Flaherty who stood lecturing the kids in front of a map that clearly had Nunavut marked out on it.

 

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Couple of things. The difference between 1987 and 2008 is a LOT smaller than the difference between 1987 and 2363 (when STTNG is set), so to state that something has not changed in 21 years does not mean they won't in just under 400 years

And secondly, Picard quite clearly states that "Starfleet is not a military organisation"

 

Sort of like how I heard That '70s Show using the new Hasbro SW figures as props to represent the original Kenner versions.


Oh, I remember the first time they mentioned Star Wars (when the guys went to see it). Now the ep. before, or at least in the same season, had the gang go see Pres. Gerald Ford at a rally or something. The main point is that Ford tripped. So either they were skipping around years, or most likely, the writers forgot that the lattest Ford could have been pres. was Jan 1977.

In The Right Stuff, they were usually showing the wrong rockets going up.

 

Boba Fett was IN A New Hope.... he was in the scene with Jabba the Hutt. Duh.

 

He was probably in the comics too.

 

He was in the Holiday Special, so it it was 1978...

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

After spending four months living in France, I've decided that the wrong plugs are a minor pet peeve of mine. I know that it's difficult (if not impossible) to get European wirings for US movies/tv shows, but it still annoys me a little.

 

Boy Meets World had some ridiculous ones.

 

There's this GEICO commercial where this guy in the Old West used GEICO to save a bunch of money on his car insurance. They show him using a computer and everything. They didn't have computers back in the Old West.

 

I was going to ask to explain that one, but I looked it up for myself.

Oh my.....

That's just awful.

 

They obviously downloaded a workprint of Star Wars via bit torrent.

 

I also am peeved at the Tudors, where one of Henry's sisters marries the king of Portugal. None of his sisters married the king of Portugal. Also, everyone has straight teeth in the show.