CLASSIC SHOWS WITH CLASSIC ERRORS/GOOFS

[LKellerIII]

Love to see the changes in the police cars on Dukes Of Hazzard. "Hot Pursuit" in a Chrysler product, then and AMC Matador (What's a Matador?) crashing into a tree.

I was quoting a line from an old AMC commercial, when they introduced the Matador. Our local police had two, and they hated them! The officers did their best to blow them up, and I think they finally succeeded!

BTW AMC was in partnership with Renault for a few years before Chrysler bought the Jeep division.

I was a young active volunteer fireman back in the first run days of Emergency, a bunch of us used to sit there and watch for errors.

WKRP, I guess the poster is right, people would not have understood the concept of muting. I did work at a station that had a low level monitor so you really could not wear headphones. I still preferred them so I could kill my hearing. LOL

That's right. AMC dealers sold the Renault "Le Car"...meant as competition for the Honda Civic, VW Rabbit, and so forth. But like Matadors and Pacers, nobody wanted to buy a LeCar either. Believe it or not, the subject of a Matador in a James Bond film came up before, and I think somebody replied that Matadors were sold in other countries, possibly imported by Renault.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

The one thing AMC did right is convince a lot of police departments to buy fleets of Matadors as police cruisers. LAPD used them in the 70s for a couple of years, so it wasn't unusual to see them in TV shows and movies.

I remember seeing them on "Adam-12"...Not sure if Reed and Malloy ever drove one, though.

 

[Ultimajock]

From a baby-boomer car nerd: American Motors made Ramblers, which were good cars, but homely and frumpy. They had a bad public image as the kind of car only your Grandma would drive.

So in the early 70s, the company re-branded as "AMC" and came out with a line of poorly designed cars including the Matador, Hornet, Gremlin (Hornet with the trunk chopped off), and most notably - the Pacer, which became a laughing-stock as soon as it came out. Wayne and Garth drive a Pacer in Wayne's World. The problem was - pretty much NOBODY wanted to buy these cars, not even your Grandma.

...considering that my uncle worked for American Motors from the '50s until just months before the Chrysler buyout (great timing!), and a 1973 AMC Matador was the last brand new car my father ever bought, I can safely say somebodies did want to buy the things. (Oh, and you left out the largest car in the AMC line, the Ambassador.) In fact, I have an interesting memory about the Matador -- the day my dad took delivery of the thing, he went straight from the dealer to pick me up at school, and as I turned on the radio, I tuned it to WIND Chicago, Westinghouse's station there at the time -- and five seconds later they broke into a record with the bulletin that Spiro Agnew had just submitted his resignation to Richard Nixon...

...I spent some of my teenage years in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where the main AMC factories were. During that period, there was a pizza restaurant, Pizza Tech, that delivered their pies in florescent green Gremlins. Dug the use of the cars, but the pizzas themselves really couldn't compare to Valeo's Pizza Kitchen ;D ...

 

[firepoint525]

So in the early 70s, the company re-branded as "AMC" and came out with a line of poorly designed cars including the Matador, Hornet, Gremlin (Hornet with the trunk chopped off), and most notably - the Pacer, which became a laughing-stock as soon as it came out. Wayne and Garth drive a Pacer in Wayne's World. The problem was - pretty much NOBODY wanted to buy these cars, not even your Grandma.

Even the names of those cars were bad!

 

[firepoint525]

The one thing I do remember from WKRP is that the jocks didn't wear headphones as a rule. Except that one time where Les was listening to the Del's Stereo and Sound "hold up" remote, and the Big Guy came in and turned up the headphone volume so loud that Les screamed in pain...

WKRP, I guess the poster is right, people would not have understood the concept of muting. I did work at a station that had a low level monitor so you really could not wear headphones. I still preferred them so I could kill my hearing. LOL

The PD at the very first station that I ever worked for (post-college) also didn't use a headset. That should have told me right there that that station was a joke! :

 

[Jefferson]

Wonder Years - Bob Seger's 1978 "We've Got Tonight" plays in the 1960's

American Dreams - the contemporary song "I Can't Remember" by the Thorns is heard on a radio in the 60's

I dunno...playing contemporary songs for shows with vintage settings doesn't sound as off-beat as during a second season Mad Men episode where they played The Decemberists' "The Infanta" during an opening montage sequence. Of course, since the group does invoke a sorta timeless quality to their music, the song was actually appropriate to the theme of the visuals. Oh well, I guess you have to see it to understand what I'm talking about here...

 

[LKellerIII]

Wonder Years - Bob Seger's 1978 "We've Got Tonight" plays in the 1960's

American Dreams - the contemporary song "I Can't Remember" by the Thorns is heard on a radio in the 60's

I dunno...playing contemporary songs for shows with vintage settings doesn't sound as off-beat as during a second season Mad Men episode where they played The Decemberists' "The Infanta" during an opening montage sequence. Of course, since the group does invoke a sorta timeless quality to their music, the song was actually appropriate to the theme of the visuals. Oh well, I guess you have to see it to understand what I'm talking about here...

I don't think its necessarily wrong to play a piece of music that's more recent than the time-period in the film, as long as it's part of the sound track and evokes whatever mood the director is going for. It's only wrong if it's part of the action within a scene - like the Bob Seger song 71Dude mentions above. That's like seeing a car that's too new, or fashions that didn't exist then.

American Graffiti - set in 1962 - is full of these mistakes. The scene with Wolfman Jack includes one of the actual XERB radio jingles that samples Grazin in the Grass by Friends of Distinction ("Can you dig it, baby..."), which wasn't released until 1969. The junk yard scene shows crushed cars that weren't even new yet when the film takes place. In the night cruising scenes you see the tail-lights of 70s era cars. The film was produced in 1973.

Of course, the film's Director (George Lucas) can at least be forgiven for the junk yard scene - this was before Star Wars - he was young and unproven, and probably didn't have the budget to build a fake time-appropriate junkyard, and had to film at a contemporary 70s junkyard.

 

[azumanga]

There was a 70's James Bond movie (The Man with the Golden Gun?) that had an AMC Matador in a chase scene somewhere in Asia. How possible is that in real life?

Just as much a goof is the fact that AMC actually had no dealerships in Thailand, even though the film featured an AMC dealer there where James stolen a Matador to go in hot pursuit. Apparently, AMC provided the vehicles used in the chase and received some advertising compensation out of it.

 

[azumanga]

American Graffiti - set in 1962 - is full of these mistakes. The scene with Wolfman Jack includes one of the actual XERB radio jingles that samples Grazin in the Grass by Friends of Distinction ("Can you dig it, baby..."), which wasn't released until 1969.

Furthermore, the film featured the Wolfman spinning disks live from XERB's studio outside of Modesto, where the film was based -- in reality: (1) XERB was a border blaster based in Tijuana, (2) Wolfie did DJ (as well as operate) XERB -- but from Los Angeles, and not until 1966 at the earliest, (3) at the time, Wolfie was still in Shreveport; it was not until 1963 when Wolfie began broadcasting on a Mexican station: XERF near Del Rio, Texas, and (4) Wolfie pre-recorded all his programming for XERF and XERB, with the tapes then shipped from Shreveport or Los Angeles to the stations for broadcast.

Wolfman's book, "Have Mercy" (released shortly before his death) tells the story of his border radio experiences -- of course, no one in their right mind would venture to XERF's transmitter in Mexico, where it was on deserted land and subject to gunfights.

 

[LKellerIII]

American Graffiti - set in 1962 - is full of these mistakes. The scene with Wolfman Jack includes one of the actual XERB radio jingles that samples Grazin in the Grass by Friends of Distinction ("Can you dig it, baby..."), which wasn't released until 1969.

Furthermore, the film featured the Wolfman spinning disks live from XERB's studio outside of Modesto, where the film was based -- in reality: (1) XERB was a border blaster based in Tijuana, (2) Wolfie did DJ (as well as operate) XERB -- but from Los Angeles, and not until 1966 at the earliest, (3) at the time, Wolfie was still in Shreveport; it was not until 1963 when Wolfie began broadcasting on a Mexican station: XERF near Del Rio, Texas, and (4) Wolfie pre-recorded all his programming for XERF and XERB, with the tapes then shipped from Shreveport or Los Angeles to the stations for broadcast.

Wolfman's book, "Have Mercy" (released shortly before his death) tells the story of his border radio experiences -- of course, no one in their right mind would venture to XERF's transmitter in Mexico, where it was on deserted land and subject to gunfights.

Well, yeah - but unless they are documentaries, films are fiction, so they have creative license to move XERB to Modesto if they want...though having grown up in Los Angeles, it did seem odd. I remember XERB had a small office in a tiny dumpy building on Sunset Boulevard in the mid and late 60s. My father worked in the same block.

To me that's different than having a song or car included in the plot of the film that's inconsistent with the time period

 

[firepoint525]

There was an episode of American Dreams in which Joss Stone appeared, not as herself, but merely as some unidentified singer at a club. Sam described her as "looking like Twiggy, but sounding like Aretha Franklin." That is as close to an identity as she ever received in that episode. She sang a song that was at that time (2004 or so) one of her current hits. I remember hearing it on my local AAA station back about that time. To me, despite the fact that she sang (in a 1965 setting) a song that wouldn't be released for another 39 years, that was okay, because they didn't go into specifics about who she was or anything like that. As I said above, her character was never named in that episode. But it was a great promotional tool for Joss Stone to be able to plug her then-current tune on national TV. I'm not sure if a soundtrack for American Dreams was ever produced, but that song would be perfect for inclusion on a soundtrack album.

 

[LKellerIII]

There was an episode of American Dreams in which Joss Stone appeared, not as herself, but merely as some unidentified singer at a club. Sam described her as "looking like Twiggy, but sounding like Aretha Franklin." That is as close to an identity as she ever received in that episode. She sang a song that was at that time (2004 or so) one of her current hits. I remember hearing it on my local AAA station back about that time. To me, despite the fact that she sang (in a 1965 setting) a song that wouldn't be released for another 39 years, that was okay, because they didn't go into specifics about who she was or anything like that. As I said above, her character was never named in that episode. But it was a great promotional tool for Joss Stone to be able to plug her then-current tune on national TV. I'm not sure if a soundtrack for American Dreams was ever produced, but that song would be perfect for inclusion on a soundtrack album.

Nothing wrong with that, except the "looking like Twiggy" part. For those who don't remember, Twiggy was a popular model in the mid 60s who looked like a stick with a head and feet...hence her name. Joss Stone hardly fits that description.

 

[visaman]

Of course, the film's Director (George Lucas) can at least be forgiven for the junk yard scene - this was before Star Wars - he was young and unproven, and probably didn't have the budget to build a fake time-appropriate junkyard, and had to film at a contemporary 70s junkyard.

If I remember my trivia correctly Graffiti was filmed over one night, at least the driving scenes were. No time for retakes or FX.

 

[flashback]

its movies not tv but in the texas chainsaw massacre remake and the texas chainsaw the beginning each movie had a song that was not out till the year after the story takes place.

 

[firepoint525]

There was an episode of American Dreams in which Joss Stone appeared, not as herself, but merely as some unidentified singer at a club. Sam described her as "looking like Twiggy, but sounding like Aretha Franklin." That is as close to an identity as she ever received in that episode. She sang a song that was at that time (2004 or so) one of her current hits. I remember hearing it on my local AAA station back about that time. To me, despite the fact that she sang (in a 1965 setting) a song that wouldn't be released for another 39 years, that was okay, because they didn't go into specifics about who she was or anything like that. As I said above, her character was never named in that episode. But it was a great promotional tool for Joss Stone to be able to plug her then-current tune on national TV. I'm not sure if a soundtrack for American Dreams was ever produced, but that song would be perfect for inclusion on a soundtrack album.

Nothing wrong with that, except the "looking like Twiggy" part. For those who don't remember, Twiggy was a popular model in the mid 60s who looked like a stick with a head and feet...hence her name. Joss Stone hardly fits that description.

It's also worth noting that in 1965, Aretha Franklin still hadn't "broken through" just yet. She was still languishing as a virtual unknown on Columbia, and was still a couple of years away from her "big break" on Atlantic. Of course, American Dreams never made it to the "summer of love." It was 1966 on the show when it was cancelled in 2005.

 

[Ultimajock]

There was an episode of American Dreams in which Joss Stone appeared, not as herself, but merely as some unidentified singer at a club. Sam described her as "looking like Twiggy, but sounding like Aretha Franklin." That is as close to an identity as she ever received in that episode. She sang a song that was at that time (2004 or so) one of her current hits. I remember hearing it on my local AAA station back about that time. To me, despite the fact that she sang (in a 1965 setting) a song that wouldn't be released for another 39 years, that was okay, because they didn't go into specifics about who she was or anything like that. As I said above, her character was never named in that episode. But it was a great promotional tool for Joss Stone to be able to plug her then-current tune on national TV. I'm not sure if a soundtrack for American Dreams was ever produced, but that song would be perfect for inclusion on a soundtrack album.

Nothing wrong with that, except the "looking like Twiggy" part. For those who don't remember, Twiggy was a popular model in the mid 60s who looked like a stick with a head and feet...hence her name. Joss Stone hardly fits that description.

...perhaps "looking like Lulu" would be a better description? ;D ...

...as for other movie discrepancies, there's the scene in The Hollywood Knights, set on Halloween Night 1965, when somebody plugs a tape cartridge into a car player and it starts playing "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & The Papas. Problem is, that single wasn't released until November 1965, and Dunhill Records wouldn't have gotten it onto a 4-track or 8-track until '66 at the earliest. Then there's Good Morning, Vietnam, set earlier in '65, and its effective but anachronistic sequence of war atrocities perpetrated against a soundtrack of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." That song wasn't written until 1967, and Satchmo's record of it wasn't released until New Years' Day 1968...

 

[LKellerIII]

In the goofs-with-cars category, I remember an Anthony Quinn film set in World War II that used a 1955 Chevrolet as an army staff car. That was a particularly bad choice because the 55 Chevy was an iconic post-war car, prized by hot-rodders and collectors - and it didn't look anything like any pre WW2 era car (cars weren't manufactured during the war).

Car styling started to change in 1949 - if they had used any car made in 48 or before, the mistake wouldn't have been as glaring.

 

[ChuckTiller]

The Pontiac which James Garner drove in "The Rockford Files," was two different models. One had double headlights on each fender, while the other had a single headlight on each fender. In a chase scene, Rockford would be chasing or running from someone in a Pontiac with the single headlight and 'round a corner, you would see the double headlights. Of course, I didn't care because it was one of my favorite shows.

 

[LKellerIII]

The Pontiac which James Garner drove in "The Rockford Files," was two different models. One had double headlights on each fender, while the other had a single headlight on each fender. In a chase scene, Rockford would be chasing or running from someone in a Pontiac with the single headlight and 'round a corner, you would see the double headlights. Of course, I didn't care because it was one of my favorite shows.

They probably used stock footage from earlier years, when Garner was driving an older model. I recently rented a Route 66 DVD to see if the show held up after all these years. It didn't - seemed very melodramatic compared to modern TV dramas.

If you remember, Tod and Buz (and later Linc) drove a Corvette. Despite their being poor and surviving only on odd jobs in the towns they visited, they somehow managed to get a new model every year. The reason is obvious - Chevrolet furnished the car, and wanted to show off each year's Vette as it came out.

In 1962, Chevy changed the tail-light styling - instead of the single vertical tail-lights up on the fenders, they changed to 4 round tail-lights down on the trunk. Corvette still retains that styling to this day - almost 50 years later.

In the shows filmed in 62 and after, you'd see a lot of stock footage of the earlier model Vettes.

Same thing with Stone & Keller's unmarked gold LTD in Streets of San Francisco.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

If you remember, Tod and Buz (and later Linc) drove a Corvette. Despite their being poor

I thought Buz had a lot of money.