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5 goofs you may not have noticed in the Adam-12 episode 'The Tip'
Did you ever notice or question some of the scenes in this season four episode?
Adam-12 took place on the streets of Los Angeles, most of the time. Sometimes officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed went into sewers, homes and wherever else they needed to go to stop as much crime as possible in LA.
Mixing high-speed chases and all types of crime with television isn't the easiest thing to do. Even TV crews, producers and actors make mistakes from time to time. In a light-hearted manner, we're pointing out five mistakes or goofs you may not have noticed before in Adam-12.
As everyone knows, fictional television is fictional for a reason, and of course some storylines are a little far-fetched. However, that doesn't mean we can't poke some fun when we see a production or continuity blunder on TV!
Enjoy these five goofs in the Adam-12 episode "The Tip!"
1. How did that door get open?
In the season four episode "The Tip," Malloy and Reed investigate a tip that an armored truck might be robbed. When the driver and passenger of the armored truck get out and go into the bank to retrieve funds for the truck, the driver appears to all but close the door in the top-portion of this image. But the next time we see the truck, after a cutaway to officer Reed watching from the patrol car, the door of the truck is wide open. Perhaps the wind pushed the truck back open? A small continuity mistake, but one that makes you say, "didn't he just close that truck door?"
2. Malloy isn't fazed by tear gas
Once the armored truck drivers return to the vehicle with the money from the bank, a loud "bang" occurs and tear gas surrounds the truck. The driver and passenger yell with pain and cover their eyes as the tear gas wreaks havoc. From the police car, the officers jump into action. Malloy tells the truck driver to hide behind the police car and get out of the tear gas. He then steps right into the same tear gas, that caused the truck driver to yell out in pain and temporarily lose his vision, and is seemingly unfazed. Malloy very briefly covers his eyes, but other than that, the tear gas doesn't seem to bother him at all.
3. Where did the third crew member go?
There's a lot happening in the armored truck robbery of "The Tip" episode. Right before the tear gas bomb goes off, the truck driver and his partner return to the truck from the bank, with money bags in hand. They bang on the back of the truck, signaling to a third member of the armored truck team. After the signal, you can clearly see a hand emerge from inside the truck, confirming a third crew memeber is inside. However, we don't see the third crew member the rest of the scene, even after the tear gas is released. When Malloy and Reed help the guards of the truck after the tear gas breaks out, there's only two of them. We don't see the third member of the team at all!
4. Malloy and Reed remove a manhole cover on an open street
We know it's fictional television for a reason, but this is one of those reasons. Malloy and Reed change into S.W.A.T. uniforms and are tasked with going into the sewer to pursue the armored truck robber. First, they take the manhole cover off the sewer entrance, but they appear to do it on a non-closed street. Of course, a viewer can assume the street is closed, but we don't see any signage noting a manhole cover is being removed and for drivers to be careful, or for a road closed sign. Once inside, they close the manhole cover themselves, which leads to our next goof.
5. Malloy and Reed leave the crowbar in the street
The tandem of Malloy and Reed is a strong one, but we didn't know they were such heavy-lifters! Once they remove the manhole cover, they go into the sewer. This two-man team is operating by themselves, which begs the question, can just one person successfully close that manhole cover, from inside the sewer? Apparently so! Also, they leave the crowbar, used to open the manhole cover, above ground on the assumed busy street of LA. If there's any traffic crew aiding Malloy and Reed, a crew that might pick up that crowbar, we didn't see them on screen!
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It's good you're back Mr. Moody! Always a good commentator.
Isn't it amazing how many decades of television we watch, and continuity errors are considered significant? I think it's a wonder as many never appear which never distract us. Interesting, that often listed in the closing credits is the job position of "continuity or script supervisor." I've often thought that would be such an interesting job. To tidy up the Editor's job.
Problem is, they often don't have time or access (to continue shooting) in order to correct those mistakes which look so obvious/careless to us. They aren't. And most viewers of the day never noticed. YouTube has hundred of reels of bloopers which are now a "thing."
Continuity errors have been a part of movie making & tv since the beginning I think. Scenes are often shot out of sequence so it must be hard to keep track of how a scene is supposed to look from one day to another. One of the best examples I can think of is My Three Sons. Because of Fred MacMurray's shooting schedule they had to shoot scenes out of sequence, sometimes weeks apart. Hairstyles changed, the boys kept growing & clothes sometimes changed. It must have been a nightmare trying to keep track of all that & keep things consistent. You're right though, most viewers never notice. That's why we have the blooper reels!