Grey's Anatomy, the longest-running medical drama in television history has delivered sixteen seasons and it doesn't seem like the show is slowing down. Averaging about twenty-two episodes a season, producing a show like this takes a lot of work, especially considering how many cast members and storylines there are to keep track of.
Like most television shows, this one has its fair share of continuity errors. Whether it be an overlooked storyline or plot point or something as simple as the script supervisor missing some blocking or the props department changing something mid-shot, there are plenty of goofs throughout the Emmy award-winning Shonda Rhimes show.
Izzie's Bangs
In season one, episode four, called "No Man's Land", Izzie Stevens is the focal point when pictures of her modeling lingerie are passed around the locker room and between the other interns. Izzie brushes it off, throws her hair back, puts on her scrubs and gets to work.
Early on in this season, Izzie has bangs, which seem to be difficult for hair and makeup to keep track of. In one scene, Izzie is talking to a patient, and every time the scene cuts back to Izzie, her bands are resting on a different side of her forehead.
The Pole
In one of the most memorable episodes of season two, "Into You Like a Train", there is a massive train accident, filling up Seattle Grace's emergency room and giving the surgeons a lot of patients to treat. There are two patients in particular who seem to be in the most trouble.
Two passengers on the train were impaled by the same pole during the accident. The doctors must figure out a way to get the pole out of both patients without killing either one of them. These two patients are the central focus of the episode and almost every doctor comes to examine them. Each time they are on screen, it seems the pole has shifted and the two actors are either closer together or further apart than in the previous scene.
Derek And Addison's Breakup
It's revealed in season one that Derek is not as available as he's let Meredith believe. Derek is still technically married, but left his wife, Addison, and moved to Seattle after he caught her sleeping with his best friend, Mark. When Addison shows up at Seattle Grace to win her husband back, the past is re-hashed quite a bit.
The group learns that Derek walked in on Addison with Mark and stormed out without saying a word, however, early on in season three, viewers get a flashback to when Derek catches Addison, and he does not just walk out silently. A fight ensues and Derek has plenty to say, making audiences wonder which version of events is true.
Actors And Medical Equipment
One of the challenges for any medical drama is training the actors to use all of the equipment and say all of the jargon correctly. In an episode in season four, Izzie is confronted with a strange medical scenario when she treats a deer brought to the hospital by a distraught child and his father. Izzie agrees to go to the parking lot to treat the animal, even though it goes against hospital protocol.
The scenario is already a tad unbelievable, but at one point during the treatment, Katherine Heigl, who plays Dr. Izzie Stevens, puts her stethoscope on backgrounds, making the scenario even more unbelievable because the doctor doesn't know how to use her basic equipment.
Lexie's Sign
Lexie Grey, Meredith's half-sister and a new intern at Seattle Grace, makes friends with a lot of Meredith's friends, including her best friend, George. George is a little behind the rest of his friends in the internship program when he fails is intern exams and has to retake the tests.
George passes his exams the second time around and an excited Lexie decides to decorate George's locker to celebrate. We see the sign hanging on the locker, but in the next shot the sign is gone, it reappears in the next shot right where it is supposed to be.
Crew And Medical Equipment
On any television set, there is a job called "Script Supervisor". The job of a script supervisor is to ensure that the continuity and blocking remain the same from shot to shot. They make notes on the shooting script as the rest of the team is filming so that if there are any questions later on from actors or the director in terms of props and blocking or if there's something a crew member can't remember, the script supervisor should be able to remind them.
In an episode of season five called "State of Love and Trust", there's a shot of a patient with sensors lining her forehead, the camera cuts away from the patient and when it cuts back to her, the sensors are gone, like they were never there in the first place.
Waterworks
In "That's Me Trying", an episode in season seven, Dr. Owen Hunt decides to put the team through a series of rigorous drills. Dr. Hunt was a medic in the military and wants to test the doctors at Seattle Grace to see just how tough and smart they are. One of the drills Owen puts the team through is helping a patient in extreme weather conditions.
Dr. Hunt makes it rain on the doctors outside of the hospital and they must focus despite the circumstances they're under. In one shot, Karev is soaking wet, then in the next, he's completely dry. When it cuts back to Alex, he's dry again.
Blocking
There's a lot of camera tricks that can be used in a scene where there is limited space but a lot of actors. In Grey's, one of those shooting locations is the gallery, which is a small room, overlooking an operating room, where surgeons and doctors can sit and watch the procedure taking place.
The gallery on Grey's is a frequent meetup spot for the cast and a lot of conversations take place there. In one scene in an episode of season eight called "She's Gone", Arizona is speaking with Dr. Sloan, she leaves once their conversation is done, but when the camera pans over to Teddy and Bailey, we can see Arizona is still in the room.
April's Hands
As the series progresses, more new doctors come to Seattle Grace. One of those doctors we meet and fall in love with is April Kepner, a perky doctor who always seems to bring the silver lining to every situation. April, of course, has her own struggles and relationships during her time on the show.
In one of her happier moments, April's EMT love interest, Matthew proposes to her. She says yes and the two embrace. In the initial shot, April wraps her arms around Matthew and is wearing medical gloves. In the next shot, April's gloves are gone and she's wearing the ring on her finger.
The Cast's Personal Items
With a cast this large, it can be difficult for props and wardrobe to keep track of everyone and what they are or aren't supposed to be wearing. It's not uncommon to see an unmarried character wearing a wedding ring in a scene because the actor forgot to leave their jewelry in their trailer before getting to set.
This happens in one scene in season ten, episode four. Derek is getting ready to leave the house and is putting on a tie. Derek is clearly wearing a wedding ring, but the problem is, he and Meredith never exchanged wedding rings, so he shouldn't be wearing one. In the next shot, the ring is gone.