AMC has had a string of hit TV shows over the years and Mad Men happened to be one of them. The series which was set in the 1960s ran for seven seasons, ending in 2015. Despite Mad Men reaching its conclusion, its popularity has remained intact over the years.
The series mostly revolves around advertising executive Don Draper and the people in both his professional and personal lives. The show won a whopping 16 Emmys throughout its run. But despite being close to perfect, it had several continuity errors. Here are some of them.
The Mystery Of The Missing Straw
In the tenth episode of Season 2, Betty is on the sofa, watching cartoons with Glen. She is drinking Coca-Cola too and there's a red straw on it. Product placement? Maybe. Gotta get the money. But there's just one big problem with the whole drinking and relaxing scene.
When Carla arrives home with the children, Betty stands up to have a conversation with them. At this point, the straw is nowhere to be seen. When the conversation ends, the straw miraculously reappears again. However, it disappears once again when Betty goes to the kitchen and grabs the phone.
Who Touched The Camera?
In the ninth episode of Season 7, celebrity photographer Pima Ryan can be seen directing the professional models on set as she is standing behind her camera. In a split second, the camera angle changes and the viewfinder which was aligned with her waist changes from a totally upright position to a flattened one.
Ryan couldn't have changed it so quickly because her hands were busy directing the models. Ryan (Mimi Rogers) was a very confident, observant and flirty character. Anyone who noticed the change in the viewfinder must have expected her to ask who did it. But no one did it. It was simply a continuity error.
The Unsettled Scarf
In the thirteenth episode of Season 3, Sterling Cooper's office manager Joan Holloway is seen talking to Don just as she is about to leave the office. At first, the corner of the scarf is tucked in her coat collar. Shortly after, without the camera cutting away from her, it appears outside her angle. But then it goes back inside.
Joan was always a decently dressed employee and the scarf's positioning is such a little detail that no one in the production team might have noticed. They can be easily forgiven for this error if it was the only one. But there's more. Much more.
The Coat Changed Colour?
In Season 4, Episode 6, Roger keeps up with his romantic gestures and buys a mink coat for Joan. There was never a doubt that Roger really loved Joan. And he always had the most memorable one-liners. Regarding the gift, he even said: "I can’t say I know my furs that well. I know my mother had a chinchilla; I was always on the verge of a romantic relationship with it.”
Originally, the mink coat appeared to be brown but when Joan finally opens the box, the mink coat's color has changed to black. This didn't necessarily put a dent on their relationship since later on, he even hired a masseuse for her and told her, “I knew I was rubbing you the wrong way, so I thought, why not have someone rub you the right way?”
How Did The Contract Get Into The Jacket?
In the seventh episode of Season 3, Sterling Cooper's Creative Director Don Draper is summoned to Bert Cooper's office to discuss Hilton's presence in the office earlier in the day as well as the importance of Don having a contract. The contract which has a blue cover is seen on the table.
The contract remains on the table as Lane and Roger continue to discuss it. However, when it's time to sign the contract, Lane pulls it from his jacket. How did it get there? This is just as fascinating as the fact that Don stole his name from a dead Korean soldier back when he was in the military. His real name was Richard Whitman.
A Stripper's Glove
In the pilot episode, Ken, Pete, Harry, and Salvatore go to a strip club to celebrate Pete’s bachelor party. The men are as active and as crazy for no reason. They tell a waitress to come around every five minutes even if there is no reason to come around. They also try hitting on some of the women.
However, in one interesting scene, a stripper can be seen taking off her glove. However, when the camera covers a wide angle of her just a half a second later, the glove is back on. How did it happen? No need to lose sleep over this. Just another continuity error.
Betty's Riding Lesson
Horses meant a lot to Betty Draper. She usually turned to them as an outlet to free herself from her unfulfilling life. In the third episode of the second season, she has a riding lesson but then an error comes along. Within a few seconds, the chin strap on her riding helmet disappears, before reappearing and then disappearing.
All this happens through a couple of consecutive shots. Obviously, the wind can make a chin strap disappear. So, this happens to be just another instance where something minor wasn't noticed during the film editing process. Later on, it was revealed that Betty was intentionally riding against the doctor's orders so that she could trigger a miscarriage.
Changing Pearls
Following Henry's advice, Betty Draper began seeing the psychologist, Dr. Edna Keener. Betty was always experimenting with outfits and during one of their sessions in Episode 5 of the third season, she is seen wearing a twin string of pearls. However, between different camera angles, the pearls keep changing.
One second, they are all lying together, the next second, they are apart and shortly after, they move underneath her dress. All by themselves? Highly unlikely. It's possible that the pearls were adjusted several times during filming. No one was just keen enough to check their location.
Alien Arm Syndrom?
In the pilot, Don Draper is gleefully lighting a cigarette. His left hand is clearly close by. However, a microsecond later the hand appears to be down again and he is shown raising it once again. Could this be a case of the Alien Arm Syndrome once witnessed in Stanley Kubrick's classic film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
In the movie, Dr. Strangelove, a nuclear arms expert has a condition that makes him unable to control his arm. It thus keeps on making nazi salutes. Of course, Don Draper doesn't have that condition but given the continuity error here, its almost as if his hand is warning him not to smoke.
Still With Arms...
In Season 4, Episode 9, Sally trips and tumbles after running down the hallway of the office. Megan happens to be there and she hugs her. Sally's right arms settle above Megan's shoulder. However, when the camera angles change, Sally's hands are seen under Megan's arms.
She's now holding on to Megan's back without ever being seen moving her hands. The hands then go above the shoulders once again before going back under. The hug is never broken, so the fact that the hands change locations.