Goof (errors made by characters, possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Throughout the run of the series, characters are frequently shown saluting indoors and without a hat on. In the United States Navy, personnel are not supposed to salute "uncovered" (not wearing a hat) and "in the house" (indoors).
Goof (anachronisms): Although the show is set in the 1940s, the nurses and other women are seen sporting hairdos from the early 1960s.
Goof (continuity error): In the opening scene, McHale is water skiing behind PT-73. In the close ups he is holding the tow line with one hand and a drink in another. In the long shots-as he crosses the wake he is holding the towline with two hands and but in the next close up, he is back to one hand again.
Goof (continuity error): In the opening scene, McHale is water skiing behind PT-73. In the long shot there is a mountainous shoreline in the background. In the close ups, there is no shoreline - only water.
Goof (errors in geography): When 'Old Lead-bottom' is showing the bases' position on a map, he points to an area about 200 km south of Stewart Island, New Zealand which had no Japanese patrols/occupation and is hardly 'tropical'.
Goof (continuity error): Throughout the series, Joe Flynn's character was named "Captain Wallace B. Binghamton." In the pilot, the sign on his office identified him as "Captain R. F. Binghamton."
Goof (factual errors): Gruber actually would not have been entitled to a Purple Heart - the criteria require that the wound be one requiring treatment by a medical officer, and that official records of such treatment must exist.
Goof (anachronisms): In future episode "McHale's Navy" (1962) {Three Girls on an Island (#1.8)} the opening title reads, "Somewhere in the South Pacific 1943", thus establishing a time reference for this point in the series. One of the films stolen by McHale and Gruber in this episode is Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, which wasn't released until 1944.
Goof (revealing mistake): Binghamtoms' glasses don't have lenses in them.
Goof (errors made by characters, possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): McHale slams his foot down on Parker's foot to stop him from telling Binghamton about the Paradise Hotel. As Tim Conway comically grimaces with pain, Joe Flynn begins laughing and lowers his head. His laughter is audible and the camera switches over to Ernest Borgnine who salvages the scene by asking: "You're not mad, sir?"
Goof (continuity error): In the first scene of Binghamton aboard the "73", his left shirt collar is tucked under a binocular case strap in the wide shots but is untucked in the closeups.
Goof (revealing mistake): The engines have stopped working on PT 73, Tinker sticks his head up and says, "The engines are almost ready skipper," but the background shows a wake from a moving ship.
Goof (anachronisms): At one point, while attempting to distract the magazine photographer, McHale and Parker tell him that the nurses are sunbathing "in their bikinis." Although two-piece bathing suits had been around for some time, the term "bikini" wasn't used to refer to them until 1946, in conjunction with the atomic test that happened at Bikini Atoll, when the French designer of a new two-piece design suggested that it would create a burst of excitement like the bomb.
Goof (boom mic visible): After VADM Parker departs Taratupa the first time, ENS Parker meets with CAPT Binghamton in the Captain's office. When "Lead Bottom" sits down the shadow of the boom mic can be momentarily seen on the wall above his head.
Goof (factual errors): Joe Flynn and Tim Conway were added to the opening credits in season two. In the syndicated version of this episode, the opening credits are from season one. Because of this revision, the incorrect scriptwriters may have been credited.
Goof (revealing mistake): At one point in the story, Captain Binghamton (portrayed by Joe Flynn) jumps overboard, and his hat flies off his head. Flynn's stunt double has a prominent bald spot; however, Joe Flynn has a full head of hair.
Goof (revealing mistake): The outside of the bar where the fight takes place specifies that they sell "biére," whereas that should be "bière."
Goof (revealing mistake): A recurring gag in this episode is that Captain Binghamton's photograph, which is displayed on the wall in his office between photos of President Roosevelt and Gen. Douglas MacArthur, keeps falling to the ground every time Lt. Carpenter enters or exits the captain's office. If one watches the area where the captain's photo is hung, especially in the closer shots, one can see the nail that holds it being retracted and then replaced, as if pulled by a stagehand on the opposite side of the wall so that it will fall on cue.
Goof (plot holes): At the conclusion of the first act, Binghamton handcuffs himself to Parker, stating that they will remain that way until they reach ComFleet. At the beginning of the next act, he and Parker arrive in his office, and Parker is now wearing his uniform jacket. Parker could not have put on the uniform jacket, however, while both men were wearing handcuffs.
Goof (revealing mistake): While on the plane, a crewman opens the hatch and pokes his head out. No wind comes in, nor is there suction. When the two fall out, we see them in the air and nobody's hair, or hats are moving. When they land, their hats are still on their heads.
Goof (factual errors): The United States and the Soviet Union are portrayed as being allies in the war against Japan. In the 1943-1944 time period in which McHale's Navy is supposed to be set, this would be incorrect. The Soviet Union didn't declare war on Japan until August 8, 1945 - two days after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. World War II would end less than a month later.
Goof (miscellaneous): In the syndicated version, the end credits are for _"McHale's Navy" (1962) (Stars Over Taratupa (#2.26))_. Because of this error, Jacques Aubuchon is uncredited. In addition, Robert F. Simon and Syl Lamont, are credited despite neither actor appearing in this episode.
Goof (continuity error): Roger Whitfield (George Furth) exits Capt. Binghamton's quarters to talk to McHale and his men with his hands on his hips (even keeping them there as he walks down the steps). Then the scene switches to a tighter shot of Whitfield and McHale, and suddenly Whitfield's arms are folded across his chest.
Goof (crew or equipment visible): Near the end while Little Flower is steering the boat...Binghampton falls down from being seasick you can see the top of the fan used to blow the flag around like the boat was moving on the ocean.
Goof (continuity error): In the scene at the end after Capt. Binghamton arrives, when everyone is standing around the captured Japanese radio, in the medium shots Virgil is standing to the right of the screen (to Gruber's left) almost out of range of the cameras. Then the scene switches to a longer shot and Virgil is suddenly standing to Gruber's right, between Gruber and Happy.
Goof (audio/visual unsynchronized): The creators apparently had no more luck working with the (uncredited) little girl who plays Christy's daughter in this episode than the characters did in the story; when she's supposed to have finally said "Da-Da" at the end, her mouth doesn't move as if she were really talking. And for the rest of the episode, all of the words that she supposedly says are only heard over the radio, never shown.
Goof (continuity error): During the chase through Noumea, Capt. Binghamton (Joe Flynn) falls into a tray of cream pastries, getting the whipped cream all over his face, glasses, and uniform. But shortly thereafter he is back in the chase with no trace of any of the cream (or even a stain on his uniform), though he had no time to change nor to clean up.
Goof (continuity error): When McHale and Lt. Parker observe Gruber and the other sailors running their "shindig" from inside Capt. Binghamton's office, trees and the sky are visible through the windows that they use. But when they go outside to confront the sailors, the windows on the building are all shuttered from the outside.
Goof (factual errors): When the doctor comes in to Capt. Binghamton's hospital room, he reports that the tests show Binghamton is suffering from "high blood pressure, acute indigestion, hypertension" before Binghamton interrupts him. "Hypertension," of course, is just another term for "high blood pressure" - a redundancy that no real physician would make.
Goof (errors in geography): Early in the episode, while Capt. Binghamton is talking on the telephone with the admiral, he refers to a map as he describes the supposed location of some of the small (fictional) islands on the show. The territory depicted on the map, however, is in fact the almost continent-sized islands of New Zealand.
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