Incorrect number plates in TV and Film

[Evangelion]

Rushjob said:

The one that sticks with me is the closing scene in Ice Cold in Alex, as the Military Police drive off with Anthony Quayle there is a Land Rover parked at the side of the road, about 6 or so years before they were launched.

Someone once told me there were Land Rovers in 633 Squadron, which was set in 1943. Not sure if he's correct though.

[Balmoral]

The worst offenders are the hundreds of adverts made in South Africa, there seems to be at least one or two in each ad break. You can almost picture them looking up UK numbers online, making them up on Word, printing them off on A3, cutting them out with scissors and then being blutacked onto the wrong vehicle for the age or style of plate.

[RammyMP]

crossle said:

There was a detective series on in the last couple of years where the female lead had a VW Golf with different front & rear plates. It drove my OCD crazy...

Have you watched Shetland? The main character has a Volvo V90 that sometimes is a 67 reg and is sometimes a 18 reg. It proper irritates my wife when I identify the error every episode.

[SAMIJAYNE74]

I'm watching the current channel 5 programme Maxine which is based on the 2002 murders of Holly and Jessica. The number plate on Huntleys car is J112 YR5G, Which isn't a format car registrations have ever taken. But even more laughable is in one scene there is a car parked in the distance with the number plate YR20....a car that was registered 18 years after these events took place 🤷🏼‍♀️

[vixen1700]

Been catching up on The Crown recently and there was a scene in Scotland with a Series II XJ6 with a J registration. Think the scene was set in 1972 so they must have just changed the plate rather than get the right car.

Sorry!

[ncbbmw]

SAMIJAYNE74 said:

I'm watching the current channel 5 programme Maxine which is based on the 2002 murders of Holly and Jessica. The number plate on Huntleys car is J112 YR5G, Which isn't a format car registrations have ever taken. But even more laughable is in one scene there is a car parked in the distance with the number plate YR20....a car that was registered 18 years after these events took place ???????

Somewhat ironic that they changed the plate on the Fiesta when on catch up last week I watched the C5 documentary about the tragic murders
https://www.channel5.com/show/soham-the-murder-of-...

In the footage the car and its correct registration is clearly seen, The car is no longer showing on the DVLA 'is it taxed page but does show up on the MOT history with no Test Records, I guess it was destroyed after the court case as was the house demolished.

[P5BNij]

In the 2011 film 'Killer Elite' some of the UK based cars have very odd reg' numbers, for example a Mk3 Cortina with '16LOPPE' and a Series 2 XJ6 with '994LNPS'...

https://www.imcdb.org/movie_1448755-Killer-Elite.h...

[Abyzz]

On the subject of false plates on TV programmes, I'm watching Hope Street at the moment, and noticed that while most registrations are correct, the marked police car that they regularly use has a totally false reg. KPD 7543 or something.
Now whilst I know they use made up plates for tv work, this particular car is being filmed being used on the road, in public places. My question is, how is this legal? Do they just turn a blind eye or what?

[Doofus]

SAMIJAYNE74 said:

I'm watching the current channel 5 programme Maxine which is based on the 2002 murders of Holly and Jessica. The number plate on Huntleys car is J112 YR5G, Which isn't a format car registrations have ever taken. But even more laughable is in one scene there is a car parked in the distance with the number plate YR20....a car that was registered 18 years after these events took place ???????

The car in the background is a Mercedes W203 which were only built until 2007.

[foxbody-87]

Doofus said:

SAMIJAYNE74 said:

I'm watching the current channel 5 programme Maxine which is based on the 2002 murders of Holly and Jessica. The number plate on Huntleys car is J112 YR5G, Which isn't a format car registrations have ever taken. But even more laughable is in one scene there is a car parked in the distance with the number plate YR20....a car that was registered 18 years after these events took place ???????

The car in the background is a Mercedes W203 which were only built until 2007.

I noticed the Fiesta Reg. too and told my wife about it, she was pretty unimpressed but I thought it was a good spot.

I always look out for modern electrical equipment (LED lights, modern consumer units etc) when I’m watching things set in the 80s/90s, it somewhat spoils the illusion but I can’t not do it!

[Defcon5]

Agree on the led lights - did they have torches in the 80s with 1000 lumen pure white light?

Surely it was all yellowish glow like having a handful of candles

[Jon556]

Doofus said:

SAMIJAYNE74 said:

I'm watching the current channel 5 programme Maxine which is based on the 2002 murders of Holly and Jessica. The number plate on Huntleys car is J112 YR5G, Which isn't a format car registrations have ever taken. But even more laughable is in one scene there is a car parked in the distance with the number plate YR20....a car that was registered 18 years after these events took place ???????

The car in the background is a Mercedes W203 which were only built until 2007.

Definitely not a W203. It’s either an W211 E or W220 S, I think it’s an E based on colour and shape.

[Doofus]

Jon556 said:

Definitely not a W203. It’s either an W211 E or W220 S, I think it’s an E based on colour and shape.

I knew it was an E as soon as I posted it.

It's not a 2020 car, either way.

[KillerHERTZ]

What about the sliver B class on the driveway in the same shot? - 2005-11

[disad-vantage-d]

SAMIJAYNE74 said:

I'm watching the current channel 5 programme Maxine which is based on the 2002 murders of Holly and Jessica. The number plate on Huntleys car is J112 YR5G, Which isn't a format car registrations have ever taken. But even more laughable is in one scene there is a car parked in the distance with the number plate YR20....a car that was registered 18 years after these events took place ???????

When I saw this thread title I looked to see if this was mentioned as I spotted it too. How could such a glaringly obvious error be made? I appreciate that VRMs on vehicles in dramas must be non-registered, but to have the completely wrong format!

[LARK F1 GTR]

Watching a Christmas 'Not Going Out' over the weekend where Lucy gets her bag stolen in the department store, she gives the getaway car's reg as CE88 YKH

[joropug]

I am currently watching Blue Lights on BBC.

I spotted it straight away and then it twigged I saw it in the news too:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1191058...

Throughout regardless of what car they are driving, the interior shots are always in a Skoda. An A3 hatch becomes an Octavia estate, Insigina VXR estate becomes the same Octavia estate. The steering wheel badge is clearly on show.

In one driving scene the Octavia steering wheel is perfectly upside down the whole time too.

Non car people might not spot this but why so lazy??? Seems like absolute basics of continuity/ tv production.



Also just started watching Rabbit Hole on Paramount (amazing so far!). Did annoy me when I spotted the speedo at 0mph during an interior shot whilst in motion.

[Elderly]

Back in the days when you would have to write to the Radio Times to comment, I was working in the UK on a scene that was supposed to be somewhere in North Africa.

I had to attach number plates with characters printed in Arabic script onto a Citroen Fourgon van ……

……. I managed to stick them on upside down .

[RammyMP]

joropug said:

I am currently watching Blue Lights on BBC.

I spotted it straight away and then it twigged I saw it in the news too:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1191058...

Throughout regardless of what car they are driving, the interior shots are always in a Skoda. An A3 hatch becomes an Octavia estate, Insigina VXR estate becomes the same Octavia estate. The steering wheel badge is clearly on show.

In one driving scene the Octavia steering wheel is perfectly upside down the whole time too.

Non car people might not spot this but why so lazy??? Seems like absolute basics of continuity/ tv production.



Also just started watching Rabbit Hole on Paramount (amazing so far!). Did annoy me when I spotted the speedo at 0mph during an interior shot whilst in motion.

I noticed that about the Octavia. I stopped pointing it out to the wife as she says I’m a boring tt!

[iansp]

Lawrence of Arabia owned 7 Brough Superior motorcycles naming them George [N]. The opening scenes of the Lawrence of Arabia film depict Lawrence’s fatal accident but the bike shown carried an incorrect registration number of UL 656 (aka George VI) and not GW 2275 (aka George VII).