Starbucks in Westeros! Snickers in Space!

Eagle-eyed viewers Jenna Guillaume noticed something unusual in last night’s episode of Game of Thrones.  Specifically, what looked like a coffee cup in one of the early scenes…

Sure, it looks like a Starbucks cup from a  distance…

But upon closer scrutiny…

Yep, it still looks like a cup of coffee.  At first, I assumed this was a clever hint dropped by the producers that somehow ties into Bran Stark’s mysterious ability to travel in time (mostly backwards but who knows?).  Yet, no.  This afternoon, HBO confirmed the error:

I, of course, was outraged.  You’re making a t.v. show!  Countless individuals have watched these scenes countless times, from dailies through cuts to mixes and final deliveries.  How the hell does something like this happen???

What?  Oh.  Why, yes.  That IS a Snickers bar in the alien shuttle in Stargate: Atlantis’s “Ark”.

Truth is, this happens a lot.  Most of the time, it gets caught.  Like that afternoon we were watching the mix of Stargate: Atlantis’s Adrift.   One early scene involves the frenzied rush to get an injured Elizabeth Weir into surgery.  As it played out, Executive Producer Martin Gero suddenly yelled: “Hang on!  Was that a camera in the shot?”  We rewound, played closer attention and realized – Hell, yes, there was a camera in the shot.  In fact, more than a camera.  It was an entire camera team being wheeled out AHEAD of an unconscious Weir.  What at first appeared to be just a bunch of medial equipment actually turned out to be a huge oversight.

We were fortunate enough to catch that mistake early.  The Snickers bar, on the other hand, cost us a few thousand dollars to paint out.  Game of Thrones will, I’m sure, do the same.  Unless they blew the VFX budget on that battle with the White Walkers.

The gang at Downton Abbey, meanwhile, apparently prefer water to coffee…

So what memorable mistakes, goofs, or flubs have you spotted in your favorite movies or  t.v. shows?

Heads up!

Oops almost forgot.  Honoring a request for a Maximus Monday photo!