Nitpicker's Guide Part One
The Pilot
Manhunt
They Eat Horses Don't They?
Pizza and Promises
Chicago Holiday
The Pilot
By Antoinette Robinson.
First time we see Diefenbaker in the light plane flying over the dam, he is a lovely white husky. The next time we see him, at the murder scene, he has magically transformed into a dark gray husky.
Just how did Fraser know that the American hunters were driving a jeep when all he found was a boot print not tire marks?
Buck Frobisher. Why wasn't he at Bob, his best friend's funeral?
Fraser gives the guy at the airport $100 but throughout the first few episodes he never has any American money with him at all. This is why he is always borrowing off Ray. And just how did the guy know where Fraser worked to return the money?
I always thought jay-walking was a criminal offence in America so how does Fraser get away with walking along the freeway into the city from the airport?
If Fraser is so polite, as we have come to know, why does he snatch the case number from the desk sergeant's hands and not even thank him for his help? Very un-Fraser.
Does Ray suffer memory loss? He calls Fraser "Benny' climbing the stairs on the way to the dentists yet later leaving the police station he asks him what his first name is.
Where is the treasured Riviera? The Mercedes is not the same.
Ray zaps the Mercedes locked with his little gadget as he and Ben make for the bar yet minutes later Diefenbaker appears at Fraser's feet. (Hey, I got the answer to this one! Listen for the car alarm going off moments after they leave the car. The guys 'watching' the car let the wolf out.)
Maria says that she has been married for five years yet the children round the table appear to be eight or nine.
Fraser asks Ray, when they are sitting in the car, where Frankie Drake's address is located. Mrs. Drake has only just told him that her husband is in Chinatown. (she wrote something down and handed it to him...I think.)
Why does Fraser kick doors in? Do they not have door handles in Canada?
It is strange that Fraser is in the hospital ward with Ray while Ray's family are waiting outside. Surely it should be Fraser who should be outside?
How did Gerrard get to Chicago so quickly? He is there in the hospital to tell Ben he will have to face a fitness hearing.
Why do they insist on using the really short stuntman to double for Paul?
I find it very hard to believe that Gerrard managed to kill Drake with one shot - his hands are very shaky.
Ben is seen wearing a cream sweater with the neckline frayed. This man is always impeccable dressed so why is he wearing a tatty sweater? (you apparently haven't been inside a real wool sweater. You don't throw it out over a few runs, snags or even a frayed neckline.)
When Fraser is looking through his dad's stuff, he finds several war medals. Bob Fraser was only 57 when he died. World War II has been over for well over 50 years. Did Bob join as a toddler? (other wars? Maybe Bob's dad?)
Ben's hair appears to be short at the back one minute, long the next. It's short when he's walking around the cabin then long when he opens the door for Ray.
Just how did Ray know where the cabin was and how did he get there? No sign of any transport. (Small community. Hitched a ride like a good American would know how to do. And Ben's cabin doesn't seem to be that far from where he was taking to Gerrard on the paved road.)
Why does Ben shout Dief over at feeding time. The wolf is deaf.
Fraser calls his team of huskies 'girls' then later 'guys'.
Ray finds a branch to throw at the thugs when there are no trees in sight.
By Ann Manwell.
What happen to Ray's sling during the sled chase scene?
Vest count. There's a black one under the blue outfit but otherwise it looks like the dreaded white one.
Manhunt
By Ann Manwell, Alison Hirst and Elaine Lucas.
Before we start, just a quick reminder that Nit-picks are not supposed to be taken too seriously!
When Buck turns up at the Consulate with two horses and asks Benny to join him, Ben does so at once without waiting to come off duty. Bad Benny!
Ben asks Buck if he needs money or a plane ticket. Exactly how is he going to pay for them?
Why is Ray carrying a pot plant when he comes back to the hospital room? Does he think it'll cheer Benny up?
Ben gets injured at night but the police guard is only put in place when Ray arrives at the hospital - by which time it is daylight. Ray also had time to hire >Rin Tin Tin.'
Picking up on this point. Buck explains to Ray that Fraser has not been moved to a proper ward yet. This indicates that the knifing happened recently. Moreover Ray comes racing down that corridor like a soul possessed; like a man, indeed who has only just heard of his best friend's injury and has come hot foot from home. And yet one of the first things Fraser says is >How's Dief?' Ray explains he has rented him >Rin Tin Tin.' So he had time to stop off, collect Dief (from where? - we last saw the wolf on the roof with Ben), rent him a movie (presumably at the Vecchio's) and then rush in to see his injured pal. Ben's question also implies that the Mountie knew Ray had Dief. He doesn't, for example say, >Where's Dief?' or >Is Dief safe?' Does he take it as given that Ray will have cared for the wolf or has he already talked to him between the rooftop and the hospital? And yet, he can't have, can he, if Ray has only just heard of his accident.
Ray buys Benny some sweets then eats them himself in the elevator. Charming friend he is!
Knowing that Buck has gone after Geiger, Fraser changes back into his uniform so that he in turn can go after Buck. Changes back into the uniform he was wearing when he was knifed, the uniform that should have blood all over it. Yet, when we next see him at the warehouse, his uniform is pristine.
Watch the warehouse scene. Ray initially goes after the blond guy with his ordinary gun. Then he stops by a control panel and removes his back-up gun. Has he run out of bullets? If so, continuity should have said so!
Vest count. Fairly constant under patterned grey shirt.
They Eat Horses Don't They?
Other episodes have established the fact that Fraser carries Canadian dollars occasionally but never American, preferring to turn big Mountie eyes at Ray to procure funds. Yet, at the supermarket he just happens to have US dollars about his person.
I know Fraser's powers of perception are extraordinary but really! From seeing the non-prescription medicine Mrs Gamez leaves behind, medicine bought at a supermarket not a pharmacy, and perhaps by overhearing her say Mario is sick, Fraser knows instantly that he should call an ambulance. (Wait! He was just smelling horse meat and they way the woman, foreign to boot is so upset, he knows she isn't just treating a tummy ache.)
Fraser decides to go to the horse Auction and tells Ray to call him if he hears anything. Call him? On what? He has no phone.
Neither Miss Cabot nor Ben wear hats for their dawn ride......uh, what about it?
Tony barges into the bathroom to brush his teeth yet Ma Vecchio clearly states that they have not eaten yet. So, Tony cleans his teeth before supper? Or is that an excuse to get into the bathroom with everyone else?
Ray believes the bad guys will storm into the meat locker and gun him and Fraser down. So9 what does he do? Expends all his ammunition on trying to shoot the lock.
Dief tackles the bad guy to the floor at the end, but how did he get out of the Riv. When Ray and Fraser left earlier, they certainly didn't leave the car door open or even a window ajar.
Pizza and Promises
By Margot Sykes and Elaine Lucas
When Ben Falls on top of Lenny's green Comet (license plate number RCW 139!), the view from inside the car shows the interior mirror is missing while the outside shots show the mirror in place.
Ray describes Ben's apartment as 221 East Racine.
When Ray and Benny abandon the Riv to search for Dief and the Comet on foot, ray leaves the Riv unlocked. Would Ray really leave his pride and joy so vulnerable? I think not.
When the boys sell the vehicle to the old lady for $100 instead of the asking price of $400, Ray demands $300 (American) from Ben. Presumably someone paid up as our heroes got the job as salesmen but I cannot believe Benny would have that much cash on him, American or otherwise.
The Comet is re-stolen with Ray in the boot (or trunk for our colonial friends!). The car stops, Ray tries to get out then reports to Benny that the car is moving again. How does Ben know that the driver hasn't got back in? he and Frannie were too far away to see. After all, they didn't see the comet go into the water, and, after he gets Ray out, Ben admits he didn't see who the thieves were.
Why did Tammy and Gary stop off at the lake anyway? Surely they needed to get their re-appropriated property back to the lot as soon as possibly.
Ray must have been feeling generous. Not only does he get in the Comet's trunk knowing that Benny is going to have to drive (gasp!) his beautiful baby Riv, but he raises no verbal objection when Frannie appears and takes over the wheel.
Chicago Holiday
By Elaine Lucas, and Lesley Skoyles.
Chicago Holiday is Nit-picker's Heaven; so much to nit-pick, so little time...
Welsh arrives on the crime scene with Esther Pearson. They are dressed up to the nines, ready for a night out. It certainly looks like a date yet how can it be when Horses established that our good Lieutenant is married?
The matchbook. I know DS pushes the boundaries of probability occasionally - but really! What are the odds of that matchbook travelling round the city and ending up back at its original location? That's just silly, Ray. And more to the point, would a crime boss like this Eddie Beets chap really and truly write his list on a matchbook??? Mob resources must have other more secure options.
For the first time ever, we see a box of tissues on the dashboard of the Rivera. Why? Neither Ray nor Fraser appear to have a cold and anyway we know Fraser carries a hanky - he uses it (in the car) in SLIR to remove his make-up. So why in this episode does a box of Kleenex suddenly materialise on the dash? Could it be (gasp!) to provide (gasp!) a convenient memory-jogger for Fraser??? Was it (gulp!) a plot contrivance!!!????
Can anyone explain the time scale of this story? All the action without exception takes place in the dark, at night and seemingly on the same night. This cannot be correct because the ball at the end takes place on the evening after the story begins yet the majority of the plot seems to take place during just one night - right up until Fraser falls asleep. When he wakes up again in the hotel room, Christina tells him they have to get moving for the ball.
Are we further to assume that Fraser got himself into such an exhausted state after just one night of frenzied activity that he crashed out so totally? Please - he's a Mountie! Strikes at the core!
Christina is handcuffed to the bar by Fraser. Some few minutes later the blonde woman helps her to escape by not only lending the girl her wig but also her clothes. So, to re-cap, Fraser - our observant Mountie - not only fails to notice his charge is gone for some considerable time, he also fails to observe her and her new buddy stripping off and changing clothes.
