As Sam Hunter gets ready to take off in the final plane chase, he's wearing a cowboy hat (like he has all episode). In fact, even the stand-in actually flying the plane down the runway has a cowboy hat on. However, in the next close-up (and for the remainder of the chase) Hunter is suddenly wearing a blue trucker hat. (Noted by Peter MacPherson)
The episode guide mentions the above as a flub, but I think there is an argument to be made that it may not be one. He gets in the plane with his cowboy hat on.
When he is shown with the trucker hat on, he’s wearing pilot’s headphones.
Obviously, the headphones won’t fit over the brim of a cowboy hat, so it’s not a flub, he’s just changed hats so he can put on the headphones. Also, I don't think the actual stunt pilot is wearing a cowboy hat. As can be seen in this screen grab, it also looks like a blue trucker hat.
Although there is no shortage of things wrong with this terrible episode, I did find a couple things worth noting. Higgins says “Ahoy there” to a beach interloper for the second time. The first time was in No Need to Know.
Also, Higgins is shown exiting the study directly on onto the lawn on the ocean side of the house.
This is noteworthy for a couple reasons. First, there is the ongoing debate about whether they ever filmed inside the main house. For this shot, both Hillerman and Selleck would have to have been in the main house, at least briefly. Secondly, it generates lots of continuity problems regarding the house layout. We’ve seen, many many times, how Higgins study is to the right of the main house door. The room he is seen exiting in this episode is directly ahead of the main house door, on the opposite end of the colonnade that fronts the courtyard.
Further, in Basket Case, we saw that the study opened on to a brick patio with a dining area. (Note the bearded lady Picasso that can be seen though the French door.)
That patio is nowhere to be found in the shot of Higgins leaving the study in this episode, not to mention the brick siding does not match what is seen on the actual Anderson estate main house.
Here is something I
do think counts as a flub: in the plane chase at the end, Hunter refers to himself as “Six Four Charlie Lima” and the jet as “Four Four Foxtrot.” The problem is that Hunter’s actual tail number is “Six Four Charlie Echo” and
the jet’s tail number is “Six Four Charlie Lima” (at least in one shot. In another it is “Three Three Bravo Kilo”.) Very messy.
