There are so many gaffes and faux pas, in theater, television and film. Sometimes they are laughable, but sometimes they’re forgivable. When there’s that much money involved you have to suspend your disbelief and just roll with it.
You might have seen a behind-the-scenes situation where they say “action” and then “cue sound,” — suddenly a lot of the extras are doing ordinary tasks but they can’t make a sound – for instance, you can see an extra acting like he’s sweeping a floor but then they’re not brushing it at all because that sound is distracting.
But the most recent episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ was probably the most egregious display of the worst gaffe in television history.
While it could be as little as a prop jumping locations between shots, it could also be as bad as a cameraperson making his or her big screen debut in the background. Ahead, the many slip-ups from your favorite television shows and films have them. It happens all the time.
There was an old urban myth with “Three Men and a Baby” where you can “see” a person hanging on the set behind a translucent backdrop. It happens all the time and the movie/television industry is a perfect scapegoat for such gossip.
However, there are some things that are unforgivable like something that happened in the last “Game of Thrones” episode when a coffee – many are assuming it was specifically a Starbucks coffee cup – was spotted in a pivotal scene.
For the record, a Starbucks cup isn’t of the time period.
But while it did seem like just a regular old paper coffee cup, it did look like it had the “Starbucks” logo on it.
This is a show that prides itself on being meticulous about being “realistic” despite being in a fantasy realm. The essence of what happened here would be the equivalent of automatic weapons in “Saving Private Ryan.”
It really is that serious.
Twitter folk didn’t let up about it either.
Here’s this one:
I honestly thought this was photoshopped, but it’s 100% real. It perfectly encapsulates how rushed this last season has been.#GameofThrones#starbuckscuppic.twitter.com/RqnBP16TCx
— Danzie (@danziereviews) May 6, 2019
And here’s where someone points out how you can perfectly see it:
my favorite show in the entire world forgot a STARBUCKS COFFEE CUP ON THE TABLE WHILE FILMING pic.twitter.com/60z3pOCfg9
— zane (@zane) May 6, 2019
This kind of thing happens all the time in lower budget stuff but not on this level with the biggest HBO television show of all time.
Frankly, it’s embarrassing.
One person noted:
Have to be honest, always saw #GameOfThrones to be more a @DeathWishCoffee kinda of place as opposed to bland old @Starbucks – but I guess what Daenerys wants in her latte & where she wants it from is what Dany gets, but really guys? https://t.co/3WUGNZS8PMpic.twitter.com/UyZV75GEuP
— Dominic Patten (@DeadlineDominic) May 6, 2019
HBO noted the backlash about this moment and apologized too with, “We’re sorry!”
The executive producer of the show, Bernie Caulfield, went on to clarify, “prop people and decorators are so, you know, so on it 1,000 percent,” and “if that’s the worst thing they’re finding, then we’re in good shape.”
Even Starbucks’ Twitter joked:
TBH we’re surprised she didn’t order a Dragon Drink.
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) May 6, 2019
It takes a lot of minds to work on a worldwide hit show like “Game of Thrones” and it’s also not surprising that people are nitpicking about silly stuff like this.
The show is built on realism but when something like this happens, it throws everything up for grabs. Although “Game of Thrones” is one of the greatest television fantasies of all time it doesn’t negate the fact that they could be this careless. That’s just ridiculous.