Past & Future Story Challenge 2014

Yes, I agree if the story is a serious one. But, out-of-period speech can be delightful in a comedy.

Just a quick question, is the deadline Saturday the 27 or Tuesday the 30th? I ask because in the original post it states (Saturday 30th September). :D

Oops it's Tuesday 30th - I deserve a spankering!

'Cleopatra' had a pretty good one: Cleo (1st century BC) resplendently entering Rome through the Arch of Constantine (4th century AD).

My vote for the worst anachronism would be the gold watch yo can see during the chariot race in Ben Hur.

Reign (a teen version of Mary Queen of Scots life before she married Francis) is rather fun to watch for spot the anachronism. At times I'm sure they're deliberately taking the piss.

Ben Hur originally had a red sports car visible during the chariot race - though I understand it's been edited out since the original release.

Hopefully they don't keep tinkering with it the way Lucas has with the original Star Wars and ruined it in the process.

There can be pretty big mistakes that aren't chronological anachronisms. I remember a popular historical novel about the English Civil War that described a big battle at Turnham Green (then right on the edge of London) in 1642. In fact, there was no battle there. The King, advancing on London to finish the war quickly, took Brentford (then a small town just outside London) but his generals were shocked at the bitter determination of the small defending force. He then moved on London but found himself at Turnham Green facing a much bigger Parliamentary army than he'd expected since the large force of the London Trained Bands (militia) had turned out and he could see reinforcements and supplies on the way. He retreated and the Parliamentary force didn't follow.

One artillery piece was fired.

Not quite on the level of a Sherlock Holmes programme with the camera panning over the roofs of London decorated with TV aerials.

Ian Fleming (the Bond novels) was notorious for things like that. When they filmed You Only Live Twice they scoured the coastline looking for a location to use, because Fleming had housed Blofeld in a castle on the coast. They were told by locals that no one ever built a castle on the coast of Japan due to the possibility of a tsunami, so they set the villain up in a dormant volcano instead. Fleming wasn't particularly big on research or continuity.