the fireplace (firepit) in Tim's apartment? Sometimes it's painted white and tucked into the corner behind the dining table. Other times it's black and in the middle of the room. Was the Continuity department really so bad about keeping track if the fireplace?
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EARLY PRODUCTION
Since My Favorite Martian was an independently produced show, sound stage facilities were rented from Desilu, and the first 7 shows were filmed at Desilu's Cahuenga Studios, with the early set featuring a portable fireplace in the middle of the living room. When filming was moved to Soundstage 10 on the Desilu Gower lot, the fireplace was transferred to the corner of the living room."
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from:
http://members.tripod.com/jhh_2/HISTORY.htm
Keep in mind two things:
1) resolution of TV in 1963 was much less than what we have today. i.e., details were less noticeable
2) Home video wasn't even on the horizon, so the threat of endless repeat viewings & dissections wasn't of much concern. i.e., details were less important
All the problems with prop changes or alterations not being explained, hairdos changed and cast changes, you can't help but think they would never be convinced people would be watching the show half a century later and counting.
My Favorite Martian wasn't winning any Emmys after all! LOL!
You can't help but think the shows of today would pretty much do the same thing; who will notice if we change the set or bring in better looking furniture?
Ironically, the only show that it is known strictly enforced this was My Three Sons, while still watched, it is hardly considered as classic as I Love Lucy, Gilligan or Beaver.
Nonsense such as Tina Cole or Beverly Garland not being allowed to wear a hairclip later on was prohibited.
That's because My Three Sons was one of the first shows to be filmed they way it was. All of the scenes, say, in the kitchen were filmed at the same time for the entire season. Then, all the scenes, again for the entire season, that were filmed in the living room, were all filmed at once. In fact, it was called "The McMurray Method". Continuity control was essential and must have been a nightmare for the production crew. Here's the IMDB entry on it:
At Fred MacMurray's insistence, all episodes were filmed out of sequence during the show's entire run using a technique now known as the MacMurray method. MacMurray would do all of his scenes in 65 nonconsecutive days. The cast regulars got haircuts once a week in order to maintain continuity. Guest stars would have to return months later to complete an episode. All kitchen scenes would be done together, then all scenes in the upstairs hallway would be filmed together, etc. This fact was well concealed until Dawn Lyn joined the cast as Dodie. Her upper front teeth grew in irregularly during the entire 1969-70 season, from being barely visible in scenes with MacMurray to being plainly visible in scenes without him. William Frawley never felt comfortable with this method of filming, having grown accustomed to filming I Love Lucy in sequence during its entire run.