tonight on "nightline," foiled. a suspected serial killer is caught at the airport, moments before he flees, as new details emerge of a murder spree that left five americans dead and many more horribly injured. plus, happy birthday, dora. dora the explorer turns 10 this week. but how did this character turn into a billion dollar property? we go to find out. and, movie mayhem. hey, that guy's not a pirate. and that definitely does not belong in a chariot. why are more and more mistakes creeping into the multiplex? it's a "sign of the times." >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with

terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," august 12th, 2010. >> good evening. we begin tonight with a vicious crime story that's played out across three states. israeli citizen in the united states on a green card who is accused of stabbing 18 men and killing five of them. his name is elias abu elazam. ryan owens has the report. >> reporter: a slew of men maimed or murdered from ohio to michigan. >> the suspect in the 14 stabbing assaults in our community has been apprehended. >> reporter: as investigators laid out the details, and the luck, timing and tips that led to a capture, they are learning more about the suspect.

he is an israeli citizen here legally with a green card. a 33-year-old with past run-ins with the law. what they don't know is the motivation for allegedly taking out a knife and slashing so many strangers, like 17-year-old etwan wilson. >> that's a question i want to ask him. why? i ask myself and i ask god why, but everything happens for a reason. >> reporter: his story is the same as the others. he is alone in the middle of the night on an urban street when a stranger drives up, asking for help with his vehicle, or in some cases, directions, and starts stabbing. >> this is where they opened me up. >> they had to work on your organs? >> yeah, heart, liver, lungs. he got all of that. >> reporter: that etwan survived is nothing short of amazing. five others did not. the tally of victims grew. 14 in flitn. three in leesburg, virginia, one in ohio. the earliest in may, the most recent, last weekend, all carried out in a similar way.

that's when police realized they had a serial killer on their hands. >> the pattern is a series of stabbings all occurring late at night, to individuals who are walking alone on the streets. the streets are deserted at the time that they're walking. >> reporter: authorities tracked the suspect down with clues from the string of victims he left behind and his coworkers at this michigan party store. >> he was a good guy. we never thought nothing about this guy. he was a friendly guy. he was a nice guy, i mean -- just threw us off. >> reporter: he was hired here about a month ago, but he left august 1st, ittelling employeese was headed to virginia. later that night, the last flint victim was stabbed an died. then victims started turning up in leesburg, virginia, and ohio, where last saturday night a church custodian was stabbed. >> he's been stabbed in the side. oh, in his stomach stabbed? >> does he know who did it? >> do you know who did it?

it was an arab guy. >> reporter: state, federal and local authorities working together used technology to confirm that our suspect has been in the michigan, virginia and ohio areas at the time of each of the 18 assaults. >> reporter: they also know he was in virginia because he was arrested there just last week, pulled over during a routine traffic stop. police found a neef and a hammer in his car. but they released him. and he allegedly attacked again, now with the hammer. but soon police had enough tips, evidence and eye witness accounts to make an arrest. the man was apprehended without incident yesterday at the atlanta airport, just minutes before boarding a flight to tel aviv. >> have you ever been the victim of a crime? >> no. >> reporter: no violent attacks ever? >> no. >> reporter: richard booker says he never thought he would be the one hunted.

booker was nearly three weeks ago. >> he cult a good six-inch hole in you? >> at least. >> reporter: what baffles him is that he is white and nearly every one of the victims is black. he thinks he was chosen because he was small and easy to subdue. investigators aren't certain race played a role, either. >> the evidence is clear that most of the victims are african-american. we don't have any other evidence that suggests it's racially motivated. >> reporter: but police in virginia think it could well be. >> for our community, the town of leesburg, when you look at our demographics and you look at the victims here, my belief is, he selected the victims in leesburg based upon the color of their skin. >> reporter: whatever the moti e motive, authorities know his history. felony gun possession, though the charges were dropped, and d misdemeanor assault. he's only been charged with one crime. assault with the intent to murder this man, antoine

marshall. >> do you think he intended to kill you? >> yes, i do think he did. >> reporter: he was jabbed in the torso with a knife. when the suspect approached, saying he was having car trouble and asked him to take a look under the hood. when you look at those scars, it really is amazing that you lived. >> yes. >> reporter: but now, more charges are likely, for what happened to etwan -- >> he just put a lot of pain on my life, you know. >> reporter: and richard. >> i hope he dies. you know, i hope we don't have to, you know, spend taxpayer money on him for 50 years. >> reporter: and all the other unsuspecting men, some alive, some dead, whose good nature and willingness to help cost them dearly. i'm jeremy hubbard for "nightline" in flint, michigan. >> terrible story. if the man waived extradition, he could be back in michigan as soon as friday, but could face charges in other states. our thanks to jeremy hubbard. when we come back, we go our thanks to jeremy hubbard. when we come back, we go behind the scenes at a big hit

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neal karlinsky takes a look at the science of television for toddlers. >> reporter: if you have young children, or have even just been in the vicinity of some, that happy, catchy tune is more than just a little familiar. ♪ you can lead the way ♪ hey hey >> reporter: and that catch phrase -- >> swipe or no swiping. >> reporter: you probably heard it repeated just a few times. >> oh, man! oh, man! >> reporter: dora the explorer is everywhere. >> you want to play? >> reporter: on tv, the internet, clothing and dvds. she brings in billions in merchandising revenue and delivers top ratings for nickelodeon. here she is ringing in the closing bell at the new york stock exchange. and while she's teaching spanish to english-speaking americans -- >> hola!

>> reporter: the cartoon teaches english to children speaking 34 other languages. in more than 100 countries. but becoming a phenomenon for the toddler set is no simple task. >> maybe after dora says "si," we insert another piece of dialogue. >> hurry, guys, i really miss my -- >> right. >> reporter: in an edit room in animation headquarters, they are proving that child's play can be very hard work. >> what comes after two? >> three. >> two. >> reporter: and simple as dora may seem, it turns out the creative process is among the most difficult in children's television. based on a main character few imagined possible. >> there were certain rules like that, that get bandied around in tv and people jus accept them. boys won't watch a show with a girl who is a lead. >> reporter: that's what they

told you? >> yes. and that's obviously not true. >> reporter: not just a girl, but as cocreator valerie walsh told us, a latina girl. it was unheard of when the show launched ten years ago, a time when valerie and chris gifford were coming up with something very different. >> the original character, you know, there were so many original characters. first she was a bunny and then she was a martin. >> reporte >> her wname was tess and then nina. and the nick exec said, what if she's latina. we said that's a great idea. >> reporter: they brought in cultural advisers, and dora, last name marquezen was soon born. >> it's okay. we'll find it. >> reporter: the first animated latina character in a leading role. has there been any examples you can think of other the years where the writers tried to go in a certain direction? >> there's the stereotype,

sleeping under the cactus. what i tried to do is have the program work against it. when i saw the first scene there was tiko asleep. i said, no, that reenforces it. let's have tiko active. >> reporter: the show has been drawn into the immigration debate. a mock mug shot made the rounds. but the show's creators have pushed forward, never, in fact, saying where exactly dora is from. >> hola! let's go! >> reporter: 14-year-old kaitlyn sanchez is the voice of dora. >> dora is really determined, very confident and she always believes in that. she never gives up. >> reporter: most cartoons take months to make because of the animation. dora takes a full year for a half hour episode. mainly because toddlers are a tough crowd to please. >> we say that the preschoolers are actually the producers of the show, because we have to pitch every story before it

becomes a script. when they don't like something, we listen, and we make changes, so, we take them very seriously. >> reporter: there are three toddler focus groups, done at the beginning, middle and end of production to make sure these most finnicy of viewers actually understand what's going on. >> can a teddy bear scare them? >> no! >> they'll have cameras set up and they'll be watching the kids as they are watching the show and every time those eyes stop paying attention, they mark it in the script, and that's what's happening in here right now, is figuring out, how can we make that work? >> we don't know how to get to the mermaid kingdom. >> oh, no! >> reporter: in the show, dora asks the viewers for help making decisions about which way to go or what to do? >> you check out the map to find out how to get to the mermaid kingdom? you have to say "map."

her pauses after each question originally left adults feeling like the show was a little off. >> they said, that pause is endless and they would get uncomfortable and all the adults start squirming if their seats. >> reporter: but the kids didn't just like being asked questions, they would actually answer back. >> prior to the interaction, attentiveness for preschool shows would be about 60%, 65%. once you added the interaction, it went up to 95%, for the kids really feeling as if they needed to watch because they were going to be asked a question and they needed to answer. >> reporter: if it sounds like they have it down to a science, it is, at least, a fun science. >> hola. >> reporter: most of the time, their most serious issues involve debates if dora can be seen jumping on a bed. >> i don't know -- i think

parents will get a little pissed. >> reporter: gifford has taken time away from writing and producing to voice a certain recurring character who lives under a bridge. >> i'm the grumpy old troll. you can't come over my bridge unless you solve my riddles. >> reporter: ten years is an eternity in television, but the people behind this curious little latina girl know that a good character is timeless, and sometimes it pays to be different. >> we did it! we did it! we did it! yeah! >> reporter: i'm neal karlinsky for "nightline" in burbank, california. >> i'm sure happy we don't have to pass the toddler test. >> i'm sure happy we don't have to pass the toddler test. dora's big birthday adventure will air this sunday. thanks to neal karlinsky. when we come back -- you may love them, but some of your favorite movies may have some mighty big flaws, as you'll see in tonight's "sign of the times."

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with cynthia mcfadden. >> movies cost many millions of dollars to make, and can take years to edit. and with all that time and money, you might think you'd get perfection. think again. in fact, there's an entire think again. in fact, there's an entire website devoted to ferreting out all those flaws in flicks. and in that, nick watt sees a "sign of the times."

>> reporter: just a couple of knuckle heads watching a movie. oh, no. that dude on the right is a professional geek. and i say that with awe. remind -- we're watching "iron man." >> no license plate on the front of his car. suddenly there's one. >> reporter: john is a professional spotter and compiler of movie mistakes. her's "gladiator." >> in the back of the chariot, there's a huge gas canister. it was used to flip it on its side. you see it when the chariot goes over. >> reporter: yep, yep, yep. john actually makes a good living from this. it all started when he spotted this, his first mistake in "jury rasic park." now, the sign is pointing the other way. movie mistakes.com now gets 25,000 hits a day. what sort of feeling do you get when you spot a really tough one? >> it's hard to say without

sounding like so much of a geek, which ultimately i am. it's sort of a sense of pride. >> reporter: there are 88,000 mistakes listed on the site, for more than 5,000 movies. >> there are people out there who have submitted hundreds of thousands of mistakes to the site. >> reporter: some of john's favorites, in "mission impossible." one second he's on slicks, the next, his tires are knobby. "toy story," christmas lights, no christmas lights. christmas lights again. "top gun." no shades, man hug, shades appear. "apocalypse now" currently has the most mistakes. 390. look closely and the tape isn't actually going over the heads.

more recently, "avatar." jake pushes grace, and pushes her again. but it's "pirates of the caribbean" that holds the mistake title. notice anything? here it is again. >> there. there's a crew member who thought he was out of shot wearing a cowboy hat, sunglasses, white t-shirt. not your typical pirate attire. >> reporter: it seems the birth of the dvd was the birth of serious movie mistake spotting. >> you have a flawless freeze frame to go forward and backwards, frame by frame. makes it easier to catch. >> reporter: but movie makers have been messing it up for years. "the african queen." hepburn skinny dipping. >> close your eyes.

then, straps were there were none before. angela allen was called the script super visor on that movie, in charge of continuity. >> eating and drinking scenes are probably the worst. >> reporter: allen believes attention to detail in hollywood isn't what it used to be. >> in today's world, it's, when you do point it out, it's, oh, you're such a bore. nobody's going to notice. >> keep it on the mirror of the left of the screen. >> reporter: guys like john sanders do notice. watch this scene from "the man with the golden gun." >> the guy gets thrown into it. suddenly, the angle shifts, and there you see camera man and lighting equipment all reflected. >> reporter: now that you've got a taste for this whole mistake spotting business, let me tell you, we included two mistakes of our own in this report. if you're geek enough to care, can you find out what they are on our website. mistakes are forgivable.

>> yeah, ultimately. >> reporter: why? >> because making a film -- i've never made a film myself. if i was given a budget of 100 million pounds, i wouldn't have the first clue what to do with it. a major film has hundreds of people in it that are just human. >> reporter: look closely enough, and you'll find every movie has one. the wizard of oz. for a traction of a second, dorothy isn't even wearing her much vaunted ruby slippers. my, oh, my. i'm nick watt for "nightline" in london. >> no ruby slippers? even the best make mistakes. to see where nick goofed in the piece you just watched, on purpose, perhaps, go to the "nightline" page at abcnews.com. we'll be right back, but first, jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next on abc. >> jimmy: tonight, sly stallone, levi johnston, music from

buckcherry, mccain and snooki back together again, "unnecessary censorship" and a [ male announcer ] when meg whitman arrived at ebay,

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