diff --git a/zephyr/tests.py b/zephyr/tests.py
index 15e44c8f76..b19d8a5116 100644
--- a/zephyr/tests.py
+++ b/zephyr/tests.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ from zephyr.lib.initial_password import initial_password
 import datetime
 import simplejson
 import subprocess
-subprocess.call("zephyr/tests/generate-fixtures");
+subprocess.check_call("zephyr/tests/generate-fixtures");
 from django.conf import settings
 import re
 
diff --git a/zephyr/tests/generate-fixtures b/zephyr/tests/generate-fixtures
index 072feb4c42..c9e0cb0dc2 100755
--- a/zephyr/tests/generate-fixtures
+++ b/zephyr/tests/generate-fixtures
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/bin/sh
+#!/bin/sh -e
 mkdir -p zephyr/fixtures
 rm -f zephyr/tests/zephyrdb.test
 python manage.py syncdb --noinput --settings=humbug.test_settings