diff --git a/dataset/table.py b/dataset/table.py
index 5f3814b..ed93f77 100644
--- a/dataset/table.py
+++ b/dataset/table.py
@@ -521,7 +521,7 @@ class Table(object):
             table.distinct('year', country='China')
         """
         if not self.exists:
-            return []
+            return iter([])
 
         filters = []
         for column, value in _filter.items():
@@ -539,7 +539,7 @@ class Table(object):
                 columns.append(self.table.c[column])
 
         if not len(columns):
-            return []
+            return iter([])
 
         q = expression.select(columns,
                               distinct=True,
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 6491cf1..7863323 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from setuptools import setup, find_packages
 
 setup(
     name='dataset',
-    version='1.0.4',
+    version='1.0.5',
     description="Toolkit for Python-based database access.",
     long_description="",
     classifiers=[