Columbo - S/D

(This is cruel to IB whom I don't hate at all, but still - what a put-down.)

Sarah - What are yr feelings abt Shoestring?

Best Columbo - the one w/ William Shatner, wherein Shatner has the world's first and biggest video recorder (the whole episode revolves around it)!

CAGNEY AND LACEY!

Bloody hell yeah! There is a bloke from Cagney and Lacey lined up for the husband list (if only I cd remember his name, perhaps I need another day off work to watch it so I can remember).

Cannon! Wasn't that the show w/William Conrad?

I loved Shoestring. 1979-80, BBC1 - dishy Trevor Eve is a mentally unstable computer op who gets fired after smashing up a hooj mainframe-type thing, and *somehow* ends up as Radio Bristol's 'Private Ear', solving foax call-in probs (this is years before Midnight Caller or whatever it was) in a quirky lovable aw-shucks-down-on-his-luck kinda way. It effectively spawned Bergerac, as the show's creator, Robert Banks Stewart, was allowed to do whatever he bloody liked once Eve quit after two series - so he came up with a neato reason to spend a financially advantageous chunk of each subsequent year in Jersey (NB to googling screenwriter: I am joshing; I'm sure you weren't hanging out with Jim and Liza anyhow).

Shoestring did have a daytime run on the Beeb last year.

Now hooked by (slightly rubbish) Waking The Dead because of looming Eve presence. No shots yet of yer man eating chips in a Cortina though. Shame.

Anyway, I remember one nicely written episode by Stephen "The A-Team" J. Cannell, starring (yep)...Robert Culp as the murderer. Culp was a scientist who murders a guy by inserting a thirst-inducing subliminal message into a film, getting the guy into the lobby where he shoots him (while the other people are inside watching the film).

Has anybody caught Law & Order: Criminal Intent? Vincent D'Onofrio is totally classic in that...very Columbo-ish.

The Shat as Ward Fowler as Detective Lucerne!

'Let. Us. Assoooomm, Looootenant - and I'mspeakingasDetectiveLucerneherenotasWardFowler' etc.

The one with Roddy McDowell as Galen as the murderer with the exploding cigars is also tops, as is the abovementioned Faster, Fido, Kill, Kill!

And wasn't one written by Mickey Spillane?

Man so enjoying the Johnny Cash EP right now. Love that he never gets angry w/him (probably playing off against a perception of Cash as a 'hellraiser' is my guess).

Netflix finally has the full lineup of series episodes up.

columbo = they are ALL THE SAME STORY!! (= "i wd rather confess than put up with this absurd little fellow for the rest of my life")

― mark s (mark s), Monday, September 9, 2002 11:32 AM (11 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

truthbomb!

That one story rules though

The salient thing about Columbo is that the basic premises entertained. It may have been the same story each time, but that's like going into a few dozen houses at Christmas and exclaiming, they are ALL THE SAME TREE!!

Girlfriend and I were watching these on Netflix a lot, loved season 1, kinda burned out though (or maybe just got our rhythm thrown by the extra-long season 2 opener, with John Cassavetes as the orchestra conductor). Should pick it back up though, Falk is just great. Love the vision of class here: the murderers lose to Columbo not because his method is so foolproof but because they're rich and underestimate this working-class schmoe who knows how to play up his schmoe signifiers. Also interesting how so many of the millionaire killers are old-school scions of wealthy families - dissipated dilettantes and socialites, or people after the inheritance of same. Nobody's ever a stockholder or arbitrageur. Columbo's effective because he's able to get access to these people (hard to really picture now) and everything about his mannerisms short-circuits their codes of conduct, leaves them struggling for the correct way to brush him off, which only tips their hands more thoroughly. Feel like that world has kind of disappeared... the singular personifications of wealth vs. the corporate system as a whole.

Gee, I dunno. It's just this theory I had - but you've had a very long day, it can wait. I'm sorry.

Often they don't confess though, they are often found out in the most ludcrous manner, or sometimes its downright nasty. The EP where he frames the murderer's son (he confesses because he is "a strange little fellow" who is unpredictable), for example.

Sat afternoons watching these, having a 20 min nap and still knowing you haven't missed much (you know who did it) as oposed to some other crime show where you'd miss a plot point that might be key in working it out is a pleasure for me. But I also like bcz it is such an anti-crime show. Morse, or Holmes, you get bored by it.

re: class. yeah its an excellent point. He also works much harder than other police officers. A few times where he orders chilli and doesn't eat it => sign of a lower middle class thing "well if I work harder than poeple who are supposedly smarter than me" type guff.

Also note his interactions with culture. One murderer he gets on a "he must be the one - there is no way anyone could like both country and classical music" tip, then where he visits the art gallery to ask questions and mistakes a radiator I think for an art object. He talks about his wife doing watercolours. Art -- one could say -- promotes attentiveness and a heightened awareness. But that isn't on Colombo's radar (unlike Morse where it is part of his make-up), its noise and a sideshow. He gets his killer by working hard. Somtimes he'll pick their version of culture or pretentiousness (learning about wine to trap Donald Pleasance), he shows he is thinking, or he'll pick up an enthusiasm, but with the end goal in mind. You never feel he has interests.

Above all Falk is just great to watch. Feel that a bit more after he passed away.

On the other hand, Columbo's inner life is basically kept a mystery by Columbo himself - the vague references to family and friends which he just made up on the spot. Sometimes he seems to know enough about the murderer's culture stuff to know what would annoy the shit out of them - like playing "Chopsticks" on the concert piano for Cassavetes, or bringing half-dead hardware store plants in to the orchid guy.

And yeah, they're not all confessions - actually I like it best when he really does lay out the case at the end and explain what tipped him off, how he got the guy, etc. The nasty ones are cool too. I love the one where he makes Roddy McDowell think they're trapped in a ski lift with a bomb that's about to go off.

Recently watched The Great Race, which stars Falk alongside Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, though unfortunately he's relegated to being Lemmon's "duh, okay boss" sidekick. But he wasn't famous yet, and actually Lemmon's talents aren't really exploited either. Always a pleasure to see him doing anything though, really. Growing up on The Princess Bride, I figured he was just some one-off guy that played the grandfather in that, and nothing else!

Falk was pretty much the only good thing in Wings of Desire.

He's allowed to be funny in the Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin vehicle Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

http://thecitydesk.net/justonemorething/

Well that's my life down the bin ;-)

http://thecitydesk.net/justonemorething/2014/10/thats-a-lot-of-fruit-salad/

Agreeing with Carolita on the way the divorcee is written up although I think Columbo is really nicer in the final dialogue than what this panel is given credit for - its more like a "shutting yourself off is what you don't do! you're gonna be ok" even if the niece was probably made up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/nyregion/timothy-dowd-detective-who-led-son-of-sam-manhunt-dies-at-99.html

Obit for the detective in charge of Son of Sam case....he basically said all detective shows were bullshit except Columbo which got it exactly right

Podcast is tempting, though the first one I've just listened to (on the Roddy McDowall one) kinda bugged me - little too much unfocused chatter, awkward mix of people who know the show and don't know the show, meaning we don't really get any profound readings or connections made. But I may just be not well-suited to the group podcast format.

Also I loved that episode and they didn't. I mean Roddy's tailoring is so great!

i will CONFESS.... i have not listened to it

In the EP I've just heard it was def unstructured chat, it just happened to have a couple of interesting readings and then some info of the other actors and what else they did.

So yes it might not last. Also doubt I'll get to any of the 90s Columbo. Makes me angry just looking at it (like Simpsons after season 8 or so).

I'm conflicted on 90s Columbo mostly because that's when I started watching them (Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo) was my first episode), but obviously they are uneven, to say the least. The Silence of the Lambs wannabe episode was just flat-out wrong.

The ones with Patrick McGoohan as the murderer are especially worth seeking out, he's such a weird + powerful screen presence, he directed at least two so was able to slip in some Prisoner references ("Be seeing you"). Also there's a good one with Oskar Werner.

The digital watch! I love those bits where tech is shown off and it proves to be their undoing (the ward fowler ep with the vhs recorder).

I saw a similar one with Ian Buchanan as the murderer, the "tell-tale heart" was a grotesque gold-plated wrist-pager thing.

That reminds me of the Sherlock Holmes story where the crim describes what he did in a room where Sherls is next door playing the violin, but he's not he's hiding behind the curtain listening, and the violin is actually a "record" playing on a "Gramophone" ..

Modern Technology!

I saw the McGoohan spy episode ('Identity Crisis') pretty recently for the first time – really great, loved the opening third especially – builds with images, moments, rhythm more than usual – Nielsen & McGoohan at the fairground, the dark beach, Columbo's oddly paced chat with the ex-cop at the bar. Lot of silence, it felt like. Enjoyed the plot - not just the luxury/money/pride order that Columbo's gritting up, but phantom world of intrigue. Nice irresolution too.

90s Columbo has its moments, but they're really moments from what I've seen lately (and remember) - Falk and a good murderer will usually make it watchable, however shoddily built and appointed. They're sort of doomed by that comfortable "It's our old friend Detective Columbo" air – we all know what's coming, and want the references to Mrs Columbo etc. Nothing really odd or mesmerising.

where he visits the art gallery to ask questions and mistakes a radiator I think for an art object.

... it's a ventilator. This one was on this morning, Oskar Werner was the murderer, Gena Rowlands was his wife, it was all about video technology. Yesterday we had a McGoohan starring/directing one where Leslie Nielsen was the victim and McGoohan kept shoehorning little Prisoner references into the script. It's TV bliss.

... as discussed by woof in the post immediately preceding mine.

Obligatory

https://i.imgur.com/eYAQSU9.jpg

^This show had four titles in its 13-episode run, which I’d guess is a record

Thought this revive would be Wings of Desire-related.

I've got the box set, watched the first three already (the pilots and S1E1). Curiously they all include a scene where the camera lingers on something incriminating we think the murderer has left behind after leaving the scene, only for them to return and snatch it up.

It's funny how normally Columbo is eating chili and not knowing what escargot is and then in "Murder Under Glass" suddenly he's deftly whipping up a fine meal for Louis Jourdan while maintaining a conversation with him.

― Josefa, Sunday, October 5, 2025 3:40 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink

He's always only playing dumb.

― She's the Tariff (cryptosicko), Sunday, October 5, 2025 3:46 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink

He's Italian, he knows about food.

― Webinar in Wetherspoons (Tom D.), Sunday, October 5, 2025 4:12 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink

In S1E1 he says he's a terrible cook, except for omelettes.

He says a lot of things tbh

(also btw S1e1 is actually S1e2, they bumped up TX bcz Spielb murdered the beat so hard)

I learned yesterday that the character (not Falk) first appeared in an episode of a TV anthology show in 1960, and then in a stage play - both featuring the same basic story as the pilot (Prescription: Murder).

i've been slowly getting through the '90s episodes, mostly fun and some even enjoyable (as i've already said here), with the notable exception of "Murder in Malibu" which is the only episode in the entire series i have flat-out skipped. the acting was excruciating

i thought "Columbo Goes to College" was pretty amusing (featuring Gary Hershberger, another Lynch connection). and now i'm on "Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health," fun to see George Hamilton again

i have now seen all of the columbos. spread out over a few years. matthew rhys helps send it off in style. and, fittingly, john finnegan makes an appearance.

never was a fan of the crystal method, but at least they used music that would've actually been played at a rave at the time.

may wait a few months and start the whole thing over again!

"Columbo Goes to College" is likely the best post-70s episode. "Now this is a mystery!"

Also, the one killer's impersonation of Columbo, and the killer's mom referring to Columbo as "that rumpled little dumbbell."

yes. yes!

I like to think of Columbo Goes To College as a Twin Peaks sequel. Mike has learnt all the wrong lessons from the chaos of his senior year!

lmao at this little richard cameo

just saw "No Time to Die" from 1992. easily the worst Columbo episode i've ever seen, pretty much utter drek

I believe most fans consider it the worst (rightfully).

Clodumbo!

that’s fantastic

To mark Dick van Dyke's 100th birthday today, I re-watched his 1974 episode as an unlikely Columbo villain. Negative Reaction stands up really well. The minor characters are great, especially Antoinette Bower (still going strong aged 93) as the soon-to-be-deceased domineering wife and Vito Scotti as the homeless guy who witnesses one of the killings but then can't remember it.

There are some great moments of comedy - the nun who mistakes Columbo for a Mission derelict and tries to find him a new coat, and the driving instructor traumatised by Columbo's poor road skills - but curiously none of the comedy comes from van Dyke himself, who plays his role as the killer photographer dead straight and seemingly against type.

The episode is also notable for Columbo seeming unusually deflated after a memorable finale where he tricks van Dyke into incriminating himself by identifying a camera (“Were you a witness to what he just did?”). The viewers are left to speculate as to why solving this case might have left the detective feeling dejected.

Good episode. The Simpsons copied the Mission gag--with Homer, natch.

classic episode. Vito Scotti steals the show imo

Future Columbo villainess Joyce Van Patten as the nun, too! Didn't recognize her until someone pointed it out

Watched Dutch Film The Vanishing, and while you don't know how the killer killed (left till the very nasty ending), this is the film that comes closest to a Columbo like set-up that I've seen. You know who it is straight away, you get something of his life and motivations..

Was trying to think of other films that come close to that set-up but struggling.

The original The Vanishing is a masterpiece and that ending is horrific. NB I will never watch the "people who don't like subtitles" US remake

I had an epiphany the other day that the plot formula of Knives Out is essentially "What if Columbo, but the twist is that the person you see commit the murder at the beginning didn't actually do it?"

Better Call Saul is like a 100 hours of weird suspense wondering how Jimmy, Mike, Hector and Gus end up in Breaking Bad.

not if you’ve never seen breaking bad!

xxp ok never got round to Knives out?

one of the best moments in the whole series is in Murder by the Book, when Jack Cassidy is getting dinner with the shopkeeper widow. it's the way Jack Cassidy delivers these lines:

"I also recognize in you a woman of some breeding. You're not just a common... [looks around, lowers voice] blackmailer!"

makes me howl with laughter!

it's almost something Mr. Burns would say

I'm tempted to write a whole essay on orientalism in Columbo. There's a lot of material there

Columbo is always eating too I've noticed, never passes up the chance for some grub - preferably free.

I love the bit in (I forget which episode) he eats some caviar and another officer says something like "that stuff is $$$$$ a tin" and Colombo replies "that means I've got $70 in my mouth".

I'm tempted to write a whole essay on orientalism in Columbo. There's a lot of material there

Would read.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqZYyBtMhq0
(cost of caviar discussed at 7m25s)

I'm not sure there's a single recurring Columbo actor that I love more than Vito Scotti. The things he's able to convey with the paltry screen time given him is nothing short of genius. Tonight I'm enjoying his performance as the unctuous funeral director in "Swan Song." Shades of Brandt from The Big Lebowski

Yes, he's awesome.

His role as the eloquent wino redeems the otherwise mediocre Dick Van Dyke episode