Ahhhhh One more thing: A Columbo appreciation Thread

[kingpengvin]

I'm depressed as I no longer have A&E and can no longer look forward to seeing Columbo. Any Fans out there care to ease my loss with a discussion on one of the greatest detective series ever to air on Televsion. Anything is game

Favorite Episodes?

Was Columbo faking his clumsiness and clownish behaviour?

Who was your favorite guest murderer?

Did you mind when certain Actors would return to kill again as
someone new (Robert Culp etc)?

Columbo Trivia

Anything!

[lost4life]

Best killer had to be Johnny Cash.

[Skeezix]

That car... what the hell was it, an old Peugot, or something like that? It always seemed to be on the verge of collapse, yet it never broke down on him.

Always got a kick out of never seeing Mrs. Columbo, as well. I got all excited during that one movie where (we learn at the end) it's either his sister, or his SIL, posing as the Mrs., for some reason that escapes me now.

And of course he was faking it... Nobody's that consistently annoying (and always to the guilty party) with last mintue questions. :D

What the hell is the name of that stand up comic who does Columbo so well? He did a Star Trek with Different Actors bit once that made me chuckle, and used Dudley Moore's drunken lout character as Scotty...

[Banger]

Doesn't Kevin Pollak (http://us.imdb.com/Name?Pollak,%20Kevin) do a Columbo impersonation?

Columbo is one of my favorite mystery series, along with the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series.

[SpazCat]

I loved his Basset Hound, Dog. That was the only way they could have made a great show greater, add a cute Basset to the cast.

The concept behind the show was neat, too. I always thought it was great that we got to see the killer kill and the rest of the show was Columbo gathering clues. What I could never figure out, though, is why everybody was caught off-guard by his investigation techniques. Most of the episodes took place in L.A., right? So why did word of Columbo and his "Just one more question?" never get around?

[andymurph64]

I loved Columbo, which is strange because I don't usually like mysteries. Of course, Columbo wasn't really a mystery.

I especially loved the "Mrs. Columbo". THERE IS NO MRS. COLUMBO!! Dumbies even made a series about Mrs. Columbo staring the future captain of a starship. He never wore a wedding ring. You never saw her. Nobody else in the department ever asked how she was doing. He just used it to trip up people.

Of course his clumsiness was planned to get people off guard. When he needed to be, he didn't act clumsy.

There were so many good guest appearances that I can't single out one as the best.

Peter Falk was entertaining in every role he played. :)

[Saltire]

It's but a pale shadow, but am I the only one who gets a bit of a Columbo feeling while watching "Monk"? Monk is surely not faking, but it has the same effect: No one expects him to be able to see the clues and think clearly enough to solve the crime, but there he is, pointing to the bad guy at the end of every episode.

[Skeezix]

FNRFR: Thanks. Pollak is the man.

Originally posted by andymurph64:
Of course, Columbo wasn't really a mystery.
Well, it is if you watch it like I do. See, I almost never catch these flicks from the beginning. 9 times outta 10, I don't actually see whodunnit, though it's not like figuring that out is all that tough anyway.

Dumbies even made a series about Mrs. Columbo staring the future captain of a starship.
Huh? Can I ask you to run that by me again, with more detail? (I've got no clue what you're referring to here.)

He never wore a wedding ring. You never saw her. Nobody else in the department ever asked how she was doing. He just used it to trip up people.
Well, just to pick nits, you'd have to look hard to catch me wearing mine, but it doesn't make me any less married. And the more I think about it, the more I'm convincing m'self that the episode I referred to earlier (with Mrs. Columbo played by a stand in) in fact she was Mrs. Columbo's sister, implying that there pretty much has gotta be a real Mrs. Columbo.

Anyone able to shed some light on this? I can't even remember which bloody movie it was now, where this happened.

I'm completely with ya on Peter Falk, himself. Murder by Death just makes me cackle out loud, with the Sam Spade/Humphrey Bogart send-up by Falk. Priceless.

"Nobody move! I gotta go to the can again, and I don't wanna miss nothin'!"

[Lok]

Originally posted by andymurph64
I especially loved the "Mrs. Columbo". THERE IS NO MRS. COLUMBO!! Dumbies even made a series about Mrs. Columbo staring the future captain of a starship. He never wore a wedding ring. You never saw her. Nobody else in the department ever asked how she was doing. He just used it to trip up people.
Within the last two weeks on A&E they just showed the episode where the murderer was trying to kill Mrs. Columbo. And at the very end, after catching the killer, and after everyone else had left, Columbo picks up the phone and calls his wife to see if her cold was better and to tell her they needed to get a picture taken of her. So yes, there was a Mrs. Columbo, she was real, and IMHO, his clumsiness was real. He used it to good effect to keep people off guard, but it was just as real as his wife.

Skeezix,
There was one show where the car did break down on him. That was the running gag for that show, like the one where Mrs. Columbo bought him a new coat and he was uncomfortable wearing it for the entire show. So at the end he went back to his old one.

Originally posted by Skeezix
Huh? Can I ask you to run that by me again, with more detail? (I've got no clue what you're referring to here.)
There was a short lived series in 1979 called Mrs. Columbo starring Kate Mulgrew. The regular Columbo people say she was married to some other LA cop named Columbo and prove it by pointing out that she later divorced him and took back her maiden name. And Columbo is still married to his Mrs. Columbo.

My favorite episode is where the body is hidden and Columbo tears up the foundation of a new skyscraper in order to fool the killer into bringing the body in to dump it into where the new foundation will be poured. I think the title is Blueprint For Murder.

My least favorite is No Time To Diewhere Columbo's nephew, also a cop, is getting married and his bride is kidnapped right before the ceremony. It was a very good 87th Precinct novel by Ed McBain, but it made a poor Columbo episode.

[Miss Mapp]

My favorite episodes:

Martin Landau guest stars as twins. I love the beginning of this episode, where Columbo is so gleefully putting together his case against one Martin Landau and, just when he thinks he's got it nailed, the other Martin Landau walks in. Which one is guilty? The look of complete bewilderment on Columbo's face is marvelous.

Leonard Nimoy guests as a cool-as-a-cucumber heart surgeon. What I love about this one is that he makes Columbo lose his temper; for a minute, it's "masks off," and we see the serious cop behind the bumbling facade.

The original series was great, IMO, but I never cared much for the later made-for-TV-movies. The murders never seemed as well-constructed, and Columbo's solutions were rarely as clever.

[lost4life]

I think the show is great, and still watch all the reruns. Monk is definitely using the Columbo style, but it's not quite as good IMHO.

Did you ever notice though, that his cases always involved the rich and famous, and were never titled "The Case of the Trailer Park Killer," or "Murder at Bowl-o-rama"?
That, and he had an infinite amount of time to dedicate to each case!

Who appeared as a killer the most times? (no internet searches!)

[Bricker]

I think one of my favorites was Ruth Gordon playing Abigail Mitchell, a mystery writer who blames her nephew-in-law for the death of her niece, and locks him in a vault to die.

She was convinced that the nephew-in-law killed her niece, and when Columbo unmasks her, she sadly says, "You know.. if only you had been the invesitgator handling my niece's death, all of this would never had had to happen."

Classic.

[kingpengvin]

Originally posted by lost4life
I think the show is great, and still watch all the reruns. Monk is definitely using the Columbo style, but it's not quite as good IMHO.

Agreed, that show's Mysteries are lame, the only thing that saves it is the quirkiness of Monk himself. They need better writing.


Who appeared as a killer the most times? (no internet searches!)

Shatner was in 2 that I remember
Culp was in 2
Cassidy I believe was in 3.
One as a writer, one as a Nazi Magician and one as a Publisher.


I'd say the Quirks were not a facade in that when he was by himself he still had the same problems, and phobias.

My favorite Villian, was the Russian Chess master. He was so arrogent, and so sure of himself and he gets caught by a defective battery. Classic.

The Show was a Mystery in that you had to figure out how Columbo was going to solve the case. It was never a cheat in the early episodes and that what differenciates it from Monk.

[Robot Arm]

Originally posted by lost4life
Who appeared as a killer the most times? (no internet searches!)
Was it Patrick McGoohan? I think he showed up at least twice.

Wouldn't you just love to see Columbo on an open-and-shut case?

Oh, there was one more thing, sir. I know you're busy, so I won't keep you long; it's probably nothing. Now, the officer outside said that when he got here... (Pats coat pockets looking for his notebook.) Here it is. He said when he got here you were holding the knife in your hand, covered in blood, and you were screaming "I'm glad I killed the bastard!" Can you explain how that's possible, sir?

[andymurph64]

"Blueprint for Murder" if it was the skyscraper one was great. The Russian chess master was fine also :)

There were some episodes where he zones in on the killer right away out of many people like the one where this military man plans the murder so carefully and comes back to his barracks later feeling secure and there is mud on his boots. He tries to clean it up and Columbo walks in and the guy is in a panic. Turns out Columbo planted the mud and it didn't help his case but Columbo knew who to concentrate on :)

I didn't see the one about the murderer wanting to kill Mrs. Columbo but these shows were directed by so many people that this one didn't know there was no Mrs. Columbo. ;) I'm still sticking to the no Mrs. Columbo theory!

As for always rich and famous, I've seen episodes that didn't involve them, like "Columbo goes to College" and others but they are mostly rich and/or famous because that is why they are killed in the first place. Thst is, for money and/or status gain.

[lost4life]

Originally posted by andymurph64
[B
As for always rich and famous, I've seen episodes that didn't involve them, like "Columbo goes to College" and others but they are mostly rich and/or famous because that is why they are killed in the first place. Thst is, for money and/or status gain. [/B]

Wasn't that the episode where the kids use a gun mounted on a radio controlled car to kill a professor who caught them cheating? If so, the kids came from extremely wealthy families. I think Columbo worked in the Robin Leech division of homicide.
I'm just nitpicking. It would be hard to fill 2 hours with "The Case of the Missing Used Car Salesman."

Patrick Magoohan (sp?) has the record with 4, count them, 4 appearances as a killer! Robert Kulp and Jack Cassidy tie for second with 3, but Robert Kulp wins for a non-killer 4th appearance.

Info from http://www.columbo-site.freeuk.com

[Michele in SoCal]

...and I am happy to report that Bravo now shows Columbo during the day!

Now I have Columbo on a local station (KDOC in Los Angeles), A&E, and Bravo.

So, kingpengvin, check your TV guide and you may find Columbo on another station in your area.

[Lok]

Originally posted by andymurph64
I didn't see the one about the murderer wanting to kill Mrs. Columbo but these shows were directed by so many people that this one didn't know there was no Mrs. Columbo. ;) I'm still sticking to the no Mrs. Columbo theory!

Bad news for that theory. Check out
The Ultimate Lieutenant Columbo Site (http://welcome.to/columbo). They have a very large listing of the many times Mrs. Columbo was talked to and/or almost seen on the show. And the people in the show are all clear that Mrs. Columbo does exist.

Lok

[bifar]

Columbo used to be shown on Saturday evenings when I was younger, and I have fond memories of eating supper with my Mum and Dad in front of it. And I’m afraid to say I found the lieutenant rather sexy. Anyone else feel the same, or is it just me?

Oh and apparently Columbo’s character came originally from the policeman character in Crime and Punishment. Is that right?

[kingpengvin]

Mrs Columbo has to exist. The episode where Columbo is on a Boat cruise there was several times when the pursers and captain claimed to have talked to her. Why would they fake that when Columbo was only on Vacation and not on duty?

[lost4life]

Originally posted by bifar

Oh and apparently Columbo’s character came originally from the policeman character in Crime and Punishment. Is that right?

I also have heard the detective from C&P (Petrovitch?) was the inspiration for Columbo.

[smam]

.....COLUMBO

Script formula for the Columbo (can be used again and again)
The players -
Ok picture the scene, lieutenant columbo and an upper crust murderous aristocrat(lets call him Shepley) are on deck (of Shepley`s yacht).

Columbo is walking around on deck rubbing his forehead, he has an enormous hangover and is throwing bread to some seagulls, sometimes his aim is not so good and the manky bread lands on Shepley`s favourite new piece of expensive deck furniture.
Shepley is following Columbo around making a big show of collecting the bread litter.

And ACTION -

Shepley - "Look Lt. we went over all this yesterday I told you everything I know why do you need to speak to me again? you dont possibly think I could be the killer of my own incredibly rich aunt"

Columbo - "Sir I know your a busy man, but there are a couple of things that I need to get straight in my head, its nothing important, actually it could have waited till Monday but when I called your seceretary and found out you were down at the marina, well, I dont often get to be on a boat as swanky as this, how much did it cost by the way? How many miles do you get for a gallon?"

Shepley - "She"

Columbo - "Whats that sir?"

Shepley - "She Lt. 'she', we dont refer to a vessel as 'it', the proper term is 'she', and its not a boat its a yacht and her speed is measured in knots not mph, really I dont mind helping with your enquiries but I have got a golf match at four can you ask me these questions so I can go about my day"

Columbo - "Knots eh? who woulda guessed that? Look at them seagulls sir, not a care in the world, do you ever think humans will be able to fly unaided? Do you have any aspirin on you sir?"

Shepley - " Really Lt. I am a busy man and I am tiring of your lazy eyed meanderings, and what is that smell, did you stand in something before you boarded my yacht Columbo?"

Columbo - "I dont think so sir, oh wait maybe I did step in a 4-week old pastrami on rye that I lost under my car seat, they get really squishy you know, after about two weeks, could I trouble you for a glass of milk?"

Shepley - " Look here you seedy little sh*t, my tie costs more than every piece of clothing you own, and yes, so I killed aunt Mabel for her money, the b*tch was asking for it, if i had waited till she popped off of natural causes I would have been too old to enjoy the money properly "

Columbo - "Or water sir, it doesn`t have to be milk, you see my throat is really dry, I think I may have some of that scurvy thats been going around"

Shepley - " Piss of you little oik, I am going for my game of golf, if you had any evidence to convict me you would have arrested me by now, I want you off my yacht by the time I get back"

Columbo - "I wouldn`t do that if I was you sir, you see, aunt Mabel was a bit off an amateur movie maker, and it turns out her little movie camera was on at the time you bludgeoned her to death, we have the whole thing on tape, we found it yesterday"

Shepley - "Oh sh*t, damn you mabel you slag, its a fair cop etc. But if you knew yesterday then why the need for this charade today?"

Columbo - "Like I said sir, its not every day a humble lieutenant like me gets to come on a real swanky canoe like this, do you mind if I take some of these sandwhiches down to the station with me? They really are delicious.

Shepley - " C*nt "

THE END!

[dougie_monty]

To Miss Mapp: Granted Nimoy pushed Columbo past his limit, the deterctive didn't stay there. In fact near the end, Nimoy comes into a room bumping into Columbo, who is looking for "dissolving sutures," which would be incriminating evidence against Nimoy. Columbo hunts for the sutures and can't find them until the very end of the story. "There's only one person [the police] didn't search [for the sutures]; it was me!" (Columbo holds up the sutures, which Nimoy had surrepitiously planted on Columbo as they passed.)

[SpazCat]

My favorite part of Columbo was watching the criminal's face crumble when s/he was caught by our Noble Bumbler. Priceless, truly priceless.

What was the name of the episode where the woman killed her brother (father?) to take over the family business and pretended it was an accident? Leslie Nielsen was in that episode as her boyfriend if that helps. (And who was that woman? I swear I saw her in another ep.)

[Honey]

My favorite is "Murder, Smoke and Shadows".

The guest murderer was Fisher Stevens as Alex Bradey, a young director famous for his special effects.

The plot: Alex Bradey's old friend Lennie arrives with movie footage showing Bradey was responsible for the death of Lennie's sister. Needless to say, poor Lennie doesn't live long after revealing this information.

[Johnny Angel]

My favorite episode is the one in which Patrick McGoohan was a spy. First, at the carnival he and the Leslie Nielson clean up at the shooting game. And then later in the episode Columbo is at his pad, and he's giving the detective wine and cigars and they're sitting across from eachother and I swear to god he's putting the moves on the Lieutenant. You could cut the homoerotic tension with a knife.

But you'll notice that not only does Columbo so often bust celebrities, they're always his wife's favorite celebrities. "Oh, me, I don't get out too much, but the missus, she just loves modern interpretive dance. Can't keep her away."