# Columbo - a few questions for discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [January 2, 2022, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074 "2022-01-02T07:34:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/181 "2023-04-10T18:56:13Z")
He should have set the odometer back. **DUH!** 🥺 ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/182 "2023-04-11T04:09:50Z")
I liked how Cassavetes just shrugged and said “welp. If the mechanics didn’t take it for a spin then I dunno!! Gotta go!” Lesser villains have been foiled by less. Giving up the ghost on crap like “We didn’t hear your cuckoo clock go off in the recording. “ As seen in the next episode “The Return of Robert Culp” The deep dive reviewer gives THAT episode a perfect score based on how entertaining it is. And I agree based on that it is entertaining. But it plays more like an Encyclopedia Brown story since it ends on the most mundane of loose ends. Also it’s only season two….and I know the eps are produced at 1/4 of a normal show, but we’ve already seen Ray Milland/ Robert Culp and James Gregory all return! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/183 "2023-04-11T05:12:09Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > I know the eps are produced at 1/4 of a normal show, but we’ve already seen Ray Milland/ Robert Culp and James Gregory all return! With bonus points for William Windom! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/184 "2023-04-11T20:31:17Z")
Don’t forget Roddy McDowell and Forrest Tucker. (Or, as my mother used to call him, Torrest Fucker.) I remember singing the praises of Columbo to my high school band teacher after seeing the Robert Culp episode. (It may have been the first one I watched all the way through.) He just laughed and said “Hey, wait a minute. There’s no chlorine in this water!” Very suspicious! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/185 "2023-04-11T20:44:54Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Sucks we don’t seem to be able to link YT clips directly to threads anymore Seems like the only reliable way embed YT in a post is to use a mobile OS, like on a phone or an iPad. Just make sure you get it right the first time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/186 "2023-04-11T20:52:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Don’t forget Roddy McDowell I couldn’t forget his pants even with therapy — but I was replying to a post about how actors were already showing back up, and I don’t think he fits the bill. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/187 "2023-04-11T20:53:46Z")
Right, got it. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/188 "2023-04-12T03:32:14Z")
Forrest Tucker was downright scary in that ep…especially since my experience with him is The Far-Out Space Nuts. I never watched F Troop. The great thing about playing along with the villains is the thin line they have to decide “At what point to I start acting indignant at Columbo’s hassling of me?” Too early and its suspicious. Too late, and I start looking like I’m saying “Yeah, I did it, but you’ll never prove it.” ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/189 "2023-04-13T01:07:47Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Forrest Tucker was downright scary in that ep…especially since my experience with him is The Far-Out Space Nuts. I think you mean “Ghostbusters,” the Saturday morning kids show with him, Larry Storch, and the guy in the gorilla suit, who incidentally got the job because he could furnish his own gorilla suit. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/190 "2023-04-13T02:57:55Z")
I reckon I do…but i remember watching zero eps of that show. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/191 "2023-04-13T03:43:28Z")
_Far Out Space Nuts_ had Chuck McCann. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/192 "2023-04-13T04:07:45Z")
Who was also in an episode of Columbo…with Robert Culp! > [@Pavelb1](#): > > The great thing about playing along with the villains is the thin line they have to decide “At what point to I start acting indignant at Columbo’s hassling of me?” Too early and its suspicious. Too late, and I start looking like I’m saying “Yeah, I did it, but you’ll never prove it.” The game that I always loved to play with my grandmother (she and I were diehard Columbo fans) was: at what point does Columbo become suspicious of the killer? Is there a phrase, a gesture, something that makes the lieutenant go “AhaaaaH…”? ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/193 "2023-04-13T05:12:58Z")
“I just assume every body I find is a murder.” Its always the person on scene who isn’t quite as emotionally distraught as they should be, and is very very helpful ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/194 "2023-04-13T05:22:33Z")
Im gonna derail this for a sec cause earlier we talked about an actress, Janis Paige, who is still with us. I just watched the Twilight Zone Ep _Queen of the Nile_…said immortal queen, played by Ann Blyth, is ironically…still with us. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/195 "2023-04-13T05:44:11Z")
I’m watching the Cassavetes episode right now. I almost laughed out loud when he barged into the murdered girl’s house immediately after being informed she’d been found, dressed in that semi-trench coat and dark glasses (in the middle of the night, yet). **COP:** I’m sorry sir, you can’t come in here. I was waiting for Cassavetes to say “Get out of my way! Can’t you see I’m returning to the scene of the crime?” How the hell did Columbo track down the Paul the trumpeter? I don’t recall anyone mentioning his name when he showed up at the victim’s house. Neither do I understand how Paul heard about her death so quickly. I had forgotten Myrna Loy is in this episode. She was really hot, back in the day. (I mean the 1930s and '40s.) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/196 "2023-04-13T05:49:09Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > The game that I always loved to play with my grandmother (she and I were diehard Columbo fans) was: at what point does Columbo become suspicious of the killer? My theory is, he’s suspicious of EVERYONE, We just don’t see the dead ends and cleared suspects. He hounds them, too, but we only have 90 minutes with commercials. > [@terentii](#): > > I’d forgotten Myrna Loy is in this episode. She was really hot, back in the day. Yes, and then I realized she was born long enough ago she could be my grandmother (my mom was born in 1924). Talk about a fantasy-killer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/197 "2023-04-13T05:50:56Z")
Cassavettes: “Oh no…i didn’t know her well. I always barge in when someone I was barely acquainted with passes. Well…let me know if you need any help!” I guess after John C. left, word spread that the piano player who didn’t show up had killed herself and that’s why Paul rushed over. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/198 "2023-04-13T05:55:25Z")
I always think of Myrna as Fredrick March’s wife in _ **The Best Years of Our Lives** _. If I’d been married to her, I’d have been itching to get back home too! 🥰 I like how they’re still calling PBS “the educational channel” in this episode. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/199 "2023-04-13T05:58:34Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Cassavettes: “Oh no…i didn’t know her well. I always barge in when someone I was barely acquainted with passes. Well…let me know if you need any help!” It would have saved everybody some time if he’d just come in wearing a sign around his neck saying **“I KILLED HER!”** ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/200 "2023-04-13T14:14:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > If I’d been married to her, I’d have been itching to get back home too! 🥰 One of my favorites, too. My Ode to Myrna, in one verse Oh Boy! Oh what joy! Myrna Loy! I’m not much of a poet. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074.md?page=11)