# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/141 "2023-03-20T07:13:29Z")
Definitely one of my least favourite episodes of the 1970s run that I’ve recently got through. Firstly, what was he thinking trying to befriend (or even woo) her? Secondly, what was _she_ thinking, not running a mile when he came knocking at her door?! ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/142 "2023-03-20T13:06:31Z")
If Colombo’s interrogation had been real, she probably would have had a miscarriage on the spot. ☹ ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/143 "2023-03-20T13:16:33Z")
He was trying to seduce her by being swavey and deboner. 😁 He was obviously hoping she’d quit talking to the cops once she was putty in his hands. Then he’d have the option of carrying on the affair or arranging an “accident” and ditching her body at sea. I think the latter was heavily implied when she said toward the end “Oh, he’s taking me out on his boat tomorrow morning,” or words to that effect. I dunno what her mindset was, but I fer sure would freak out if someone I just saw commit a murder showed up at my front door! ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/144 "2023-03-20T13:29:00Z")
I have an RCA flatscreen that’s about ten years old. It’s hooked up to a digital cable service. Since I live in a basement apartment, I think it’d be pointless to try getting signals with an antenna. I remember when Canada switched to digital back in 2009. Analogue sets could still work (I think you needed some kind of adapter), but the streets were littered with perfectly good ones that were put out for the trash man to collect. When I was living in Moscow, I bought a tunable Radioshack TV antenna to bring home with while on a visit to the US. I hooked it up to the analogue set I had at the time (a Grundig, I think), but I still couldn’t get any signals coming through the air. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/145 "2023-03-20T13:39:32Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Lee Grants Stepdaughter: “So I got a pistol with blanks and pretended to shoot her several times. Then she chased me and found the message I left on her mirror. A message spelled out with magazine letters like a kidnapping message. Then she banged her head on a beacon I hung from the ceiling. And finally she found me in a closet where I THINK she’s hidden the ransom money somewhere.” > > “And you got this idea from Columbo?” > > Columbo: “I just want to say, I only told her to ‘make her step-mom unneverved’. Not this insane bit of business she went through.” Did you notice Grant’s **complete lack of reaction** while she was listening to them argue over the bogus keys? In her shoes, I would have been going “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! I forgot about the goddamned keys! I still have them, and they’re incriminating! Why the hell didn’t I get rid of them after the murder? If they do find them, my ass is grass!” ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/146 "2023-03-20T15:12:18Z")
This of course begs the question: After reprimanding Margaret for fabricating evidence, why didn’t Columbo turn to Grant (who was standing nearby listening to the whole exchange) and say “Oh, one more thing: Would you mind, ma’am, if we have a look at _your_ keys, so long as we’re all here?” ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/147 "2023-03-20T15:53:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Would you mind, ma’am, if we have a look at _your_ keys, so long as we’re all here? “Get a warrant.” ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/148 "2023-03-20T15:57:42Z")
**COLUMBO:** “Of course, ma’am. No problem there. Margaret, would you mind keeping an eye on your stepmother while I get one?” ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/149 "2023-03-20T16:09:32Z")
The thing that struck me about Columbo was it seemed to be one of the first crime shows where you knew who the perp was within the first few minutes - there was no ‘Charlie Chan’ reveal moment. You couldn’t try to solve along with the protagonist, you just had to watch his explorations. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/150 "2023-03-20T16:09:38Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Of course, ma’am. No problem there. Margaret, would you mind keeping an eye on your stepmother while I get one? Judge: “You want a warrant why? This bogus evidence by a civilian acting as an agent of the police shocks the conscience. Not only am I not granting the warrant, I suspect the trial judge will throw out all the evidence obtained as a result of the police misconduct. There may even be legal repercussions for the police. have a nice day!” ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/151 "2023-03-20T16:17:32Z")
Yeah, that would be a real downer. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/152 "2023-03-20T17:29:52Z")
There was one episode, Farewell to the Commodore I think it was called, where the viewer _didn’t_ know, and funnily enough it is one of the most poorly received episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Kelby2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ebca7d/32.png) [@Kelby2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby2)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/153 "2023-03-20T17:34:40Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > > [@icon](#): > > > > And as they come on do you say to yourself: …just one more time? > > No…but perhaps I should (to get into the spirit of things!) > > > [@Andy\_L](#): > > > > My impression is that more than a **few** episodes depend on new tech or on tech that Columbo could plausibly pretend ignorance of (dissolving sutures, fancy phone systems that allow forwarding, typewriters with a type ball, VCRs, closed circuit tv, reversing a photographic negative, etc.) > > Yes, among the 69 episodes there were quite a few that featured the New Tech of the day. I remember (in addition to those you mentioned) an episode with an extended scene of Columbo having trouble leaving a coherent message on an answering machine—it was clearly something he hadn’t done, before. > > I’m willing to forgive these plot points–after all, one reason we watch shows and movies from decades back is to ‘time travel’ and learn how things were done and how people’s experiences reflected the times. (At least that’s true for me.) I’m always startled to see the amount of air pollution obscuring the L.A. skyline in those pre- catalytic converter days. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/154 "2023-03-20T18:30:27Z")
That key business and the entire accompanying pantomime is so confusing, I just ignore it. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/155 "2023-03-20T19:41:59Z")
If they had actually gone after them, the episode could have been cut in half. So it was just filler—which could be either good or bad writing, depending on your point of view. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/156 "2023-03-20T20:06:04Z")
the whole ep is just weird. Suzanne Pleshette’s mom is only 41 but looks a lot older and says ‘her husband has been gone 30 years’. So looks and character match up. Suzanne, her character and age match up as does Eddie Albert. But he’s 33 years older then her! A guy 33 years older shows up, says you’re accusing him of murder, says ‘watch the news tonight’. Then shows up at work and asks if you watched the news\* and asks you out on a date. And your mom, who would be a much better match, eggs you on to date this guy. \*And the news did nothing to exculpate him of the murder! Its still entertaining but easily the worst one to date. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/157 "2023-03-20T20:10:16Z")
“Last Salute to the Commodore,” and _technically_, the viewer _thinks_ they know who did it, but the “killer” they see at the start is themselves killed halfway through, which is where the whodunnit thing comes from. I think the basic gimmick was sound (they repeated it in a more traditional way in one of the ABC movies), and that it could’ve been better remembered with a better ending/solution. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/158 "2023-03-20T21:26:18Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Also: I watch Columbo on Freevee on my firestick. Its also available on Tubi. It’s also on Peacock. I’m not sure if you need the premium subscription or if it’s available on their free service. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/159 "2023-03-20T23:10:53Z")
> [@Kelby2](#): > > I’m always startled to see the amount of air pollution obscuring the L.A. skyline in those pre- catalytic converter days. Yes, it’s amazing what people put up with. Back in the 70s (and likely other decades), there’d be a couple of weeks in January in which prevailing winds would blow away the smog and it was possible to see that L.A. was surrounded by mountains. But the rest of the year, one had no idea. Of course movie and TV production couldn’t all take place during those two weeks–so film made back then does show a lot of whitish/yellowish skies. 😧 ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2023, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074/160 "2023-03-21T06:10:28Z")
The next ep perfectly illustrates the modern ‘death of the character actor’. Especially ones that look like your neighbor. In an episode where Peter Falk is the best looking actor… We’ve got: Ross Martin Kim Hunter Vic Tayback Mary Wickes uhhh…that nosy neighbor from Bewitched… In his prime Don Ameche of course put everyone to shame. Not only do they look like your neighbor, they do WONDERFUL, unique eccentric character work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-a-few-questions-for-discussion/957074.md?page=9)