Was there ever an episode in which the Lieutenant followed up all the clues and then still made all the wrong conclusions, and almost arrested the wrong person? I said “almost” because I do not believe the producers would let their star actually close an episode with “egg on his face.”
If not, then I think an episode such as this might be a great one.
Thanks
Quasi
SPOILERS
There was one once where we, the viewer, watched Robert Vaughn dispose of a body, then saw Columbo follow all the clues correctly. However, Vaughn was then discovered murdered too, and it was revealed that he hadn’t in fact killed the first victim. I think. It was a long time ago.
More recently, Raquel Welch managed to fool him: she tricked him into thinking she was the murdered when in fact it was her daughter, Claudia Whatsherface (Commander Ivanova from B5). Of course he figured it out in the end, but let Ivanova go.
Alex B
To slightly hijack, I remember one episode (actually I think it was an 80/90s movie) that did not follow the standard routine. As all Colombo fans know, the murderer is shown committing the deed at the beginning of the episode. The balance is Colombo investigating and cornering the murderer.
In the episode I recall that deviating from this formula, there was a crime (disappearance? kidnapping?) involving a relative of Colombo’s. The audience was never shown the crime, and it played out like a standard mystery. I believe it involved the wedding of a relative of the lieutenant.
As to the OP, I don’t remember an episode other than the one I’ve mentioned deviating from the formula, but I’m not sure I’ve seen them all.
There was a TV move, “Columbo cries Wolf” in which COlumbo correctly solves a murder which did not actually happen because the victim wasn’t dead.
SPOILERS BELOW
But the suspected killer later killed the victim and Columbo caught him.
The ‘relative’ was his the woman his nephew married. She was kidnapped from the hotel room while her new husband was in the shower. They got all the pics from the wedding developed and had folks identify all people in it 'til they got the one person no one knew.
As for the Robert Vaughn episode, he flushed out the murderer by holding his hands up to their ear and saying “the Commodor’s watch”, they all said stuff like “daddy’s watch?” “so?” except for the murderer who knew it was broken, and he said “tisn’t”.
As for the OP. - they’ve done many twists and turns, one in which he let the murderer get away (Janet Leigh), who was suffering from a fatal illness, didn’t remember the killing and would be dead anyhow in a few months, I believe it was Faye Dunaway and not Raquel as the mommy taking the rap for the daughter (or they’ve done that one more than once). and another in which Andrew Stevens set it up that he would be thought to be the murderer, then not, and finally at the end, caught. (and another where the ‘body’ wasn’t dead at first, spent the entire episode trying to proove a murder that didn’t happen, then the murder happened at the end and the guy gets caught of course).
I am a HUGE Lt. Columbo fan.
(SPOILER FOLLOWS)
The most shocking episode ever, IMHO, was the one where Lt. Columbo solves murder/catches the killer, but let’s the killer free because she already has a terminal illness and has become so mentally deteriorated, that she truly didn’t remember killing the victim. He let’s her go because her sentence has already been passed down by fate, instead of the law, plus he doesn’t have the heart to make her suffer anymore than she already has.
MSK I mentioned that one. Killer/star= Janet Leigh.
Heathen!
Claudia Christian is her name.
~Arden
who would give up men for CC.