# Columbo TV show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [January 27, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652 "2021-01-27T23:32:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [January 28, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/21 "2021-01-28T03:06:38Z")
Aha! That does cast a new light on things, doesn’t it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/22 "2021-01-28T03:08:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There were two different wheels, aired on different nights. I’d forgotten that. Yeah, we didn’t start off watching the original, I don’t remember why. Our household started with the other one. I don’t remember “Cool Million” at all, but I remember the other two. Later on we started watching the other night’s offerings but to us they were later, we may not have realized they’d been on TV earlier. _Hec Ramsey_, _Banacek_, and _Tenafly_ were better than their lack of reputation would imply. I remember my mom not caring for _Columbo_ because she’s an old-school “whodunnit” fan and didn’t like that it shows you who the murderer is right away, but I thought that was actually very original and made it a different kind of narrative than what we were accustomed to. I didn’t think _McMillan and Wife_ was all that hot, but _Quincy_ rocked. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/23 "2021-01-28T03:17:36Z")
Another vote for the awesome Banacek. One of my favorite all-time mystery shows. There are so many good Columbo episodes. “A Case of Immunity”, “Candidate for Crime”, and “A Matter of Honor” are all top-notch. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2021, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/24 "2021-01-28T03:18:33Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Name your favorite: Mine is “A Friend in Deed” with Richard Kiley as the murderer, a deputy police commissioner and Columbo’s boss’s boss. I have so many, most of them from the early years of the series. It’s easier to name the first one I remember seeing, which made a great impression on me: “The Most Crucial Game.” It’s the one where Robert Culp murders the owner of a sports team with a block of ice while he’s climbing out of a swimming pool. He then tosses the ice into the pool and sprays the deck with a garden hose to cover his tracks, _“Wait a minute … there’s no chlorine in this water. That’s not right!”_ ---
**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:** [January 28, 2021, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/25 "2021-01-28T03:24:50Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It’s fascinating to see Boston from the 1970s. Next time I’m strolling around Beacon Hill I want to try and find Banacek’s house and Mulholland’s Rare Books and Prints. Per wikipedia, Bannercheck’s house is at 85 Mount Vernon Street, and Felix’s bookstore is at 50 Beacon Street. Other than that the address for most of the locations is at 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA. 🙂 My dad hated Columbo, because he likened him to the KGB. He’d find someone he thought was guilty, and hounded him till he confessed. The fact that Columbo picked the correct guy was just good writing, not good detecting. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/26 "2021-01-28T03:55:33Z")
I’ve always enjoyed “Any Old Port in a Storm” where the murderer killed his brother in his wine cellar, and “Columbo Goes to the Guillotine.” Oh and “Blueprint for Murder” is a really clever one! ---
**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:** [January 28, 2021, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/27 "2021-01-28T04:00:21Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I’ve always enjoyed “Any Old Port in a Storm” where the murderer killed his brother in his wine cellar… Every time I watch that episode I can’t help imagining what it would be like to strip a corpse who’s been sealed in an overheated cellar for a week and then dress him in a wet suit. Yeccch! 🤮 ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/28 "2021-01-28T04:11:51Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Blythe Danner I’ve had a crush on her ever since Hawkeye did in MASH ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/29 "2021-01-28T04:12:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It’s the one where Robert Culp murders the owner of a sports team with a block of ice while he’s climbing out of a swimming pool. The team owner was played by Dean Stockwell. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/30 "2021-01-28T04:13:33Z")
Wasn’t there a Western wheel as well- shows like Sugarfoot IIRC. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2021, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/31 "2021-01-28T04:32:05Z")
That was way back in the late '50s. I remember _ **Sugarfoot** _, _ **Maverick** _, and a couple of other Westerns alternating on Saturday night, I think it was. All from Warner Bros., IIRC. Blythe Danner’s niece Hillary was in the _ **Columbo** _ episode “Too Many Notes” (2000). Is she gorgeous, or what? 🥰 > **[Hillary Danner](https://charmed.fandom.com/wiki/Hillary_Danner)** > > Hillary Danner is an American actress. She portrayed Alexandra van Lewen in the season 2 episode "Reckless Abandon". Hillary is a cousin of Gwyneth Paltrow. IMDB Link ---
**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:** [January 28, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/32 "2021-01-28T04:57:24Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > _Who was pregnant at the time,_ is the joke. Well, yeah, I said Gwyneth was young. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Per wikipedia, Bannercheck’s house is at 85 Mount Vernon Street, and Felix’s bookstore is at 50 Beacon Street. I looked up the addresses before, so I know about where they are, I just haven’t been strolling around that neighborhood in quite a while. There was also a scene in the opening credits (second season, I think) of Banacek getting out of a limousine and escorting his date into Durgin Park, so somebody with some Boston cred must have worked on the series at some point. That stretch of Beacon St. along the Common and the Public Garden showed up on a few TV shows. The exterior for _Cheers_ was just a few blocks away, and I think I recognized the steps across from the State House on _Sabrina the Teenage Witch_. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/33 "2021-01-28T05:02:57Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I remember _ **Sugarfoot** _ , _ **Maverick** _ , and a couple of other Westerns alternating on Saturday night, I think it was. _Sugarfoot_ alternated with _Bronco_ and _Cheyenne_ in different combinations on Tuesday nights. _Maverick_ had its own slot, but stories usually rotated between brothers Bart and Bret in alternate weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/34 "2021-01-28T05:04:17Z")
I recently binge-watched the entire run that was available on Peacock for free. It got me to wondering what we can learn about the Lieutenant’s family, and what continuity errors there are (given that in one episode Columbo said he had no children, and in another he said his wife could not join the dinner because they could not get a babysitter for their child that night on short notice). Anyway, I’ve enjoyed all of the _Mystery Movie_ flicks, most especially _Colombo_. ---
**Author:** ![BigDfromLA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@BigDfromLA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDfromLA)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/35 "2021-01-28T05:35:27Z")
What was funny about both Columbo and Quincy M.E. is that neither show ever revealed their main character’s first name. Liutenant and Doctor were always inserted instead of a first name for both of them. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/36 "2021-01-28T13:30:36Z")
Obligatory literary reference: the writers based the Columbo character on the detective in Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’, who kept making excuses to revisit and ask the murderer questions supposedly just to tie up loose ends (ahhh…one more thing…) and acted harmless and friendly so the murderer, who thought he was far smarter than the detective, didn’t think he was under suspicion. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/37 "2021-01-28T13:36:38Z")
Asimov wrote a novel in the late 50s which featured a detective much like Columbo in a Columbo type situation - a detective investigating a murder in a college chemistry laboratory and thus always asking questions about chemistry, etc. (the killer’s confession was elicited with a Columbo-type trick, as well) ---
**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:** [January 28, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/38 "2021-01-28T13:41:03Z")
The information Columbo gave about his family was unreliable, since he could have been lying to mislead his suspects. The first name visible on Columbo’s ID in various episodes was “Frank.” [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/Columbo-Signature2-bright.PNG) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/Columbo-Signature2-bright.PNG) Contrary to what some believe, it was not “Philip,” and his wife may have been “Rose.” > **[10 Things You Might Not Know About Columbo](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/62270/facts-about-columbo-peter-falk)** > > 6. The character's trademark raincoat came from Peter Falk's own closet. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/39 "2021-01-28T13:43:17Z")
P.S. Asimov said that he was annoyed that if he ever wrote a sequel with that same detective, people would think he was copying Columbo ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652/40 "2021-01-28T13:58:32Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I liked _Banacek_ . George Peppard was superb in the role. I enjoyed these until I realized virtually all of them came down to the same two solutions: 1. Either the stolen item was still there, just disguised. or 1. The item was never really there to begin with. The only exception I can think of off hand was the football player who vanished from the field in the midst of a game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbo-tv-show/931652.md?page=3)