# I'm rewatching every episode of Columbo **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [October 27, 2021, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309 "2021-10-27T12:45:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/21 "2021-10-27T15:23:30Z")
I have the Columbo series on DVD and I watch one episode every other Sunday (alternating with another show). However, I skip the ones that come from Ed McBain stories (No Time to Die and Undercover). I like Ed McBain but it doesn’t fit for Columbo. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/22 "2021-10-27T15:35:17Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > I watched that episode the other day! The person who played the killer/Silly String sprayer was Roddy McDowell. … And James Gregory (“Dr Adams” in _ **ST:TOS** _ “Dagger of the Mind”) played his uncle/murder victim. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/23 "2021-10-27T15:55:59Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I think my favorite episode is “Forgotten Lady,” with Janet Leigh and John Payne as two old Hollywood film stars. It’s one of the few episodes where Columbo knows who the murderer is but lets him/her go. No offense @terentii; I always enjoy your old TV show observations and trivia, but that’s one of my _ **least** _ favorite eps, precisely for that reason: since she doesn’t even remember killing her husband, we don’t get to see her squirm while Columbo moves in for the checkmate, and then he lets her go. Very anticlimactic. Another one of my least favorites is another mold-breaking episode, “Columbo Cries Wolf” in which a Hugh Hefner-style owner of a girlie magazine appears to have killed his business partner, and Columbo is made to look like a fool after Columbo publicly leans hard on him as the killer, and then she shows up alive. It was just a publicity stunt! Except, it was also a murder plot because he then murders his business partner for real, thinking Columbo will be afraid to be fooled twice. Of course, Columbo will not be fooled twice. But Columbo should not be fooled at all; he needs to be one step ahead always, dammit! He should never be fooled by fake clues. He can be in temporary doubt about being able to get the proper evidence, but not about what is actually happening. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/24 "2021-10-27T16:10:11Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I think my favorite episode is “Forgotten Lady,” with Janet Leigh and John Payne as two old Hollywood film stars. Also in this episode is Francine York, another baddie from _ **Batman** _. Hubba-hubba! 🥰 [![](https://extra-images.akamaized.net/image/c0/3by2/2017/01/07/c0e370e27615576386d9331ee2586f8c_md.jpg) ](https://extra-images.akamaized.net/image/c0/3by2/2017/01/07/c0e370e27615576386d9331ee2586f8c_md.jpg) [![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z54CB2fLJ24/V4POo4Wo_dI/AAAAAAAADjI/nQRPeLgNOk8RazGTR69WLHXtpxExDxCUwCLcB/s280/13510921_255236168182239_8515620579943272803_n.jpg) ](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z54CB2fLJ24/V4POo4Wo_dI/AAAAAAAADjI/nQRPeLgNOk8RazGTR69WLHXtpxExDxCUwCLcB/s280/13510921_255236168182239_8515620579943272803_n.jpg) ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/25 "2021-10-27T16:17:32Z")
> [@solost](#): > > No offense @terentii; I always enjoy your old TV show observations and trivia, but that’s one of my _ **least** _ favorite eps, precisely for that reason: since she doesn’t even remember killing her husband, we don’t get to see her squirm while Columbo moves in for the checkmate, and then he lets her go. Very anticlimactic. Columbo also lets Claudia Christian get away in “It’s All in the Game,” though he does nail Faye Dunaway. As to whether or not he lets Mariette Hartley get away in “Try and Catch Me,” we don’t know ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/26 "2021-10-27T16:27:01Z")
I recently did a rewatch myself. Favorite episode: “A Friend in Need”. Best killer, best “gotcha moment”. BTW, Dick Van Dyke played a killer in the Matlock episode: “The Judge”. The killer in the last Columbo was Matthew Rhys, who hangs a man and leaves a faked suicide note, a tactic he would repeat in an episode of “The Americans”. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/27 "2021-10-27T16:38:35Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Was the show always two hours long? That’s waaaay too long. That’s been answered already. But the reason it was long was that it was originally part of The NBC Mystery Movie lineup. Movies are longer than TV shows even when they’re TV shows. > [@solost](#): > > I just watched a relatively recent (1990) episode where he was befuddled by a fax machine. Was that really new tech in 1990? It seems ancient now. I don’t know the actual answer, but dramatically I’d expect it to be new-ish technology, but old enough to be understood by anyone working in an office. It wouldn’t fit the befuddled-by-new-technology theme otherwise. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/28 "2021-10-27T16:48:34Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > …it was originally part of The NBC Mystery Movie lineup. Who else even remembers the other Mystery Movies in the lineup off the top of their head without looking it up? I remember ‘McMillan and Wife’ and that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/29 "2021-10-27T16:50:48Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Also, the show kind of revolves around the fact that he is sent to be the lead on very high profile cases. So I would assume the department does know he’s very capable. In _A Trace of Murder_, the murderer is a member of Columbo’s forensics lab. He was having an affair with a woman, and they conspired to murder her husband’s business rival and frame the husband. At one point, Columbo is in a restaurant with the woman and the forensics guy, and is suddenly struck by the realization that those two knew each other. He immediately got up and excued himself and walked off in mid-conversation to process the new information, which naturally struck the others as extremely odd. But the forensics guy reassured the woman that there was nothing to worry about, and that Columbo was just a bit nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/30 "2021-10-27T16:53:30Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Who else even remembers the other Mystery Movies in the lineup off the top of their head without looking it up? Wasn’t Banecek one? ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/31 "2021-10-27T16:54:19Z")
> [@solost](#): > > The in-show canon on that is a bit inconsistent. Sometimes he appears absent-minded and bumbling in scenes when he doesn’t have to, when the suspect is not around, and other times he shows flashes of astonishing skill and competence in various areas other than detectiving. I suppose he could be both; absent-minded and bumbling in some areas, savant in others. IIRC, Falk’s take on the character was that, when Columbo seems absent-minded and bumbling even when no suspect is around, it’s because the guy isn’t giving his full attention to the non-detectiving matter du jour; to the extent he can get away with it, he’s constantly pondering this or that odd detail of this or that homicide case. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/32 "2021-10-27T16:55:33Z")
Here’s a useful site: > **[THE COLUMBOPHILE BLOG](https://columbophile.com/)** > > Blog dedicated to keeping Lieutenant Columbo and Peter Falk close to the hearts of fans everywhere, chronicling the magic moments connected to the show. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/33 "2021-10-27T16:56:11Z")
Just popping in to say Falk/_Columbo_ fans should watch the excellent Wim Wenders’ film _Wings of Desire_ (1987). Peter falk plays himself, and there are lots of _Columbo_ references. The show was apparently popular in Germany. Or at least, West Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/34 "2021-10-27T16:58:28Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Who else even remembers the other Mystery Movies in the lineup off the top of their head without looking it up? I remember ‘McMillan and Wife’ and that’s about it. I vaguely remember that there were three Mystery Movies, and I remember McMillan and Wife. Was the other on McCloud? Now I have to go look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/35 "2021-10-27T17:00:11Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I vaguely remember that there were three Mystery Movies, and I remember McMillan and Wife. Was the other on McCloud? Now I have to go look it up. Yes, I believe it was McCloud. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/36 "2021-10-27T17:01:34Z")
I remember “The Snoop Sisters” (and I kind of think that “Quincy” premiered as part of the Mystery Movie series before going out on its own) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/37 "2021-10-27T17:02:26Z")
Yes! At least at the beginning [it was McCloud]. [Wikipedia says](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NBC_Mystery_Movie) that when Columbo was more popular than the others, it was spun out into its own show and replaced by Hec Ramsey. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/38 "2021-10-27T17:04:41Z")
I’d recommend a fun murder mystery movie called Murder by Death. It’s a bit of a parody of the whodunit theme but it has an all-star cast. Peter Falk is among great names like David Niven, Peter Sellers, Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith and others. The characters are spoofs of famous fictional detectives. Peter Falk plays Sam Diamond who is a spoof of Sam Spade of The Maltese Falcon. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/39 "2021-10-27T17:10:28Z")
And Peter reprised that for _The Cheap Detective_. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309/40 "2021-10-27T17:31:43Z")
The Mystery “wheel”. Don’t forget Cool Million, Tenafly, Madigan, Farraday and Company. Lannigan’s Rabbi (with Art Carney!), and Amy Prentiss aka the Chief. Most people do. I watched them all, I ate that stuff up. And McCoy, with Tony Curtis. Even I forgot that one! I kept hoping Cool Million would come out on DVD. Then I find it was only FIVE episodes! Seemed there should be more. I guess that’s the Wheel format for you. I think the only ones on DVD are Colombo, McMillian with or without Wife, Banacek and McCloud, I loved McClod when he was new, and while the others available do hold up, McClod is insufferably stupid! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-rewatching-every-episode-of-columbo/953309.md?page=3)