# Which Columbo episode to start with? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [October 16, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660 "2023-10-16T17:51:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/21 "2023-10-17T03:56:56Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “Now You See Him” and “A Friend in Need,” respectively. I would second the one with Jack Cassidy as a magician. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/22 "2023-10-17T07:45:16Z")
Lots of good suggestions here, thank you 🙂 I’ll read up on suggested episodes on Columbo fan blogs to make a choice. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I can’t recommend any specific good ones (maybe the one with Ross Martin? or Johnny Cash\*?) but I could tell you with ones to avoid! 🙂 The Lawrence Harvey one is particularly bad. Just to wrap this up, the one with Ross Martin is _Suitable for Framing_ mentioned above, and the one with Laurence Harvey is _The Most Dangerous Match_. I didn’t particularly like the latter either, but I think it had a nice clue in a witness’ recollection of who made the first move in a chess game in a restaurant - this allowed Columbo to conclude who was playing White in that match, which became of relevance later on. ---
**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 17, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/23 "2023-10-17T13:04:53Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > I’ll read up on suggested episodes on Columbo fan blogs to make a choice. This one is very informative. I used it to jog my memory of individual episodes when posting here. > **[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:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/24 "2023-10-17T13:55:09Z")
My favorite one is _Blueprint for Murder_ because it has the sweetest schadenfreude. When the killer opens up the car trunk and BAM! all the floodlights come on to reveal Columbo and a group of uniformed officers waiting for him, it’s just divine. That’s the one I’d recommend starting with. It also has some good comedy where Columbo tackles the Los Angeles City bureaucracy. I can’t watch _Forgotten Lady_ anymore since I lost my mom to early-onset Alzheimer’s. It’s a good episode, but I just can’t do it. ---
**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 17, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/25 "2023-10-17T15:17:52Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > I can’t watch _Forgotten Lady_ anymore since I lost my mom to early-onset Alzheimer’s. It’s a good episode, but I just can’t do it. Despite the fact that the episode is @terentii’s favorite, I think it would be a terrible intro episode anyway. The tried-and-true formula is enjoying the delicious shadenfreude of watching the smug, entitled, a-hole killer think they fooled Columbo and got away with the perfect murder, when actually Columbo is quietly outsmarting them at every turn. Doesn’t work nearly as well when the killer is a sympathetic figure of pity. ---
**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 17, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/26 "2023-10-17T15:47:26Z")
> [@solost](#): > > The tried-and-true formula is enjoying the delicious shadenfreude of watching the smug, entitled, a-hole killer think they fooled Columbo and got away with the perfect murder, when actually Columbo is quietly outsmarting them at every turn. Doesn’t work nearly as well when the killer is a sympathetic figure of pity. Also, when he tries to get in the last word with John Payne at the end, he gets oh-so-coolly outclassed by a guy who isn’t even trying to enjoy it. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/27 "2023-10-17T15:49:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > > [@E-DUB](#): > > > > Titles escape me at the moment but the one with Jack Cassidy as the magician and the one with Richard Kiley as the deputy police commissioner. > > “Now You See Him” and “A Friend in Need,” respectively. I watched the whole 1970s Columbo run on Freevee (through Prime) recently and _A Friend in Need_ had probably my favourite ending. Columbo’s gotcha moment is priceless. _Any Old Port in a Storm_ is also excellent; you can tell Falk and Pleasance were having a lot of fun with that one. They are both superb. All the Robert Culp ones are good too. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/28 "2023-10-17T15:50:42Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@Catamount](#): > > > > I can’t watch _Forgotten Lady_ anymore since I lost my mom to early-onset Alzheimer’s. It’s a good episode, but I just can’t do it. > > Despite the fact that the episode is @terentii’s favorite, I think it would be a terrible intro episode anyway. > > The tried-and-true formula is enjoying the delicious shadenfreude of watching the smug, entitled, a-hole killer think they fooled Columbo and got away with the perfect murder, when actually Columbo is quietly outsmarting them at every turn. Doesn’t work nearly as well when the killer is a sympathetic figure of pity. Yes I agree with this, although the one with the ‘little old lady’ and the safe is a very good episode and she is most definitely sympathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/29 "2023-10-17T15:51:17Z")
I know that later-era Colombo can be less good, but _Columbo Goes to College (1990)_ is still one of my favorites in the whole series. Just of the smugness of the two murderers is enough to make it great, but you also get a delightful return of Robert Culp. ---
**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 17, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/30 "2023-10-17T17:10:47Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > > [@solost](#): > > > > The tried-and-true formula is enjoying the delicious shadenfreude of watching the smug, entitled, a-hole killer think they fooled Columbo and got away with the perfect murder, when actually Columbo is quietly outsmarting them at every turn. Doesn’t work nearly as well when the killer is a sympathetic figure of pity. > > Yes I agree with this, although the one with the ‘little old lady’ and the safe is a very good episode and she is most definitely sympathetic. “Try and Catch Me.” The “little old lady” is Ruth Gordon. This one is also unusual, since Ruth’s after-the-fact accomplice (Mariette Hartley) apparently goes unpunished. ---
**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 17, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/31 "2023-10-17T17:17:40Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I know that later-era Colombo can be less good, but _Columbo Goes to College (1990)_ is still one of my favorites in the whole series. Just of the smugness of the two murderers is enough to make it great, but you also get a delightful return of Robert Culp. I like this one too, even though Columbo nails the murderers using the same trick as in “A Friend in Need.” We could do a whole thread on Columbo’s murderers. Robert Culp, George Hamilton, Robert Vaughn, and John Cassavetes are among the slimiest. ---
**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 17, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/32 "2023-10-17T17:33:15Z")
There’s a list that starts with “Jack” and ends with “Cassidy”. ---
**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 17, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/33 "2023-10-17T17:49:59Z")
One that deviates only slightly from the formula is the one where Martin Landau plays twins. That one was pretty good too. ---
**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 17, 2023, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/34 "2023-10-17T17:53:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > We could do a whole thread on Columbo’s murderers. Robert Culp, George Hamilton, Robert Vaughn, and John Cassavetes are among the slimiest. Were those all murderers who commit a secondary murder to try to cover up the first murder? I remember that happened a not insignificant number of times. Then there were the murderers who tried to knock off Columbo when they realized he was onto them. I can think of two off the top of my head-- _Murder Under Glass_, where Louis Jordan tries to poison Columbo with a rigged wine opener (but Columbo marked the poisoned opener, so it was really a trap he set up to bust Jordan). In _Columbo Goes to the Guillotine_, Columbo allows a magician to try a guillotine trick on him, that had ‘acidentally’ killed the victim. There was a switch for ‘real blade / fake blade’ so the blade would convincingly cut through a melon, but not a real human head. The magician had reversed the labels on the switch for the original murder. Columbo switched them back. This was pretty ballsy on Columbo’s part, and not too believable, because this trap Columbo set depended on the murderer definitely attempting to murder him. If the murderer had decided, I don’t know, maybe it’s _ **not** _ such a good idea to try to off a police detective, and had attempted to set the switch to what he thought was ‘fake blade’, it woulda been curtains for Columbo. ---
**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 17, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/35 "2023-10-17T17:56:54Z")
Don’t forget Nicol Williamson! ---
**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 17, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/36 "2023-10-17T20:08:59Z")
I liked Laurel and Hardy! 🙂 The first two that come to mind in the category of “secondary murders” are “Negative Reaction” and “A Deadly State of Mind.” The third is “Dagger of the Mind.” ---
**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 17, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/37 "2023-10-17T20:20:53Z")
But! Can you name a killer who pulled off _three_ murders? ---
**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 17, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/38 "2023-10-17T20:43:38Z")
In one episode? ---
**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 17, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/39 "2023-10-17T20:45:02Z")
Pretty much. ---
**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 17, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660/40 "2023-10-17T21:02:33Z")
I can think of others with secondary murders, but three in one episode is gonna take some time. BTW, I just discovered the one with the police commissioner is titled “A Friend in _Deed_,” not “Need.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-columbo-episode-to-start-with/991660.md?page=3)