"Just one more thing...": Rewatching Columbo

[Angela Channing]

Had this episode appeared earlier in the season I probably would have been more critical of it but because it appeared immediately after the ghastly Undercover, I like this it far more than I might otherwise have done. Overall, I think it's a good episode but not a great one.

If memory serves, the folding bicycle in the car boot was used by Donald Pleasence in Any Port In A Storm.

Yes it was and the premise of this episode is also similar to the Donald Pleasence one: older brother wanting to kill the younger brother to protect the family business.

Even the Gotcha - with Columbo extracting an ironclad confession by threatening to leave his target to a more brutal form of justice - feels like I’ve seen it before, though I can’t remember in which specific episode

Could you be thinking of Case of Immunity, the one set in the embassy of an Arab country?

As Graham McVeigh, George Wendt makes a decent enough killer.

I really liked him in this. There are 2 types of Columbo murderers that I like: either the ones that he develops a cosy, friendly relationship with like in Any Old Port In The Storm or Try and Catch Me, of the ones that are snappy and antagonistic with him like every Robert Culp murder. I thought George Wendt was more of the latter kind and he played the role really well.

More than perhaps any other episode I noticed a lot of continuity goofs.

I often thought this about several episodes towards the end of Columbo's run and I wondered if it was because there were scenes that were filmed but were cut so the final show would fit a specific running time.

Incidentally, do Americans pronounce the name “Graham” as “Gram”?

I've heard this pronunciation on other shows too. The other pronunciation that sounds strange to me is how Americans pronounce Craig as Cregg.

Rod Steiger's performance added a sense of genuine menace and gave us a sense of McVeigh's world closing in on him.

Using high profile actors always adds interest to episodes of Columbo and can elevate an average episode into something more memorable.

Once again, Columbo has gone to extremes to get his man, raising questions of ethics.

Collaborating with the mafia shows there is nothing Columbo won't do to solve a case. Why was this guy never up on a misconduct charge?

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Had this episode appeared earlier in the season I probably would have been more critical of it but because it appeared immediately after the ghastly Undercover, I like this it far more than I might otherwise have done.

Same here. I added the caveat "by the standards of these later episodes" because at this point it's a relief if an episode follows the Columbo formula, which is something that could mostly be taken for granted in the 1970s episodes.

Yes it was and the premise of this episode is also similar to the Donald Pleasence one: older brother wanting to kill the younger brother to protect the family business.

Oh yes - it was. Can you believe that hadn't consciously registered with me until you said.

Could you be thinking of Case of Immunity, the one set in the embassy of an Arab country?

That's the one. And they both had the factor that if the murderer retracted their confession or tried to get off on a technicality then the original threat would return. Essentially, Columbo has terrorised them into confessing.

There are 2 types of Columbo murderers that I like: either the ones that he develops a cosy, friendly relationship with like in Any Old Port In The Storm or Try and Catch Me, of the ones that are snappy and antagonistic with him like every Robert Culp murder. I thought George Wendt was more of the latter kind and he played the role really well.

Yes, I'd agree with all of this.

I wondered if it was because there were scenes that were filmed but were cut so the final show would fit a specific running time.

Possibly. Interestingly that's the opposite to what happened with some longer episodes earlier on, where additional scenes were added specifically to pad out the running time.

The other pronunciation that sounds strange to me is how Americans pronounce Craig as Cregg.

Ooh - I don't know if I'd noticed that one, but then I haven't watched too many series with Craigs in. I'll have to keep my ear out.

Using high profile actors always adds interest to episodes of Columbo and can elevate an average episode into something more memorable.

Yes. Rod would have made a very formidable Columbo killer, I think.

Collaborating with the mafia shows there is nothing Columbo won't do to solve a case. Why was this guy never up on a misconduct charge?

I know. The mind boggles really.

 

[AndyB2008]

With this talk of Columbo, anyone remember the disaster that was Mrs Columbo?

Richard Levinson, William Link and Peter Falk were understandably against it. Then Fred Silverman/NBC wanted someone younger (although Levinson and Link offered up Jean Stapleton) , so Kate Mulgrew was cast.

After it launched, it was such a disaster with critics and with viewers which proved the likes of Levinson, Link and Falk were right.

Realising this too little too late, NBC moved to expunge the Columbo name from it - they sort of explained it at first as Kate being married to another Columbo to distinguish it from Falk, then ditching it altogether and having Kate revert to her maiden name of Callahan after divorcing him.

The title of the show got changed a few times too.

All to no avail and it ended. Kate Mulgrew did get to headline a more successful show later though.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

With this talk of Columbo, anyone remember the disaster that was Mrs Columbo?

Richard Levinson, William Link and Peter Falk were understandably against it. Then Fred Silverman/NBC wanted someone younger (although Levinson and Link offered up Jean Stapleton) , so Kate Mulgrew was cast.

After it launched, it was such a disaster with critics and with viewers which proved the likes of Levinson, Link and Falk were right.

I watched the episodes that are inexplicably in my Columbo box set many years ago and can't remember a thing about it so it clearly didn't leave much of an impression on me.

It's just so far removed from the concept of the Mrs Columbo established in series canon that it can't feel like anything other than a cheap attempt to cash in on the name.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

A Trace Of Murder

​

As ever, it’s always a relief when a latter-day episode somewhat follows the Columbo formula and this at least ticks that box. There is an attempt at a clever frame-up, a killer who is in a good position to get away with the crime and - rather less promising - a pair who conspire in the plot.

We’re in Death Lends A Hand territory with one of the killers being involved in the investigation. This time it’s someone leading the forensics team, using those methods for his own gain.

Patrick Kinsley is played by David Rasche, most recently seen in O’Dramavision as Rosie’s infamous ex-husband in The Trials Of Rosie O’Neill. He’s watchable enough, though doesn’t exactly set the screen alight here.

Peter Falk’s wife Shera Danese is back for her umpteenth role. This time she’s the one behind the killing: the mercenary spouse to an older man, determined to ensure nobody else gets a share of her husband’s fortune(!!). She’s perfectly acceptable in the role, in a workaday kind of way, but lacks nuance. There’s a fair bit of arch smirking when the plan is going well, or shrill shouting when it isn’t and not a lot in between. One gets the impression that at this point, Peter Falk was just looking for ways to make his household richer at the expense of the integrity of his series. It's rather like when Larry Hagman was executive producer of Dallas and quality went out of the window. Or Angela Lansbury firing her producer so she could hire her brother to help his retirement fund.

It’s a shame because the episode could have been so much better had they cast a bigger name in the role. To a lesser extent, the same goes for the Kinsley character. The story is one that had promise, but I felt in execution the episode just feels a bit flat and lifeless. There’s very little screen chemistry between these two, and that extends to their interactions with Peter Falk.

Barry Corbin is another matter. He’s always very watchable and does great work here even with very little to spark off. He’s best known to me for two roles, his brief stint as Sheriff Fenton Washburn in Dallas, and his terrific turn as Whitey the coach in One Tree Hill, which was where he really got my attention as a great actor. Once again, a supporting Columbo actor steals the show from the killer, and while I’m thankful that he was here to do that, it feels wrong that the episode needs that.

The wedding photos were very convenient. How lucky that this particular moment was captured. But I can forgive that little contrivance since there was at least some detective work involved. Columbo playing the two off against one another was a nice concept in principle, but didn’t work for me in execution. Apart from the by now standard questionably unorthodox methods involved in obtaining a confession, it also depended on not one but two people responding exactly as Columbo planned. I’ll buy one of them cracking, but two is just too much of a stretch for me.

The post-arrest scene in the diner where Columbo laboriously summarised and reenacted his various clues and red flags to his two friends tested my patience. This kind of padding is unnecessary anywhere in the episode. But to tack it on at the end is insulting and the fact they had to go over clues in order for the viewer to understand is a sign of very poor writing indeed.

 

[Angela Channing]

A Trace Of Murder

​

As ever, it’s always a relief when a latter-day episode somewhat follows the Columbo formula and this at least ticks that box. There is an attempt at a clever frame-up, a killer who is in a good position to get away with the crime and - rather less promising - a pair who conspire in the plot.

We’re in Death Lends A Hand territory with one of the killers being involved in the investigation. This time it’s someone leading the forensics team, using those methods for his own gain.

Patrick Kinsley is played by David Rasche, most recently seen in O’Dramavision as Rosie’s infamous ex-husband in The Trials Of Rosie O’Neill. He’s watchable enough, though doesn’t exactly set the screen alight here.

Peter Falk’s wife Shera Danese is back for her umpteenth role. This time she’s the one behind the killing: the mercenary spouse to an older man, determined to ensure nobody else gets a share of her husband’s fortune(!!). She’s perfectly acceptable in the role, in a workaday kind of way, but lacks nuance. There’s a fair bit of arch smirking when the plan is going well, or shrill shouting when it isn’t and not a lot in between. One gets the impression that at this point, Peter Falk was just looking for ways to make his household richer at the expense of the integrity of his series. It's rather like when Larry Hagman was executive producer of Dallas and quality went out of the window. Or Angela Lansbury firing her producer so she could hire her brother to help his retirement fund.

It’s a shame because the episode could have been so much better had they cast a bigger name in the role. To a lesser extent, the same goes for the Kinsley character. The story is one that had promise, but I felt in execution the episode just feels a bit flat and lifeless. There’s very little screen chemistry between these two, and that extends to their interactions with Peter Falk.

Barry Corbin is another matter. He’s always very watchable and does great work here even with very little to spark off. He’s best known to me for two roles, his brief stint as Sheriff Fenton Washburn in Dallas, and his terrific turn as Whitey the coach in One Tree Hill, which was where he really got my attention as a great actor. Once again, a supporting Columbo actor steals the show from the killer, and while I’m thankful that he was here to do that, it feels wrong that the episode needs that.

The wedding photos were very convenient. How lucky that this particular moment was captured. But I can forgive that little contrivance since there was at least some detective work involved. Columbo playing the two off against one another was a nice concept in principle, but didn’t work for me in execution. Apart from the by now standard questionably unorthodox methods involved in obtaining a confession, it also depended on not one but two people responding exactly as Columbo planned. I’ll buy one of them cracking, but two is just too much of a stretch for me.

The post-arrest scene in the diner where Columbo laboriously summarised and reenacted his various clues and red flags to his two friends tested my patience. This kind of padding is unnecessary anywhere in the episode. But to tack it on at the end is insulting and the fact they had to go over clues in order for the viewer to understand is a sign of very poor writing indeed.

This is another great review and I agree with all of it and you have touched on most the points that I would have raised from this episode.

I kind of liked this episode and the clues were good but it falls short of being a great one and I can't help feeling it could have been so much better with a few revisions to the script to sharpen up some of the weak points in the show.

By the time I saw this episode for the first time I had developed an allergy to Shera Danese who is a very average actress at best and doesn't have the screen presence nor the acting ability to pull off a lead role. However, she didn't annoy as much in this episode as she has done in some previous episodes.

This time it’s someone leading the forensics team, using those methods for his own gain.

This had the potential for creating an interesting murderer and a clever crime and although is was reasonably good, I feel they could have made more of the forensic angle. Rubbing what seemed to be hundreds of cat hairs on her husband's back was overkill and looked like planted evidence because a more realistic scenario would have been 2 or 3 hairs only and a forensic investigator would have known that.

It’s a shame because the episode could have been so much better had they cast a bigger name in the role.

Absolutely! Can you imagine how much better it would have been with someone like Sharon Gless or Shelly Long in that role? I know it wouldn't have to be another blonde actress but they were the first names that came to mind.

Barry Corbin is another matter. He’s always very watchable and does great work here even with very little to spark off.

He was the best character in the show. Barry Corbin seems to specialise in playing larger than life Texans in positions of power. He could have been a really interesting Columbo murderer in a different episode.

The post-arrest scene in the diner where Columbo laboriously summarised and reenacted his various clues and red flags to his two friends tested my patience. This kind of padding is unnecessary anywhere in the episode. But to tack it on at the end is insulting and the fact they had to go over clues in order for the viewer to understand is a sign of very poor writing indeed.

That scene was totally unnecessary because they telegraphed Columbo's realisation of the clues when they happened. Both for the sugar/sweetener and the car seat clues, they played music to indicate something significant had happened or was going to happened and just to lay it on even thicker for the first clue, Columbo gets up and walks to the toilet rubbing his head.

 

[Angela Channing]

Realising this too little too late, NBC moved to expunge the Columbo name from it - they sort of explained it at first as Kate being married to another Columbo to distinguish it from Falk, then ditching it altogether and having Kate revert to her maiden name of Callahan after divorcing him.

I hadn't realised that they changed it so Kate wasn't married to our favourite lieutenant but to another Columbo. I suppose they changed the opening sequence to remove the part when she throws away the cigar butt and untangles Dog.

Kate Mulgrew was far too young to fit in with viewers imagination of what Mrs Columbo looked like so they were on to a loser from the start, even though she is a good actress.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I kind of liked this episode and the clues were good but it falls short of being a great one and I can't help feeling it could have been so much better with a few revisions to the script to sharpen up some of the weak points in the show.

Yes - that's it in a nutshell.

By the time I saw this episode for the first time I had developed an allergy to Shera Danese who is a very average actress at best and doesn't have the screen presence nor the acting ability to pull off a lead role.

Agreed. I think she'd underwhelm me anyway, but the blatant nepotism just irritates the hell out of me because we all know she wasn't the best person for the job and she didn't get the role on her merits as an actress.

It seems really unfair. But I suppose sometimes it's not what you know, it's who you know.

I feel they could have made more of the forensic angle. Rubbing what seemed to be hundreds of cat hairs on her husband's back was overkill and looked like planted evidence because a more realistic scenario would have been 2 or 3 hairs only and a forensic investigator would have known that.

Agreed. It didn't feel very well researched by the writers.

I was surprised when he returned to look for the cigarette butt that he didn't wear gloves. Even though the place had already been gone over by CSI, it still seems very careless for someone who knows how forensics work.

Absolutely! Can you imagine how much better it would have been with someone like Sharon Gless or Shelly Long in that role?

Oh - either of those would have been great. That's the calibre of actress we need to be sparring with Peter Falk.

Barry Corbin seems to specialise in playing larger than life Texans in positions of power. He could have been a really interesting Columbo murderer in a different episode.

I wholeheartedly agree. He has great presence and can be really intimidating, and he's a terrifically nuanced actor. He'd have made a great killer.

That scene was totally unnecessary because they telegraphed Columbo's realisation of the clues when they happened. Both for the sugar/sweetener and the car seat clues, they played music to indicate something significant had happened or was going to happened and just to lay it on even thicker for the first clue, Columbo gets up and walks to the toilet rubbing his head.

Yes. The writers have almost always credited the audience with being able to assimilate information and keep an eye on details, and many episodes hold up well to rewatches because of details that may be picked up.

But this scene felt like Columbo For Dummies.

 

[Angela Channing]

Agreed. I think she'd underwhelm me anyway, but the blatant nepotism just irritates the hell out of me because we all know she wasn't the best person for the job and she didn't get the role on her merits as an actress.

It seems really unfair. But I suppose sometimes it's not what you know, it's who you know.

It was bad enough when she had a small role but to promote her to being one of the killers is is putting nepotism way ahead of making a good show. By this stage I sometimes think Peter Falk was only interested in the pay cheque and he probably thought he would get his missus a bigger piece of the action before the series was cancelled for a second time. Had the focus been more on producing better episodes maybe the network would have commissioned more episodes.

I was surprised when he returned to look for the cigarette butt that he didn't wear gloves. Even though the place had already been gone over by CSI, it still seems very careless for someone who knows how forensics work.

Have you noticed how many episodes of Columbo have clues related to smoking? In addition to this episode, there were smoking related clues in Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous To Your Health, Agenda For Murder, Mind Over Mayhem, A Deadly State of Mind, Short Fuse, Strange Bedfellows and maybe a few more that I currently can't remember.

 

[AndyB2008]

It was bad enough when she had a small role but to promote her to being one of the killers is is putting nepotism way ahead of making a good show. By this stage I sometimes think Peter Falk was only interested in the pay cheque and he probably thought he would get his missus a bigger piece of the action before the series was cancelled for a second time. Had the focus been more on producing better episodes maybe the network would have commissioned more episodes.


Have you noticed how many episodes of Columbo have clues related to smoking? In addition to this episode, there were smoking related clues in Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous To Your Health, Agenda For Murder, Mind Over Mayhem, A Deadly State of Mind, Short Fuse, Strange Bedfellows and maybe a few more that I currently can't remember.

I know in one of the later Murder She Wrotes, they had a relative of Angela Lansbury play the killer. The episode that Cynthia Nixon was in.

This at the time she had her family on the show. One of them was Anthony Shaw, who had starred in North Sea Hijack with Roger Moore.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

By this stage I sometimes think Peter Falk was only interested in the pay cheque and he probably thought he would get his missus a bigger piece of the action before the series was cancelled for a second time.

I'm feeling that as well.

Had the focus been more on producing better episodes maybe the network would have commissioned more episodes.

Absolutely. Some episodes have been quite promising, but others have felt like nobody cared at all about what was being created.

Have you noticed how many episodes of Columbo have clues related to smoking? In addition to this episode, there were smoking related clues in Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous To Your Health, Agenda For Murder, Mind Over Mayhem, A Deadly State of Mind, Short Fuse, Strange Bedfellows and maybe a few more that I currently can't remember.

Oh gosh. I hadn't made that connection until you pointed them all out. How intriguing.

I know in one of the later Murder She Wrotes, they had a relative of Angela Lansbury play the killer. The episode that Cynthia Nixon was in.

This at the time she had her family on the show. One of them was Anthony Shaw, who had starred in North Sea Hijack with Roger Moore.

Yeah. Her brother Bruce Lansbury took over as producer starting with the Ninth Season, and I think this kind of thing happened more after that.

I seem to remember reading something about it at some point, and I think Angela was quite open about the fact that it was all done to help Bruce's retirement fund and support the family.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Ashes To Ashes

​

That jingle is back. The theme to Chase’s radio show from Butterfly In Shades Of Grey now serves as the theme for Verity’s TV gossip show promotion. Verity, this episode’s victim, was a nice little turn from Rue McClanahan.

Patrick McGoohan’s name - as actor and director - immediately raised my expectations for the episode considerably. And these were mostly met. I always enjoy the little idiosyncrasies and mannerisms McGoohan brings to his Columbo characters. Eric Prince didn’t feel a million miles away from Agenda For Murder’s Oscar Finch in terms of being avuncular and proper. Propriety in particular seems to be a running theme for his characters, all of whom have their sense of order and consider breaches of this to be very serious indeed.

The backstory, with Verity threatening to out Oscar’s original sin of having stolen a multi million dollar necklace from the neck of a dead film starlet in order to build his empire of respectability, gave a great motive as one senses he was truly backed into a corner. It also meant that Columbo had to solve two crimes, as he couldn’t establish motive without deducing how Prince had hidden the necklace from the police search (he cremated a body wearing it and retrieved the gems later since they’d been resistant to the extreme heat).

Cremating Verity’s body brought a kind of untouchability to Prince. With evidence of his crime scattered over the Hollywood sign, how can it be proven? I appreciated the knock-on effect this had on other “clients” of his, since Verity was substituted for another body, he later had to double-up and cremate two other bodies together. Columbo’s interactions with the widows of these two men helped things feel expansive (especially given Prince’s involvement with one of them, nicely played by Sally Kellerman). The same can be said of Verity’s photo leading him to the Sheik’s house in which the film star had previously lived.

Another familiar face came in the form of Ron Másak as ex-con taxi driver Eddie. Ron is best known to be as Murder, She Wrote’s affable Sheriff Mort Metzger.

The interactions between Columbo and Prince were very watchable, though it has to be said this is almost entirely due to Patrick McGoohan and his unpredictability, which either reigns in or detracts from Peter Falk’s more cartoony performance. He's so wonderfully airily dismissive and condescending. I think McGoohan ad libs as well. If not, he's certainly skilled at making dialogue sound incredibly spontaneous and immediate. There's one point where Columbo pulls out Verity's planner from one of his pockets, and Prince disparagingly mocks him for his bag of tricks or his props. It's a quiet, understated, almost humorous observation that at the same time feels scathing and challenging.

Columbo has some rare flashes of anger in this episode when he realises Verity’s dog has been locked up without food. It’s always interesting to see this side to him, but it’s less effective than angry moments in earlier episodes because Peter Falk’s performance is broader and more animated these days, so there’s less contrast.

The Gotcha is fine. Probably not conclusive by any means as there could be all kinds of reasons why one body’s shrapnel might have got mixed in with another body’s cremains when they were ostensibly cremated back-to-back. But as it involved some genuine detective work I’ll take it.

All in all, a very watchable instalment thanks to McGoohan’s input. I have a feeling I may end up wishing this was the very final episode. But we’ll see.

 

[Angela Channing]

Ashes To Ashes

​

That jingle is back. The theme to Chase’s radio show from Butterfly In Shades Of Grey now serves as the theme for Verity’s TV gossip show promotion. Verity, this episode’s victim, was a nice little turn from Rue McClanahan.

Patrick McGoohan’s name - as actor and director - immediately raised my expectations for the episode considerably. And these were mostly met. I always enjoy the little idiosyncrasies and mannerisms McGoohan brings to his Columbo characters. Eric Prince didn’t feel a million miles away from Agenda For Murder’s Oscar Finch in terms of being avuncular and proper. Propriety in particular seems to be a running theme for his characters, all of whom have their sense of order and consider breaches of this to be very serious indeed.

The backstory, with Verity threatening to out Oscar’s original sin of having stolen a multi million dollar necklace from the neck of a dead film starlet in order to build his empire of respectability, gave a great motive as one senses he was truly backed into a corner. It also meant that Columbo had to solve two crimes, as he couldn’t establish motive without deducing how Prince had hidden the necklace from the police search (he cremated a body wearing it and retrieved the gems later since they’d been resistant to the extreme heat).

Cremating Verity’s body brought a kind of untouchability to Prince. With evidence of his crime scattered over the Hollywood sign, how can it be proven? I appreciated the knock-on effect this had on other “clients” of his, since Verity was substituted for another body, he later had to double-up and cremate two other bodies together. Columbo’s interactions with the widows of these two men helped things feel expansive (especially given Prince’s involvement with one of them, nicely played by Sally Kellerman). The same can be said of Verity’s photo leading him to the Sheik’s house in which the film star had previously lived.

Another familiar face came in the form of Ron Másak as ex-con taxi driver Eddie. Ron is best known to be as Murder, She Wrote’s affable Sheriff Mort Metzger.

The interactions between Columbo and Prince were very watchable, though it has to be said this is almost entirely due to Patrick McGoohan and his unpredictability, which either reigns in or detracts from Peter Falk’s more cartoony performance. He's so wonderfully airily dismissive and condescending. I think McGoohan ad libs as well. If not, he's certainly skilled at making dialogue sound incredibly spontaneous and immediate. There's one point where Columbo pulls out Verity's planner from one of his pockets, and Prince disparagingly mocks him for his bag of tricks or his props. It's a quiet, understated, almost humorous observation that at the same time feels scathing and challenging.

Columbo has some rare flashes of anger in this episode when he realises Verity’s dog has been locked up without food. It’s always interesting to see this side to him, but it’s less effective than angry moments in earlier episodes because Peter Falk’s performance is broader and more animated these days, so there’s less contrast.

The Gotcha is fine. Probably not conclusive by any means as there could be all kinds of reasons why one body’s shrapnel might have got mixed in with another body’s cremains when they were ostensibly cremated back-to-back. But as it involved some genuine detective work I’ll take it.

All in all, a very watchable instalment thanks to McGoohan’s input. I have a feeling I may end up wishing this was the very final episode. But we’ll see.

I like this episode quite a bit and the clever murder really helps. Cremating the body in the way he did makes it feel like it's a fool proof plan and part of the fun is seeing how Columbo is able to find a weakness that viewers didn't see. A well known actress playing the victim is a plus point and the return of a season Columbo veteran in Patrick McGoohan provides additional interest

I think Peter Falk and Patrick McGoohan work together really well and their scenes together are always entertaining.

Eric Prince didn’t feel a million miles away from Agenda For Murder’s Oscar Finch in terms of being avuncular and proper.

And in some ways not a million miles away from Patrick McGoohan's character in By Dawn's Early Light in that all the characters were very formal people who did things very much by the book and had a professional and respectful relationship with the lieutenant.

The interactions between Columbo and Prince were very watchable, though it has to be said this is almost entirely due to Patrick McGoohan and his unpredictability, which either reigns in or detracts from Peter Falk’s more cartoony performance.

I don't remember Peter Falk's performance being like that but it would be typical of his approach to Columbo towards the end of the run. I imagine the straight-lace formality of Patrick McGoohan's character made an effective counter-balance the Peter Falk's approach so it wasn't as apparent to me as it sometimes can be.

The Gotcha is fine. Probably not conclusive by any means as there could be all kinds of reasons why one body’s shrapnel might have got mixed in with another body’s cremains when they were ostensibly cremated back-to-back.

I think a fair chunk of Columbo's cases wouldn't stand up to the scrutiny of a court trial and additionally in this case the lieutenant accepted a gift of what looked like some very expensive tongs from the murderer which I'm sure would be against LAPD regulations and open a line of questioning by a defence lawyer regarding Columbo's professionalism.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I think Peter Falk and Patrick McGoohan work together really well and their scenes together are always entertaining.

Same here. Patrick McG always brings something interesting to the table and it plays really well in his interactions.

And in some ways not a million miles away from Patrick McGoohan's character in By Dawn's Early Light in that all the characters were very formal people who did things very much by the book and had a professional and respectful relationship with the lieutenant.

That's very true.

I don't remember Peter Falk's performance being like that but it would be typical of his approach to Columbo towards the end of the run.

It wasn't a bad performance, but it does feel very much like late-era Falk for me. I think I was expecting a bit more from him with this being a Patrick McGoohan episode, and - while it still lacks the nuance of early episodes and feels a bit lazy in comparison - it's still probably a better performance than in most of his recent episodes, so I'd say working with a great antagonist did help in this case.

I think a fair chunk of Columbo's cases wouldn't stand up to the scrutiny of a court trial and additionally in this case the lieutenant accepted a gift of what looked like some very expensive tongs from the murderer which I'm sure would be against LAPD regulations and open a line of questioning by a defence lawyer regarding Columbo's professionalism.

Oh yes. And I hope Mrs Columbo doesn't use those tongs in the kitchen considering they've been sifting through ashes and shrapnel that's been embedded in someone for half a century.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Murder With Too Many Notes

​

It would be interesting to chart Patrick McGoohan’s connection with the series. Of all the guests on the series he’s evidently the one to have become the most involved with its production. As well as being director, this episode sees him credited as co-writer for the first time (he also apparently co-wrote Ashes To Ashes without credit), and he’s now also co-executive producer. Not bad for someone who began as a one-off guest killer. As with Peter Falk, one has to wonder if the producer title is a way of boosting his salary with a meaningless title. Somehow, though, I’d imagine Patrick wanting to be very involved with his duties.

We’re in Étude In Black territory with our composer/conductor. But with Findlay Crawford being a film composer, there are also hints of Murder, Smoke And Shadows. As in the latter episode - and Requiem For A Falling Star - we spend time at the antagonist’s bungalow at the studio. Also in common with Murder, Smoke And Shadows we're once again open on the Universal backlot, albeit this time round it’s supposed to look slightly fake as it’s our film within a film.

The film within a film feels very much like an era-appropriate thing to do. This the first Columbo episode of the twenty first century, and one of only two episodes to air in this century. Thanks to the burgeoning DVD market - where behind-the-scenes featurettes and filmmaker commentaries were coming into our living rooms - this is a time when audiences were becoming much more sophisticated about and interested in filmmaking, and “postmodern” films such as the Scream series were playing with expectations and using newfound knowledge to surprise the audience with meta or pop culture references. Despite all that, this episode does feel reassuringly traditional in all the ways that count. The main pop culture references when Crawford plays the themes to Psycho and Jaws (two other Universal properties, of course). Other than that, it’s mostly business as usual.

I felt slightly sceptical about Billy Connolly as a Columbo murderer. I’m not sure what American audiences’ awareness of him would have been at the time, but I think of him as a stand up comedian. His stage persona is so ingrained that it’s difficult to watch Billy Connolly in any role and not see Billy Connolly, if that makes sense. That’s the case here as well. I never quite forgot that I was watching this Scottish comic.

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Murder With Too Many Notes​

continued​

I thought it interesting that Billy used his natural accent here, and found myself wondering what American audiences made of it. And of course I couldn’t help noticing he used some American words and pronunciations (“elevator” instead of “lift”; stressing the second syllable instead of the first on “baton”) which grated a little, as it always does when Brits do this.

All the same, he did a decent job here. A classic Columbo antagonist he isn’t, but I found him watchable enough, and his humour was applied well to the role. It wasn’t played for laughs, but the humour was part of his character’s charm.

I’m less sure about him as conductor. To me it looked like he was just waving his arms about randomly. But then I must confess it looks that way with many professional conductors.

It was very reassuring that the first act was both leisurely and engaging. I appreciated spending time with Crawford and Gabriel and seeing the murder being planned and carried out. In classic Columbo style, it’s planned to appear to happen while Crawford is conducting a concert, and it is a decent opening that raised my expectations for the episode.

Unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to it. It’s a shame there are no longer 75 minute episodes at this point because if this episode were a bit brisker it could have been a great one. As it was, it was bogged down by several minutes of filler inserted at several intervals, making it feel bloated. The scene where Columbo escorted Crawford home felt absolutely endless. They took a fun, quirky moment and rode it until the wheels came off. And the result was tedium.

It also bears saying that this is an episode in which a composer points out that one only notices a film score if it’s bad, and yet it’s also an episode which features cartoony tuba music for its lighter moments, as well as various “comic” interludes such as the band “spontaneously” playing That’s Amore, the aforementioned film themes and the now-obligatory rendition of This Old Man (which in my opinion has become overused as the revival has progressed to the point it’s no longer charming).

It’s not all bad news, though. There’s some decent investigative work leading up to the Gotcha. And there are some nice smaller moments, such as Columbo visiting the tailor and speaking to an assistant whose function feels very much like an early Vito Scotti role.


Étude In Black this isn't. But considering its placement as the penultimate episode it's pleasing to see there is still a little life in the old dog yet.

 

[Angela Channing]

Murder With Too Many Notes

I really like this episode and I have a theory that it was meant to be the final episode of Columbo ever. Who else who Peter Falk want to write and direct his final episode other than his friend and serial Columbo co-star Patrick McGoohan? Also the last scene with the victim's girlfriend teaching Columbo how to play Nick Knack Paddy Whack on the piano because Mrs Columbo hums the tune around the house seemed like a nice way to round off the series.

Overall, it's a flawed episode and I wonder whether scenes where edited out which would have improved the episode had they remained. However, it's still a solid episode with a lot in it that I like. I can't remember how long the episode I watched on TV was and I wonder if they reinstated any scenes that were dropped when they released it on DVD.

It was an interesting murder, high profile charismatic killer, nice interplay with Columbo some great clues but the gotcha wasn't as well executed as it could have been. The great clue was the "Too Many Notes" because Gabe included his love notes to Becca (notes that spelt out their names) in his Oscar winning score which proved that he wrote it and not Findlay. However, when Columbo revealed his rooftop gotcha his omitted this key point. All the stuff with the blood on his wrist having traces of the drug, not hearing the lift and the baton not being able to fall through the gap in the door was interesting but the killer clue was surely the notes in the score proving who wrote it. That should have been how it ended but it was never even mentioned.

The main pop culture references when Crawford plays the themes to Psycho and Jaws (two other Universal properties, of course).

"The Fish Movie" says Columbo in a scene which Peter Falk plays almost cartoonishly. Who on earth wouldn't know the film was called Jaws? It just one word to remember.

As it was, it was bogged down by several minutes of filler inserted at several intervals, making it feel bloated.

This is what really annoys me about this episode, there is so much filler which could have been dropped to give more time to improve the final scene on the roof.

I’m not sure what American audiences’ awareness of him would have been at the time, but I think of him as a stand up comedian.

I'm pretty sure by the time this episode of Columbo had gone out Billy Connolly had starred in the Oscar nominated film Mrs Brown with Judi Dench and I think he was nominated for either a Golden Globe or a Screen Actor's Guild award so I think he would be reasonably well know to a lot of Americans.

Talking of Oscars, they never could mention the terms "Oscar" or "Academy Award" in the episode, only referring to it as "the top award" because both terms are copyrighted.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I really like this episode and I have a theory that it was meant to be the final episode of Columbo ever. Who else who Peter Falk want to write and direct his final episode other than his friend and serial Columbo co-star Patrick McGoohan?

Yes, I'd wondered the same thing, and it would have given a reasonably satisfying end to the series.

The great clue was the "Too Many Notes" because Gabe included his love notes to Becca (notes that spelt out their names) in his Oscar winning score which proved that he wrote it and not Findlay. However, when Columbo revealed his rooftop gotcha his omitted this key point. All the stuff with the blood on his wrist having traces of the drug, not hearing the lift and the baton not being able to fall through the gap in the door was interesting but the killer clue was surely the notes in the score proving who wrote it. That should have been how it ended but it was never even mentioned.

Oh yes - that went over my head. They went through the notes spelling out their names on the baton, but I missed the fact that those same notes were in Gabriel's score as well so it wasn't made clear. That's a shame. As you said, it's a great clue.

"The Fish Movie" says Columbo in a scene which Peter Falk plays almost cartoonishly.

Yes. He couldn't remember Psycho by name either. I found that whole scene a bit silly.

there is so much filler which could have been dropped to give more time to improve the final scene on the roof.

Agreed. Most of these later episodes could be improved by being a bit shorter, and this one in particular could have been a real classic.

I'm pretty sure by the time this episode of Columbo had gone out Billy Connolly had starred in the Oscar nominated film Mrs Brown with Judi Dench and I think he was nominated for either a Golden Globe or a Screen Actor's Guild award so I think he would be reasonably well know to a lot of Americans.

Ah yes. That makes sense.

Talking of Oscars, they never could mention the terms "Oscar" or "Academy Award" in the episode, only referring to it as "the top award" because both terms are copyrighted.

Wow. That probably shouldn't surprise me as much as it has.

 

[Angela Channing]

Oh yes - that went over my head. They went through the notes spelling out their names on the baton, but I missed the fact that those same notes were in Gabriel's score as well so it wasn't made clear. That's a shame. As you said, it's a great clue.

I don't think it was mentioned which is why I think a part of the final scene was cut but to me it seemed like that was what it was building up to. That clue would should have been the clincher that snookered Findlay and without it all the other evidence was just a mix of circumstantial stuff or something that couldn't be pinned on him conclusively.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I don't think it was mentioned which is why I think a part of the final scene was cut but to me it seemed like that was what it was building up to. That clue would should have been the clincher that snookered Findlay and without it all the other evidence was just a mix of circumstantial stuff or something that couldn't be pinned on him conclusively.

Absolutely. That would have given the Gotcha a real wow moment and helped the ending feel more definitive than it did (even though it was still pretty decent).