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

[Mel O'Drama]

Believe it or not, I described a real scene in a real episode in the revival series. I think the episode overall was OK but that scene was like a weird fantasy of someone high on LSD.

Aha. I thought it sounded a little familiar as I read it, so it must have stuck in my mind.

From what I remember, Columbo was a little more broad in the revival episodes. I seem to remember feeling that the writers knew the character's legendary status and wrote him more in that kind of way so it felt a little more knowing at times, and not in a good way. But I might be misremembering.

There's not a moment in that clip that doesn't make me smile.

Same here.

There are also a few continuity problems with the length on his cigar in places but that was quite common in many Columbo episodes.

My powers of observation leave a lot to be desired, which really helps with overlooking this kind of things. But I'll see if I spot any similar continuity issues in upcoming episodes.

 

[Angela Channing]

From what I remember, Columbo was a little more broad in the revival episodes. I seem to remember feeling that the writers knew the character's legendary status and wrote him more in that kind of way so it felt a little more knowing at times, and not in a good way. But I might be misremembering.

I felt at times they wrote him a bit out of character and he behaved in ways that you wouldn't imagine the same character would have done in the 1970s. Maybe they were reflecting that people change over time but at times it seemed a bit incongruous to the Columbo we all thought we knew.

My powers of observation leave a lot to be desired, which really helps with overlooking this kind of things. But I'll see if I spot any similar continuity issues in upcoming episodes.

A lighted cigar is difficult prop because it constantly changes its length or with the amount of ash it has on its end. If you follow the cigar in a scene often you see it suddenly appears larger or smaller and then back again.

The first picture is from the middle of the scene when Columbo is asking for the price of the artwork and the second picture is Columbo at the end of the scene asking about the ventilator grill. I've enlarged the cigar to make it easier to see and it's clearly grown by several centimetres during the course of the scene.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I felt at times they wrote him a bit out of character and he behaved in ways that you wouldn't imagine the same character would have done in the 1970s. Maybe they were reflecting that people change over time but at times it seemed a bit incongruous to the Columbo we all thought we knew.

Yes - that sounds about right. I feel sure I'll really notice the difference jumping that decade probably in the space of a day or two. But who knows - perhaps it will feel seamless.

A lighted cigar is difficult prop because it constantly changes its length or with the amount of ash it has on its end. If you follow the cigar in a scene often you see it suddenly appears larger or smaller and then back again.

The first picture is from the middle of the scene when Columbo is asking for the price of the artwork and the second picture is Columbo at the end of the scene asking about the ventilator grill. I've enlarged the cigar to make it easier to see and it's clearly grown by several centimetres during the course of the scene.

Oh wow. That's a perfect example, and I applaud your picture editing skills to do the enlargement.

I've just finished watching the first episode of Season Five and I noticed a similar example where Columbo's cigar grew several inches when he walked from the victim's bedroom to the staircase.

 

[Angela Channing]

I've just finished watching the first episode of Season Five and I noticed a similar example where Columbo's cigar grew several inches when he walked from the victim's bedroom to the staircase.

Once you become aware of the continuity difficulties of the cigar you can't stop yourself from looking for it.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Once you become aware of the continuity difficulties of the cigar you can't stop yourself from looking for it.

It could be my fun new game.


Oh - speaking of keeping track of things, I skipped about ten minutes of the first act of the episode I watched tonight when I thought I'd only skipped the preview. It wasn't obvious, and I only realised because there were no credits on the first part I watched. Now I'm wondering if I've missed the first minutes of other episodes. That would explain why Martha Scott didn't say a word in the version I watched. Perhaps I skipped past all her lines.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Season Five (1975-76)

Forgotten Lady

​

Well, firstly - as already mentioned - I watched the first ten minutes of the episode AFTER I’d watched the end of the first act with the murder. Only the fact that there were no titles got me wondering if I’d missed something. I realised that in chapter skipping the annoying preview, some episodes in the set skip only past the preview, while others skip forward much further. Knowing that I’ve probably missed chunks of several episodes annoys the completist in me, but it’s perhaps a testament to the wring that I hadn’t actually realised this to be the case.

I love the cinematic feel of Columbo and the cold openings, but this is obviously a drawback when it comes to recognising if I’ve missed something. If this had more traditional opening credits that are stuck on at the beginning of every episode I’d have realised sooner. None of which matters at this point, but it’s worth mentioning that I watched this one in a somewhat unconventional way.

Columbo gets what’s beginning to be his traditional new season introduction. As in An Exercise In Fatality, he arrives at the scene early in the morning, bleary eyed and in need of coffee. Peter Falk is so good at that “asleep on his feet” look and I find it quite adorable. He pushes it to the edge here with him even closing his eyes and snoring while standing up. It sounds like just too much, but it’s played perfectly and had me believing it.

Dog makes a couple of appearances here - as goofy and cheeky as ever. It’s always really good to see him, and it’s always reason to mark an episode up.

With its old Hollywood glamour and Columbo being starstruck, there are shades here of Season Two’s Requiem For A Falling Star. Especially with the killer being a Hollywood starlet.

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Forgotten Lady

continued
​

For whatever reason I wasn't expecting too much of Janet Leigh, but I came out of it realising I’d greatly underestimated her talents, which is quite a rewarding experience.

It’s occurred to me that while her name and face are very familiar I haven’t actually seen Janet Leigh in too many things. Psycho, of course. Her supporting roles in The Fog and Halloween H20 (both with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis). I’ve seen all three of those many times, plus probably two or three guest appearances in TV series. But I don’t really think of her as a great actress. Of course, she’s excellent in Psycho, but perhaps with that film I get too lost in the story and the iconography to view her performance objectively enough.

Watching the first act of Forgotten Lady, as she smoked and glared and switched into a slinky Milk Tray Man outfit to deliver that special something to the love of her life I found myself feeling excited and thinking this was going to be a fun ride - if perhaps a slightly camp one.

As the episode progressed, though, I found myself captivated by Janet’s reading of Grace Wheeler. There was great fragility and nervousness to her which seemed really at odds with the cool calculated killing she’d carried out at the beginning of the episode. The duality to her character was fascinating, as was the way it was played.

I was reminded very much of Patricia on Sons And Daughters with the complexity of her character and the different - sometimes neurotic - shades to her character, all seemingly at odds with one another which makes her difficult to read. The hairdo, the complaint about the terrible picture of her in a newspaper clipping and the penchant for moody smoking in darkened rooms only deepened the similarities.

As things went on and we saw flashes of her ego and irritation - especially the outburst at the “rank amateurs” with whom she was working on the new project, I found myself wondering if this nervousness and uncertainty was a way of manipulating Columbo as well as the others round her.


It all paved the way perfectly for the revelation at the end of the episode, which made everything I’d seen from her crystal clear.

This episode also drew my attention to Janet Leigh’s body of work. I associate her with dramatic roles, so it was something of a revelation to see glimpses of her earlier work by showing scenes from her Fifties musical comedy Walking My Baby Back Home (a Universal picture, naturally) and also to see that she still had the moves in her contemporary hoofing scenes. In particular, one flip down from a high lift really impressed. Especially since Janet’s smiling face could be seen. Even better, this was a key factor in Columbo's pinpointing whodunnit.

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Forgotten Lady​

continued

​

The atmosphere of the episode was great. A nice combination of a grand and established home with darkened rooms, and the California sunshine.

Incidentally, I thought the house location was a little strange. It looked at first like it should be in the middle of nowhere, but at certain angles a tower block could be seen overlooking it and it was also perilously close to the freeway, which can’t be good for the lungs.

Ye Olde English Butler was a nice touch. I couldn’t help being reminded of Edgar from The Aristocats (except the butler didn’t do it here). Maurice Evans was great fun, following Columbo round with an ashtray and ticking him off for being so messy. The scenes between the two really brightened things up.

The subplot about Columbo avoiding his six monthly firearm proficiency test for over a decade because he hates guns was also fun. They were certainly not essential - you could easily have removed these scenes and have a standard-length episode and it wouldn’t make any difference. They could have been re-inserted into any old episode, really. All the same, it’s a really nice way of showing Columbo’s character and building on scenes in earlier episodes where it’s established that he hates firing guns. And he ended up paying someone else to take the test for him!

I loved that Columbo’s key reason for doubting Grace’s story was something as geeky as knowing the running time of the film they were watching. And this was before IMDb!!

The choice for Columbo to confide in Grace’s longtime friend and colleague about his suspicions and the reasons behind them frustrated me at first. As it went along, I found myself thinking that these scenes were going to undermine the Gotcha, but as things reached a conclusion I understood why this was.

Although the chase between Grace and Columbo wasn’t as intense as many of the episodes I tend to favour, the chemistry between Leigh and Falk was great. There was a magic there and I believed it and shared in each of their frustrations.

The entire episode played against many Columbo strengths, but surprisingly is all the better for it. I would have thought an episode without a proper Gotcha would be one to avoid, but with these performances I found the finale, if not completely satisfying, then certainly very surprising and touching. It’s so different it’s almost impossible to rank it, but I’d say it’s a top half of the Premier League.

 

[Angela Channing]

Forgotten Lady is an interesting episode partly because it's the first time we see Columbo let the killer go free. I remember the final few minutes vividly when Columbo leaves her alone watching one of her old films and she has a slightly vacant look on her face from a combination of being so absorbed with seeing herself on the screen and her deteriorating memory meaning she wasn't entirely sure of what had just happened a few minutes earlier when her companion confessed to the murder that she had committed. It's a lovely and touching scene with no dialogue which was performed so well.

For whatever reason I wasn't expecting too much of Janet Leigh, but I came out of it realising I’d greatly underestimated her talents, which is quite a rewarding experience.

She's great in this. I only have seen her previously in Psycho but here she really displays her acting prowess to full effect in this episode.

As the episode progressed, though, I found myself captivated by Janet’s reading of Grace Wheeler. There was great fragility and nervousness to her which seemed really at odds with the cool calculated killing she’d carried out at the beginning of the episode. The duality to her character was fascinating, as was the way it was played.

I agree. In a way her role was a bit like Martin Landau's in Double Shock because she was really playing 2 characters in one: a cold killer who is self absorbed in her determination to make a comeback and the vulnerable former star whose health is deteriorating but she doesn't know it.

Her supporting roles in The Fog and Halloween H20 (both with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis).

Jamie Leigh Curtis also appears in an episode of Columbo as a waitress, I'm not sure if that is one of the episodes you've already seen.

The subplot about Columbo avoiding his six monthly firearm proficiency test for over a decade because he hates guns was also fun. They were certainly not essential - you could easily have removed these scenes and have a standard-length episode and it wouldn’t make any difference. They could have been re-inserted into any old episode, really. All the same, it’s a really nice way of showing Columbo’s character and building on scenes in earlier episodes where it’s established that he hates firing guns. And he ended up paying someone else to take the test for him!

This was an unexpected side of Columbo. Although he was not averse to lying in order to solve a murder which is a case of the ends justifying the means, here is was lying and conspiring with a colleague to commit a fraud which marks him down as being dishonest and, in his own way, self absorbed like the Janet Leigh character.

The choice for Columbo to confide in Grace’s longtime friend and colleague about his suspicions and the reasons behind them frustrated me at first. As it went along, I found myself thinking that these scenes were going to undermine the Gotcha, but as things reached a conclusion I understood why this was.

The gotcha itself wasn't great because there were so many reasons why she might have delayed fixing the film: she might have dosed off, she might have noticed the film had broken but decided to take the opportunity to go for a pee, get more ciggies or get another drink before returning to fix it. However, the ending wasn't really about the believability of the gotcha so I'm happy to overlook it's weakness.

There was a great scene which you didn't reference, when Columbo tries to replicate Janet Leigh's character's escape by jumping from the balcony to the tree. Columbo always looks unfit but like the scene in The Greenhouse Jungle when he runs down the hill, he still can do the physical stuff.

It’s so different it’s almost impossible to rank it, but I’d say it’s a top half of the Premier League.

Yes, the strong ending means I'd put it mid table but in the upper half overall.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Forgotten Lady is an interesting episode partly because it's the first time we see Columbo let the killer go free.

Yes. It's unprecedented. A key part of his character is that he's always done what he needs to do in order for justice to be served, and so coming from him it's incredibly surprising.

I remember the final few minutes vividly when Columbo leaves her alone watching one of her old films and she has a slightly vacant look on her face from a combination of being so absorbed with seeing herself on the screen and her deteriorating memory meaning she wasn't entirely sure of what had just happened a few minutes earlier when her companion confessed to the murder that she had committed. It's a lovely and touching scene with no dialogue which was performed so well.

Yes, it's lovely, and Janet Leigh said so much without speaking a word. Such a beautiful performance.

In a way her role was a bit like Martin Landau's in Double Shock because she was really playing 2 characters in one: a cold killer who is self absorbed in her determination to make a comeback and the vulnerable former star whose health is deteriorating but she doesn't know it.

I hadn't made that connection, but I can see exactly what you mean.

Jamie Leigh Curtis also appears in an episode of Columbo as a waitress, I'm not sure if that is one of the episodes you've already seen.

I just checked, and it's a 1977 episode, The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case. Fingers crossed I remember to look out for her when I get there.

This was an unexpected side of Columbo. Although he was not averse to lying in order to solve a murder which is a case of the ends justifying the means, here is was lying and conspiring with a colleague to commit a fraud which marks him down as being dishonest and, in his own way, self absorbed like the Janet Leigh character.

Yes indeed. I read into it that he was so full of conviction about what he does that he wasn't going to risk having it stopped for what is (to him) a bit of red tape. It's probably a statement about his old school attitude as much as anything. Just like his car failing the inspection or his bewilderment at computer print outs. He's just a practical person and I think just doesn't "get" things like paperwork - even if it could save lives.

The gotcha itself wasn't great because there were so many reasons why she might have delayed fixing the film: she might have dosed off, she might have noticed the film had broken but decided to take the opportunity to go for a pee, get more ciggies or get another drink before returning to fix it.

Yes. My first question would have been whether it was usual to have any kind of intermission during a screening. As you said, there are all kinds of reasons.

However, the ending wasn't really about the believability of the gotcha so I'm happy to overlook it's weakness.

Same here. This is one episode where those loopholes in pursuing someone actually worked in the episode's favour as we all had to count on the fact that Ned Diamond's name would be cleared in due course, just as Columbo did.

There was a great scene which you didn't reference, when Columbo tries to replicate Janet Leigh's character's escape by jumping from the balcony to the tree. Columbo always looks unfit but like the scene in The Greenhouse Jungle when he runs down the hill, he still can do the physical stuff.

Oh yes - that was great fun.

I also thought while watching that both Grace's leap from the tree and Columbo's reenactment were both performed by stunt doubles. They did that TV thing where the stunt double disappears behind a bush in long shot, and the actor is waiting to emerge. But if that was the case it was well done. And it's clear that at other tiimes Peter Falk was definitely up the tree, doing some work that would make health and safety bodies blanche today.

 

[Angela Channing]

I just checked, and it's a 1977 episode, The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case. Fingers crossed I remember to look out for her when I get there.

I'm very interested to see what will be your thoughts on this episode.

I also thought while watching that both Grace's leap from the tree and Columbo's reenactment were both performed by stunt doubles. They did that TV thing where the stunt double disappears behind a bush in long shot, and the actor is waiting to emerge. But if that was the case it was well done. And it's clear that at other tiimes Peter Falk was definitely up the tree, doing some work that would make health and safety bodies blanche today.

I always think if you can't see the actor's face it's because it's a stunt double.

If actors do stunts themself, then any director worth their salt will know the value of making the audience aware that it's their stars performing the action. Like in the scene when Columbo runs down the hill in Greenhouse Jungle, if it was a stunt double the director would have used a more distant camera shot but because Peter Falk did it, we got quite a few shots of his face and his expressions added to the comedy of the scene.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I'm very interested to see what will be your thoughts on this episode.

Oh - intriguing. It's only eight episodes away so it'll soon come round.

I always think if you can't see the actor's face it's because it's a stunt double.

If actors do stunts themself, then any director worth their salt will know the value of making the audience aware that it's their stars performing the action.

Definitely. I'm always impressed by Peter Falk's physicality, whether he's falling down the hill or simply standing at a jaunty angle.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

A Case Of Immunity

​

Mixed feelings on this one. It’s a really well-plotted episode with some absolutely genius deductions from Columbo. The glasses and contact lens combo, for example. And my personal favourite - the dust on top of the burnt paper, showing the safe had been opened before the explosion.

There are some great scenes, like the exciting drive out of the compound and through the protestors (including, as clearly shown in one shot, Jeff Goldblum). And Columbo’s series of funny faux pas, from shocking everyone by trying to taste the king’s food while it’s cooking to repeatedly standing on Salah’s robe to coming dangerously close to knocking over priceless antiques.

It’s great to see Sal Mineo. And I couldn’t help thinking Hector Elizondo looked like Cillian Murphy.


But it falls down for me on a number of points. Most of the characters feel like clumsy Western stereotypes of Middle Eastern characters. Consequently, they could pretty much have stepped out of almost any episodic series of the Seventies, from The Bionic Woman to “CHiPs”.

This extends to the humour. Much of it is centred around the culture clash of Columbo entering this word without understanding its customs. But this feels uncomfortably meta when we’re seeing Hollywood’s version of this world, with Western actors playing the Suarians.

While the diplomatic immunity and important position of the killer give the chase a very different tone and make things seem at times insurmountable, the exchanges between Columbo and Salah feel oddly lifeless. There’s very little to grab the viewer in Hector Elizondo’s performance. There’s very little nuance on the one level, but on another it’s not broad enough to be fun. It’s all very static and one senses that anyone could have donned the costume and given a similar performance and so - despite its premise - it doesn’t feel unique. Consequently, this lifelessness extends to much of the episode as a whole.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle this episode has is that it follows one of the very best of the series, and one in which I felt the performances sparkled and moved me. Perhaps A Case Of Immunity suffers more in direct comparison with Forgotten Lady.

I didn’t hate the episode. But that’s part of the problem. It didn’t really evoke any strong emotion from me and ultimately felt as though it didn’t matter.

This is borderline for me. It’s a certain lesser episode in my mind. Not quite Vauxhall Conference (saved by the nice plotting and some fun moments). But it’s either the bottom of the Championship League or entering League 1 and 2 territory.

 

[Angela Channing]

This is borderline for me. It’s a certain lesser episode in my mind. Not quite Vauxhall Conference (saved by the nice plotting and some fun moments). But it’s either the bottom of the Championship League or entering League 1 and 2 territory.

Oh and recently we we doing so well in agreeing on how we felt about certain episodes. It's definitely not premiere league but I would put it in the top half (or maybe even the top quarter) of the championship.

I don't disagree with a lot of what you said. The Arabs are all caricatures rather than fully rounded characters and they are clearly not being played by native Arabs so it all looks and feels a bit phoney. There wasn't a lot of chemistry between Columbo and the murderer which made their interactions a bit flat and unexciting. However, I think it's a really good plot with some great clues and I really liked the ending. Just when we thought he got away with it, Columbo had another card up his sleeve to get the murder to renounce his diplomatic immunity. I couldn't help but smile when Columbo took out from his pocket the pre-prepared confession, ready for signing. The episode has faults but at it's core there is a good story and Peter Falk is as engaging and endearing as ever.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Oh and recently we we doing so well in agreeing on how we felt about certain episodes.

Yes we were. Oh well. At least it keeps things interesting.

I really liked the ending. Just when we thought he got away with it, Columbo had another card up his sleeve to get the murder to renounce his diplomatic immunity. I couldn't help but smile when Columbo took out from his pocket the pre-prepared confession, ready for signing.

Oh yes. I neglected to mention this, but him finding a way round the diplomatic immunity was very satisfying indeed. I do like the way the writers are still finding new ways to make the killer seem absolutely untouchable.

The episode has faults but at it's core there is a good story and Peter Falk is as engaging and endearing as ever.

Agreed. I do think it came over especially badly because of the episode it followed, but it's by no means terrible.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Identity Crisis / A Matter Of Honor

​

There’s a whole lot to like in these two episodes. Not least some familiar faces.

Leslie Nielsen is back after his turn in Season One’s Lady In Waiting. Back then his interactions with Columbo were a hugely enjoyable part of that episode. Sadly the closest we get to that here is Columbo inspecting his character’s body under the boardwalk at the charmingly-named “Mugger’s Paradise”.

The good news is that we do spend a little time with him another returnee: Patrick McGoohan, who also directed this episode. There’s a lot of cloak and dagger stuff in the opening act and if I was supposed to know at that time what was going on then I failed miserably. Not that I minded in the least. It was just such great fun to see them walking round a funfair which just oozed with earthy, sunny Seventiesness. When they were snapped by a photographer I knew it would be bad news for the killer. But they just carried right on, shooting up the gallery a storm with their expertise and winning a giant toy panda each. The sight of McGoohan’s hardened character Nelson Brenner walking round with said panda under his arm was disarmingly offbeat.

Something I love about these returnees is seeing the skills of character actors, and the different strengths they bring to the series. The character of AJ “Geronimo” Henderson might be more intense and even threatening than Leslie Nielsen’s previous character of Peter. But he’s played with Nielsen’s typical style of the time - deep voiced, puffed out chest, slick confidence - and so feels reassuringly familiar. On the other hand, Nelson Brenner is so very different from By Dawn’s Early Light’s Colonel Rumford that he’s almost unrecognisable. Even within the body of the episode, McGoohan-as-Brenner disguises himself as yet another character, the mysterious Steinmetz who has a secret assignation with an underling before blowing up his car in a money-saving just off screen explosion.

Meanwhile, over in A Matter Of Honor (which it pains me to misspell, but the purist in me can’t quite feel right about Anglicising), the familiarity comes from having seen Ricardo Montalban in so many things. It’s easy to envisage what kind of a Columbo killer he’d be, and he doesn’t disappoint.

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Identity Crisis / A Matter Of Honor


continued​

All the roles in the episode have a feeling of rightness to them. It’s impeccably cast.

There’s Joyce the photographer who has a tiny role but almost feels as though she needs her own sitcom spin-off. She’s charming, skimpily dressed and appears a little shallow at first, but she’s soon on board with the detective work and it’s fun to see the odd couple of Columbo and Joyce looking through prints and negatives to find Geronimo’s friend.

Then there’s Otis Young as Lawrence Melville who also has something of a journey in his quiet role: from his spy thriller introduction to being framed and then blown up* to providing crucial evidence about the connection between Brenner and Steinmetz. The mark of a well-cast supporting role is that it feels instantly right, and Otis feels so right that I was convinced I’d seen him in other stuff, but looking at his IMDb I don’t think I have.


Identity Crisis sees Vito Scotti’s fifth Columbo outing - his final appearance in the original run. His ebullience as Salvadore De Fonte reminded me very much of his hilarious character on The Bionic Woman who Jaime memorably told to take his hands off her ham and cheese. Indeed, I hadn’t even made the connection with Vito and TBW until this episode.

Vito's final scene with Columbo here is perhaps my favourite of his due to the final moments as Columbo is departing, which appears to be ad libbed by the two actors. Columbo asks if he may have a couple of De Fonte’s grapes, De Fonte scoops up a huge bunch in each hand and proffers them to Columbo. Columbo indicates it’s too generous and starts to leave but De Fonte stands and practically chases after him until Columbo reluctantly takes then. It’s an incredibly animated and energetic few moments, with lots of big gestures and mutterings of not-quite-words. It’s all very Italian and an absolute joy.




* By the way, after watching this episode I’m half convinced the “exploding a loyal lackey after a secret assignation” scene must have influenced an almost identical scenario and scene in a 1983 issue of The Amazing Spider-Man in which the man who would become the Hobgoblin does something very similar, right down to producing the remote from his pocket after the lackey has driven away. The lackey in question even resembles Lawrence Melville, though poor Georgie Hill doesn’t get as lucky as Lawrence.

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Identity Crisis / A Matter Of Honor


continued​

The two episodes’ antagonists are quite different, and both spark incredibly well in their scenes with Columbo. Ricardo Montalban alternates wonderfully between smooth charm, intense brooding and Latin temper. At episode’s end there’s even terror in his eyes, which is not something I’d associate with a Montalban character at all (all of which serves to make his motive the more believable. It’s a fairly restrained performance. Not by any means the most nuanced in this series, but enough for me to invest which helps boost the enjoyment.

On first glance, Nelson Brenner feels like a bit less of a stretch for Patrick McGoohan than Colonel Rumford was. To me seems a bit more human. But perhaps the civvies and the more prosaic locations such as the funfair throw one off the scent a little more.

While not quite as clinically cold as Rumford, Brenner does share his detached aloofness and his apparent lack of fear. If anything, Brenner seems even more fearless than Rumford. And he’s certainly more untouchable given the mid-episode revelation about his involvement with a certain investigation authority which really takes the “untouchable” aspect to a completely different planet. It's a testament to Columbo's resilience and integrity that he continues with the investigation even with an almost unbearable amount of pressure being put on him to stop. The scene where he was led from the picnic bench to the train engine carriage not knowing exactly what lay ahead was positively Kafkaesque.

Perhaps (again) because of the locations, I find Patrick McGoohan’s scenes with Peter Falk even more fascinating in this episode. Columbo has a real battle on his hands, with his suspect having the ability to find out every aspect of Columbo’s life from his minute-by-minute whereabouts to Mrs Columbo’s favourite piece of music (he’s had the Columbo home bugged, but assures Columbo they’re now removed. I’m not sure I’d believe him).

McGoohan’s delivery is absolutely riveting. From Brenner’s repeated insistence on meeting Columbo that “You have the. Wrong. Room” to his elongated-to-the-point-of-death vowels when incredulously repeating himself after Columbo can’t pick up the pronunciation of Mahjong. He has the airy, forceful, mocking intellectual bully thing down to a fine art, which makes for great television. The setup of their exchange on the petrol station forecourt kind of summed up their relationship, with Columbo on his knees looking for small change and Brenner sending over a large note to help him out from the comfort of his Citroën SM (which I covet).

Speaking of which, I loved that Brenner was a little loud and flash. From his attention-grabbing car to the slightly bling wardrobe (oh - that shiny white suit) to the music system pretentiously hidden in the antique furniture. He had a great house. Even his slipping into fluently speaking East Asian tongues felt a little bit showy. And huge kudos to McGoohan for getting the trouble to learn those phrases (assuming he knew what he was saying).

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Identity Crisis / A Matter Of Honor​

continued​

A Matter Of Honor is another Fish Out Of Water episode for Columbo, and a thoroughly enjoyable one. There are some terrific scenes of him wandering about in Mexico with throngs of people, some of whom seem to stare at seeing a TV star (this isn’t exclusive to South America. Identity Crisis has a scene in which Columbo is speaking to a colleague outside a diner in which people can be seen craning their necks to watch the scene being filmed. Two even spend the entire scene standing up apparently commenting to one another as they watch.

Columbo has a great introduction in the second episode, with him rear-ending a car at 5mph, where a passenger instantly feigns a broken neck presumably in an insurance fraud bid. Which leads to him being roped in on an apparent accidental death (more shades of Murder, She Wrote).

The officer recognises Columbo from reports of his assistance on the cruise ship on his last trip down Mexico way, and Columbo instantly obliges by beginning to give a thorough synopsis of Troubled Waters until he is interrupted. It’s a truly wonderful touch, showing that no episode truly exists in a vacuum. This has happened at least once before (I now forget where and how), and it’s an absolute treat.

It seems strange that in a series about murder after murder I should find the theme of bullfighting distasteful, but there you go. I just have little tolerance for bloodsports like his. Thankfully, no bulls were killed here.

Both Gotchas were very satisfying. Each one almost got a little “huh?” from me as I struggled to work out why Columbo had them. I didn’t get why Luis freezing should prove anything. Nor could I hear what Columbo had heard on the dictaphone that gave away the faked timeframe of the recording.

Identity Crisis’s Gotcha was dependent on a very specific piece of information that would have required knowledge of the exact dates in question as well as current events of that very morning. While this means it couldn’t really be deduced my anyone watching, it’s such a thorough capture* that it didn’t diminish my enjoyment.

A Matter Of Honor’s Gotcha wasn’t so much about proving the crime as proving the motive, about which we’d been kept in the dark up to that point. It surprised me so much that I have to give it credit.

Two very enjoyable episodes. Identity Crisis is a shoe-in for top tier, and I think I’d also include A Matter Of Honor at the lower end of the Premiere League.






* Though the L.A. Law viewer in me noted that Brenner said “may” and therefore could simply argue that he had been postulating.

 

[Angela Channing]

Identity Crisis / A Matter Of Honor

Two episodes which in very different ways stray from the usual Columbo format. For me, Identity Crisis wasn't premiere league, I would place it firmly in the Championship, mid table but overall in the bottom half of that league. I'm not a big fan of this episode mainly because I found the storyline just a bit too complex and putting Columbo with the world of espionage just didn't work for me. There is a sort of cosiness that many episodes have however, I didn't feel that here, maybe because too often Columbo didn't always seem in control of events or maybe it was because you had to concentrate a bit more that usual to follow what was going on.

I think this is the episode where Columbo makes a really eye-catching entrance when he emerges from the darkness, illuminated by the a car's headlights encircled by his cigar smoke. It's unquestionably well directed, the acting is strong too but I didn't really like the story enough.

A Matter of Honour was a different beast altogether. I'd put it in the bottom quarter of the league overall, that is the bottom quarter of the Premier League. Although the episode was not set amongst the rich of Los Angeles, the script followed a familiar Columbo format. It followed the format so closely that even though it was set in a warm climate, the lieutenant wore his overcoat even those most of the other cast were often just in shirts. The location was an integral part of the episode, in fact it enhanced it and I enjoyed Ricardo Montalban playing the murderer. I thought the murder was clever and the gotcha was good so there was a lot to like in this episode.