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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Angela Channing" data-source="post: 277044" data-attributes="member: 33">Double Shock is one of my favourite Columbo episodes even though it strays from the usual format of the show. It's a shocking murder (excuse the pun) but the episode has a huge amount to humour including Mrs Peck's ongoing annoyance with Columbo dropping cigar ash and generally making this presence unwelcome. I normally prefer episodes that stick to the normal format which is:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The show begins with scenes set in Los Angeles to introduce the characters (who are usually middle class professionals) and establish the motive for the upcoming murder.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We see a well planned murder and cover up.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Columbo investigates including several conversations with the murderer which, bit by bit, establishes information which helps to uncover the facts of the crime.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A final scene in which Columbo reveals how he discovered who the murderer was and how they carried out the crime. </li> </ul>However when they mix it up a bit, the episode either stands out as something special or it falls flat and you wish they didn't bother. In this case it works spectacularly. We know one of the brothers committed the crime but which one and in a final twist, it turns out to be both of them. Brilliant!Martin Landau was a much underrated actor until late in his career when he pulled out some outstanding performances in Hollywood films. I think his performance in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), for which he was nominated for an Oscar, was his best work but in many ways his performance in this Columbo was just as good. Playing twins and giving them both different personalities can only be pulled off convincingly by a really good actor but having one of the twins mimic the other in a scene is a touch of acting genius. I always thought it was a shame that he wasn't invited back more to play more other murderers.(Just typing that paragraph makes me want to see Crimes and Misdemeanors again: I've not seen it since it was released in 1989)Sometimes too much comedy in a otherwise serious show about a police murder investigation seems a bit forced and out of place but here, like you say, it works really well and provides a nice balance and relief from the seriousness of the scenario they are in,Another acting masterclass from both Martin Landau and Peter Falk. The scene is essentially a filler as it doesn't take the plot any further and if it was cut from the show the overall storyline would still remain intact. However, they turn it into something quite special.You rightly say the scene feels spontaneous and I do wonder how much was scripted and how much the actors ad libbed. In the scene when Dexter pours the sauce from the blender on the plate that Columbo is holding, and some gets spilt, his reaction seems real and when Columbo says "That was your fault" and Dexter laughs, it all looks way too natural to be anything other than an ad lib. This is one of my favourite Columbo scenes ever.</blockquote>

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