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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 278450" data-attributes="member: 23">A Friend In Deed <img src="https://i2.wp.com/columbophile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/friend-8-e1523883036511.jpg?resize=610%2C406&ssl=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 564px" /><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Peter_Falk_Richard_Kiley_Colombo_1974.JPG" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 498px" /> ^ AKA "The Only Episode For Which I Cannot Find A Colour Two-Shot Of Columbo And Killer"In many ways this feels like the most rebellious episode so far. It strays from the Columbo formula left, right and centre. And it does so from its opening scene. For starters, as the episode begins, the murder has already been committed. Janice Caldwell is notable not only for having been killed offscreen, but for being played by an uncredited actress. Twenty first century convention would be for us to then see things through flashback, whether it’s one or a series. But in 1974, if you arrive late then you’ve missed it. As if this isn’t enough the killer, Hugh Caldwell, immediately ropes in a conspirator. Unlike most Columbo killers, he panics, confesses all and is prepared to turn himself in since it had happened in the heat of the moment. But the friend he seeks out convinces him it would be a bad idea and offers to help cover it up. Which brings in a new dynamic. Despite not having planned, committed or even known about the murder until after the fact, Caldwell’s friend and neighbour Mark Halperin very quickly becomes something of a mastermind. And in it up to his neck. We know he’s bad news before we even meet him. Caldwell first phones Halperin’s wife, Margaret. She wearily informs him that this is the night he’s at the club. Which always follows the night he works late. She’s in bed. Alone. And it’s clear this is a situation to which she’s resigned. Caldwell catches up with Halperin at said club, where he’s basically multitasking his sinful, hedonistic activities: drinking, smoking and cavorting with young women, while gambling with his wife’s money. And that’s before he turns his mind to the murder. Now, I might have missed a reference to Halperin’s job earlier in the episode. For me, that was made clear to me when he phoned the police to pretend he’d seen a burglar leaving Caldwell’s home and announced himself as Deputy Police Commissioner Caldwell. Now the stakes are high. Here’s a man who wields an enormous amount of power and influence not only over the general public, but over the police force itself the way it conducts its investigations and the way information is made available. And he has seniority over Columbo and his colleagues. If anyone is in a position to be untouchable, it’s Halperin. One slight gripe I have with this story is why Halperin would request Columbo to attend, despite surely being aware of Columbo’s reputation as a bloodhound who always gets his man. Especially since he was reporting a burglary and not a murder. I found myself assuming it’s a combination of hubris and control. He’s called Columbo in because Halperin is convinced of his own genius and wants the satisfaction of beating a worthy adversary. And if he himself has requested Columbo then it’s a situation he’s created and can - to an extent - control. continued...</blockquote>

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