New posts

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 282882" data-attributes="member: 23">Season Eight (1989) Columbo Goes To The Guillotine <img src="https://i0.wp.com/columbophile.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Guillotine-2.jpg?w=640&ssl=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 510px" /><img src="https://i1.wp.com/columbophile.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Guillotine-plant-2.jpg?resize=468%2C352&ssl=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 510px" /> Something that proved helpful going into this episode has been a kind of separation in my mind. I can’t help but think of the ABC version of Columbo as an entirely different animal from the Seventies series. It looks different. Sounds different. Feels different. I know and understand that this revival will rarely-to-never live up to the peaks of its heyday. But at the same time I view it fondly. This series marked the first time episodes of Columbo became a regular part of my viewing schedule. I’m sure I’d probably come across the occasional repeat here and there, but I’d been too young to watch even the later Seventies episodes on first airing. I might be misremembering, but I seem to recall the return of Columbo making the cover of the TV Times. It certainly was heavily promoted and I think these aired at something like 7:45pm on a Sunday night. Not having the burden of comparing these episodes with the earlier incarnation, I took them on their own merit and found myself really enjoying them. But I do somewhat carry that burden here as I’m watching this 1989 episode one night after the final 1978 instalment. It’s a little mind-boggling to think that, in real world terms, twenty one years have passed since Prescription: Murder.Helping the transition is the gentle continuity of Leo Penn directing this episode, having also directed the previous episode almost eleven years earlier. I have to applaud this first episode for giving a very unhurried opening act. It’s over twenty four minutes before the Lieutenant is seen (and presumably a little longer still for those watching without PAL speedup). This is how I like it to be. However, breathing room doesn’t always mean better. I do feel the pacing throughout this episode felt a little plodding at times. This is true of the opening act as well, though the intriguing subject matter kept things the right side of watchable for me and held my interest. For me, the pacing became more of a problem as the episode progressed and there were a number of scenes that would have benefitted from a little brevity. continued...</blockquote>

Verification: Who played Sue Ellen in Dallas?