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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 283317" data-attributes="member: 23">Sex And The Married Detective <img src="https://i0.wp.com/columbophile.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Married-titles.jpg?w=755&ssl=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 555px" /><img src="https://resizing.flixster.com/fKWXX4T7hHE41I3kqm2mjJah8wY=/fit-in/1152x864/v1.dDsyNjgyMzk7ajsxODg1ODsxMjAwOzYwMDs0NTg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 497px" />It’s interesting that two of the three new titles so far have referenced Columbo; the first one by name and this one by occupation and relationship status. The original series avoided this trap completely, with all of the titles cleverly referring to the crime or the episode’s backdrop. A much better option, as far as I’m concerned. I know the revival series drops Columbo’s name into the titles quite a bit and I’m not a fan. “Columbo Does This” or “Columbo Loves That” not only sound like the titles of children’s books, there’s a degree of conceit behind it that doesn’t suit what good Columbo is about. It’s almost like someone speaking about themselves in the third person because they think they’re important. Never a good look. Between that, the sex therapy backdrop and the disappointment of the previous two episodes it’s fair to say I didn’t hold out a great deal of hope for this episode. Which meant I was very pleasantly surprised. The opening act is by far my favourite of the three, and actually pretty good even by the standards of the original series. These twenty four minutes delivered a story in which I became invested. Along the way that story gave the killer not only a clear motive, but one that the audience can get behind with empathy for the killer. This is one of the few killings in the series where I felt a degree of satisfaction as the killer pulled the trigger. I liked that the killing was specifically engineered to mirror his sin in many ways, from the sex therapy room setting with its roaring fire to the line Joan said to David before pulling the trigger, which was verbatim what she’d heard her secretary saying to him as Joan covertly watched him cheating on her. The stunned look on his face drove home the sense of poetic justice she felt. The story of Joan creating “Lisa” as part of her sex game with David and ensuring they were seen in public with David handing Lisa money was quite convoluted, but it didn’t feel at all gimmicky. It was just well-written and it was compelling to watch Joan switching between identities, attending a public event as herself as her alibi while stashing clothes in a hiding place. It was so compelling, I was able to turn a blind eye to the small matter of Joan leaving fingerprints everywhere - from Lisa’s cigarettes to the victim himself - due to wearing only ONE glove for her crime. continued...</blockquote>

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