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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 286556" data-attributes="member: 23">A Bird In The Hand <img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.30clvhT3ZKzlbQsdIDBJ7QHaE6%26pid%3DApi&f=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 345px" /><img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZGQzYzE5MzMtNmI3NS00MjdhLTgxOWQtMzk5NTE2MWI3MjhiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk0MjU0MzU@._V1_.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 408px" /><img src="https://www.silverscreensuppers.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/tve4116-78-19921122-3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 305px" />In which Mary Beth Lacey murders Dallas’s Wes Parmalee and Willie Guest.This episode can probably be best summed up by pointing out it’s written by Jackson Gillis who has turned in far more average and below episodes than he has classics. That said, while this is Gillis’s final episode, it’s is by no means his worst. In fact it’s one of his better efforts, once it’s accepted that it’s a bit of a skein composed of a number of different threads. The structuring of the episode leaves something to be desired. There are three deaths, two of which are the intended victims, but the only onscreen death is that of the gardener who was in the right place at the wrong time. It was an impressive one, though. I enjoyed the suspense of knowing the bomb was beneath the Rolls but frankly I didn’t think they’d actually blow up such a grand car onscreen, so I was surprised when they did (it’s possible they substituted a write-off for the actual explosion, but still…). All the same, it never feels right when we don’t see the murderer’s scheme being carried out. Indeed, the main killer wasn’t even revealed as so until much later in the episode, giving very little time for the audience to enjoy the interactions. Plus it meant a shift in energy, with Columbo pursuing a different killer for the first half of the episode to the one he arrested at the end. I can’t help wondering if Dolores’s offscreen murders were at the request of Tyne. I seem to remember reading she really disliked any scene involving guns on Cagney & Lacey and only relented when it was absolutely necessary.Greg Evigan oozes with arrogance and entitlement here - a plus in a Columbo antagonist - but lacked gravitas and intensity. Despite being only a couple of years younger here than Robert Culp was in his first appearance, Evigan has a youthful air and delivers his dialogue with contemporary teen drama rhythms that makes him sound immature and bland. I don’t think the rapport between his character and Columbo was that strong either. The best part of the episode can be summed up in two words: Tyne Daly. I was looking forward to seeing her. From the name Dolores I was expecting the ballsy brassy Mama Rose type that Tyne does incredibly well. There is some of that in there, and a whole lot more. All hidden beneath the facade of Sue Ellen Ewing, circa 1979. She’s as watchable as ever and her character has an interesting journey.But attempts to pull the wool over viewers’ eyes this way are never appreciated and the fact is that the episode hides too much and switches up the formula too much to be a Columbo classic. What is it with Nineties Columbo and car dealerships. This is the third consecutive episode involving them. He has a warmer welcome from the Rolls-Royce salesman here than he did from the Ferrari salesman who tried to prevent him entering the showroom in Death Hits The Jackpot. But I’m sure the Rolls guy quickly regrets it. The scene with Columbo under the car in the showroom is a nice visual, but goes on far too long and the lily is gilded by the people gathering at the window in order to applaud him. I must confess the angry salesman’s little wave towards the crowd made me smile, though. The Gotcha was fine, with some feasible clues putting Harold at Dolores’s place after she said she last saw him. I especially liked the detail with the hairs from the haircut. However it did all feel a bit convenient, and Dolores got a bit arch once she was outed as the killer. When all is said and done, I’m glad to have the last Jackson Gillis episode behind me as he’s invariably too quick to dispense with the formula in favour of something more "clever" and can’t seem to grasp the concept that “less is more”. </blockquote>

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