Wait! One more thing!
About "Prescription Murder," that is.
SO, the other thought I had about Gene Barry's murderous doctor is that he thinks he's really smart. And hey, he is smart. He's a psychiatrist. But I always wonder about the (regular) criminal element. Specifically the ones who rob and steal and are not in jail for drugs. I don't want to get into the politics of the latter. Murder happens whether it is thought out or in the heat of the moment. Our doctor 'protagonist' thinks he's going to get away with it because he's smarter than the police. Even smarter than our favorite detective, of whom Gene Barry points out uses his (Columbo's) off-putting clumsy and dumb-question-inquisitive demeanor as a front to disarm Columbo's suspects. Despite this, he still thinks that he's sooooo smart that he can plainly tell Columbo that the perpetrator of the crime is too smart to be caught. ("Give it up, police! The guy who killed my wife is waaaay too smart for you! I demand no retribution, and would rather pat the murderer on his back and congratulate him for his cleverness!" which I hinted at in the review).
I would think that as a psychiatrist/psychologist he would have more knowledge of the criminal mind. Maybe he's met some criminals and has thought, "these guys aren't that smart! Why, I could get away with MURDER compared to these dolts!"
I'm not saying that crime doesn't pay. I have often wondered what a career criminal (someone who can make a living, from lowlife who only manages rent & basic needs to the wall street plunderer living the high life in the Cayman Islands) is thinking. Are they mentally unbalanced? How do they justify what they do? Are they even concerned with their actions and the effect is has on their victims? What about the ones who just plain haven't been caught for multiple crimes? I know the answers vary.
But Gene's fatal flaw is that he just thinks he's too smart to get caught. Someone of his intelligence doesn't DESERVE to get caught, or even go to jail. He doesn't devalue his wife's life (well, at least not to the point where he thought he did no wrong). He just figured that no one would be able to outsmart him, simply based on the fact that he was a smart individual! He didn't even seem to worry about his girlfriend, who was in fact the weak link. Of no concern at all.
Anyway, fatal flaw. This isn't a public service message. But: You're never that smart to pull off the perfect crime.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Monday, October 15, 2012
TV Movie - Ransom For A Dead Man
Ransom For A Dead Man is the 2nd tv-movie-pilot starring Columbo, airing nearly three years after Prescription Murder. I'm not sure what the hold-up was, or what the initial plans for the character were since the last movie was produced.
I do have some inkling that the viewing public thought Columbo was a little mean in the original 'pilot,' openly harassing and practically threatening the suspect's girlfriend into agreeing to his plan to set up the suspect. I mean, that was HARSH. The good doctor in that movie openly sees through Columbo's ruse, and with that Columbo goes after the weakest spot in the doctor's plans, his emotional wreck of a patient/mistress. And, as I stated in the previous post, you are introduced to the doctor's plight. Through his point of view, Columbo is the antagonist in this film, therefore you might actually not root for Columbo.
I do have some inkling that the viewing public thought Columbo was a little mean in the original 'pilot,' openly harassing and practically threatening the suspect's girlfriend into agreeing to his plan to set up the suspect. I mean, that was HARSH. The good doctor in that movie openly sees through Columbo's ruse, and with that Columbo goes after the weakest spot in the doctor's plans, his emotional wreck of a patient/mistress. And, as I stated in the previous post, you are introduced to the doctor's plight. Through his point of view, Columbo is the antagonist in this film, therefore you might actually not root for Columbo.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
TV Movie - Prescription For Murder
Prescription: Murder. A TV movie and a pilot. I had seen several episodes of Columbo before seeing this episode. As a matter of fact, I had never seen this episode until I bought the first season on DVD while on my honeymoon (my wife bought it for me, actually, and she had never seen the show before in her entire life).
While viewing it again for the blog, I made a realization: I have ruined this "episode" by seeing other episodes. I have the foreknowledge of who Columbo is before he enters the good psychiatrist's living room. I'm expecting it. I know what the doctor is in for.
No one who had seen the play this movie was based on would know that.
The Ultimate Columbo Site has both researched and reprinted Richard Levinson & William Link's invention of Lt. Columbo and the actor switcheroo the character underwent from television to stage play and back to television again, so I'll refer you to that site. I find it very handy. I also don't want to replicate their information here.
Despite the possibility of making this blog even more pointless after linking that other site, I'll proceed.
Prescription: Murder starts off with psychiatrist Dr. Ray Flemming (played by Gene Barry) playing some sort of snooty guessing game with guests that I can't imagine are truly that interested in playing. It's his anniversary party, which he LEAVES to go attend to a patient. I guess when you're on call, you're on call. It's the late 60's (this aired in early 1968), so maybe his guests think he's just going to pop over for a house call and prescribe some horse tranquilizers or something and head back for more boring guessing games.
Dr. Flemming heads over to a snazzy house with an outdoor inground swimming pool. In it is his patient, Joan, who is in a bikini, and who gets out of the pool and starts making out with Dr. Flemming. Oh, that kind of house call.
You can see where "prescription: murder" falls into place from here on in. Dr. Flemming's wife threatens divorce, so after lying to her about planning a trip, he kills her in their condo and then fakes a robbery by smashing their balcony glass glass and taking some of her things. Joan shows up, sees the body of his wife and is shocked, but he coaches her through changing his wife's clothes and wearing them herself as she pretends to be his wife on the way to the airport. Joan is an actress, an can use her acting skills for this. They fake a fight on the airplane before it takes off and Joan leaves the plane, establishing that Dr. Flemming's wife was alive and with him at the airport and even on the plane before leaving on her own, and thus Dr. Flemming on his way to fish while the real Mrs. Flemming's body is being discovered a day or so later.
When Dr. Flemming returns to his condo a few days later, the body of his wife is gone, the broken glass balcony door is boarded up, and in walks a short guy dressed in evening hobo wear. This man has been smoking a cigar in Dr. Flemming's own bedroom this whole time, apparently.
It's Columbo, and this is where I realize I've been missing out by never having seen this prior to the other Columbo episodes I've seen in syndication. See, this 'movie' doesn't feel like a 'pilot,' especially for one character. It's about the murderer, Dr. Flemming, more than anything else. But I'm jumping ahead.
Dr. Flemming feigns shock that there's been a violent crime in his own home, but is even more shocked to discover that his wife is still alive, in a coma. At the hospital, we share a smirk that Mrs. Flemming regains consciousness just long enough to say her husband's name before passing away. Oh, see, they were hoping she'd name the murderer, and she DID, but the police and the doctors just thought they were calling out for her husband! Dr. Flemming knew otherwise, as do we, and perhaps...nah, can Columbo figure that out as well?
To sum up the next act, Columbo basically harasses Dr. Flemming here and there, but Dr. Flemming doesn't blow his top. He does however instruct his patient/lover/accomplice Joan to stop seeing him or calling him, one of those finer points of pulling off a murder that I can't believe they didn't discuss beforehand, but by then Columbo had seen her at his office and has already sensed something about them. Dr. Flemming has also gone over Columbo's head and asked his friends in the police department to have Columbo removed from the case.
So, Columbo pays Flemming a visit at his office, requesting that Dr. Flemming analyze him as a potential patient. Which leads to this scene here:
This is pretty low key for a climactic confrontation, but it highlights what I said about missing out from not seeing this before any other Columbo episode. It's about the killer. The movie follows either Dr. Flemming or Joan. There are no scenes with Columbo where he is taking his dog to the vet or arguing with a traffic cop about the state of his terrible, terrible car. It's about Dr. Flemming and his narcissistic ego.
Don't get me wrong, this is a great scene, but no matter how clever you are, whether you've committed the act and think you're untouchable or you are in fact innocent but figure it doesn't hurt to theorize about the crime, it's probably not wise to talk about how smart the killers are and how the cops will never catch them. Because they'll probably just zero in on you some more.
And especially because it's Dr. Flemming's own wife who was murdered, you'd think he's speak a little less indifferently about the criminal's act of violence against his wife, and perhaps give far less praise to the criminal's intellect and accomplishment of getting away with murder (...literally). He might as well add that the criminal is also far too handsome in addition to being, in Dr. Flemming's mind, too smart to be caught. Dude, that's your WIFE who was killed. You're PROUDLY telling the detective that the murderer will be getting away with THE MURDER OF YOUR WIFE. And what's even worse is that he's a freakin' psychiatrist! What psychiatrist/psychologist is going to rationalize and praise ACTUAL murder? Perhaps grief counseling is not one of Dr. Flemming's specialties.
I should point out here that Dr. Flemming and his wife were wealthy, and had wealthy friends (hence the black tie party that started the movie) and Dr. Flemming had considerable influence with the police to have Columbo taken off a murder investigation. Columbo shows up lookin', and acting, like a below-average joe.
The meeting of the minds ends there and Columbo bumps into Joan who is preparing for a scene in a movie. She screws up immediately by asking why Columbo is still on the case (how did she know he had been taken off?) and then refers to Dr. Flemming by his first name. This girl was not coached very well beyond the actual murder, I think.
The focus, as I mentioned, is on the murderers, Dr. Flemming and Joan. Columbo interacts with them, but in no way is this about the investigation. It's about Dr. Flemming stoically thinking, and almost bragging, that he outsmarted Columbo, the only person who thinks Dr. Flemming responsible. It's about a man so cold and arrogant that he does himself in when he plainly tells Columbo that he'd have no problem repeating the whole process with Joan if she would be a risk to his plan.
Why he couldn't see a marriage counselor in the first place is beyond me. You'd think he'd know someone in the biz.
In my viewing for this entry, I couldn't help but compare this to the looks and attitude of Mad Men. The latter show gets the tone (clothing, smoking & drinking in the offices, dumber younger mistresses) right if this movie was an indication of life for professionals in the 60's, except guys in period pieces will always look like guys in period pieces.
This is also a pretty good movie. Columbo lays it on thick, breaking out of the bumbling character we know in later episodes (since this is the first, does it count to say "breaking?") when he confronts Joan one last time to let her know that he'll be pressuring her from now on to confess. He gets pretty angry, and you rarely ever see him angry from here on. Perhaps it also hints at the true side of Columbo, a very serious man who, as described in the scene, plays a fool to disarm his suspects.
I don't believe this episode did not well, and viewers found the detective, the antagonist yet true hero of this movie, to be unsympathetic (and in that scene with Joan, mean, impersonal, and intimidating).
When you have no characters who are sympathetic, you might stop tuning in after a few episodes.
Just a few more things:
- Again, had I not seen other Columbo episodes before seeing this one, I would never have guessed that this would be the start of one of the longest running detective series and characters in television.
- I had first learned of Columbo in a Mad Magazine reprint special. In the end, it is discovered that most of the people Columbo had put away had confessed to crimes they didn't commit just so Columbo would leave them alone. I didn't quiet get the reference and asked my dad and showed him the article. He laughed his head off and told me the premise of the show.
- No blood; Mrs. Flemming was strangled.
- Gene Barry was Dr. Clayton Forrester in the original War Of The Worlds. Dr. Clayton Forrester is also the mad scientist from Mystery Science Theater 3000, which has name dropped a few of Gene's tv shows in their skewering.
- Peter Falk's hair wouldn't look as good in future episodes as it does here. The clothes are Falk's own, by the way.
- SPOILER - When Joan hears that Dr. Flemming would have been willing to kill her to keep her quiet and she announces that she'd like to confess and (presumably) implicate Dr. Flemming, can Dr. Flemming claim that her story is just hearsay? Made up? I still don't see any more evidence beyond any testimony she might give (one of the stewardesses from the flight might be able to identify Joan as the woman at the airport), and despite any proof of an affair, it would still become a he said/she said situation. I'm just wondering.
While viewing it again for the blog, I made a realization: I have ruined this "episode" by seeing other episodes. I have the foreknowledge of who Columbo is before he enters the good psychiatrist's living room. I'm expecting it. I know what the doctor is in for.
No one who had seen the play this movie was based on would know that.
The Ultimate Columbo Site has both researched and reprinted Richard Levinson & William Link's invention of Lt. Columbo and the actor switcheroo the character underwent from television to stage play and back to television again, so I'll refer you to that site. I find it very handy. I also don't want to replicate their information here.
Despite the possibility of making this blog even more pointless after linking that other site, I'll proceed.
Prescription: Murder starts off with psychiatrist Dr. Ray Flemming (played by Gene Barry) playing some sort of snooty guessing game with guests that I can't imagine are truly that interested in playing. It's his anniversary party, which he LEAVES to go attend to a patient. I guess when you're on call, you're on call. It's the late 60's (this aired in early 1968), so maybe his guests think he's just going to pop over for a house call and prescribe some horse tranquilizers or something and head back for more boring guessing games.
Dr. Flemming heads over to a snazzy house with an outdoor inground swimming pool. In it is his patient, Joan, who is in a bikini, and who gets out of the pool and starts making out with Dr. Flemming. Oh, that kind of house call.
You can see where "prescription: murder" falls into place from here on in. Dr. Flemming's wife threatens divorce, so after lying to her about planning a trip, he kills her in their condo and then fakes a robbery by smashing their balcony glass glass and taking some of her things. Joan shows up, sees the body of his wife and is shocked, but he coaches her through changing his wife's clothes and wearing them herself as she pretends to be his wife on the way to the airport. Joan is an actress, an can use her acting skills for this. They fake a fight on the airplane before it takes off and Joan leaves the plane, establishing that Dr. Flemming's wife was alive and with him at the airport and even on the plane before leaving on her own, and thus Dr. Flemming on his way to fish while the real Mrs. Flemming's body is being discovered a day or so later.
When Dr. Flemming returns to his condo a few days later, the body of his wife is gone, the broken glass balcony door is boarded up, and in walks a short guy dressed in evening hobo wear. This man has been smoking a cigar in Dr. Flemming's own bedroom this whole time, apparently.
It's Columbo, and this is where I realize I've been missing out by never having seen this prior to the other Columbo episodes I've seen in syndication. See, this 'movie' doesn't feel like a 'pilot,' especially for one character. It's about the murderer, Dr. Flemming, more than anything else. But I'm jumping ahead.
Dr. Flemming feigns shock that there's been a violent crime in his own home, but is even more shocked to discover that his wife is still alive, in a coma. At the hospital, we share a smirk that Mrs. Flemming regains consciousness just long enough to say her husband's name before passing away. Oh, see, they were hoping she'd name the murderer, and she DID, but the police and the doctors just thought they were calling out for her husband! Dr. Flemming knew otherwise, as do we, and perhaps...nah, can Columbo figure that out as well?
To sum up the next act, Columbo basically harasses Dr. Flemming here and there, but Dr. Flemming doesn't blow his top. He does however instruct his patient/lover/accomplice Joan to stop seeing him or calling him, one of those finer points of pulling off a murder that I can't believe they didn't discuss beforehand, but by then Columbo had seen her at his office and has already sensed something about them. Dr. Flemming has also gone over Columbo's head and asked his friends in the police department to have Columbo removed from the case.
So, Columbo pays Flemming a visit at his office, requesting that Dr. Flemming analyze him as a potential patient. Which leads to this scene here:
This is pretty low key for a climactic confrontation, but it highlights what I said about missing out from not seeing this before any other Columbo episode. It's about the killer. The movie follows either Dr. Flemming or Joan. There are no scenes with Columbo where he is taking his dog to the vet or arguing with a traffic cop about the state of his terrible, terrible car. It's about Dr. Flemming and his narcissistic ego.
Don't get me wrong, this is a great scene, but no matter how clever you are, whether you've committed the act and think you're untouchable or you are in fact innocent but figure it doesn't hurt to theorize about the crime, it's probably not wise to talk about how smart the killers are and how the cops will never catch them. Because they'll probably just zero in on you some more.
And especially because it's Dr. Flemming's own wife who was murdered, you'd think he's speak a little less indifferently about the criminal's act of violence against his wife, and perhaps give far less praise to the criminal's intellect and accomplishment of getting away with murder (...literally). He might as well add that the criminal is also far too handsome in addition to being, in Dr. Flemming's mind, too smart to be caught. Dude, that's your WIFE who was killed. You're PROUDLY telling the detective that the murderer will be getting away with THE MURDER OF YOUR WIFE. And what's even worse is that he's a freakin' psychiatrist! What psychiatrist/psychologist is going to rationalize and praise ACTUAL murder? Perhaps grief counseling is not one of Dr. Flemming's specialties.
I should point out here that Dr. Flemming and his wife were wealthy, and had wealthy friends (hence the black tie party that started the movie) and Dr. Flemming had considerable influence with the police to have Columbo taken off a murder investigation. Columbo shows up lookin', and acting, like a below-average joe.
The meeting of the minds ends there and Columbo bumps into Joan who is preparing for a scene in a movie. She screws up immediately by asking why Columbo is still on the case (how did she know he had been taken off?) and then refers to Dr. Flemming by his first name. This girl was not coached very well beyond the actual murder, I think.
The focus, as I mentioned, is on the murderers, Dr. Flemming and Joan. Columbo interacts with them, but in no way is this about the investigation. It's about Dr. Flemming stoically thinking, and almost bragging, that he outsmarted Columbo, the only person who thinks Dr. Flemming responsible. It's about a man so cold and arrogant that he does himself in when he plainly tells Columbo that he'd have no problem repeating the whole process with Joan if she would be a risk to his plan.
Why he couldn't see a marriage counselor in the first place is beyond me. You'd think he'd know someone in the biz.
In my viewing for this entry, I couldn't help but compare this to the looks and attitude of Mad Men. The latter show gets the tone (clothing, smoking & drinking in the offices, dumber younger mistresses) right if this movie was an indication of life for professionals in the 60's, except guys in period pieces will always look like guys in period pieces.
This is also a pretty good movie. Columbo lays it on thick, breaking out of the bumbling character we know in later episodes (since this is the first, does it count to say "breaking?") when he confronts Joan one last time to let her know that he'll be pressuring her from now on to confess. He gets pretty angry, and you rarely ever see him angry from here on. Perhaps it also hints at the true side of Columbo, a very serious man who, as described in the scene, plays a fool to disarm his suspects.
I don't believe this episode did not well, and viewers found the detective, the antagonist yet true hero of this movie, to be unsympathetic (and in that scene with Joan, mean, impersonal, and intimidating).
When you have no characters who are sympathetic, you might stop tuning in after a few episodes.
Just a few more things:
- Again, had I not seen other Columbo episodes before seeing this one, I would never have guessed that this would be the start of one of the longest running detective series and characters in television.
- I had first learned of Columbo in a Mad Magazine reprint special. In the end, it is discovered that most of the people Columbo had put away had confessed to crimes they didn't commit just so Columbo would leave them alone. I didn't quiet get the reference and asked my dad and showed him the article. He laughed his head off and told me the premise of the show.
- No blood; Mrs. Flemming was strangled.
- Gene Barry was Dr. Clayton Forrester in the original War Of The Worlds. Dr. Clayton Forrester is also the mad scientist from Mystery Science Theater 3000, which has name dropped a few of Gene's tv shows in their skewering.
- Peter Falk's hair wouldn't look as good in future episodes as it does here. The clothes are Falk's own, by the way.
- SPOILER - When Joan hears that Dr. Flemming would have been willing to kill her to keep her quiet and she announces that she'd like to confess and (presumably) implicate Dr. Flemming, can Dr. Flemming claim that her story is just hearsay? Made up? I still don't see any more evidence beyond any testimony she might give (one of the stewardesses from the flight might be able to identify Joan as the woman at the airport), and despite any proof of an affair, it would still become a he said/she said situation. I'm just wondering.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Some very basic basics about Columbo.
So, what is Columbo? Is that a country or something? My current web design suggests nothing about this show or contents of the blog.
-"Columbo" was a series of TV movies that ran throughout the 70's after a made-for-TV movie, based on a play, was produced in 1968. It alternated with other murder mystery specials featuring other famous crime solving characters on NBC. "Columbo" was revived by ABC in 1989 with episodes produced less and less frequently until 2003.
-Columbo was the last name of the main character, the only one to appear in every episode (obviously), Lt. Columbo (first name never officially known). This character was played by Peter Falk.
-The formula was mostly the same: someone commits a murder. The murderer thinks they're going to get away with it. In walks Lt. Columbo, who notices one thing or another and soon he's politely badgering (this is why you tuned in) the murderer about the case and these details. The murderer eventually can't take it anymore, and Columbo gets his (wo)man.
-The show was an instant hit. Many top stars of the 70's begged to be the culprit. Some stars even wrote and directed episodes. The show was always very much of its time, as we'll discuss, but it's fun to note how the raging 70's clashed with an old-fashioned but otherwise easygoing character like Columbo.
-Steven Spielberg directed an episode. No kiddin'. Steven Bocho wrote many of the early scripts. The show won a lot of Emmys, and deservedly so.
-There were also a few stinkers.
Although not the first use of the 'how catch 'em' formula, where we know already know who did the crime, watching Columbo trip up his subjects was always interesting and amusing. So stick around. "Prescription For Murder" will be the next entry.
-"Columbo" was a series of TV movies that ran throughout the 70's after a made-for-TV movie, based on a play, was produced in 1968. It alternated with other murder mystery specials featuring other famous crime solving characters on NBC. "Columbo" was revived by ABC in 1989 with episodes produced less and less frequently until 2003.
-Columbo was the last name of the main character, the only one to appear in every episode (obviously), Lt. Columbo (first name never officially known). This character was played by Peter Falk.
-The formula was mostly the same: someone commits a murder. The murderer thinks they're going to get away with it. In walks Lt. Columbo, who notices one thing or another and soon he's politely badgering (this is why you tuned in) the murderer about the case and these details. The murderer eventually can't take it anymore, and Columbo gets his (wo)man.
-The show was an instant hit. Many top stars of the 70's begged to be the culprit. Some stars even wrote and directed episodes. The show was always very much of its time, as we'll discuss, but it's fun to note how the raging 70's clashed with an old-fashioned but otherwise easygoing character like Columbo.
-Steven Spielberg directed an episode. No kiddin'. Steven Bocho wrote many of the early scripts. The show won a lot of Emmys, and deservedly so.
-There were also a few stinkers.
Although not the first use of the 'how catch 'em' formula, where we know already know who did the crime, watching Columbo trip up his subjects was always interesting and amusing. So stick around. "Prescription For Murder" will be the next entry.
I'm sorry to bother you. If you just have a minute, I'm from homicide...
Hello. I'll keep this simple. That does not mean I will keep it short:
I will be re-watching and reviewing every Columbo episode produced.
Columbo being the murder mystery show starring the late Peter Falk as the title character, of course.
If I have time, eventually, I might try to watch Mrs. Columbo episodes included (as extras) on the Columbo DVD releases, but I am not that brave of a person. I may even wait to do that well after I've reviewed all Columbo episodes.
I am not an expert in television or film. I do not know what every big, small, character, and porn actor/actress has been in besides Columbo. I don't even know how many times some guest stars appeared on the show, nor can I say with great authority what counts as recurring (Bruce Kirby pretty much played one character through many episodes, Falk's widow was on the show several times, Number 6 holds the record with 4 murderous plots). If there's someone of interest, be they wink at us while making their cameo or if we just saw them as the culprit one week and then as a victim the next, I'll do my best to point it out.
There are other sites dedicated to Columbo, an extensive wikipedia entry about the show's creation and about the character himself, and plenty more info on the IMDB. I will reference these if I have to look up anything that I need to reference in my commentary or back up to prove a point.
This will not be about being the most extensive episode guide for all Columbo fans everywhere, and it will especially not be an attempt to push anyone who claims to be the world's biggest Columbo fan off that hill while awaiting to be crowned King Of All Columbo.
I have written reviews for small papers and websites, and published a rock magazine for several years where I interviewed musicians, artists, and actors and directors. I plan to soon make a podcast discussing all manner of topics and hopefully continue with interviewing persons of my interests; if for some reason I cross paths with a Columbo guest star or crew member in this otherwise unrelated effort, I will be sure to share it here.
Finally, what to look for in these reviews:
-body count!
-guest stars!
-recurring characters?
-when "This Old Man" is played?
-car trouble
-attempts on Columbo's life
-attempts at humor within the show (and in my review, sadly)
-anything that could easily be solved with modern, updated detective work
-anything that Columbo does that might catch the killer, but might also get them acquitted due to questionable police work (entrapment, planting evidence)
-anything that catches my fancy or that I have questions about, and...
Just one more thing:
-exactly when the guest star goes absolutely postal while dealing with Columbo.
That's it for now. More about the project soon.
I will be re-watching and reviewing every Columbo episode produced.
Columbo being the murder mystery show starring the late Peter Falk as the title character, of course.
If I have time, eventually, I might try to watch Mrs. Columbo episodes included (as extras) on the Columbo DVD releases, but I am not that brave of a person. I may even wait to do that well after I've reviewed all Columbo episodes.
I am not an expert in television or film. I do not know what every big, small, character, and porn actor/actress has been in besides Columbo. I don't even know how many times some guest stars appeared on the show, nor can I say with great authority what counts as recurring (Bruce Kirby pretty much played one character through many episodes, Falk's widow was on the show several times, Number 6 holds the record with 4 murderous plots). If there's someone of interest, be they wink at us while making their cameo or if we just saw them as the culprit one week and then as a victim the next, I'll do my best to point it out.
There are other sites dedicated to Columbo, an extensive wikipedia entry about the show's creation and about the character himself, and plenty more info on the IMDB. I will reference these if I have to look up anything that I need to reference in my commentary or back up to prove a point.
This will not be about being the most extensive episode guide for all Columbo fans everywhere, and it will especially not be an attempt to push anyone who claims to be the world's biggest Columbo fan off that hill while awaiting to be crowned King Of All Columbo.
I have written reviews for small papers and websites, and published a rock magazine for several years where I interviewed musicians, artists, and actors and directors. I plan to soon make a podcast discussing all manner of topics and hopefully continue with interviewing persons of my interests; if for some reason I cross paths with a Columbo guest star or crew member in this otherwise unrelated effort, I will be sure to share it here.
Finally, what to look for in these reviews:
-body count!
-guest stars!
-recurring characters?
-when "This Old Man" is played?
-car trouble
-attempts on Columbo's life
-attempts at humor within the show (and in my review, sadly)
-anything that could easily be solved with modern, updated detective work
-anything that Columbo does that might catch the killer, but might also get them acquitted due to questionable police work (entrapment, planting evidence)
-anything that catches my fancy or that I have questions about, and...
Just one more thing:
-exactly when the guest star goes absolutely postal while dealing with Columbo.
That's it for now. More about the project soon.
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