Columbo. It still holds up. I adore it.

Peter Falk was quite a character.

I have to admit, I never watched an episode, though it seemed to be always on TV in the 70s. I used to love Inspector Morse.

I just love seeing the rich and powerful squirm. Peter Falk was friends with Johnny Cash, John Cassevetes and Ben Gazzara. Seemed like a neat guy. He had a much younger wife named, Shera. Apparently they fought all the time and he admitted that they didn't have much in common but that they both like the color blue.

The episode with Ruth Gordon as the killer still stands out, two very unusual and unique acting styles and talents playing off of each other.

[quote] He had a much younger wife named, Shera. Apparently they fought all the time and he admitted that they didn't have much in common but that they both like the color blue.

OOOOOHHHH! I like blue!

A friend of mine had a job as a waiter at a country club Falk belonged to. He said Falk always acted like an asshole by being demanding and ridiculing and just plain rude. I was sorry to hear it since I liked him in every role I ever saw him in, especially Columbo.

R3, many wonderful relationships have been built on less than that.

Ugh, R6, that's so depressing to hear. Still, I love the show and think it does hold up somewhat, and certainly more than other 70s TV shows. Jack Cassidy, David's and Shaun's father, was on a few times and was great every single time as the killer.

Did he ever fuck Sandy Duncan?

[quote] Did he ever fuck Sandy Duncan?

Only her eye socket when she took out the glass eye. She returned the favor by giving him a socket rimjob.

Remember when Sandy Duncan's eye was the weirdest thing ever mentioned on TV? How quaint when that was the only thing.

I love Columbo. I have amassed the entire series on DVD. I'll would rate 80-90 percent of the episodes in the very good to great range.

Not just Columbo, the whole NBC Mystery Movie franchise was stellar - in rotation you had Columbo, McCloud, McMillan and Wife, with The Snoop Sisters and maybe a few others thrown in.

It holds up very well. I saw my first episodes maybe a couple years ago. My favourites are Martin Landau playing twins (and the hilarious cooking sequence with Columbo himself), and the one with the army general who shoots up another guy and there's a witness, a young divorcee who saw and heard the shot from a distance. The one with Dick Van Dyke is also very cool.

Maybe his shittiness at the country club was a symptom of alzheimers? He was always said to be excellent to work with and kind to everyone on set.

"He said Falk always acted like an asshole by being demanding and ridiculing and just plain rude."

Maybe that was due to the onset of Alzheimer's, because I've always heard he was a well-liked, down to earth guy.

I think Charlton Heston's truly bizarre behavior in his later years was also due to Alzheimer's.. That disease can completely change someone's personality.

R6 here. Well, he was much older by the time my friend had contact with him so it is possible that his condition affected his behavior by then. I would hope that is the explanation.

By 2005, he didn't know who Columbo was or that he'd ever been an actor

Last night's MeTV rerun of Columbo had DL fave Robert Conrad as the Killer-of-the-Week. And I remembered that Conrad's real surname is ... FALK! I wonder if they were related in any way?

I remember watching the episode with guest-star Robert Conrad running around in shorts and nothing else! Shot a load in my PJs!

That was a good one. How old was Conrad in that episode? They said he was 52. There's a Columbo marathon on this Saturday on the Hallmark Mystery channel

Sandy Duncan does not have a glass eye.

Aside from the Columbo character and Peter Falk's performance, I never understood the appeal of the show -- it wasn't really a mystery because they showed you the killer right from the start. What's so exciting about that?

[quote]I never understood the appeal of the show -- it wasn't really a mystery because they showed you the killer right from the start. What's so exciting about that?

It's about the killer's gloating arrogance and seeing how Columbo figures it all out. Plus the humor.

They show you the clues that Columbo uses. It's also interesting when you consider that a lot of people probably get away with murder. Perhaps fewer now with DNA and stuff but cops are borderline retarded. Usually they just pin it on a black guy and call it a night.

"Usually they just pin it on a black guy and call it a night. "

But nowadays they shoot them for no reason.

I thought Sandy lost her eye in a fight in a lezbo bar. Something about a pool stick.

I used to watch it with my father and we loved how Columbo would harass the suspects relentlessly and how he'd take down folks who thought they'd outsmarted him and that he wasn't sophisticated enough to figure it out - they never knew what hit them. I still watch it occasionally on MeTV. Peter Falk was terrific in this.

It's truly the only time that you see justice served to rich people

R25 Seeing how Columbo was able to figure out who the crime was done by the suspect was part of the uniqueness of the show. You obviously missed the point of Columbo altogether.

R13 I loved the theme that the Mystery Movie series used. Henry Mancini created it. I think besides Columbo, the segments of Quincy, McMillan and Wife and Banacek were also popular.

I guess I'm in the minority but I always wanted for him to die in a grease fire.

Sandy lost sight and motion in one eye, but she still has the eye.

I watched an episode of Columbo last night and loved it. That moment when he nails the killers is always so sweet.

He was a really good looking guy. He was also in a movie I loved when I was a kid. Griffin and Phoenix. I have a real fond memory of that movie. I don't know if it would hold up watching it as an adult so I won't risk it.

Here's Griffin and Phoenix if you're interested. Shows a whole other side of him as an actor.

I wonder if R37 is talking about the Dick Van Dyke playing a photographer episode because that's what I watched last night. I loved it.

Yes R40! That's the one I was talking about - I hadn't seen the show in quite a while and the episode brought back all the reasons why I used to love it so much in the 70's.

Anyone notice Columbo's constant hangy bulge in every episode?

Jack Cassidy was terrific in his two appearances, esp the one where he and the recently departed Martin Milner play co authors of a successful mystery novel series. But my two all time faves are the Johnny Cash episode, featuring Ida Lupino, (where he parachutes out of the plane!) and the one with the divine John Cassavetes as a symphony conductor, with Blythe Danner as his wife and Myrna Loy as his mother in law. Besides the performances, the great thing about these episodes is seeing all the outdoor shots of 70s LA...like the Hollywood Bowl in the Cassavetes episode. And the one with Ray Milland that was shot in the famous Jack Woltz "Godfather" mansion...it's out in the gardens. And once Columbo pulls into a gas station and gas is something like 79 cents. I love all these, never tire of watching them.

The episodes guest starring Anne Baxter and Jackie Cooper were standouts.

I agree with you R43 that Jack Cassidy was excellent in his appearances, and Peter Falk singled him out as one of his favorite guest stars. Cassidy was actually in three episodes, though, not two: (1) Murder by the Book (1971); (2) Publish or Perish (1974); and (3) Now You See Him (1976). Cassidy was great in all of them. Just wanted to point out that he was in three episodes in case you missed one of them!

I agree with R43 too, the episodes with Jack Cassidy really stand out.

The Columbo people produced one of my favorite tv movies, Guilty Conscience (1987), starring Blithe Danner, Swoosie Kurtz and a pre-Lambs Anthony Hopkins still willing to do tv movies. Gorgeous score, I'd watch any tv movie scored by the same people, but they're all old tv movies too difficult to track down.

R43 Steven Spielberg directed the Jack Cassidy episode "Murder by the Book." Great episode.

I think Patrick McGoohan played a villain twice, as well. (Loved him in THE PRISONER as well!) And I think Robert Vaughn may have as well. Alas, I think Robert Conrad only did it once, as the fitness instructor. Such good guest stars they had back then, and high production values....filmed outdoor sequences. Some of those cars are as long as boats!

I love the Robert Conrad episode as well for the shirtless Conrad but it's also an episode where Columbo gets really pissed off; when he confronts him in the hospital after the murder victim's wife attempts suicide is fantastic. It rarely happened but when he got angry is was a great scene. This one and another with Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy as a doctor is ridiculing Columbo and laughing at him, and Falk smiles and picks up a water jug and slams it on the desk.

That tv movie Falk did with Jill Clayburgh called "Griffin and Phoenix" was terrible. It was about two people, implausibly named Griffin and Phoenix, who are both dying of terminal illnesses, They fall in love. They're not very likeable; in fact, they're both really annoying and behave like assholes. She runs up huge credit card bills, never expecting to pay for any of it, since she's dying. In a fit a anger, he methodically starts smashing the windows of a long line of parked cars. But it's supposed to be a heartwarming "love story." But it's the tale of two people who REALLY deserve each other.

The Janet Leigh episode is one of my all-time favorites. Very different, melancholy ending.

Blythe Danner was pregnant with Goop when that episode was filmed. I found it on Netflix about a year ago, hadn't watched it in decades, and fell in love. I adore the mansions and the cars and the set dressing stuff. It's hilarious how none of the (mostly wealthy) suspects never thought to refuse to speak with him without their lawyer present. And Columbo's snooping around was very much a violation of constitutional rights, but those were different times.

Speaking of Shera, be sure to watch the episode in which William Shatner stars. Later in the episode, Shera enters the scene, and she is almost buck-naked: VERY sheer pink outfit, no bra, and no VPL. No wonder Peter Falk married her. I can't believe that Shatner or anyone else could concentrate on playing the scene with her ripe young body on display right in front like that.

I loved the one with Faye Dunaway. She had marvelous chemistry with Falk.

One of the greatest episodes was the first, with Gene Barry as a murderous psychiatrist.

Then there's the Robert Conrad one.......

And the John Cassavetes episode. The Jackie Cooper one is great.

When first broadcast, the shows that were under the "NBC Mystery Movie" umbrella were usually 90 or 120 minutes long. When was the last time there was a scripted series that regularly ran more than 60 minutes? (I'm omitting reality shows and double episodes, like the premiere of "SVU" this season.) I remember when "The Virginian" broke the mold and became the first 90-minute non-anthology show.

"Try and Catch Me" with Ruth Gordon as the baddy. She's like ice water in this episode and it almost feels as if Columbo won't figure it out, but of course he does!

It's been fun reading this thread. Glad there are other Columbo fans out there! The episodes everyone has listed so far are great. A couple more shout outs for particular episodes from me.

Any Old Port in a Storm (1973) - Donald Pleasance plays a character who is a vintner who kills his brother off, who was planning on selling the winery. Pleasance's character is obsessed with the quality of the wine while his brother just wants to earn money. This is one where Columbo respects the murderer and even grows to like him, and vice versa. But Columbo has to take him down. There were a few episodes like this where Columbo and the murderer respected each other, but I think this was one of the best.

Blueprint for Murder (1972) - Patrick O'Neal plays an architect who kills the businessman (played by Forrest Tucker) who was going to shut down his planned building project. O'Neal tries to play cat and mouse with Columbo making him think Tucker is buried in a concrete foundation and dropping hints that he is. He fights Columbo, who wants to dig up the foundation. Columbo eventually does, but there is no body. This was O'Neal's plan all along. He goes to where Tucker's body is actually hidden and brings it back the same night that the foundation has been completely dug up because the plans are to pour a new foundation the next day. Columbo, though, has figured out O'Neal's ruse. When O'Neal arrives with the body at night, all the lights go on and there stand Columbo and the LAPD. Great episode.

And then there's the episode with the young prodigy filmmaker. Great stuff. Fisher Stevens even looks like the other Steven.

[quote]Blueprint for Murder

One of my favorites R60 and the episode I tell people about when they don't understand why I love this show so much.

I love Columbo still too, I even have few seasons on dvd. I vaguely remember reading that Peter Falk was well liked among cast & crew and that he was genuinely nice and funny.

Was Quincy ever part of the rotation? I know Columbo, McCloud and MacMillan & Wife were the constant three. The fourth one in the rotation changed quite often. I do remember Ellery Queen with Jim Hutton (Timothy's Dad) was part of that group.

Interesting that they could write intelligent scripts for this back in the 70s, but they can't find anyone to write a decent film script these days.

"Quincy" was never part of the Sunday Mystery Movie wheel. "The Snoop Sisters" were though, for one season, if I recall correctly.

R65 Back then networks were still trying to make quality programs along with good ratings. Today they only care about the ratings. Quality writing comes in second or third, which is why I can count the number of shows I watch each week on one hand. Just like the music industry, television shot itself in the foot by being too greedy and being more concerned about quantity rather than quality.

I always loved that old French car he drove, especially how it was a piece crap when the show started and they just let it get older and more decrepit as the show progressed.

Oh I was just a kid but I loved the Snoop Sisters. Forgot all about that.

A great show I'd nearly forgotten about. But my cable company hates Hallmark for some reason, so it's back to Murder She Wrote on Cozi. :(

ID this Ep please - a piano impresario deliberately and permanently damaged his hands in order to somehow make one of his protégés love him, and maybe pick up some insurance $$$.

R70 Do you get MeTV (broadcast or cable?) They show Columbo regularly.

I started watching Streets of San Francisco for the first time on MeTV....now that's a great show.

Why yes I do (OTA), R70! Thanks for letting me know. For some reason, a global search at TV Guide didn't show it in my Zip Code.

Well one more thing. I'm really R70, which means that's R72 over there. But where were you when Ms. Thompson had her gruesome car accident?

R73, yes it is, but so is Columbo.

The episode with Roddy McDowall, Short Fuse from 1972, was pretty good.

The one with Jack Cassidy as the Nazi magician was on last night. Damn, Jack had a tragic demise. Also an affair with Cole Porter.

2 Columbo trivia questions:

1. Who was the FIRST actor to play Columbo?

2. Which actor did the show's creators want to hire before Peter Falk was cast?

1. Thomas Mitchell in a one off TV performance in the late 50s before the idea of a series.

2. Bing Crosby

Actually, the answer to question one was Bert Freed.

The opening theme was great - with the man walking around in the dark with a flashlight.

Along with Banacek, McMillan and Wife and McCloud, etc. wasn't there also another segment with Richard Boone?

My only complaint is that they really screwed up the McMillan series when Susan St James left.

Bing Crosby would have been a terrible Columbo. If they wanted Bing so much, they should have offered him "The Snoop Brothers" with Bob Hope as his co-star.

Excellent show. It's so funny to watch it now, because with cell phones and security cameras, half of the plotlines could never have been pulled off. RIP Peter Falk. A great actor.

[quote] Blythe Danner was pregnant with Goop when that episode was filmed.

R53, thanks for ruining this great thread.

It's not that we knew what Columbo had then to figure out; the cool part was always when he solved the crime with a clue WE HAD SEEN BUT NOT GRASPED.

R53 way to kill the mood!

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