#columbo episodes

[ltcolumbo-blog]

This guide delves into every single episode of the beloved detective series Columbo.

[peterfalkfan]

Dead Weight

Universally given the raspberry as a weak episode, it’s not so bad. But okay, it’s weak because of holes in the plot and requirement for incredible suspension of disbelief.

Some say that Eddie Albert just isn’t suited as a villain. He doesn’t have the evil aura that, say, Richard Kiley has. But his immediate wooing of the female witness against him was scary because it looked like he was wooing her into a spider’s web. As it turned out, he was just wooing her. 

The problem at the beginning is that he kills the victim impulsively with no idea what to do but when Columbo arrives on the scene, there is zero blood and no evidence that someone was shot. There’s also no body, so Columbo is uncharacteristically skeptical that anything happened. The body is creepily hanging in a bag behind a hidden door (later used as a device in “Columbo Cries Wolf”).

The most intriguing characters are the beautiful Suzanne Pleshette and her harridan of a mother. Their interactions are entertaining. Suzanne Pleshette plays the role of an insecure, childlike woman perfectly with wide-open eyes and shy smiles.

The end of the episode is the weakest part because Columbo rambles unconvincingly about a pearl-handled pistol. Yet Eddie Albert instantly surrenders to the waiting police as though it’s too strong to dispute.

I read that during the filming, Peter Falk was having a dispute with Universal. He was calling in sick, they had to use a stand-in, the other actors were fed up with him, etc. There’s an interview that I haven’t watched with Suzanne Pleshette where she talks about how angry she was. I don’t want to think Peter Falk was a jerk so I haven’t seen it.

[peterfalkfan]

Suitable for Framing. Art critic/murderer Ross Martin (”Dale Kingston”) goes to a gallery opening as an alibi and cracks himself up with his wit. Not obvious: blue crushed velvet suit.