I’ve said it before, and doubtless will again, but nothing quite beats a good old fashioned Columbo conversation.
Of course that’s easier said than done. If you’re anything like me, most of the people you know in real life probably don’t have the Columbo stamina to talk at anything above a cursory level for a few moments. And while that’s still good, it doesn’t compare to being able to discuss the excellence of the show in depth with a knowledgeable associate.
“If you’re anything like me, most of the people you know in real life probably don’t have the Columbo stamina to talk at anything above a cursory level for a few moments.”
That’s why it was such a hoot to be invited to be interviewed by long-time Twitter pal Stephen Radford for his ‘Headline This’ podcast. We chewed the proverbial fat for nigh-on an hour – he from his English base on a wintry Saturday morning, me on a red-hot summer’s evening in Sydney.
Hemispheres apart we may be geographically, but when it comes to Columbo we’re certainly on the same grid reference. We cover all aspects of the show, from its energetic online fanbase, through to Peter Falk’s inimitable characterisation, stars who should have been cast in the show and much more besides.
If you’d like to listen in, visit the Headline This podcast webpage, or click on the image below to listen to the MP3 directly.
If you are able to spare the time to listen, I’d love to hear your views on the conversation, or on any of the subjects we cover! Leave a comment below.
I was also interviewed on US radio about my love of Columbo in 2015. You can listen to that one here.
Were they really on the BBC at one point? Imagine Columbo without all those tedious adverts they put on ITV!
In the UK there were 8 Columbo episodes shown on BBC1 on Saturday evenings in the summer of 1988. 25 episodes were shown on Saturdays on BBC1 in 1989. A few more were shown during 1990 and 1991. No adverts indeed!!
I think ITV originally showed all the episodes in the 1970s before the BBC bought most of them in the late 1980s.
ITV kept the rights to a few episodes such as Etude in Black, Dagger of the Mind, A Friend in Deed and the 2 pilot episodes which were all shown on ITV in 1990.
A Case of Immunity was the only episode of the original 45 not to be shown on BBC1 or ITV during this time. I have no idea who (if anyone) had the rights to show that one, but it went unseen in the UK for several years.
The late 1990’s / early 2000’s saw the episodes sold again, this time to various channels including Channel 5 and subsequently ITV3.
The New Columbo episodes (made from 1989 onwards) were originally shown on ITV in the evenings (usually a Saturday or Sunday) and were then sold to the BBC in 2002 where they were mostly shown every afternoon on BBC2 over the Christmas period of 2002. They too have now been sold to various channels.
These days episodes are regularly shown on ITV, ITV3, Channel 5 and 5USA.
Good knowledge! I don’t remember ever seeing Columbo on the BBC but what a treat to have it uninterrupted.
For anyone interested in the BBC showings of Columbo in the 1980s and 1990s, this website lists details of all the transmission dates:
http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=rank&q=columbo#search
Thanks Andy for that wonderfully detailed reply. I don’t have all the episodes on DVD but all the classics from the 70s so I can now enjoy them uninterrupted.
Thanks for including the Stephen Radford and Richard Rossi interviews on your website. Both were thoroughly enjoyable. I didn’t realise you were brought up in the United Kingdom. Here in the UK the Columbo episodes are still regularly shown on television (although I am fortunate to have all 69 episodes on DVD). I first started watching Columbo when they were repeated on the BBC in the late 1980s and have been an avid fan ever since.