Q. What’s better than Martin Landau in an episode of Columbo? A. Two Martin Landaus in an episode of Columbo!
A complete hoot from start to finish, Double Shock is, in my opinion, the standout episode from Columbo‘s second season, featuring what could be Peter Falk’s single best performance in the crumpled raincoat.
With the cast headlined by the late, great Martin Landau as duplicitous twins Dexter and Norman Paris, Double Shock had it all: pathos, great humour, fully developed secondary characters, plus an actual whodunnit element that kept viewers guessing (to an extent) until the final scene.
There are a stack of standout moments, but just what are its very, very best scenes? My thoughts are right here…
“A complete blast from start to finish, Double Shock is, in my opinion, the standout episode from Columbo’s second season.”
5. The disturbing state of Clifford Paris
Didn’t anyone ever tell Lisa it’s bad luck to see the groom the night before the wedding?
When the flighty Lisa Chambers (Julie Newmar) arrives at Paris HQ to pick up her husband-to-be Clifford (the pair are due to wed the next day), we’re first entertained by her effortless skirting around Mrs Peck – and the obvious disdain the older lady holds her in.
Lisa’s good mood evaporates fast, though, when she can’t locate Clifford upstairs – even after peeping into the bathroom where we know he’s just been slain. She perks up again when she deduces he must be in the basement home gym, perhaps enjoying a ride on the new electric bicycle she bought him.
She’s half right. Clifford is in the gym. He is on the bike. But as his slumped corpse lolls hideously about on the still-moving bike, the viewer receives a shock nearly as stark as Lisa’s. It’s a dark and disturbing visual that is all the more powerful set against the episode’s array of comic interludes.
4. Unleashing the Peck rage
After making a messy cop disappear, Mrs Peck’s next trick saw her curdle milk with a single glance from 10 paces
Oh dear, Columbo’s introduction to crotchety Mrs Peck really couldn’t have gone worse, could it? As the sleepy detective attempts to take in the crime scene, he absent-mindedly dabs his cigar ash on the floor of the gym. BIG MISTAKE. In a flash, Peckosaurus Rex is on to him, snarling “You must belong in some pigsty. Do you do that in your own home?”
As Columbo attempts to right the wrong, he earns further rebukes by rubbing the ash into the clean carpet, and then breaking Mr Clifford’s favourite pitcher – each time to an increasingly shrill Peck soundtrack. “Get him out of here! GET HIM OUT!” she brays as the desperate Lieutenant finally beats a retreat.
So not only a very comical scene, the stall has been set out early that Columbo has a major task on his hands to win hearts and minds in the Paris household – and until he can do so cracking the case will be extra difficult. As for Mrs Peck? She’s immediately established as the most fearsome Columbo adversary we’ve seen to date. No mean feat when we’ve already met the likes of Paul Hanlon, Barry Mayfield, Jarvis Goodland and Investigator Brimmer…
3. The Hathaway double cross
PS – Gotcha! Love Norman and Dexter xx
Family lawyer Mike Hathaway is as unscrupulous as they come, effectively turning a blind eye to the Paris twins’ murder of his BFF in order to keep his grubby mitts on a share of the profits from Clifford’s estate.
He gets his comeuppance (of sorts) when the brothers stitch him up royally after knowing he’s arranged to head to Lisa’s apartment to obtain her copy of Clifford’s will, which was changed late on to leave everything to her, cutting the feuding twins out completely.
After finding the apartment empty and pocketing the will, Hathaway is disturbed by police sirens. Looking out over Lisa’s balcony what should he see but the spreadeagled corpse of the young woman on the road below. Taking flight in panic, Hathaway is nabbed by officers as he attempts to escape via the lifts.
This is a great moment because it shows us what Dexter and Norman are truly capable of – without showing us anything at all. The murder of Lisa Chambers is a heinous, shocking crime and one I’m pleased the producers didn’t force viewers to watch. But make no mistakes, she died a terrifying death at the hands of two greedy brothers she barely knew, and the horror of her final moments effectively casts another shadow over the light-hearted aspects of this excellently paced adventure.
2. The temporary truce over milk and health cookies
After earning another roasting from the livid housekeeper after dabbing cigar ash into an antique silver platter (“Bum! You’re a BUM!”) Columbo has to pluck up no small amount of courage to bury the hatchet with Mrs Peck.
Finding her alone in her kitchen, his humble apology to her for his untidiness and his entreaty to her to treat him more fairly is probably the most challenging moment we’ve seen him face up to now. Talking down a gun-wielding Beth Chadwick in Lady in Waiting was child’s play by comparison!
This is wonderful because we see a side of the real Columbo here: a hurt and humiliated human being having to admit his shortcomings to win over a major obstacle in him getting the job done. It works – temporarily at least – as Mrs Peck concedes: “Lieutenant, I know that you’re a very hardworking officer and I would like to offer you a plate of Mr Paris’s favourite health cookies and a glass of milk.”
How Falk subsequently delivered the “Thank you. I’m extremely fond of health cookies,” line so earnestly while keeping a straight face is a testament to his acting abilities. What a shame, then, that he undid all his good work minutes later after breaking the Peck Machine’s TV set when attempting to fix it. Oh, Lieutenant! The Lord giveth and he taketh away…
1. Live cooking at its best
If your heart doesn’t gladden when watching this scene, I hate to break it to you this way but you’re probably already dead…
Ask just about any Columbo purist to name their top moments from the entire series and it’s a safe bet that the legendary cookery scene from Double Shock will be right up there.
Weighing in at a little under 8 minutes, the scene was almost entirely ad-libbed by Peter Falk and Martin Landau and it’s an absolute gem. Called up on stage to be a reluctant assistant to Dexter, Columbo is initially abashed and stunned, and barely able to string a coherent sentence together – much to the delight of the live studio audience. Yet he warms to the task, making a few wisecracks and milking the audience applause as his confidence grows.
The nature of the scene made it perfect for ad libbing, and Falk, in particular, absolutely nails it. He’s as warm and charming as we ever see him – just look at his face light up as he and Landau revel in playing off one another. This sense of fun is genuine and contagious. I, for one, find it impossible not to smile along. This is Columbo at his most adorable.
A thing of beauty is a joy forever, and that’s exactly what this scene is. I’d even go as far as to say it’s probably the single best non-gotcha Columbo moment of them all. Quite a claim, I know, but I stand by it.
“This is probably the single best non-gotcha Columbo moment of them all.”
That’s all for today, folks. As always I’d welcome your feedback on your own personal episode highlight, and any scene/s you feel might have warranted a mention that I’ve overlooked.
If you’re hankering for more detailed analysis of this episode (which is a big personal favourite of mine), read my full review right here!
Now if you’ll excuse me I have to run. I have a batch of Mr Paris’s favourite health cookies in the oven right now, and I’d so hate to burn them! See you very soon…
Shhhhhhhhhh! It’s quiet time at Peck HQ for the next 45 minutes
Behind the scenes of this episode . . .
Julie Newmar was a lovely young woman when she made this, but hardly young enough to be Clifford’s granddaughter surely? Daughter yes, but not granddaughter.
Lisa’s murder is handled very tastefully, but is that really Julie Newmar on the pavement, or a stand in? I like to think Julie was a trouper, and didn’t object to arranging herself artistically on the tarmac for a couple of minutes.
There has been some criticism on other threads regarding “bad acting” in Columbo (in Dagger of the Mind and Murder in Malibu) which I believe is done deliberately by good actors playing bad actors. The best example of this is in Double Shock, when we see the level of acting commonplace on Mrs Peck’s TV soaps in the Columbo universe, a rare comedy moment that doesn’t involve Columbo himself.
I always thought it was Julie sprawled on the ground but must admit I never looked closely.
I <3 Columbo!!! At times I sorta feel sorry for the criminal because the detective is pestering him / her to death; but I saw "Double Shock" this morning and felt so bad for poor Columbo with Mrs. Peck tearing him a new one. Your review was fun to read, and I'm really glad I discovered this site!
I love Hathaway the lawyer’s line that Mrs. Peck “has more love for the family than the family does.” It was probably indispensable to the plot’s unfolding, but I was disappointed that Hathaway (who was also great in the scene when he told Columbo he knew he too was a suspect) turned out to be such a sleaze.
I can’t stop laughing at the thumbnail gif you have of him on the homepage of this article getting shocked. 😂😂😂
It is funny! Especially when you think that the actor wasn’t really being electrocuted and simply had to pull a shocked face while sitting in a bath!
In episodes such as try and catch me , Negative reaction , the bye bye sky high IQ murder and make me a perfect murder it would be easy to pick 10 best moments ,
also on you tube i came across a video of columbo rankings 1968 to 1978 sung to the backdrop of sunday morning comind down by johnny cash (swan song) , the bottom 3
episodes were Last salute , 45th , a matter of honor 44th and dead weight 43rd which i agree with double shock was surprisingly quite low and any old port was top which is one of my least favorite from the 70s .
I agree, some episodes are so full of good scenes that limiting choices to just 5 top scenes is very difficult. Bye-Bye probably has 5 of the best ever Columbo scenes from the entire series all in one episode!
“I’ll have — I’ll have a donut.”
And that’s certainly a top 5 contender!
Ill have a guess at them they might be getting rid gun in the dustbin in the park , the crazy suicide with the elastic band theory , the doughnut scene in the diner , the argument with poor Bertie , and if that includes the final scene, but you must admit scenes from Try and catch me definitely runs it close.
I thought the cooking scene was just interminably long. I think this is one of the best of the classic episodes. Landau is great, Julie Newman is great, the comedy between Columbo and the maid is outstanding. But after about three minutes or so I was wondering just when the heck that cooking scene was ever going to end.
i agree the cooking scene is a bit long and i dont find it that funny and i think its slightly overrated , however it does not harm this episode as did some of the boring unnecessary scenes in candidate for crime which is NOT one of my favorites from the 70s run ( I enjoy double shock more ). on the subject of long ship , columbophile has us waiting and waiting for our next review forgotten lady , last review was posted in November , If columbophile lives in thr UK forgotten lady is on this Sunday on 5 USA as columbophile claims is not in possesion of his DVD collection which is causing the what seems to be the hold up of reviews.
Hi Steve, I’m Australia based, so very rare to find a televised episode here. I’ve found Forgotten Lady in full on YouTube, but it’s a French version without subtitles, so the wait goes on!
yes very annoying finding a full episode in another language especially a 70s classic , perhaps try dailymotion. com , i have watched many full episodes in English all be it rigged with annoying adverts.
Double shock is full of entertainment and comedy and its certainley in my top 20 , I enjoy the scenes with Mrs peck but I don’t worship them , its great filler though. The scenes contrast that of that old dear that kept fainting and columbo stepping on her cloak in old fashioned murder , which I find just as funny however there’s no comparison in quality between the 2 episodes double shock is 5 times better.
As for the cookery scene its funny,but slightly overrated in mine and some other columbo fans opinion but definitely the stand out moment/scene from double shock .
Apropos of nothing, “Slate” just ran a montage of Peter Falk Emmy acceptance speeches.
https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/oscars-peter-falk-columbo-emmy-speeches.html
The music that plays when he comes into the house (near the beginning) is the same as in Requiem For A Falling Star, from the moment when Nora Chandler flattens the tyre on the car onward to when she pours gasolene on the driveway. It’s a good choice of music that fits the scenes.
Watching this episode right now (Columbophile always inspires!) and see that the culprit in Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star is playing the part of a policeman.
I would add another “best moment”: when we first learn that Dexter Paris has an identical twin brother, Norman. This may not be the most theatrical moment in “Double Shock,” but it is its most historically significant one in that it is the first time a Columbo episode deviated from a purely inverted mystery (where the audience knows who the killer is from the beginning). With the introduction of Norman Paris, the audience suddenly isn’t quite sure that Dexter Paris murdered Uncle Clifford (as it was led to believe to this point). No prior Columbo included any semblance of a whodunit element in its story. “Double Shock” was the first — and this is the moment it was introduced.
That moment was a gem
I liked your 5 best from this episode. It is not my favorite but I enjoy it immensely. I was looking up Mrs. Peck (Jeanette Nolan) because I couldn’t remember her last name and knew she was Dirty Sally. Imagine my surprise when a picture of her popped up with the lovely villain Vera Miles. They were in Who Shot Liberty Valance together. Ms. Nolan is also in the Conspirators episode of Columbo.
Everyone has a right to their opinion, but I can’t understand those that pick apart episodes and elements they don’t like. This one had greedy, evidently evil twins; a grisly crime, May-December romance (with delish Julie Newmar), an exercise/health nut, a double-crossing attorney, Psychotically Bitchy Ms Peck (who was NOT the only servant to call out Columbo’s messiness) cooking scene( I liked it, watch Peter’s face and eyes).
The humor is one of the things that makes Columbo stand out from other detective shows.
And I haven’t seen this one in months. Also, to agree with a previous comment, another shout out for the young and extremely handsome Dabney Coleman. Yowza
ps and health cookies
I’m not sure anyone noticed this but although this is a good episode it is made up of various recycled elements.
Firstly, all the music is made up of different movie cues from previous episodes in the season. Music from, Dagger of the Mind, The Greenhouse jungle, and even Etude in Black. I believe some of the Music from the Greenhouse jungle was borrowed from Randsome for a Dead Man. As for the acrimonious relationship between Columbo and the overwrought Mrs. Peck, it is only there to create another artificial obstacle for Columbo and to provide some comic relief. My best moment? The look on Tim O’Conners face when he’s caught at the elevator door. Landau is excellent in a very believable dual role. For me, with limited locations, and recycled music it isn’t as good as other episodes namely Lady in Waiting or Playback. It would be unfair not to mention that many other episodes share music cues including Lady in Waiting. Although for me the music overall in that episode was much better and more cerebral. It works since Beth Chadwick was a serious head case. But lovely non the less. The house in Double Shock is elegant and monolithic. It is shown to even better effect in a later episode called identity crisis. Special mention goes to a young and handsome Dabney Coleman as the detective sergeant.
I like this episode too.. especially due to Martin Landau – he was a great actor! A bit surprised it only ranks at #30 in the reader poll.
I absolutely concur with these moments, and share our host’s appreciation of the wonderful live cookery scene. For me, this embodies everything good about Peter Falk and the Columbo character and is certainly amongst my top 10 Columbo scenes of all time, along with the hillside tumble from Greenhouse Jungle, the hospital tirade against Milo Janus in Exercise in Fatality, and Columbo’s haircut from Daryl in Old Fashioned Murder!
Further to this, how about an article on the top 10 non-gotcha Columbo scenes? Hard to narrow it down, perhaps, but plenty of scope for debate.
An excellent suggestion. I started drafting a ‘50 best Columbo scenes to mark Columbo’s 50th anniversary’ last year but had to abandon it because there were just too many amazing scenes. I may yet rekindle the idea in future.
If you do, I suggest you give us a week’s notice, so that we have a chance to recall (or revisit) some of the lesser episodes and arrange our own top-ten or top-20 lists by the time you publish yours. I think it would make for a more informed debate.
Thank you Columbophile for an excellent “5 best moments from Columbo Double Shock” list and explanations. My friend and I had a feeling you might pick several of the ones you did pick; we didn’t think of ‘The disturbing state of Clifford Paris’, great choice. It’s certainly gruesome and the camera angle looking up at his drooping head and arms hanging over the bike’s handlebars are hideous. “Double Shock” is a favorite in our house (a top ten for my friend and a top fifteen for me).
Thanks Jennifer – I was going to alert you that this article was out, so I’m pleased you’ve made it here of your own accord!
BTW, kudos on the great line in the picture caption.
I enjoyed the ending, too. It was satisfying to see the greedy, cruel brothers get their comeuppance, but I felt terribly sorry for Mrs. Peck. She is rigid and uptight throughout the episode, but she has now lost everyone she cares for. Her character is far from a caricature.
Thanks again for a great post. Iam sitting in a cafe in Sydney Australia at 6.50am and enjoying the read. Who could believe a show over 40 years old could hold our attention in such detail. Have you ever seen any footage on set or behind the scenes when being made? Thanks for your efforts Martin Kass
Sent from my iPhone
>
Hi Martin, thanks for your comment, and nice to receive a comment from Australia. I’ve lately lived in Sydney myself and know there aren’t many Columbo fans in Oz.
I think there are 2 kinds of viewers of this show: the ones who get angry about the joke forensics and swiss cheese plots and the ones that get immense pleasure from mere moments and small details. If I were going to list all the wonders of this ep, I would include Landau’s red jacket (a striking 1970s specimen, up there with Culp’s yellow), the signature velvet Landau voice and steely eyes, Dexter’s imitation of his silken-voiced twin, the horrifying corpse scene (right call Columbophile!), the groaner piece of dialog from Mrs. Peck’s TV show, and, of course, “health cookies”. For people who don’t understand about “health cookies”: I can’t help you. But Columbophile understands!
Right on, sir/ma’am!
Whenever Columbo cooks, I enjoy. Loved *those* 8 minutes and loved the ones in “Murder Under Glass”. There are times when I wish Columbo had quit his ‘day job’.
Nah.
I enjoyed it in “Murder Under Glass” because it fit the theme of the show, and the murder solving continued during the cooking scenes. It even played a direct role, as you waited to see if Columbo might use his serving to snare the murderer. Here, it was a totally distracting scene that added zippo to the murder mystery or its solution.
I have to say that this is the only Columbo episode that I actively dislike, and it’s all because of Mrs. Peck’s nasty, petty treatment of the lieutenant. I expect guilty murderers to be harsh and uncivil to him – that’s all in the game – but this woman’s attacks on our hero (which go beyond even what some of our better-mannered killers infilct) make the whole show very unpleasant, cancelling out the many excellences of Martin Landau, for me at least.
I second this notion. Maybe I wouldn’t go as far as to say I dislike the episode, its got its moments, but all the scenes with Mrs. Peck make me feel really uncomfortable, it feels bad when the Lieutenant is getting such a verbal battering from someone who isn’t gonna get their comeuppance at the end of the episode. She is truly the most terrifying Columbo character.
I think what makes Mrs Peck’s horribleness so enjoyable to me is the human reaction of Columbo to it. Those scenes, while funny, actually really serve to give Peter Falk an opportunity to deliver a different side of the Lieutenant – the hurt, human side he often keeps hidden – so to me they are scenes to treasure.
I agree. If you did have a part in the production side of the show, it would be a great article if you expounded upon some of the great background locations around Los Angeles and the SanFernado Valley. Also to elucidate the readers regarding some of the great houses featured (often repeatedly ) on the show. Thanks.
Guess I never thought of it that way. I’m gonna go ahead and agree with you on the delivery part, but my fear of Mrs. Peck remains intact.
Two comments:
1) Does anyone else think that Columbo was a complete and irredeemable douche for putting his cigar out of the floor of a private residence? Was it carpet? Tile? Hardwood? Even bare concrete wouldn’t mitigate this sin. I was on Mrs. Peck’s side the whole episode.
2) This was a “short form” (74 min) Columbo. Imagine if had not included an 8 minute scene (admittedly enjoyable) that failed to move the plot forward even one centimeter. It could almost have run in a Matlock time slot.
Correction: He didn’t put it out. He “only” flicked his ashes on the floor. My point remain\s.
It’s a fair point. It’s a pretty poor show for Columbo to dab ashes on the floor anywhere, so he deserved a rebuke and at an emotional time for Mrs Peck one can understand why she’d yell a bit.
Another fine list.
I will add my honorable mention: “I’m big on motive,”
The death of Lisa Chambers is among the most frightening in the entire series, not because we see it but because we don’t. That means we are left to our imagination, and what we conjure up in our heads can be far more terrifying than what any director can show on screen. Just the thought of what her final moments must have been like gives me the chills. There is however one detail that bothers me. She fell several stories but there’s no blood anywhere. Oh well, we can overlook that. Of course she lived in the same apartment complex as many others who appeared in NBC crime drama series, including several people in Columbo episodes.
Just one more thing, I can’t really blame Mrs. Peck for getting upset. If a stranger started to drop cigar ashes on my carpet I’d be pretty upset too.
ell, just a few days after giving you such a hard time regarding your view that the Maestro would never get convicted, I feel a bit uncomfortable giving you a hard time again. But I must say, our assessments of this episode are quite different. Not only did I not find this to be as great as you did, but I actually consider it one of the weaker ones in years 1-7. To me, you turn on Columbo for one primary reason – to see how this brilliant man will figure out the killer despite a seemingly perfect murder plan, and do so in his seemingly bumbling, sloppy manner, outwitting everyone who puts him down, especially the arrogant murderer. Yes, we love the Columbo humor. But here, the humor takes over the show. Moreover, not only is it excessive, but it becomes less funny the more you overdo it. To me, the first Mrs. Peck explosion is hilarious, but each successive one is less so. As the saying goes, “Once is a joke, twice … ” Likewise, a cute ad-lib scene from Columbo is always delicious, but drawing out the chef scene for 8 looooong minutes is way overkill, and it breaks the whole mood of the show (or at least what it should be), namely, the determined effort to solve a murder and make sure the crime does not go unpunished. The best Columbo scene ever? Not even by a country mile!
Finally, with all of the excessive humor and the overuse of the twin idea, so little time or material is left to devote to the actual murder and solving it. So what we are left with is one of the weaker proofs by Columbo ever. My God, you questioned the seriousness of the proof in the maestro’s case, yet it was a powerhouse compared to this. He proves that two people had to do it because Dexter couldn’t lift Columbo out of the bathtub? First of all, how do you know his brother also couldn’t lift him by himself? And perhaps the skinny old guy is lighter than Columbo? Plus, I would think a soapy bath and an unclothed body might make it easier to drag out the body. Finally, why in the world would he have to drag him out while standing crouched uncomfortably on the back of the tub and lifting over the side the side, which would give him ten times more leverage and the ability to bend the body over the side much more easily? The same goes for proving that there had to be a second person because an old lady said it was only 15 seconds. That is it? A nervous old lady incensed by her screen going blank estimates that it talk 15 seconds, and that “proves” there must have been two people since it actually takes 67 seconds? And if it had to be two people, that means Norman had to be the 2nd person? Based on that, Norman admits “the obvious”? And with the lawyer caught at a murder scene, why not try to blame him as the first or second man? It makes absolutely no sense why both brothers admitted guilt based on such flimsy evidence.
I do feel a little less guilty after peeking at the comments under your review of this episode and seeing that quite a few bloggers felt like I did about it. I guess it goes to show that with so many lovable aspects of Columbo, some viewers can be excited by particular aspects in each episode, so much so that they are willing to overlook other weaknesses – while others are less forgiving and unwilling to overlook those weaknesses.
I think the writers were following another comedy convention: humor comes in threes (setup, extension, payoff). I do agree with you that they got it backwards. The real bang came with Columbo’s first transgression.
As you say, each to their own. There are many aspects to an episode that decrease or diminish a viewer’s enjoyment, and these can help hugely in helping offset any shortcomings in the plot. Most Crucial Game is a good example. It’s a blast to watch, and that goes a long way to compensating for the almost complete lack of evidence Columbo amasses across the episode. Similarly Bye-Bye Sky High. It has a MASS of plot holes that could doom a lesser episode, but it’s got it where it counts and has a load of amazing scenes (like Double Shock), which help elevate it to the highest levels.
As an aside, I didn’t claim the cookery scene to be the best ever Columbo moment. I said it’s probably the best ever non-gotcha Columbo moment, which is a different matter. Still, a number of knowledgeable Columbo commentators I know also rate the cookery scene as a series highlight, so I’m certainly not alone in my admiration for it.
I never had any doubt that there are lots of other admirers of the cooking scene. Heck, I enjoyed it too, for its clear sense of natural reaction and uncoached lines. My problem with it is that I did not tune in to see Peter Falk on a talk show. I want to see Lieutenant Columbo solve a mystery in his uniquely satisfying way. This, for me, is an aside that interferes with the Columbo mood and theme, not only due to its excessive length, but due to the fact that this has absolutely zero contribution to the murder and solving it. When Columbo has the hillarious driving test, it is great because it fits into the Columbo persona that is critical to his character. Likewise, his search for a lost pen in the very first episode, fits both the stingy and fumbling characteristics of Columbo that are central to his persona. It also helps put the murderer off guard, as it leads her to underestimate him at her own peril, as she (and so many others) comes to admit once it is too late and he has snared her. Here, it is a cute scene utterly unrelated to this murder, and only vaguely related to the Columbo persona. I’d much rather have those seven minutes used to make the plot and murder-solving a bit deeper than it ends up being here.
As for the overall setup, I much prefer the episodes in which almost every minute, including the comedy sketches, are geared towards developing the murder plot, the murderer profile, or the solution of the murder. That is probably why I rate episodes like “Mind Over Mayhem” and “A Case of Immunity” higher than you do, and why I rate this episode and “Bye-Bye-Sky-High” lower than you do. But other than these two, I actually agree with all of your other top 10 more or less, even if I might have a couple of them down in the 10-17 range rather than 10 best.
The best moment or non gotcha moment just has to be from Try and catch me , where Abigail is trying to dispose of the incriminating car keys at the marina , and as is, what’s magical about the episode they converse , looking out at the sailboats , the beautiful sunny day , blue sea , Abigail saying how she didn’t like boats after her Phillsies drowning , columbo then replying how he had already looked into it .
It also features dog in it , she remarks how its scraping bottom ( basset hounds are born that way as columbo mentions ) then columbo revealing how his parents had passed on. And then it all wraps up with abi praising columbo calling him a very kind man , then comes the famous DONT COUNT ON THAT Mrs Mitchell DONT COUNT ON IT .
What about the scene from ransom for a dead man , where columbo is offered the responsibility of flying the Cessna by his suspect Mrs Williams , i think that is a great scene but threre is so many enjoyable scenes its hard to rate them .
I was going to write a full reply disagreeing with Columbophile on this episode, but Leo Smart nailed it. It’s a very weak show. The interactions with Mrs. Peck are repetitive, Columbo isn’t solving much plot, and the Gotcha is very flimsy. I would only add that the Gotcha also uses phone records to show the boys have been communicating with each other. This is in itself very lame for a Gotcha, but it also brings into focus all those many times in Columbo episodes where phone records are NOT used, when they easily establish the killer is lying/guilty: Murder By The Book, Deadly State of Mind, Exercise in Fatality, How to Dial A Murder, The Most Crucial Game….you get the idea. I know that Columbophile has written about the show’s inconsistent use of phone records, but the fact that its used here as a Gotcha is pretty unconvincing. The idea of twins committing a murder is great – the overall execution here is unfortunately shoddy.
Now, I don’t wanna be “that guy” or anything, but your fourth entry is listed as being fifth too. There are two fives.
Thank you! I have amended.