Episode Guide

Every Columbo episode ranked

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Now that I’ve completed my reviews of all 69 Columbo adventures comes the really hard task: ranking every episode in order of preference. Find out where the revival-era episodes compare alongside the 70s classics here…

Columbo episode review: No Time to Die

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Often referenced by fans as the single worst Columbo ever made, No Time to Die is certainly an adventure like no other for the Lieutenant. Is it as truly terrible as its reputation suggests, or could it be considered a brave and underrated departure for a series struggling for relevance? Let’s take the plunge and find out…

Episode review: Columbo Grand Deceptions

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Grown men were playing with toy soldiers – repeatedly – when Columbo plodded back onto screens for his season finale on May 1, 1989. Can Grand Deceptions deliver a new Columbo adventure that proudly sits shoulder-to-shoulder with the best efforts from the 70s? Let’s see…

Episode review: Columbo Murder Under Glass

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Starring Louis Jourdan as murderous food critic Paul Gerard, and notable for featuring more aspic per square yard of film than any other television production ever, Murder Under Glass is certain to expand waistlines merely by watching. But is Michelin Star-worthy? Let’s find out…

Episode review: Columbo Fade in to Murder

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In-jokes abound greeted viewers for the opening episode of Columbo’s sixth season, as the world’s leading TV detective investigated a murder carried out by… the world’s leading TV detective in the meta-tastic Fade in to Murder. Let’s see if it’s any cop…

Columbo Identity Crisis

Episode review: Columbo Identity Crisis

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Columbo colossus Patrick McGoohan was back to leave another indelible mark on the series on November 2, 1975, as the show’s fifth season reached its halfway stage in the shape of Identity Crisis. After a comparatively lacklustre season up to now, can the presence of McGoohan elevate this to Columbo’s top table? Let’s see…

Episode review: Columbo A Case of Immunity

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The shady world of Middle Eastern political skulduggery was front and centre for Columbo fans on October 12, 1975, as A Case of  Immunity first aired. Is it the televisual equivalent of a VIP invite to a Suari Legation garden party, or is it more of a night at home reading Arabian Nights? Let’s take a closer look…

Episode review: Columbo Playback

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Columbo was at the cutting edge on 2 March 1975, as the penultimate episode of Season 4 presented a strikingly modern vision of how LA’s rich and famous could live. But can Playback’s technical wizardry still be taken seriously by today’s audience? Let’s strap on our digital watches and set the CCTV cameras rolling as we find out…

Columbo Troubled Waters

Episode review: Columbo Troubled Waters

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When Columbo took to the high seas on 9 February 1975, you better have packed your sense of fun – because this is an adventure like no other for the dear Lieutenant. But is Troubled Waters plain sailing all the way, or a star-crossed journey destined for Davy Jones’s locker? I can’t wait to find out…

Episode review: Columbo Double Exposure

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Robert Culp is back in his third and final appearance as a Columbo killer! But is Double Exposure a suitable send-off for one of Lieutenant Columbo’s most fearsome opponents? Let’s slip on our yellowest jackets, prepare some subliminal cuts and find out!

columbo viveca scott

Episode review: Columbo Lovely but Lethal

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Boasting a brilliant cast and a unique beauty industry backdrop, hopes were high that Season 3’s opening episode Lovely but Lethal would match the curtain-raising efforts from the first two stellar seasons. So let’s dust off our fashion turbans and sharpen our eyebrow pencils in readiness to see if it lives up to the hype…

Double Shock cookery scene

Episode review: Columbo Double Shock

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In a series marked by twists and turns, Columbo Season 2 saved it’s biggest surprise till last, serving up an actual whodunnit with feuding identical twin brothers vying for contention as the Lieutenant’s number one suspect. But is Double Shock electrifying stuff, or just a shocker? Let’s find out…

Columbo dagger of the mind poster

Episode review: Columbo Dagger of the Mind

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Columbo broke new ground on November 26 1972. For the first time ever the Lieutenant stepped outside his Los Angeles comfort zone and mixed it up with a bunch of stereoptype-tastic Brits on a work visit to Scotland Yard. Can ‘Leftenant’ Columbo cut the mustard in old London town? Let’s see…

Episode review: Columbo Greenhouse Jungle

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Following hot on the heels of the uber-popular Etude in Black was always going to be a tough gig, but with Ray Milland leading the supporting cast, and Peter Falk now owning every inch of the crumpled mac, anything seemed possible. Is Greenhouse Jungle a pathetic African Violet, or a $1200 orchid? Let’s see…

Columbo and Elliot Markham

Episode review: Columbo Blueprint for Murder

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Columbo’s legendary first season rounded out with an episode directed by Peter Falk himself: no easy feat given the live construction site backdrop. So is Blueprint for Murder TV gold, or should it be condemned to burial in the foundation of a skyscraper? Read on to find out…

Episode review: Columbo Suitable for Framing

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Let’s don our velvet tuxedos, crank up the electric blankets and prepare to slay our most lovable uncles as we stride out with Dale Kingston and co to give eloquent critique to this most artful of episodes. Is Suitable for Framing a Degas or merely a De Groat? Read on and find out…

Prescription: Murder opening titles

Episode review – Columbo Prescription: Murder

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Taking it back to where it all began on February 20, 1968, as Peter Falk dons the raincoat for the very first time in the seminal Prescription: Murder. We know how that panned out in the long run, but taken on its own merits, how well does Prescription: Murder still stack up? Let’s investigate…