Episode rankings

Tim says:

Of the originals everyone rates an A

PH4 says:

My rankings after viewing all of these episodes on average at least 5+ times each over the course of the past two years:

THE ELITE TIER (the absolute best episodes):

1. Murder by the Book: Spielberg’s directorial talent on full display in a unique Columbo bordering on feature film quality, with an invigorating performance by Jack Cassidy and beautiful locales abounding. Highlight: Columbo questioning the villain about his routine prior to calling the police when his partner was found dead on his lawn; the killer remarks that he only opened his mail to “distract himself” to which Columbo replies, “yeah… bills are distracting. Good night!” and leaves Cassidy standing there, haunted by the detective’s laser-accurate suspicion.

2. A Stitch in Crime: The best overall performance of a killer in any Columbo by none other than Spock from Star Trek. His murderous doctor is bound by no morals or ethics and uses his scalpel-sharp intelligence to methodically dispatch obstacles in his pursuit of career success. Only chance allows Columbo to blunder into the unveiling of the murderer’s clever disposal of evidence in the end. The arrogance and condescension of Nimoy with Columbo are the height of interplay between detective and high-society murderer. Highlight: Columbo at the doctor’s dinner party stuffing his face as Nimoy’s character sarcastically asks the detective if he’s “gathering evidence” as he reaches for more hors d’oeuvre.

3. Columbo Prescription: Murder: The performance by Gene Barry is up there with Nimoy’s doctor as a hyper intellectual genius who casts aside morals and laws by rationalizing murder as a solution to a problem and nothing more. The quality of the episode is on par with “Murder by the Book” in its cinematography, approaching film quality. The music, the decor (the office and apartment are especially lavish and befitting of the intellectual character of the antagonist), the bit characters, are all some of the best in the series. Columbo is unusually brisk and not fully developed as a character with his nuances, but this is refreshing as this episode portrays him as more of a hardened interrogator and dogged policeman than loveable, scruffy detective.

4. Suitable for Framing: The pretentious pomposity of the art world assailed by the ruffled Lieutenant and the murderer fooled and exposed in the final frames in a most clever manner. The villain in this episode is smarmy and preposterous and one of the most enjoyable to watch throughout, and especially in the end as his deceit is unraveled before his very eyes, even as he condescendingly tells Columbo to “go home and eat your dinner” during the final investigation. An archetypical murder case and villain, with financial motives primary and a villain dispatching accomplices along the way to aid him.

5. Now You See Him: One of the best Columbo villains, Jack Cassidy at it again in probably his finest overall performance as the brilliant magician who is smarter than everyone until Columbo catches him on a technicality and turns his tricks against him. Watch this episode if only to indulge in Cassidy’s performance as a supremely gifted magician, and the ambiance of the club at which he gives performances.

6. The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case: The existential angst of the lonely, isolated, intellectual anti-hero and his scheming brilliance upended by Columbo’s dogged pursuit. The mechanics and plot are not perfect, or even great, but the central theme of the isolation of the genius with everything: money, career, wife, and the murder of his only real friend and the despondence with which it leaves him… and the uncaring heartlessness of his wife, ring very true to me.

7. Death Lends a Hand: Perhaps the other great Columbo villain, Robert Culp, in a magnificent performance as a cool, collected hyper-intelligent CEO with rage bubbling below the surface, and one of the series’ great traps set by Columbo to catch the murderer. The scheming and the persuasive efforts of the villain are amazing to watch, To see Columbo tempted by the devil, essentially, to enter the fold under a man he knows is a murderer, is one of the pivotal moral moments of the whole series. If Columbo had accepted that job offer, and taken thrice the salary to do essentially the same work he was doing as a lieutenant with more tools at his disposal, is not something that would be easy to turn down for many, but it cements Columbo as a man of a certain character who is bound by moralistic obligations in his pursuit of justice.

8. A Friend in Deed: Columbo fighting corruption at the highest levels of the police force requires him to seal his case with the most clever and airtight method of entrapping a murderer who is well-versed in all police procedures and tactics. The gritty ambiance, dialogue, and locales are unusual for the series but make this episode stand out. The “gotcha” moment is one of the five best and extremely satisfying to watch.

9. Murder Under Glass: Perhaps because I am a “foodie” and love restaurants, this episode I hold in high regard for its sheer entertainment value. The pompous, pretentious food critic Paul Gerard is simply a wonderfully entertaining villain to watch, and the later series Columbo is definitely more silly and takes himself less seriously than in other episodes. The Italian restaurant, the French chefs, the scenes with Columbo cooking Gerard a meal while Gerard attempts to poison him only to have Columbo turn the tables on him… all worthy of repeated viewing for me, and this makes it into my elite tier of episodes for the pure entertainment of it all alone.

10. Last Salute to the Commodore: To me, this is an avant garde masterpiece of a Columbo episode. Yes, it doesn’t always make sense, and the acting is bizarre and grating, but it’s as if the director wanted to present Columbo: deconstructed, as if deconstructing a work of art into a Cubist rendition. Columbo is creepy, weird, and eccentric in this episode, but that’s the point. And despite all of this, he is still enjoyable to watch, which reinforces the brilliance of the character, the actor, and the series: even when the director is trying to make Columbo look bad, Peter Falk still comes away as someone you want to watch. Revel in the goofiness of Columbo peering through holes in stencil templates, shouting incessantly at witnesses, and hugging random people… as a counterpoint to the seriousness and brilliance found in the other episodes.

11. An Exercise in Fatality: This is the quintessential jock-vs-geek battle, in which Columbo plays the “geek” using his intelligence and craftiness to foil the physically superior, financially superior villain, and does it with courage and confidence. The villian in this episode is played masterfully by Robert Conrad as a hulking stereotype of a self-made, muscle-bound businessman hawking health equipment and health spas. He’s a parody of a character, but that’s exactly what you want in this episode. The dynamic between the ruffled, flabby, un-attractive Columbo and the fit, handsome Janus is the centerpiece of this episode and when Columbo takes the offensive in the end and finally traps him in his lies, it makes for one of the most satisfying endings of the series.

12. Any Old Port in a Storm: Watch this episode purely for the performance by Donald Pleasance. I don’t have to reiterate the greatness of this episode and the villain as it has been written about on this site many times over, but this episode is great for Pleasance and Falk and those two alone. The absolute highlight of this episode? The scene in the restaurant, of course, with Carsini uncorking his fury and scorn on the waitstaff of the high-end restaurant for spoiling expensive wine. “Where did you keep this? ON THE STOVE?” Classic!

THE SECOND TIER (the good episodes worthy of repeated re-watchings):

13. Negative Reaction
14. Short Fuse
15. Etude in Black
16. Publish or Perish
17. A Deadly State of Mind
18. Double Exposure
19. The Most Dangerous Match
20. Troubled Waters
21. Identity Crisis
22. The Most Crucial Game
23. By Dawn’s Early Light
24. Candidate for Crime

THE REST (there is no such thing as a bad Columbo, but these fall short of the upper 24 I listed and vary in quality and merit):

25. Blueprint for Murder
26. A Case of Immunity
27. Dead Weight
28. Double Shock
29. Try and Catch Me
30. Fade in to Murder
31. Playback
32. Greenhouse Jungle
33. Lovely but Lethal
34. Make me a Perfect Murder
35. A Matter of Honor
36. Mind Over Mayhem
37. Old Fashioned Murder
38. Swan Song
39. Lady in Waiting
40. Forgotten Lady
41. The Conspirators
42. Dagger of the Mind
43. Requiem for a Falling Star
44. Ransom for a Dead Man
45. How to Dial a Murder

Depost83 says:

This is a great site and I enjoy the list. I’m here to shout out “Murder Under Glass.” I’d say it’s pretty underrated just judging from the C-List position on the rankings. The final scene when Columbo cooks for the murderer and then explains how he suspected him 2 minutes after meeting him is hilarious. “Lieutenant, I wish you had been a chef.” Great writing. Thanks for all the great articles on the episodes.