For the sake of posterity, here are my personal rankings of all 45 ‘classic era’ Columbo episodes that aired between 1968-78.
To aid your understanding of how highly I rate episodes, I’ve banded them into A, B, C, D and Z lists. These bands equate to:
- A list = Unbelievably good television, preferable to all other shows ever made
- B list = Outstanding entertainment, better than almost any TV ever made
- C list = Would happily watch anytime they came on TV, but rarely select from DVD collection
- D list = Lesser Columbo efforts with some redeeming features
- Z list = Will only watch under extreme duress
You can read full reviews of any of the episodes by clicking on the links below.
- The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case
- Suitable for Framing
- Publish or Perish
- Double Shock
- Murder by the Book
- Negative Reaction
- A Friend in Deed
- Try & Catch Me
- Death Lends a Hand
- A Stitch in Crime
- Now You See Him
- Double Exposure
- Lady in Waiting
- Troubled Waters
- Any Old Port in a Storm
- Prescription: Murder
- A Deadly State of Mind —B-List starts here—
- An Exercise in Fatality
- Make Me a Perfect Murder
- Identity Crisis
- Swan Song
- The Most Crucial Game
- By Dawn’s Early Light
- Etude in Black
- Candidate for Crime
- Greenhouse Jungle
- Playback
- Blueprint for Murder
- Forgotten Lady
- Requiem for a Falling Star
- Fade in to Murder
- Ransom for a Dead Man
- Murder Under Glass —C-List starts here—
- A Case of Immunity
- Dead Weight
- The Conspirators
- The Most Dangerous Match
- Lovely but Lethal
- How to Dial a Murder
- Short Fuse ———D-List starts here—-
- A Matter of Honor
- Mind Over Mayhem
- Old Fashioned Murder
- Dagger of the Mind
- Last Salute to the Commodore —Z-List starts here—
Once I’ve finished reviewing all of the ‘new’ Columbo episodes that aired from 1989-2003 I’ll create a master list with every episode ranked.
And don’t forget, you can vote for your very favourite Columbo episode at any time right here.