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Benny the Ball

15:03 / 08.11.04

Columbo, ain't he grand! Still some of the best television on at the moment, some of the best acting from a great television age. So wax lyrical about the show here. What's your favourite episode? Oh, and if anyone can tell me the actor who plays the murdered and the episode in which the restaurant critic is murdered, that would be grand.

sleazenation

15:22 / 08.11.04

My wife thinks it's terrific.

_Boboss

15:54 / 08.11.04

the johnny cash episode has the power to make the universe disengage from its axis and revolve around my TV. that's some good TV.

Spaniel

16:29 / 08.11.04

That sure does sound like some good TV.

And of course we're all aware that Columbo has super-powers right? How else does he spot the killer before he has any evidence? The guy can detect evil, just like in D&D.

Or AD&D

Or Expert D&D

Triplets

17:28 / 08.11.04

There's two episodes that stand-out.

Rosebud: With that doctor/actor/rich dude who trains his doberman to kill on command and sets up a tape recorder while his mate is at his house.

Roooseeeebudd

And that one when that female television exec bumps off her boss and hides the gun in the elevator shaft. ONLY, Columbo puts the gun in a more visible position later in the episode and she freaks out and moves the gun only to find Columbo knew all along and has it on tape. He's like: OWNED!

The magnificent bastard.

Bear

19:56 / 08.11.04

Dude this is my favourite show, ever.

I'm sure I'm rant on at a later date but for now I must go to bed but I just wanted to say that your my hero Benny this thread has cheered me up no end.

Stitch in Crime sticks out for me with Lenord Nimoy, because he gets very close to getting away with it. And also Double Exposure because I remember watching it at my grandparents house and finding out what the little blimp on the screen meant before add breaks.

Is the critic one the episode with the wine? That sticks out too.

Oh yeah and the one with the members of Mensa with the falling book too!

Bear

20:02 / 08.11.04

Ah find out more because it would have bothered me - the wine episode is Old Port in a Storm but the one your talking about is

A famous food critic is threatened by a restaurant owner, and so the critic leaves. Soon after, the cook dies.

Columbo´s involvement is welcomed by all the other chefs in the area, but Columbo wonders why the dead restaurant owner slammed the drawers before he died. And how could the poison that killed him enter an unopened bottle without the killer even being in the room? Could it have been suicide?

But then there´s the cheques to a mysterious society, and the victim´s calender. Can Columbo´s cooking skills really match the food critic´s taste?

Better than Jessica

I'm sure you can find out who was the murderer from there

Benny the Ball

21:15 / 08.11.04

Ahhh, Bearo, you top top man. That was a great episode.

The wine one was with Donald Plesence, not my favourite, but apparently one of Peter Faulks'.

Rosebud was great. Plus the later ones with Patrick McGoohen.

Quite a while ago the Steven Spielberg episode was on, the film maker one where they play a recording of his voice over while he heads off to commit the murder, that's a good one.

But the critic one, that's my favourite.

Bear

21:23 / 08.11.04

But the wine one is heartbreaking, just the scene with him throwing these hundreds of years old bottles into the sea even though they mean more to him than anything in the world, but he's a murderer so I shouldn't feel too sorry for him I guess but off a cliff!

Benny the Ball

21:24 / 08.11.04

oops, wrong episode for Speilberg, he directed the one with the murder writer... written by Steve Bocho as well. Nice.

Spatula Clarke

22:58 / 08.11.04

The critic episode is one of the best bits of television ever, purely for the end. Columbo and murderer sat there, about to tuck into a (poisoned) meal, when Columbo tells our criminal mastermind how he's met a lot of people who've killed over the years and, y'know, he's liked a lot of them. He doesn't like what they've done, but he's liked them as people. But you, my friend - I can honestly say that doesn't apply to you.

Shame about some of the later 'original' episodes, where they felt the need to drag the running time out to feature-length by including fifteen minutes of utter bollocks. There's one in a sound recording studio where Columbo sits fiddling about with a graphic equaliser for an entire segment (as in, he's doing it when we come back from the ad break, he's doing it when we go to the next ad break) and does fuck all else. And the less said about the 80s/90s revival the better.

Benny the Ball

23:02 / 08.11.04

Yeah the really new ones jsut aren't up to the quality of the 70;s epsiodes. Even bringing in the Shat never quite made them any good.

But that whole ending with Columbo cooking the meal, fantastic!

Also love the episode with the body in the buildings foundations.

My dad always goes on about an episode where Columbo cracks the case because of the murderers mathod of stubbing out cigarettes, but I don't remember this one at all...

Spatula Clarke

00:02 / 09.11.04

That's probably going to be one of these episodes.

FinderWolf

18:50 / 09.11.04

Patrick McGoohan was a baddie in one ep!! Priceless!

And yes, the Johnny Cash episode doth rocketh.

Benny the Ball

22:31 / 09.11.04

I think Patrick McGoohan was in three episodes (directing at least one). An early classic where he plays a shady scientist with possible CIA connections, one where he plays a rich embassador or some such high-faluting role, and one other that I don't remember too clearly but I'm sure it's there somewhere.

The first one was really sinister, the later one's were classy, just like the man himself.

Benny the Ball

22:42 / 09.11.04

Wow, FOUR episodes (that site is great, Bearo, by the way).

Old one when he was a spy (always in a white coat I seem to remember, hence the scientist memory).

One where he runs a military school (the cider bottle episode)

and two in later seasons, one where he is mingling with governers (the one I thought he was an embasador in)

and one where he plays a mortician (not sure if I've seen this one, though).

Currently Channel 5 seem to own and show the older seasons (Sunday afternoons and sometimes in the week, normally Monday), and BBC show the later, newer seasons, whenever the feel like it, it seems.

Spatula Clarke

22:50 / 09.11.04

He's an undercover agent in the first you mention. IIRC, he even has his character say "be seeing you" at one point.

There's another where he's in charge of a military academy and murders one of his coworkers by fixing the ceremonial canon.

Spatula Clarke

22:53 / 09.11.04

Oops. That's what happens when you go and get something to eat without pressing the submit button.

Benny the Ball

22:58 / 09.11.04

He he. Yeah, he says 'Be seing you' quite a bit I think.

Anyone in the UK, there's an episode on at 4pm on Saturday on C5 - one with Janet Leigh in it, quite a good one if I remember, she's an actress or an old star that's losing her shine. Stumps the great man good and proper.

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