"Just One More Thing..." - The COLUMBO Discussion Thread
Silhouette Man
The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,852MI6 Agent
Here is a thread to discuss the TV detective inverted mystery series Columbo. Columbo ran for a total of 35 years and 69 episodes, from the first standalone episode in 1968 (Prescription: Murder) until the final 'special' episode in 2003 (Columbo Likes the Nightlife), making it the longest running TV series in history.
Here we can discuss episodes, themes, characters, Lt. Columbo himself, Peter Falk etc. Really just anything Columbo related! There are plenty of interesting James Bond connections with Columbo too, as they share a good few of the same actors.
I hope this turns into an interesting discussion thread and that there's always "Just one more thing..."
Here we can discuss episodes, themes, characters, Lt. Columbo himself, Peter Falk etc. Really just anything Columbo related! There are plenty of interesting James Bond connections with Columbo too, as they share a good few of the same actors.
I hope this turns into an interesting discussion thread and that there's always "Just one more thing..."
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Comments
I watched a documentary about some real detectives, who said
They did use the " Columbo" technique of throwing in one last
Question, after the suspect thinks the interview is over. )
Although I've also read that most of Columbo's evidence wouldn't
Stand up in court. Still it's an entertainment show not a documentary.
Also in my opinion most of the murderers have a certain sympathy
About them, but the fun is in the interaction between the actors.
Watching people slowly lose their patience with Columbo. )
First of all, Peter Falk has gotten the role of his life - just like Connery.
Then it's very clever how Columbo approaches the murderer in always an amicable way - "always keen to learn" which is in my opinion a very good approach to people in general.
When they slowly lose patience with him, they are prone to let the mask fall though usually much earlier Columbo has smelled what's really going on.
And the people slowly losing their patience with Columbo reminds me a lot when I am reading TPs posts here ... X-(
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
With some of the tricks Columbo would used to catch them.
In The one with Dick van Dyke as a photographer at the end
Tricked into picking a camera ( he supposedly never seen before)
Was great fun. -{
By the way Higgins, why do you have a row of washing machines in
Your Signature ? Have you bought a launderette ? )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byOo-q5oZXQ
Then comes the big twist. )
I also learned the difference between a yacht and a yawl. )
( might come in handy in a quiz )
A classic show with an iconic portrayal by Peter Falk. I am particularly fond of the show because it's one of the few shows my wife enjoys as much as I do. Last Christmas I bought her the box set of the complete series (which includes made-for-television movies that were broadcast after the regular series ended), and we watch episodes together every now and then. It still holds up! -{
He didn't get crumpled until the second pilot. also I think it was
Originally meant for a much older actor ?
Banacek ?
As A kid I used to be amazed at this show, always an impossible theft, which
George Peppard would solve. Things like a train carriage going missing even
Though the train never stopped. -{
Later another show did something similar " Blake's magic" and on UK TV
Jonathan Creek.
I've searched for DVDs of Banacek but they seem to be available only for
The American system.
It ran for two series,like Columbo movie length episodes. A third was planned
But Peppard who was getting divorced at the time didn't want to give his soon to
Be ex wife any thing extra so wouldn't do it. )
That actually sounds very interesting, TP. I think that I ma\y have heard of that show before. And there may be a solution in buying yourself a Region Free DVD/Bluy Ray PLayer. I've been thinking of investing in one for some time as a lot of films/shows like this are only available in Region 1 and not Region 2. Just a suggestion you might find useful... -{
I have the first season of Kojak on DVD but I've not watched it yet,. I still think that Columbo is better though, but then I'm biased. -{
it holds (Or held) the record for being bought by more TV stations across the world. )
Yes, in past times I used to tape them off the TV - especially around the time I was at university - I found them a great way to unwind! I believe our TP never misses an episode. -{
If this is just me but........
When watching Bond, I identify with 007 ( obviously, he does everything I would do ) )
But with Colombo, I identify more with the murderer. ) can't explain that.
Yes, the inverted mystery can give lead to more sympathetic characterisation of the murderer. That psychological angle to the show is what makes it so uniquely different - with the mystery of who committed the crime being absent by its very nature there is more scope there for interesting characterisation and in a TV crime drama like Columbo that can only be a good thing. -{
It's the byplay of the characters, the little slips the murder makes
And the psychology of human interaction.
I love all murder mystery shows, trying to figure out who did it. From
The easy stuff like Murder she wrote or death in paradise. To the really
Complex cases of Miss Marple or Poirot. and bit of boasting here
But I'm very good )
Yet still I love Columbo, for the characterisation. As you point out SM
You learn more about the killer and their reason for killing, rather than
Ticking off clues in your head to announce " It's the Vicar, with the lead
Pipe, in the kitchen" )
Also Columbo because it was so well made ( it won several emmys) they
Got some great guest stars, several who didn't do a lot of TV shows . -{
I know it's not everyones cup of tea, but of a Sunday afternoon, feet up
Nice mug of tea and a few chocy bickies, it's Bliss. {[]
( bloody hell, I'm getting old ) )
To think up some very unusual deaths for the victims. )
From a Bride shot on her wedding day, a guy drowned in his
Car with concrete. ) pretend Murder can be such fun.
I'm also building up a set of techniques, should the present
Mrs TP, displease me ! )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_detective_story
I see that Luther is mentioned as an inverted mystery crime drama and was partly inspired by both Sherlock Holmes and Columbo. I really must rip open that boxset I bought a while back! Perhaps some members here have seen and can recommend it to me? -{
I'm with you. I love Columbo, but Kojak is the man! I own every episode on DVD, and I have such fond memories of that show. Savalas's performance, plus the fact that it took place in New York, my hometown, makes it a sentimental favorite of mine. And there's the bonus that it stars the very best of the Blofelds! :007)
Very funny show. -{
I really must try to get into it more but it was repeated never on TV when I was younger whereas Columbo was so hence I love Columbo. -{
Watching Kojak now, it's fun to spot the young stars
Before they became famous.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Mayhem ensued
That of course, was not the end of his Shenanigans however -{