One More Thing (Columbo)

[Karl Henning]

It's lately occurred to me: in contrast to (say) Nero Wolfe or Jas Bond (the latter not a detective, per se, though some detection figures in his work) who--while I certainly enjoy both characters--are both rather arrogant snobs, I love how self-effacing our Lieutenant is, and it's a little extra gratifying when this is part of his leverage on the perp.

[Karl Henning]

"Deadly State of Mind" is another Top 10 Gotcha. Is it strange of me that I almost mistook Geo. Hamilton for Warren Beatty?

[Karl Henning]

Not many moments in television more sublime than Peter Falk's understatedly casual" I'm Fuzz" in "A Case of Immunity."

[Karl Henning]

Last night I re-watched "Last Salute to the Commodore," an unusual episode in a few ways. What elicited a smile was seeing Wilfrid Hyde-White as a key member of the cast when, unlike "Dagger of the Mind" (set in and near London) the story didn't require an English character actor.

[Karl Henning]

One of the most amusing things I've read on Wikipedia:

The Trivia Encyclopedia lawsuit

Columbo's first name is notably never mentioned in the series, but "Frank Columbo" or "Lt. Frank Columbo" can occasionally be seen on his police ID. This ambiguity surrounding Columbo's first name led to the creator of The Trivia Encyclopedia, Fred L. Worth, to include a false entry that listed "Phillip Columbo" as Columbo's full name as a copyright trap. When the board game Trivial Pursuit included "Phillip" as the answer to the question, "What was Columbo's first name?", Worth launched a 300 million dollar lawsuit against the creators of the game. The creators of the game argued that while they did use The Trivia Encyclopedia as one of their sources, facts are not copyrightable and there was nothing improper about using an encyclopedia in the production of a fact-based game. The district court judge agreed and the decision was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in September 1987. Worth petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States to review the case, but the Court declined, denying certiorari in March 1988.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Well, inspired by you Karl, I checked out the *first episode of Season 1 of Columbo.  Fun to revisit this series (hadn't watched any of them in eons).  Surprised to find out that Steven Spielberg (then "unknown") directed it. 

*"Murder by the book"

PD

p.s.  And one of the writers:  Steven Bochco.  Does that name ring a bell? 

[Karl Henning]

Well, inspired by you Karl, I checked out the *first episode of Season 1 of Columbo.  Fun to revisit this series (hadn't watched any of them in eons).  Surprised to find out that Steven Spielberg (then "unknown") directed it. 

*"Murder by the book"

PD

p.s.  And one of the writers:  Steven Bochco.  Does that name ring a bell? 

Tangentially, another very early Spielberg effort was one of the three Rod Serling stories in the Night Gallery pilot, "Eyes" with Joan Crawford (and, although he never appears in a scene with Crawford) Tom Bosley.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Tangentially, another very early Spielberg effort was one of the three Rod Serling stories in the Night Gallery pilot, "Eyes" with Joan Crawford (and, although he never appears in a scene with Crawford) Tom Bosley.

Nice!  By the way, you might be tempted to check out the episode of the Beeb's "Desert Island Discs" with S.S.  Quite interesting--amusing story about how he managed to get an unofficial apprenticeship at Universal Studios. 

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Nice!  By the way, you might be tempted to check out the episode of the Beeb's "Desert Island Discs" with S.S.  Quite interesting--amusing story about how he managed to get an unofficial apprenticeship at Universal Studios. 

PD

One more thing...here's the link.     https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001g8m4

PD

[Karl Henning]

One more thing...here's the link.

(* chortle *)

[Karl Henning]

[Karl Henning]

Possibly the Lieutenant's favorite Roland Kirk track:

[Karl Henning]

One of Peter Falk's most deliciously wry lines in the series, I think: It's a very full life, sir, in "Sex and the Married Detective."

[Opus131]

Interesting thing is the music - there is no 'Columbo theme' per se the early episodes used Henry Mancini's Mystery Movie Theme which was also used for McCloud and McMillan & Wife

One of my favored music tracks in Columbo is the following:

Apparently around season 5 they hired a new composer (Patrick Williams) and he was a really good one. I remember actually reading he wrote a fugue/canon in this scene that was even more complex than the one that ended up in the episode but he was told to tone it down.

While i actually liked the original jazzy score i sort of wish they had him from the beginning, not the least because i consider the 60s/70s to be the golden age of Columbo and they had him only for the last couple of seasons of this earlier era.

[Brian]

I watched the final Hitchcock movie Friday: Family Plot. It should be in the "movie" thread, but it reminded me strongly of Columbo in a few ways. First, it's from 1976 - the right era. All the fashions, the Los Angeles homes and sights, and the mustaches make for a Columbo-like watch. Second, it focuses on a series of crimes where the viewer gets to see whodunnit, and a bumbling, amateurish detective trying to find them. He even has sloppy hair and is constantly smoking a pipe (rather than a cigar) which he taps against cars and gravestones.

The difference, of course, is that in Family Plot the detective really is an amateur, and he doesn't even know that he is solving a crime. Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris are tremendous good fun to watch, the supporting cast is full of nice little cameos (including "Coach" from Cheers), and the plot is as tightly wound as you hope from Hitchcock. Karen Black and William Devane are not very charismatic as the villains, especially Black, whose face is as expressive as a shoebox, but that's fine because the rest of the movie is so much fun. It really does scratch that "more Columbo" itch.

[Karl Henning]

I watched the final Hitchcock movie Friday: Family Plot. It should be in the "movie" thread, but it reminded me strongly of Columbo in a few ways. First, it's from 1976 - the right era. All the fashions, the Los Angeles homes and sights, and the mustaches make for a Columbo-like watch. Second, it focuses on a series of crimes where the viewer gets to see whodunnit, and a bumbling, amateurish detective trying to find them. He even has sloppy hair and is constantly smoking a pipe (rather than a cigar) which he taps against cars and gravestones.

The difference, of course, is that in Family Plot the detective really is an amateur, and he doesn't even know that he is solving a crime. Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris are tremendous good fun to watch, the supporting cast is full of nice little cameos (including "Coach" from Cheers), and the plot is as tightly wound as you hope from Hitchcock. Karen Black and William Devane are not very charismatic as the villains, especially Black, whose face is as expressive as a shoebox, but that's fine because the rest of the movie is so much fun. It really does scratch that "more Columbo" itch.

Agreed!

[Karl Henning]

Enjoying all over again the elaborate setup of "Columbo Cries Wolf."

[Karl Henning]

Enjoying all over again the elaborate setup of "Columbo Cries Wolf."

And a Top-Five "Gotcha."

[Pohjolas Daughter]

One of my favored music tracks in Columbo is the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNTqER_F9hw&list=PLDyCcI2Pa72Iw15KnSpG03tfIEoyyfbiw

Apparently around season 5 they hired a new composer (Patrick Williams) and he was a really good one. I remember actually reading he wrote a fugue/canon in this scene that was even more complex than the one that ended up in the episode but he was told to tone it down.

While i actually liked the original jazzy score i sort of wish they had him from the beginning, not the least because i consider the 60s/70s to be the golden age of Columbo and they had him only for the last couple of seasons of this earlier era.

I enjoyed watching and listening to that...thanks!

PD

[Opus131]

The leitmotif Williams wrote for Ruth Gordon was also very good. Overall one of the best scores in any Columbo episodes i've seen (or any television show for that matter):