Just One More Thing - Columbo Appreciation Thread

Amelia Robin III

catboy connoisseur
Let’s talk about everyone’s other favorite 70s police officer: Lt. Columbo!

Columbo is a crime drama that originally aired in the 1970s, and also had a revival in the late 80s to early 2000s. What makes Columbo special is how unique it is compared to the genre. While many other crime/police series focus on a ‘whodunnit’ story model, the viewer gets to see the crime and who the killer is within the first 10 to 20 minutes of the episode. What you’re really invested in is how the killer gets caught by Columbo.

The main appeal of the series is how character driven it is. Peter Falk as Columbo is a delight, acting bumbling and too trusting toward the killer, when in reality he’s slowly unraveling the truth. The killers are also great, and are portrayed with a lot of humanity and depth, though sometimes they push the cool-headed Columbo too far as well.

This series is very near and dear to my heart, and has been my all-time favorite for over a decade now (sorry, Lupin III, you’re the runner up!), and I was delighted to see an overlap of fans on Twitter and Tumblr.

So! I want to hear about everyone’s thoughts on the series! Got a favorite episode? Thoughts on a particular actor? Things you wish could’ve been in an episode? Just want to gush about how cute Dog is??? Let’s talk Columbo, friends!
 
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MystSaphyr

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I've only just started watching it (just about 5 episodes under my belt so far) but I am ABSOLUTELY in love with the series already! If I get the time before the spring semester kicks up in a week or 2 I plan to marathon some more and then I'll be able to talk about it more in-depth LMAO but honestly Columbo as a character is just so dang charming
 

shiiocha

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my mom got the entire columbo tv series in a box set for christmas so i am revving my engines to fill my brain with columbo. ive seen a couple episodes and one of my favorites involved a reoccurring dream and super surreal shots, it was so surprising to see it for a show like that!!!
 

Amelia Robin III

catboy connoisseur
I've only just started watching it (just about 5 episodes under my belt so far) but I am ABSOLUTELY in love with the series already! If I get the time before the spring semester kicks up in a week or 2 I plan to marathon some more and then I'll be able to talk about it more in-depth LMAO but honestly Columbo as a character is just so dang charming
He is SOOOO charming. He’s so genuinely nice too, even though he plays up being naive. I look forward to hearing what you think when you watch more!
 

Amelia Robin III

catboy connoisseur
my mom got the entire columbo tv series in a box set for christmas so i am revving my engines to fill my brain with columbo. ive seen a couple episodes and one of my favorites involved a reoccurring dream and super surreal shots, it was so surprising to see it for a show like that!!!
The trippy visuals aren’t too common but they are sooooo fun when they come up! Sounds like you’re describing the episode “The Most Dangerous Match”, that one is great! The killer is such a POS hahaha.
 

Jonnie

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I've also just started watching Columbo! Would love to know of people's personal favorites so I can know what to prioritize when watching more episodes.
 

Amelia Robin III

catboy connoisseur
I've also just started watching Columbo! Would love to know of people's personal favorites so I can know what to prioritize when watching more episodes.
I think every episode from the original run is worth watching at least once, but some are definitely better than others lol. Some of my faves are:

Murder by the Book: The first official episode, and required viewing for any fan. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the show.

Troubled Waters: The killing happens on a cruise, and Columbo has to use limited resources to solve the crime. My personal favorite episode.

Any Old Port in a Storm: Donald Pleasence hams it up in an incredible performance as the killer.

Swan Song: Johnny Cash stars as the killer, and absolutely crushes it with his performance. He feels genuinely sinister at times.

Dagger of the Mind: Columbo goes on a trip to London. This episode is stupid and hammy but incredibly fun.

The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case: Columbo vs a supposed ‘genius’. The final confrontation with the killer is such a great ‘gotcha’ moment.
 

Jonnie

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I think every episode from the original run is worth watching at least once, but some are definitely better than others lol. Some of my faves are:

Murder by the Book: The first official episode, and required viewing for any fan. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the show.

Troubled Waters: The killing happens on a cruise, and Columbo has to use limited resources to solve the crime. My personal favorite episode.

Any Old Port in a Storm: Donald Pleasence hams it up in an incredible performance as the killer.

Swan Song: Johnny Cash stars as the killer, and absolutely crushes it with his performance. He feels genuinely sinister at times.

Dagger of the Mind: Columbo goes on a trip to London. This episode is stupid and hammy but incredibly fun.

The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case: Columbo vs a supposed ‘genius’. The final confrontation with the killer is such a great ‘gotcha’ moment.
Thank you! In a perfect world I'd have enough time to watch every episode, but alas...
 

MystSaphyr

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I think every episode from the original run is worth watching at least once, but some are definitely better than others lol. Some of my faves are:

Murder by the Book: The first official episode, and required viewing for any fan. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the show.

Troubled Waters: The killing happens on a cruise, and Columbo has to use limited resources to solve the crime. My personal favorite episode.

Any Old Port in a Storm: Donald Pleasence hams it up in an incredible performance as the killer.

Swan Song: Johnny Cash stars as the killer, and absolutely crushes it with his performance. He feels genuinely sinister at times.

Dagger of the Mind: Columbo goes on a trip to London. This episode is stupid and hammy but incredibly fun.

The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case: Columbo vs a supposed ‘genius’. The final confrontation with the killer is such a great ‘gotcha’ moment.
Ooooh yeah thanks for this list, gonna check all these out if I can't just work through the series in order 👀
 
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My mum has been a huge fan. I grew up in the "one TV per one household" era so when she wanted to watch Columbo, it meant the entire family had to watch it together. She refused to skip the reruns, which is why I have watched every episode like 10 times. 😂
My personal favs are :
Suitable for Framing - The ending is superb.
Blueprint for Murder (directed by Peter Falk)- The scene where Columbo works his butt off to get a permission from the gvmt office alone is worth watching. It's just hilarious.
Any Old Port in a Storm - Possibly the best epi of the entire series
Try and Catch Me - The actress who plays the murderer (Ruth Gordon) is terrific, so is the way Columbo shows respect to her.
Agenda for Murder - One of very few great epis of newer seasons
 
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i love columbo!!! my personal episode recommendation is A Stitch in Crime - i'm also a huge star trek fan so seeing leonard nimoy play an asshole surgeon was a treat for me <3
 
LOOOVVEE Columbo!! Started watching it with my dad when i was a kid, we ALWAYS say "Let's just watch a bit" when it comes on, and end up watching the whole episode XDDD. My favorite is Swan Song EASY!!! so good and so sad at the same time
 
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I've been meaning to watch Columbo, I'm rewatching the 80s Sherlock series atm and forgot how good Jeremy Brett was.

I need to watch more live action detective shows tbh, Conan can get boring after awhile haha.
 
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I love Columbo! Peter Falk was magnificent and quintessential in the role, always entertaining us by making us wonder not who committed the crime, but what clues tip him off to the murderer and at what point he has it figured out. Not to mention the fun of watching a blue collar police Lieutenant frequently outsmarting and outwitting his white collar suspects, that never gets old 😆
 

Gyt Kaliba

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Columbo is easily one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I picked up season one on a lark a few years back, and before I'd even finished that whole season, I'd made it a point to double dip and purchase the complete series and marathoned my way through it entirely. It's SO good, and Peter Falk as a treasure of an actor that I'll never not be sad I didn't become a fan of until he had passed on.

If anyone out there watches the show and wants more Columbo goodness, there's at least two books I highly recommend - The Columbo Phile: A Casebook is a great guidebook that goes over the series as a whole, it's production, the stories and plots of episodes, etc., and it's an incredibly engrossing read; and The Columbo Collection, a short story collection written by one of the TV show's co-creators. The writing on the latter is a little iffy in places (you can tell Link was much more comfortable writing screenplays than novels), but every word that comes out of the character's mouth is so on point that you can practically hear Falk in your head saying them. It's unfortunately a little pricey (it's probably super out of print by this point), but if you can find a copy for a price you're willing to play, it's worth it.
 
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