In the annals of television many series come up with a catch phrase,
something that is often repeated and is identified with the characters. From
"You loves ya baby" with Kojack to "Book ‘em Danno’ on Hawaii Five-O, none are
as well known as the phrase so often used by a cigar chomping little man in a
rumpled rain coat, "Just one more thing." Peter Falk’s portrayal of Lt. Columbo
made this role more than television; it was part of the American television
landscape for more than a decade. What helped to make this series such an
institution is the simplicity of the premise. Columbo is not at all what he
seems, when he arrives at the scene of the murder, everyone sees an odd fellow,
poking around, peering into every corner and asking an intolerable number of
questions. The way he dresses in the every messy coat one would assume that this
man cold barely dresses himself, let alone actually solve a perfectly devised
murder. This is usually the fatal flaw the murder makes, underestimating the
brilliance that is really Columbo. Rarely does the lieutenant confront the
suspect directly, more often than not he devises a trap that only the real
killer would fall into, catching the murder in his (or her) own lies. The fact
is Columbo is a murder solving machine, no detail gets past his keen eye, he
beads in on the one thing that does not appear to be right and builds the case
from that. Columbo is also a master at psychology, he often determines the
identity of the murderer by how they react to question that to others seem
innocuous but the killer gives a telling glance that only the lieutenant
catches. Even thought the audience always gets to see the murder, we are always
privy to the identity of the killer; the fun of this series is watching the
battle of the minds between Columbo and his prey.
Season three, presented in this latest DVD box set, contains many of the most
remembered classic episodes. In Lovely but Lethal, Vera Miles plays the aging
queen of a beauty product empire. When she learns that a competitor and former
lover, wonderfully portrayed by Martin Sheen, shed realizes that she must
prevent his announcement of a miraculous new cream. In a fit of anger she kills
him and Columbo uses the slim clue of a bottle’s shape to catch her. One of the
more cleaver episodes concerns a vintner Adrian Carsini (Donald Pleasence) who
murders his brother in order to keep the vineyard in the family name. Columbo
comes upon a clue, a spoiled bottle of wine that only Carsini knows has gone
bad. Before Columbo takes him in to justice they share a quiet glass of very
expensive wine. This is indicative of many endings of this series. There is
almost a respect between the adversaries. This series often managed to get some
get guest stars, usually in roles that the audience would never imagine them in.
One case is the case of a singer, played by Johnny Cash, who murders his wife
and mistress when they conspire to blackmail him. Of course no Columbo season
would be complete with out the murder played by Jack Cassidy or Robert Culp.
Each of these excellent actors shows up frequently in Columbo but never fail to
entertain the audience. There is also an episode where Columbo’s incredible
deductive powers are pitted against the head of a think tank played by veteran
actor Jose Ferrer. Here the killer uses the hi tech method of programming a
robot (guest starring the famous Robbie the Robot) to perform the dastardly
deed. Of course, this super intelligent man is no match for the disheveled
detective.
Few television actors are able to own a role like Peter Falk owned this one.
He personified the character of Columbo perfectly. His success in this regard is
due not only to the incredible talent of the man but also his ability to come
across as the regular guy next door. Columbo is a family man, always relating
some innocent story about the never seen Mrs. Columbo. He is so non-threatening
that everyone, including the suspect, completely underestimates the man. Falk
plays the cat and mouse game always close to the vest. He almost annoys the
killer into revealing his hand. This is where his famous catch phrase comes in.
Just as Columbo appears to be done interviewing the suspect and is about to
leave he turns and states, ‘Just one more thing.’ It is in this moment that the
murder is caught off guard, not ready for that last, all telling question. This
is the moment of truth, when Columbo and the audience know that it is only a
matter of time before he will resolve the case.
Not only is one of the hallmarks of this series gathering talent in front of
the camera, they garnered the best to sit behind the camera and direct. Men
usually known for edgy films have taken on the director’s chair for various
episodes. Among them are such notables as Leo Penn, father of Sean Penn, John
Cassavetes and Ben Gazzara. This serves to give each episode the feel and depth
of a full length film instead of a rushed television episode. This is something
almost completely lost in the current round of television dramatic series. Now,
the action has to be presented in some forty one minutes, in order to allow for
commercials. With this season of Columbo most episodes where designed to fit
into a 90 minute time block with far fewer commercial breaks. As such, the
pacing here was more deliberate, building slowly to the climax. While there are
always ancillary cast members the typical Columbo reduces down to a two person
stage play, adversaries playing against each other, polite on the surface but
both aware of just what is at stake. This is quality television at is very best.
NBC had a novel idea back then. Columbo was one of several mystery shows rotated
each week. This gave the producers enough time to give real quality to the
audience.
As usual, Universal does well in the presentation of this season on DVD. The
full screen video does show some signs of age, typically with the random white
speak that pops up on the screen. For the most part the colors are bright and
realistic with only the occasional muting. The audio is in the typical Dolby two
channel mono and while it lacks some depth it does get the job done considering
the material presented. There is a delightful extra provided with this set. An
episode of the short lived series Mrs. Columbo is provided. Staring Kate Mulgrew
the series looked at the previously unseen better half of the Columbo family. If
you are one of the rare people out there that are unaware of this series this is
a perfect introduction to one of the best television series every presented. For
the majority out there this is a must have addition to your collection.
Posted 8/10/05