It's been a couple months or so since I said I'd withdraw from this forum to avoid any further bedlam involving this individual who kept posting under my name, often times with little relevance to the actual topics being discussed. I still view the forum regularly, though, and miss posting on it (especially with all the great topics that have come up recently), and I thought I'd try it again, albeit in a slightly compromised way.
So, I figured that I'd post topics only once in awhile, but without ever saying anything beyond the initial topic, just to avoid the kind of nonsense that had ensued before (that is, if that guy is even still around). Also, as much as I'd like to participate in other users' topics, I will completely avoid that as well; again, to avoid this person causing trouble. While that isn't my ideal scenario, I respect the efforts of both those who maintain this site and other users in trying to ferret out the trouble makers, and don't want the same problem as before to recur (and I'm happy enough just reading other fans discuss the show ). So, again, if you see a post under my name here or in other topics, realize that it's most likely this hooligan playing around. I'll wait for a long time to post anything after this, to see how things go.

Before I go on to the topic, I wanted to comment on the recent thread involving "Last Salute to the Commodore". I know I'm in a very small minority, but I really enjoy "Commodore" and would even place it in my top ten episodes. Although I can understand why some fans consider it to be slow and ponderous, for me it's one of the most watchable episodes that, while not having much going on in the actual script, has such charming subtleties in almost every character's delivery. Scenes like Joanna and Charles Clay's exchange about her drunkenness ("Don't drink ... DON'T DRINK!") or Mac being flustered by Columbo's urgent "Don't show them that, Mac!" (referring to the suspect list), all have a quality that, for me, is irresistible in terms of seeing the actors really inject a lot of idiosyncrasy into their characters; it's like watching an episode where every character is a Colonel Rumford or Nelson Brenner, although without the shining polish Patrick McGoohan gave to those characters.
Obviously that atmosphere wouldn't work for the series as a whole, but I think it's a delightful detour.

Anyway, one aspect of the series that has always been very funny to me is when Columbo turns the murderer's attempt at sidetracking him into an embarrassing failure (e.g. Brimmer: "No, it's only a couple of miles." Columbo: "Gee, that close!" or Dale Kingston: "It looks like you're just not needed here, so why don't you go home and have your dinner." Columbo: "No, I think I'd better stick around...").
For me, one of the grandest instances of this is the exchange between Columbo and Hayword in the campaign office from "Candidate for Crime", where Hayward is having his "counterpoints" shot down left and right by Columbo, continually having to resign himself to Colmbo's observations (in "A Friend in Deed" the exchange in Halperin's office is similar to me, though Halperin seems more unflappable than Hayword).
In "Double Exposure", as well, Columbo has a wonderful time ruining Kepple's lies and excuses, the most funny part for me being when Kepple responds to Columbo's question about his knowing Tanya Baker with a resolute, "No. I do not", only to have that statement completely destroyed a moment later.
Finally, in "By Dawn's Early Light", I love Rumford's behavior at the very end, as Columbo is pressing him about when he saw the cider, while Rumford wanders about, pretending at first not to hear Columbo, then having his lie shot down while at the same time extolling logic.
Anyway, does anyone have a scene like this that stands out in particular, or perhaps several?

I don't know if this qualifies, but there's something like that in the ending of ETUDE IN BLACK. Columbo asks Alex Benedict whether he always wears a flower to concerts and he says "Yes."
Then when Columbo shows him the tape of him without one, Alex says "I don't always wear a flower."

That's about the only time I can think of when the person does a complete "about-face" without even coming up with an explanation to go with it.

One scene like this that I always enjoy and that makes me smile is in Murder Under Glass when Columbo is buying vegetables with Paul Gerard tagging along. Gerard says maybe the poison got into the bottle at the winery and Columbo responds by saying, "The world Health Organization has no records of a mass poisoning at any of the French Vineyards." Then Columbo says the maybe Vittorio planned on murdering someone himself and that he did have a dinner planned with Gerard, and maybe Vitorrio, in his anger, accidently drank the poison himself. Gerard responds with, "Yes, I could see how that could be possible." Columbo, with a look of mild surprise on his face, says, "You can, sir? Then perhaps you can explain it to me. How does a man drink a bottle of wine that he poisoned himself?"

The classic final scene in "A Case of Immunity" is very worthy of mention here, as the villain goes from high speed drive to a quick reverse in terms of arrogance. Columbo's trickery at its best and turns out to be funny with respect to where the murderer thought he was going.

In "Swan Song," Tommy Brown is clearly feeling very confident at the airport, actually laughing at Columbo's failure. Presumably Tommy's elation continues right up until the moment Columbo stuns him with the headlights in the woods, carrying the proof of his guilt -- almost literally a "deer in the headlights," if deer were murderers.

Oh man, when Paul Hanlon is at the gymnasium with the basketball practice, and Columbo tells him that not only was Mr. Wagner's house bugged, but so was Hanlon's. The way he breaths out a sigh of horror is beyond perfect. He goes from being super irate at Columbo for waisting his time to pretty much realizing he's going to jail for sure, in a matter of five seconds. LOL

Columbo: "So we checked your office, and you know what? Your phones are bugged too. By the same equipment and by the same man."

Paul Hanlon: "My phones?"

Columbo: "Yes sir. Bugged."