Speaking of Brimmer, there's his very short explanation to Arthur at the end. No matter how short it is, it's believable.

I had a tongue in cheek post on this awhile back on which victim you would have murdered yourself (in sympathy to the murderer). To me that person is Tommy Brown, who at the end does show remorse in the sense that his guilt was killing him. I thought he was shabbily treated by his wife despite the fact that he was surely no angel. I do think Columbo was sympathetic to him with the line, "Anyone who could sing like that can't be all bad."

Do I agree about Ruth Gordon's overplayed performance? YES, it is annoying but at the end she gives us a great last scene. BUT as a mystery writer, and a well known one, I think she could have used her influence to have her nephew further investigated or could have thought of another non lethal form of revenge.


It seems that there are a few episodes where I can feel for the murders who thought they would loose all. Rumford in Dawn's Early light, the curator in Old Fashioned Murder. There are others too. But at the same time they could have just bore the pain as we all have to at times.

So I would say its hard for me to sympathize completely with a murderer.

Good thread.

But here is a real mystery. Who is this Bryce the second? Not that it matters in the scheme of things but it is a 'mystery.' I don't think that it is the ICThruyou chap who was vindictive. I think he is gone thank goodness. It seems interesting that when the real Bryce left the forum for a while the imitation Bryce stopped using his name. It seems to me that the imitation Bryce would have to be someone who checks in regularly and who saw that the original Bryce had returned. So is the imitation Bryce someone who contributes to the forum (doubtful) or is it someone who just checks in to read and enjoy or is it someone who has checked in only to see if the real Bryce returned. As I said in the scheme of things...but it is a mystery. Columbo where are you?

It is interesting that something like this would happen on a site which is used by dozens of people, not even hundreds of people.

"So I would say its hard for me to sympathize completely with a murderer."

Yeah, I think that's kind of the point of that part of Columbo's lecture where he talks about the part of the murderer he likes. He expresses sympathy for that part it's also meant to explain the professionalism he invokes at the end in explaining why he won't make an exception for Abigail.