I don't know about drugs, but they were all pals and heavy drinkers. It would not be the only time they "guys" showed up drunk.

I totally agree! I've just watched it and was surprised that it was so rubbish. I'm glad you said the rest are good because I was beginning to regret having bought the complete box set.

The word is that they were all drunk -- and maybe stoned TOO. They were having a great time. The show stank, but they had fun.

Exactly my point! I totally agree ! It just beats me what they had in mind when they made such a terribly bad Columbo episode which doesnt at all fit in the Columbo series we all love.
Peter Falk’s acting is preposterous, as if he’s drunk as a fiddler or high on cocaine , barely able to open his mouth and fully utter his lines. I find it almost an insult for us the viewers. He mumbles in the way a knocked-out drunkard would , and weirdly , needlessly touches and hugs everyone around like a most libidinous fellow.. Odd as hell!
Not to mention the plot, which is a total bore, one can hardly make it past the first 30 minutes . Awful acting from everyone, a far too theatrical lady screaming and crying around up to the point you feel the need to throw something at her just to make her stop ... A bunch of people whose relations with one another is hard to comprehend amidst that horrifyingly nonsensical jumble in which they all keep on moving around painfully slowly ... My , oh my, what a torture!
This episode should be banned or wiped out completely, as if it never existed.
A total embarrassment and a pitiful failure.
If you can torture yourself to bear with it until the end, you eventually might feel the need to slap each actor, starting with Falk, in order to help them recover their sobriety / come back to sober state of mind... Lord have mercy! Facepalm.