Havent posted for ages and then i come on and find one of my own posts in a running thread. Scarey.

Had only season 1 on dvd for ages so got bored with all of them. Had to rely on tv showings which were generally the same ones over and over so got bored with them. Finally got seasons 1-8 for £35 new (not at all bothered with the come-back episodes so dont bother with season 8 onwards) but only saw a couple due to dull reasons til recently. No time To Die and Undercover are abysmal and you can throw in strange bedfellows, murder in malibu, a trace of murder, grand deceptions and murder of a rockstar (tho that one might be because ive seen it 4000000000 times due to countless repeats on hallmark, five and other tv channels). There are further poor episodes from the late 80's onwards. Im a billy connolly fan (being scottish) and so that does help if i do ever see Murder with too many notes.

Last Salute is watchable i find if you dont take it too seriously and with large time spaces inbetween viewings. I enjoy it for the fun the actors are having on screen, theres little else to enjoy it for. The ending comes far too out of suddenly, oh we've got 15 mins to fill with no idea how to fill it so lets jump straight to a stupid long-drawn stupid (yes its doubly stupid), unfulfilling ending.

Strange to see Swanney in another episode Fade Into Murder. Having just seen it again for the first time in ages, i remember why i rarely watch it - this episode stinks. (Is it wrong to blame swanney for this since he's in both or is it plain bad luck). I fail to see why fowler helps columbo even if he's pretending to be the dective, unless he's got a split personality. And so when he starts down that whole youre speaking to Lucerne and not ward nonsense i get so bored and plead for the ending to come.

On a positive note saw Murder Under Glass last night and, maybe because i remember watching it the bbc when i was just a wee boy so i have good memories, i really enjoyed it. Columbo getting all that food to eat, the humour thru-out, the cockiness of Paul Gerard and his face when columbo gets served fugu (sp?). But mainly for Columbo openly stating he really doesnt like Gerard and you totally agree and are thrilled he's been caught. I cant think of too many episodes where columbo says he really doesnt like a murderer. He shows it with Milo Janus and (i think) with Dr. Barry Mayfield (i havent seen that episode in a long time) but i cant remember any others - tho there probably are.

I will stop this rambling.

GB,

Mat

"Identity Crisis" improves for me with subsequent viewings. And even if it were still weak story wise, there's still Barbara Rhoades!

"Last Salute" I admit has a weak finish but it's still interesting to see the formula broken once for a change.

The ones from the NBC years I never like revisiting remain "Any Old Port In A Storm" (never changing my mind on this one) and "Matter Of Honor" (boring).

eric, i agree with you about 'last salute to the commodore'.
although it's far from a favourite of mine, and sometimes all that shouting, and craziness can get on my nerves, i do like the fact that we get to see a columbo episode which deviates from the normal formula.

Well on the subject of EYE CANDY in Columbo (at least for the guys), I never grow tired of Gretchen Corbett in a pretty sexy bikini for the 70's, in Exercise in Fatality!

^ agreed. and i think lots of the ladies of columbo are eye candy. i may be a straight woman, but i still find them lovely to look at.

The trifecta for me are (1) Barbara-"Identity Crisis" (2) Gretchen (3) Janet Leigh-"Forgotten Lady" for that opening scene in the goddess-like gown.

oh eric, i'm so happy you included janet leigh..she was stunning in that white goddess gown...she wears that beautiful creation wonderfully..and it doesn't wear her.

another i always loved (and have mentioned a thousand times here) was anne baxter. wow! she was a mature woman also, but her figure was gorgeous. all her outfits in requiem for a falling star were magnificent, and they emphasized that great figure of her's.

then there is joanna cameron/lorna mcgrath in negative reaction. what a little sexy/cutie.

and then there is ruth gordon, who.....ok...i better stop.

hell, as my italian family has always said..'SAUS-EEGE' his own...meaning, to each their own.

but you should really take another look at this episode, dolly. give it the attention it deserves.

sure, it's a bit involved and one of the more complex plots on columbo, but it has its merit, and then some.

to reduce it to a cigarette machine being the best performance, is a bit harsh. i know that's your opinion, but come on, llama.
there is so much more there.

it's the discoverrrrry of americaaaa! you gotta get caught-in just from that line alone. and the maaah jong that peter utters at the end! my son says that to me all the time.

but really, give this one another chance. sure, it's complicated, and there is that spy and espionage aspect that really doesn't belong in a columbo episode, but dam, it really is a cool episode.

it took me a good long time to discover all the nuances of the episode, and i've still not found them all.
there was a poster here named 'abigail_mitchell' who disected it and had some really wonderful insightful things to say about it...and i found it fascinating.

watch it a few more times and get back to us. ..i'd love to hear more of your thoughts.

Hello all: Love this thread! Interesting to think about the weakest entries in a well-written series. For the record, I can't put "Identity Crisis" in here, because of McGoohan's performance, and his interaction with Falk. "Commodore" is saved by the format change, and the Robert Vaughn twist (he is innocent). I'm also not counting the ABC "rebirth", since there are too many sub-par stories. I will have to reread the "Phile", and watch some more, before I add my official entry. Keep this going! Best regards, Chris.