Another SMALL one of mine is about Stitch In Crime, the scene where Dr. Heidemann is insulting the nurse because she makes Columbo put out his cigar. I know he's mainly just being a funny "crotchety" Will Geer character, but that's Helen Crump he's insulting! And then there's that line about her "antiseptic self." She may not be a stereotyped "hot nurse," but she isn't exactly hard to look at, is she?

Even though I haven't seen it in a long while, I have to agree about the Little Richard cameo, but for a couple of built-in reasons. First, I have a problem with about 90 per cent of ALL cameos, at least the kind where the people play themselves instead of playing roles. Second, for a while Little Richard was the KING of that kind - any given week you could turn on the TV and hear something like "Hey - you're Little Richard!" So (no offense to him) it really wore thin for me.

First off, it's not often we get to a "Page 2" of replies on this board!

Cameos irritate me too. It's understandable that Columbo would encounter "stars" in Hollywoodland, but oddly, it's more "real" when he encounters fake stars like the Nora Chandler type, than actual stars. One of the worst is in "Uneasy Lies The Crown" when Columbo encounters not one, not two but three stars. Ron Cey, Nancy Walker and Dick Sargent. (Oddly, this same episode features one of those "fake stars". The murder victim. Hmmmm. What if they had chosen Dick Sargent as the murder victim? Oooh. How surreal!)

Columbo's "oh gosh, oh gee, who is this guy? I know this guy" is exceptionally cringeworthy. It would have been funny if Columbo, upon recognizing Nancy Walker from "McMillan and Wife" would have said, "Gee, I always enjoyed those "NBC Mystery Movies".

And why didn't Columbo say to Dick Sargent, "I once met a big-shot from the CIA who looked just like the actor who played your boss on "Bewitched". Or, "I once met a Scotland Yard cop and also a Cruise Ship sailor guy who both looked just like the actor who played Dr. Bombay on "Bewitched"."

Anyway, those cameos during that card game were completely unnecessary to the point of making you wonder why those actors were included in the first place? They could have been any card playing buddies.

I couldn't agree more about the weirdness of Columbo encountering "real" stars. I had totally forgotten about the card game scene, but yeah, definitely cringeworthy. For one thing it disrupts the illusion, such that we're suddenly watching real people instead of characters (which is exactly why Columbo couldn't make the kind of humorous self-references Headache suggests). But also, as Headache points out, it just feels weird--why are these actors even there? It's as if they all wanted to be in a Columbo episode for some reason, and someone owed them a favor, so they got shoehorned in. It almost feels like product placement.

And yeah, what made Little Richard's cameo especially odd was that he was playing himself, yet at the same time kind of wasn't--none of the characters reacted as you might expect, with "holy crap, it's Little Richard!" They more or less acted as if he was just some musician. One character even tells Columbo to "just ask for Little Richard," as if she were telling him "just ask for Fat Tony." If Richard were truly playing himself, the character would have said something like "Little Richard is playing there tonight, and the guy you want will be backstage with him."

Oh! Oh! Another real cringe-o-licious moment is in Murder With Too Many Notes, when Findlay Crawford is conducting snippets of movie themes and Columbo is obediently reporting what images they convey (e.g., the theme from Jaws: "oh, the fish, the fish..."). Ouch. Also, same episode, when Columbo is driving Findlay home at the speed of smell. Or pretty much that entire episode, come to think of it.

The entire episode of "No Time to Die" is pretty much cringeworthy, but what especially got me was at the beginning when Columbo was being introduced around to everyone as "Lieutenant Columbo" and referring only to "Mrs. Columbo", and it was obvious they were intentionally avoiding the first names.

Usually that works fine in the show, but when you're at a wedding with your own family and they don't say your first name at all, it ruins the suspension of disbelief altogether. The rest of the episode was dreadful, of course.

Bit late here, but I will add the notorious 'playing with the monitors' scene from 'Make Me a Perfect Murder'.

"Death lends a hand" : At the end when Columbo confess : "when I was young, I put a potato in the exhaust pipe". Ray Milland is tempted to check if the Robert Culp's car has broken down in consequence of a potato !

"Etude in black" : When Columbo talks about the name of his dog with the bachelor girl.

"Requiem for a falling star" : When Columbo said "Thank you, I will say at your boss you are very efficient". And the other character replies : "But I am the boss !"

"Negative Reaction" : When the nun confuses Columbo with a beggar.

"Playback" : When Columbo confuses air conditioning grille with an artwork.

There's just no cringe-worthy moment to me. And I don't understand how anyone can be bothered by all the moments that have been mentioned here to be honest.. Don't get me wrong, and I don't want to offend anyone, everybody's perfectly entitled to be bothered by any scene they want, but I just don't understand it that's all.

Although, to be entirely honest, there are only two episodes in which there are some cringe-worthy moments to me : the last two episodes, Murder With Too Many Notes and Columbo Likes the Night Life. They are my least two favorite episodes for a reason.. (the only two episode that could NEVER be on my top ten).

I have a lot of respect for Peter Falk, and I feel sorry for what I am about to say, but yes in those two episodes there are times in which Columbo looks very old. Like the scene when the murderer follows Columbo in his car in Murder With Too Many Notes, and Columbo drives very, VERY slowly.. That's pushing it a bit, especially that this scene is way too long.. There are many moments like that in those two episodes. Besides the discussions between the murderers and Columbo (the main strenght of that show for me) are not particularly bright, mainly because the three murderers clearly lack of character, of intelligence, and the actors themselves lack of talent. Fortunately Peter Falk's interpretation is still quite good overall nonetheless, which is why I still watch those two episodes regularly.

But other than that all the scenes from all the others episodes are just pure delight for me.

So then, to you, there are no cringe-worthy moments except for the cringe-worthy moments?

clint enbill, you'll never change.........and i love it.

Apparently some people did not quite understand what I meant to say.

It is very simple, really, I am sure everybody will be able to understand with these new explainations : in fact when I first answered this thread I just did not think about the last two episodes at all (they are usually not the first ones I think about as they are clearly my least favorite ones) and that is why I answered that there was, to me, no cringe-worthy moments whatsoever.

However once I finished the first part of my post I realized that I forgot about these last two episodes and so, as I am an honest person, I just had to mention them as there are indeed some scenes that could be considered as cringe-worthy (to me) in these episodes. I realize that what I said in the second part of my post is quite a contradiction to what I said in the first, which is why I started the second part of my post with : "Although, to be entirely honest...".

Also I would like to add that I should not have said that the moments I talked about in these last two episodes were cringe-worthy but rather : "to be entirely honest, there are only two episodes in which there COULD BE some cringe-worthy moments to me". Yes cause even if these moments are weird I do not think that I would go as far as considering them cringe-worthy in reality.. Cause as weird as they are they do not bother me that much at the same time, if they would I just wouldn't watch these two episodes regularly. And I do. So that's another reason why I said there were no cringe-worthy moments to me because.. there just are not any in reality. Just a few weird moments in the last two episodes but that is all..

So I admit that I misspoke, and that this post was quite weird overall (I am sorry for that) but all what I just explained was honestly not that hard to understand... and everyone could have figured it out easily. Well let's just say that some people are just slower than others. After all we are all different.

Also I will never understand how some people take pleasure in focusing on the mistakes of others (the legendary internet trolls). And even less how some other people can praise them for that.. This kind of attitude can be understandable if you are under 20, but if you are over 20 or, even worse, over 30.. well let's just say that it is more worrisome. Personally I would never do that, if I do not understand what someone just said I'd rather ask the person to clarify and when I post my first worry is to add to the discussion. I want to have great discussions, not making fun of other people.. Well again we are all different and some people just need more time to mature I guess.. Still it is very sad. At least to me.

It made sense to me the first time Oliver.

Well, Oliver, perhaps if you didn't start out your post by being dismissive of the entire topic, then the people who did enjoy contributing to it might not take delight in pointing out your own hypocrisy. Just a thought.

Glad to hear that Amy. Thanks. :)




Deeply sorry but I was NOT dismissive in ANY WAY. Here's what I said in my post : "Don't get me wrong, and I don't want to offend anyone, everybody's perfectly entitled to be bothered by any scene they want, but I just don't understand it that's all."

I was just being honest (I can't help it, sorry if it bothers anyone) and I clearly said that I did not want to offend anyone (which I truly meant).

Read more carefully next time.


As for the part about "my hypocrisy", I think I explained myself clearly enough in my last post and I don't need to repeat myself. Can't believe some people still don't understand what I meant.. But whatever.

This is an easy one for me. In "Make me a perfect murder", the shuck-and-jive routine that the projectionist performs for Kay. I've read the script and that scene is meant to show that the two like each other, but I think it was an error in judgement and I can't bear to watch it.

I don't know if it's my imagination, but it seems that both actors are uncomfortable during that scene.

Bump