I know many fans do not like the Columbos made in the late eighties and early nineties.

I like some of them.

I think a great eighties/nineties episode would be one where Columbo meets a released murderer from the seventy series - released or aquitted - who commits a new crime.

The logistics of this would be tricky I imagine. I don't think they could have used Culp who played so many murders because that would have been confusing. They would have to find a murderer portrayed by one actor. So many of the actors and actresses who played seventies killers were still alive. I am sure one would have consented to revisiting their role.

I would have liked to see Adrian Carsini again, for instance.

That's an interesting idea, and certainly would have made a connection between the newer episodes and the original 70's episodes. I am one of those that feel the new episodes just never captured the glory of the 70's episodes.

Here is another twist on your concept though. They could have also brought the murderer back as the victim. For example, from Ransom for a Dead Man, they could have had Margaret kill her stepmother Leslie with the motive being revenge for Leslie killing Margaret's father.

Eric Paddon did this in one of his great Columbo stories, collected (with other Coumbo "fanfic" stories) on Martin Ross' excellent "Just One More Paragraph" site,

http://www.planetpreset.com/colfanfic.html

Called "Vengeance is Mine," Eric's first contribution is a next-generation sequel to "Prescription: Murder". Eric also wrote an original reboot of "Forgotten Lady" which you can find there. Check it out!

I read what was said about bringing a murderer back to be murdered. That would have been fantastic.

"Just out of jail after serving 15 years, so and so is killed" The thing is a few of murders of the seventies came back during the nineties to murder again or at least know a murderer - Shatner, Robert Culp, and of course Patrick McGoohan (excuse spellings if not correct.)
They all played multiple roles in the seventies, except Shatner. The writers could have chosen one and would have had a field day bringing him back as a victim.

Thanks for a wonderful twist.

Thanks for telling about site with the Columbo stories on it.

Thank you for the kind plug, Ted, and yes, I always thought the idea of having to solve Dr. Flemming's murder after he was released from prison would have been a great way of bringing the series full circle in the ultimate sense since Levinson and Link originally wrote "Prescription Murder" in mind with Flemming as the "star" character of the story.

Any one of Culp's characters could have been a victim in the 90s (maybe the previously unseen Tanya Baker kills Dr. Kepple!) Or maybe we could have a killer Columbo nabbed who it turned out got acquitted at trial becoming the victim (Robert Conrad's Milo Janus perhaps. Someone once pointed out that the shoe-lace demonstration Columbo used wasn't a good gotcha because Gene Stafford was lefthanded!)

I actually liked the later episodes. Thought they were well done. They just lack the 1970's nostalgia.

If we consider villains played by actors who are still alive, Hector Elizondo could be a prime pick, given how international figures periodically reemerge on the world scene. First Secretary Salah could have been traded for an American hostage and climbed back to prominence under a new Surian regime.

Dexter and/or Norman Paris (Martin Landau) are charming sorts and could easily have finessed a parole board into early release. Perhaps they'd like to avenge both themselves and their old culinary school bud Paul Gerard.

Ah, and Honor Blackman is still with us. How about some Shakespearean-style revenge by Lilian Stanhope on behalf of the now-insane Nicholas Frame. There's the rub (that's about all the Shakespeare I know).