The Lt. Columbo Forum

An area where fans from all over can ask each other questions and voice their own ideas and opinions on anything Columbo.

This Forum is fondly dedicated in memory of  "cassavetes45"  (Carleen Zink),
Columbo's greatest fan and a great friend to us all.
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The Lt. Columbo Forum
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Re: "Filler Time"

Many of these filler sequences are used to inject humour. The scene with Vito Scotti in 'Candidate for Crime' and several of his scenes in other episodes are good examples. Another would be the scene with the driving instructor in 'Negative Reaction'. Given the whole of 'Columbo' is a heavily sanitized version of an actual crime investigation I don't see a problem with this.

Unfortunately it does backfire on a few occasions when the fillers don't really work, such as 'Make Me a Perfect Murder' and the tuba episode already mentioned. To this I add the 'waiting for Lewis Lacey's address to be printed' scene in 'An Exercise in Fatality'. This is unusual in that Columbo comes across as impatient and just a bit annoying, in a way he doesn't when time's being wasted elsewhere.

Re: "Filler Time"

Another one is In Blueprint for Murder when Columbo goes to the city offices to find out about digging up the pyle. He walks into office after office only to find a mile long line and at the end of it gets told, "Lunch hour. Come back. 1:00." While I do find this scene funny, it's unnecessary to the plot and could be cut down to end after the first guy tells him what he needs to do.

Re: "Filler Time"

I think the Ken Archer scenes in "Death Lends A Hand" are different. That shows the early Columbo not weighed down by "gimmicks" who is doing some genuine investigating. He might know that Archer didn't do it because of the ring issue but he also from an investigating standpoint needs the full information on Archer's relationship with Mrs. Kennicutt. He has to make him sweat just a little bit to get that information and *then* he can tell him he's in the clear.