In my idle moments today I was pondering some of the more obscure episode titles in the "Columbo" canon. I'm sure this has been brought up before, but does anyone have any fresh thoughts on the titles below (or any others)?

"The Greenhouse Jungle" - Sure, some of the episode takes place in a greenhouse, but why the "jungle" thrown in there? I personally think this is a wink to guest star Ray Milland's Oscar-winning role in the film "The Lost Weekend" - the Internet tells me there's a line in that movie where he refers to the city as a "concrete jungle."

"Sex and the Married Detective" - Is this a reference to something? A book or a movie? Something about the structure of the title makes me think it's supposed to point to some other well-known work...

"The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case" - Oliver Brandt has a sky-high I.Q., but what's up with the "bye-bye" part?

And one of my favorites...

"Butterfly in Shades of Grey" - I've seen this discussed a lot over the years. Everyone kind of agrees that the "butterfly" of the title is Victoria Chase, but "Shades of Grey"? Is it a comment on Shatner's character? Is it supposed to be evocative of the title of a work of art (like the portrait in Chase's house)?

Thanks for indulging me on this topic, everyone! I'm interested to know your thoughts on these and any other title you think is a little "out there."

I like this topic...very original, IMO. I think "Sex and the Married Detective" was ABC's way of saying, "Hey viewers, we've lightened up the sensor a bit..." and what better way to lure viewers in by having us think that Columbo might be in a situation where sex comes into play. Dr. Joan Allenby being a sex therapist and a few times making Columbo uncomfortable with the topic is probably also in play here.

"Bye Bye Sky High..." is one of my favorites, and I can only guess the "Bye Bye" could mean pretty much "bye bye" to Bertie Hastings...but also "bye bye" to Oliver Brandt who Columbo was able to pin the murder on.

I'm going to mention another favorite with a peculiar title, "Try and Catch Me"...the title comes off somewhat cocky but intimates that the murderer was more than comfortable with the thought that Columbo knew they did it... For a mystery writer, it was a sloppy piece of work by Abigail Mitchell. Nothing to be overly confident or cocky about.

This is a great topic and one that I don't think has been addressed here at least not in my days which date back until 2005. Be that as it may, I think that "Butterfly" definitely refers to Victoria. As previously mentioned. The "Grey" portion of the title in my opinion refers to Fielding Chase. Chase was nothing but a cocky arrogant SOB. I think Victoria was trying her best to break free from Fielding, or if you will wanting to get out from under his thumb. And towards the end of the program she finally gets enough courage to do so. So the butterfly was hanging around in the shade. And the shade of course being Fielding Chase this of course is just one person's opinion somebody else might get an entirely different take on it

This is a great topic and one that I don't think has been addressed here at least not in my days which date back until 2005. Be that as it may, I think that "Butterfly" definitely refers to Victoria. As previously mentioned. The "Grey" portion of the title in my opinion refers to Fielding Chase. Chase was nothing but a cocky arrogant SOB. I think Victoria was trying her best to break free from Fielding, or if you will wanting to get out from under his thumb. And towards the end of the program she finally gets enough courage to do so. So the butterfly was hanging around in the shade. And the shade of course being Fielding Chase this of course is just one person's opinion somebody else might get an entirely different take on it

"Sex and the Married Detective" is also a play on the book and movie title "Sex and the Single Girl."
(I think that title has been parodied a lot of times.)

Ahhh thanks for the "Sex and the Single Girl" tip, Grant! That's been stumping me for a while now. I was sitting at my computer Googling "Sex and the" over and over, and I think my computer knows me too well because the only results coming up were for Columbo.

Fred, good breakdown on "Butterfly." Now that I think of it, even Fielding Chase's wardrobe seemed to be mostly bland gray suits, etc. That title has always been a favorite of mine because it seemed so obscure, and barely even touches on the murder aspect of the episode.