I'm thinking the kid mouthing off to Columbo would be MORE common nowadays, but maybe I'm being an old curmudgeon there. I personally enjoy it when secondary characters are rude to Columbo - contrast that against a lot of newer episodes, where every character (minus the killer) is inordinately delighted by his antics.
As for the episode itself, I think it's among the best - at least in the top 10. Cassavetes is SUCH a good actor, and his exchanges with Falk are incredible. The whole scene with Columbo playing chopsticks at the Hollywood Bowl may be one of the best exchanges in the whole series (it's on Youtube as "That's My Specialty, Homicide | Columbo").
I agree about the music, though... the trumpet "player" obviously has no clue how the instrument works, and Benedict's conducting doesn't look like it's at all in synch with the orchestra.
The biggest problem I had with this episode (which I enjoy) is how Alex Benedict gets the car back IN the garage. When he drops off the car, he cracks the bathroom window. When he returns from the Hollywood Bowl, he closes and locks the window. Once in the garage, he has to lower the car from the lift and UNLOCK the garage to open. He then closes the garage and drives off (miraculously not hitting any of the antique cars parked in the lot).
How did he get back in the place? The garage was locked. The window was locked. If the garage wasn't locked, why did he bother to climb in the window the first time?
The piano playing was painfully fake (almost as bad as Charlie Sheen pretending to play, but at least they don't show his hands faking it), but Cassavetes is great for this role. I also get a kick out of some of Myrna Loy's dialogue: "Now being a good boy and vanish." "Let's not get smart about how old I am. If you're trying to win me over, you're not making it, sonny!" (I love that delivery)
Whether or not her makes the right moves with the trumpet, James Olson has just the right "intense" look for a musician, including I guess a jazz musician.
I remember watching this with my father, a huge fan.
When COLUMBO brought up the mileage difference he yelled out " Mechanics would NEVER record the mileage!".
Yet, the comments here seem to think that they would DEFINTELY note it down
.