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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Strange Bedfellows

I rate and share opinions about every next episode here indeed, but I skipped A Bird In The Hand on purpose. I'm not a fan of it and I didn't have any comments. There is too less Columbo on it and too much of other plots shown
Strange Bedfellows (by the way - what does exactly "bedfellows" mean? sounds like fellas from the bed :P), it is not my favourite episode. Too many strange things in it. Mafia included, car chase, police with guns, kidnapping Columbo, fighting with Columbo, his madness in the end, and the weak opponent
- Graham is one of the worst killers. And I mean actor. He just doesn't fit to role of Columbo's adversary
- I'm not sure why he "poisoned" a horse to lose the race, what was the profit? so his brother was in trouble and he has reason to kill him? I don't follow much
- quite similar way to exit the scene of the crime like Carsini did (and here also brother kills brother. Are there any other episodes where sibling kills sibling? oh yes, Lady in Waiting. Any other?)
- "Bruno Romano, not the kind of the guy you want to spend Christmas with" <-- I like it
- isn't it a little far-fetched that Columbo thought of measuring the mouse? and thinking about where this specie comes from?
- Columbo gives Graham his card and says "this is a number at my headquaters and this is at my home". I wonder what number was put there as his "home" number. I don't believe he would give a real one. In Rest in Peace Mrs. Columbo he says that this numbers are always hidden for safety

Re: Strange Bedfellows

Agreed, Matti. This is not one of my favorites, the main reason being George Wendt as the murderer. Notwithstanding his well-known fame for his role as Norm in the hit TV show, "Cheers", he's not a strong enough actor to pull off this kind of part. His weak presence and performance puts a damper on every scene and the entire episode. He can't play sneaky, he can't play angry, he can't play phony sympathetic/upset, he can't play tough. In short, he stinks. He has very limited range as an actor. On top of that, it's kind of difficult to believe a 300-lb guy can effectively disguise themselves. Men of that size are rather rare to see, so to expect him to pull of his bar visit in the cheesy disguise he wore is a bit of a stretch, lighter and drink order notwithstanding.

As to a few of your points:

- Poisoning the Horse: I think he poisons the horse to guarantee the horse loses. And since he'd let on that she "couldn't lose", it prompted Bruno Romano to bet the house on her. When she lost, Romano lost all his money, Teddy was in deep wam-poo and Graham could pretend to "help him out". And pretend to fix things with Romano.

- Measuring the Mouse - I agree - even this seems a bit far-fetched for Columbo to think of right away. I know he keeps up on the police journals (see "Agenda for Murder"), but biology???

The best part of this episode, to me, was Rod Steiger as the mafia boss. He's terrific and would have made a great criminal (he almost is this episode) for Columbo to battle.

Re: Strange Bedfellows

"Strange bedfellows" just means unlikely partners. Especially two people who disagree most of the time, getting together on one single thing.

Re: Strange Bedfellows

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