Bite your tongue!! This is blasphemy. I really liked Mind Over Mayhem over Double Exposure. Jose Ferrer was really wonderful in this episode. I was very pleased seeing a Puerto Rican as a guest murderer in the series. This usually never happens. Latinos uusually play the gang member, drug pusher or wife beater. So my favorite episodes in the Columbo series are:

Mind Over Mayhem: Jose Ferrer(Puerto Rican)
A Case of Immunity: Hector Elizon (Mexican)
A Matter of Honor:Ricardo Montalban(Mexican)

Have to ask YM why you hate Mind over mayhem. Its not that bad an episode.

God bless,

Matthew

YM I am jealous! It must be great to be able to see an original 45er for the first time....Great!! I really like Double Exposure...I didn't at first but it really wore on me and now it is one of my favorites. Culp was so good in it. In the beginning scenes he is so laid back...his speech is so slow and low...as you pointed out, quite a departure from the maniac in The Most Crucial Game. I loved the golf course scene and the grocery store scene was the best...and on the dvd I got to see that it was a much longer scene then what I had seen on Bravo. The whole subliminal cut thingy was terrific.
And I have to agree with you on Mind Over Mayhem...that was my first pick on the Desert Island Reversal thread...(which episode would you leave behind).....I felt that Jose Ferrer sort of walked through the part...there was just no spark there...and worst of all there was no chemistry between him and Columbo. I didn't like the looks of the think tank...all too drab and stark...not like a regular episode of Columbo...with all the beautiful mansions and even clothes. And the final clue....well...it was good...but how dumb was he to leave that evidence behind???
Sorry Damian...but that is just my honest opinion.....and by the way.....myself being Italian I only got half a murderer...Adrian Carsini...1/2 Italian 1/2 British.....but I guess I got Columbo.

Two questions, YM:

1. I haven't seen the Season 3 DVD yet. Does Double Exposure contain scenes of Arlene Martell as Tanya Baker? She's listed in the credits but unseen on the A & E version.

2. Why is Mind Over Mayhem your least favorite? Have you discussed why on a previous thread? Just curious!

Mark

I also agree that Mind over Mayhem is a weak episode. Columbo's trap at the end was too obvious, and there were also no witnesses to Cahill's confession. And all Cahill says is "I did it." "It" could refer to anything!

And as for the match clue, Cahill was only at Nicholson's house to commit murder, so why would he have wasted time to smoke a cigar? That should have been the last thing on his mind.

That's right E....why the heck did he have to smoke a cigar at that moment?...and the entrapment was probably the lowest form of "getting" the murderer in all of Columbo episodes....yes he has trapped other murderers before...Negative Reaction, Death Lends a Hand..etc....but those were clever entrapments...the one in Mayhem is just ridiculous.
And Steinmetz...Arlene Martell does not appear on the dvd even though she is credited.

Arlene's part must have been cut very late in the proceedings before the episode first aired, to have caused that credit being there.

Ironically, she was Robert Culp's co-star in one of the most memorable episodes of "Outer Limits", the Harlan Ellison scripted "Demon With A Glass Hand."

Eric..there was also that credit of Gregory Sierra(Barney Miller) in the episode Publish or Perish..he was never there..................

I hate "Mind over Mayhem" because it seems they
made it for a Saturday Morning Cartoon version
of Columbo. The robot is just ridiculous,
and I didn't like the child genius "Steven
Spelberg" (yuck, yuck). Regarding the robot,
I realize that Columbo is not a truly realistic
show (as is Rockford or Kojak), but the robot
just turns it into Science Fiction, and if I
want that I will watch Outer Limits. I like
Columbo because he is "every man" and the
directors make you feel that you are a detective
accompanying Columbo on his investigation (which
is also why I hate it when Columbo is arrogant,
as opposed to humble). "Mayhem" is simply bad
and I am surprised that Levinson and Link would
have agreed to produce that turkey.

that kid in mind over mayhem was almost as bad as the little girl in the most crucial game...the little bratty girl going after the ice cream truck........but little stevie from mayhem was absolutely annyoying......."oh..yes..i am a boy genius"..................stop it!! that is so creepy..and the whole "robbie the robot" thing was really ridiculous...the only good thing that i loved about that episode was the fact that Dog had so many scenes in it...he was wonderful......from the get-go where he was at the academy and the "teacher" was saying that Dog couldn't stay there because he "demoralized" the other students...and his time spent with Murph......and yes..the time he spent with steve spelberg......Dog was a standout in this episode......i want him...he is so sweet...but my benny the beagle would be jealous...i couldn't do that to him....

I think we do SEE Tanya Baker in Double Exposure. During the sales movie Kepple shows during the murder, we catch a glimpse of a bikini-clad model. Since Tanya was hired as a model for the film, I always assumed Tanya was that model in the sales film.

I really don't care for Mind Over Mayhem even though I don't hate it. The cigar clue is too contrived for the reason already stated: it doesn't make sense that Cahill would take the time to smoke a cigar since he has to get back to the institute. The mileage clue for the car had already been used in Etude in Black. There is no final clue, just a "frame" by Columbo whereby characters lie to force a confession. Not very clever. I mean, you could end ANY Columbo episode by trotting out "witnesses" that Columbo has lie to trick the suspect. And the episode is so depressing - woman loses husband, son is disgraced and then loses father. The murder ended up being for nothing anyway since Neal confesses the fraud. I know murder isn't supposed to be cheery, but jeez, what a downer.

John..I was intrigued with your idea about the model in the film being Tanya Baker...so I went to the dvd...and checked it out.....but sadly it was not the actress Arlene Martell...I was really hoping that your theory was right.

I think "Double Exposure" is the quintissential Columbo episode. That's not to say it's the best but it is just a classic example of the Columbo formula. A clever, cold blooded murderer with a brilliant murder and alibi set up. The plot is elegantly simple avoiding the unnecessary soap opera-esque personal insights into the killer's life and motivations that plague the new episodes. The cat/ mouse dialogue is a pleasure to behold and both actors play the niceties and politeness just long enough before they let on that they know what each other is up to. The acting is strong, the locations good and the premise of subliminal cuts, fascinating.
I like it.

Sounds as if you'd want this one to be used in the hypothetical "Columbo" weekend college course!

You got it Michael!!

Mark, you sound like someone who's trying to impress us with your la la language. As if Columbo eps would turn your blood cold. It's just Television. You make them sound like a horror movie.

Columbo just television?!?!??!?!? Sharon no no....Columbo is so much more.....
Mark is a dedicated fan, as we all are, and he is only voicing his opinion...........and quite eloquently, I might add.