I is really a wild episode and not one of my favourites but if it was on I would watch it.
As LazyBoy points out, it has to be the most noisy Columbo of them all. The whole episode is filled with noise. That scene in the shipyard where Columbo is yelling up to the guy on the boat, asking about the black paint and everything, is so annoyingly noisy.
There is a lot of yelling throughout. And everyone acts like a fool...including Peter.
This could very well have been the last episode...and thankfully it wasn't. I love it at the end though, when Sgt Kramer says to Columbo that he thought he was going to quit--cigars--Columbo comes back with "Not Yet".....and as I said, thankfully he didn't quit--the show.

I reckon it is quite possible that "Last Salute" was a spoof of the Agatha Christie mysteries, moreso if an offhand comment made in "Dagger Of The Mind" from season 2 is considered. When Lilian Stanhope was asking Nicholas Frames if he knew whether or not an autopsy would reveal if Sir Roger Haversham's body had been moved, Frames said he wasn't sure. Lilian then said that he would have known if he had only taken that role in the Agatha Christie play, like she told him to, to which Frames replied, "You know perfectly well I wouldn't take part in that rubbish!".

Of course, "Dagger Of The Mind" was rather a spoof in itself (though an enjoyable one), so maybe that comment shoudn't be taken too seriously. Still, I always wondered if that was the view that the people behind Columbo took of Agatha Christie murder mysteries, and "Last Salute to the Commodore" does appear to be somewhat of a spoof on the typical whodunit mystery. Even if it wasn't an out-and-out spoof, there was certainly a lot of silliness and idiocy present in this episode - the frequent shouting, Vaughn saying "Yawwwwl" about 6 times in the space of 30 seconds, the part where Theodore "Mac" Albinski repeats what Columbo said about "The TIME!" to Robert Vaughn, Sergeant Kramer and Mac getting carried away when all the suspects were gathered togather during the climax, Columbo frequently cracking up, etc.

On top of that, it also contains (or at least, alludes to) what I consider to be one of the sleazier moments of the 70's Columbos. When Kittering is asked by Columbo where he was on the night that the Commodore disappeared, he says that he was at a motel. When Columbo asks if there are any witnesses to that effect Kittering says he was with a young lady and when Columbo asks for a name he utters, "Shall we say we weren't formally intorduced. Ships that pass in the night....not that many ships pass in my night anymore, I regret to say." Perhaps not on a level to Jack Cassidy saying "Oh yeah!" while watching a porn flick, but still very much on the wrong side of sleazy (unless you consider sleazy to be the right side... )

Not the greatest Columbo episode by any means,and often more pointlessly goofy/silly than fun goofy/silly (though it did have it's moments - such as Theodore Albinsky telling Columbo to call him Mac, then when Columbo asks him if he has any Scotch or Irish in him he smiley goofily and says "No sir", the idea of Columbo quitting smoking and then at the end deciding not to in consideration to the thought of that episode being the last one, and more I'm sure). Actually, it was probably the greatest (or worst) waste of a good cast in Columbo history. Still, it always amused me that Fred Draper turns out to be the murderer in this episode, then in the very following episode is relegated to the role of "actor who flubs his lines and gets fired".

Thinking sbout it, as a final episode this may actually have worked, in terms of the makers being able to say "Well, we'd ran out of ideas by this point. If we make more, they're all going to be like this.....or sillier!" Not that that is necessarily true, or that they would have claimed such a thing (or even why they would have, or why I'm even thinking this), but I guess it could have been said.

"Still, it always amused me that Fred Draper turns out to be the murderer in this episode, then in the very following episode is relegated to the role of "actor who flubs his lines and gets fired"."

I now have this vision of Swannie saying after Columbo leads him away, "Yes, I killed the Commodore. It was a treasure to pill him!"

very good eric....gery vood!!!

Excellent stuff Santini!
I really liked your reference to Dagger of the Mind and how there are those lines in there referring to Agatha Christie.
And also how in its way Dagger is also a spoof.
And also about the fact that this was a major waste of a terrific cast.

I liked the twist in this episode, but I agree the overall quality of the episode is not outstanding.

My favorite "drunk" moment is when Columbo is looking at the stencils and keeps saying something like "five letters and a hole" while looking through the hole, putting his fingers through the hole, etc. Ridiculous, but mildly amusing.

But it really doesn't make sense for there to have been two "S" stencils. But then Columbo may have not figured out it was supposed to be LISA S! Especially considering his sobriety in this episode!

I would say that it was fortunate that
this didn't turn out to be the final episode
because it was so bad. "The Conspirators"
was really great as a finale, an outstanding
episode, a great guest villain (Clive Reville)
and Peter Falk put in a fine performance,something
I can't say about several of the later episodes.

If I may say something heretical, for all that
I, along with the rest of the group, love
Columbo, I must say that Peter Falk didn't put
out as much, episode to episode, as another
of my favorites, James Garner, in "The Rockford
Files". I read that Falk was a real hard worker
and perfectionist, but we must also consider
that he never made more than 7 episodes in a
single season. Garner had to turn out a weekly
series for almost 7 seasons, so he had to work
much, much harder, and he NEVER put in a bad
performance, which I can't say about Peter Falk.
Sorry if anybody is offended, but that is my
opinion!

I don't find what you say that shocking or heretical.
You are right...there were a a handful of episodes each season...yes Peter was a hard worker, a perfectionist..but the schedule he had was no where near the regular schedule of a tv show. And as far as James Garner and the Rockford Files goes...terrific show...I have only recently become a fan....great show...and wasn't he plagued with back problems?
I also love Magnum...some great chemistry between the regulars...and terrific writing.

It sure was lucky for Columbo that the murderer said "t'isn't," instead of catching himself and saying "If you say so" or something.

But we do have the surprise of Robert Vaughn getting killed and the "ah-ha" factor of the stencil message being revealed. ("He was going to marry the kid!")

The first time I saw LSTTC, its eccentricities drove me nuts, but now I have fun with it.


Mark

This is the only one of the original 45 I actually hate. The reasons have been discussed by others above. In a nutshell, though, it's just too quirky/eccentric for its own good. The finale is weak, and the whole episode feels like some snobby art-house film.

All I have to say is "what were they thinking?????????????"