I know that many people name this one as their all-time favorite, so I hope I'm not offending anyone, but...

Maybe "dislike" is too strong a word, however I remember being somehow unimpressed the first time I saw it about ten years ago, and watching it again recently didn't really make me a believer. (Of course, other people's praise and ultra-high expectations might have something to do with it.)

Somehow I feel that "Any Old Port" is actually the biggest departure from the "regular Columbo" in the early seasons. I'm not talking about the formula but the atmosphere and the characterization of Columbo. I find the Columbo character being somehow "off" in this one (to a lesser degree than in, say, "The Last Salute to the Commodore", but nevertheless). It's difficult to put your finger on it, but I mean, e.g. Columbo developing a real (?) interest in fine wines (instead of just faking interest in order to trip the murderer), getting to really (?) like and respect the murderer, etc. Also, perhaps the first hints of the "self-importance" which was described in a recent thread as plaguing some later episodes (and the ABC episodes especially) can somehow be seen here?

I think many agree that the scpript, especially as far as clues go, is not nearly as tight as with some other episodes, so I assume it is exactly the atmosphere I'm complaining about that makes the episode so special to others. So I guess I'm the problem...

For reference (and in order to end on a positive note), some of my favorites are:

- All of the first season episodes (even those that have a weak script, because I find a certain "freshness" in them that I really can't define any better, and also there are some great musical scores)
- Etude in Black (for the interplay between Falk and Cassavetes, though I agree it's overlong - I haven't seen the Canadian version)
- A Stitch in Crime (good script, and Nimoy is surprisingly good as the murderer too)
- Double Exposure (stunning conclusion, though it isn't quite so effective in later viewings - much like "Suitable for Framing")
- Candidate for Crime (when I saw this again recently, I was surprised how taut and well-paced it was for a 2-hour episode, even though Dawidziak considers it "padded").

(Sorry about the long and rambling post.)

Pete-I am one who complains a lot about
Columbo becoming arrogant and aggressive
in some of the later episodes, but I don't
get that feeling form "Any Old Port". It
could be that what bothers you is that
Columbo really seems to get to like
Carsini, this is certainly apparent
in the final scene, and it is not appropriate
for a homicide detective to do this.
What really stands out is how silly the story
is, e.g. Carsini's friends don't hear all the
screaming and Ric falling to the floor even
though they are only a couple of rooms away;
the nonsensicle part about it be 109 degrees
outside and 150 degrees in the wine cellar
when it is known that wine cellars have
been designed for centuries to stay cool even in hot
weather; that Carsini would
throw away tens or hundreds of thousands of
dollars of rare wines because of a minor
flaw; that Arian would even be able to get
a tight wet suit on a body that has been
dead for something like 5 days and would already
be affected by rigormortis; etc, etc.
IN SPITE OF THIS, I still enjoy the episode
because Donald Pleasance is magnificent,
and he plays off Columbo really well. I also
love the shot at the beginning where we are looking
at the sparkling glasses of red wines, I can almost
taste that scene!

I think "Any Old Port in a Storm" is overrated, but still enjoyable. I never got the idea that Adrian was that sympathetic of a character, and I never understood why Columbo liked him so much. There are plot/clue weaknesses, but there are also some interesting aspects to the episode. Decent, but not one of my favorites.

Someone recently posted on another thread (sorry I forget who, and I also forget which thread...I'm getting old!! ) well...they posted that just because the wine cellar got so hot, why does that prove that Carsini killed him? There is no telltale evidence of Ric dying there...
And I agree YM, the cellar wouldn't have gotten that hot anyway.

Yes there are a lot of plot weaknesses...probably the most in any episode...but darnit! I just loved Donald Pleasence in this! And I loved him and Peter together.

That was me who was wondering how the temperature in the wine cellar proved that Casini killed his brother. I'm actually surprised someone read that post considering that it was an older thead! Anyways, if someone could explain this episode to me let me know. I have the first three seasons on DVD and this is the first one that doesn't make a lick of sense to me.

um.....that was me! I mistyped and added a 3 to my 45....you see, I told you I was getting old!

OH MY GOD!!!! I did it again!!! I left out the last s in my name!! HELP ME!

Hey IK!! I read EVERYTHING on here!! Sorry I forgot it was you.....
It is a very good point though. Maybe one of our Columbo geniuses here can tell us why that would "prove" that Carsini killed his bro. I had never thought of that until you pointed it out.....very good, my friend!
As far as explaining the episode to you...well, I am at a loss. In my opinion, it is a great one. Yes, there are so many flaws in the plot...too many...but I just love the whole episode...every scene is delightful to me...and as YM had said...I also love that shot with the glasses of red wine.....and YM? I can almost taste that scene too! (by the way, ym, you said that beautifully!)

You know what I think what went wrong with this episode? I think the movie ran too long so they trimmed a bit so it would fit in the two hour time slot. Unfortunately, they scenes they decided to clip were essential in fully explaining the ending. I can't think on any concrete examples at the moment, but I'm sure I've read about similar things happening from time to time with other shows. The edits probably occurred at the last minute prior to airing. Or maybe they did it to the final draft of the script and no one noticed until the movie was complete and by that time it was too late to shoot the scenes because it needed to be aired? Larry Cohen (better known for directing horror movies like IT'S ALIVE and Q THE WINGED SERPENT) is a much better writer than this and I'm convinced that something along these lines must have occurred.
It'd be great if deleted scenes to OLD PORT were discovered in a vault somewhere.

No, you are not alone. I don't like this episode much either and have posted on that a lot in the past, and it boils down to the simple fact that I don't find Pleasance a sympathetic character at all, and certainly not of the kind that Columbo should feel sorry for apprehending. MAYBE, if Adrian Carsini were an honest, good buisnessman who ran his winery efficiently and Ric was preparing to sell it just to spite him, but Adrian we learned was (1) a lousy businessman who ran the winery like a toy and (2) his whole conversation with Ric before killing him where he prattled on about how superior his breeding was by virtue of his English mother compared to Ric's mother is the most arrogant comment I've ever heard from a Columbo killer, even more arrogant than any line Jack Cassidy ever uttered. How does this add up to a guy one should feel sorry for?

If I want to pick a killer I felt sorry for, I'd go with Grace Wheeler in "Forgotten Lady". But not Adrian Carsini in a million years (no knock on Donald Pleasance, who is a fine actor, but with the singular exception of his wonderful "Twilight Zone" episode "The Changing Of The Guard", he is not the kind of actor who ordinarily exudes sympathy anyway. This is a guy who played 007 archvillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Heinrich Himmler among other roles, for instance).

Perhaps those who sympathize with Adrian do so because of the unrequited love of his secretary. Couldn't he have "used" her to get him off, but instead chose a more honorable way out: arrest for homicide?

Perhaps, but even there his confession was one done entirely without any remorse (by his own admission) for a crime done for ultimately the pettiest of reasons.

Eric...when you mentioned the Twilight Zone episode with Donald Pleasence, The Changing of the Guard, my heart lifted. What a wonderful episode. I have it on tape and I put it in my vcr, but my freakin vcr is being a pain... I can't play it, nor can I eject it, so I couldn't watch it on our other vcr....I am a bit angry right now.......I wanted to post what he exactly says at the end...about how he left his mark upon his students, and he will never be ashamed to die..because he has won that small victory for humanity..........it was so beautiful......

I don't think it's that difficult to sympathise with Adrian Carsini, when you compare him to his brother, who wanted everthing for nothing.

Carsini was not a shrewd businessman, but he was dedicated and professional and he had spent about half of his life building-up the reputaion of the family's vineyard.

The point about the lack of proof in relation to Carsini's guilt is very valid - it's merely circumstantial evidence: we know that Carsini would not have been so careless to let the wines oxidise in his cellar....

Personally, I liked the episode a lot, even though a mutual respect develops between Columbo and Carsini (some of the best episodes in the series invariably displayed sour relationships between detective and murderer!).

I think there's a goof with the weather too - I'm pretty sure that when Columbo finds out the weather on the day of the murder, it was showery and about 50 odd degrees (Fahrenheit?). How the hell do it shoot up to over 100 degrees on one of the days thereafter?

I watched a little of this last night. I had never noticed that the actor Regis Cordic who plays Lewis (one of Carsini's wine drinking buddies) also plays the Deputy Commisioner in Candidate for Crime.