Waylander, that was....oh heck!!! here goes!!! The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case....Heavens!! How I hate that title!!
But you are right. It is wonderful to see Theodore Bikel (Oliver Brandt) skipping to the harder questions on the I.Q. test because Columbo was beyond any simple questions. Even though there are a lot of kiddies here that really don't enjoy that episode all that much, (and I realize that there are a lot that do enjoy it) that scene is a favourite here for me and for others....Columbo exposes his past experiences of when he first entered the police force and his feelings of inadequancies......it was a very touching scene....and it turns out.....(what we all knew already!!) that Columbo is the genius we always thought he was.

Since the discussion is endings, perhaps you experts out there can clarify something that's puzzled me for a while. I just don't get the ending to Any Port in a Storm. Granted, I've only seen the chopped up version on cable, but I just don't see how Carsini identifying the wine as spoiled incriminates him. What's going over my head here?

Ok C.G. (can I call you that?) Seeing that it is a little late in the day, I will try my best.
Any Old Port is probably the one episode which is riddled the most in plot failures...I suppose all those who love the episode...myself included...are blurred a bit by the beauty of it and the relationship which blossoms between Columbo and Carsini.
The bit about the spoiled wine........Columbo deduces that Carsini had to have shut off the ventilator/air conditioner/air duct to the wine cellar, so that he could suffocate Ric. Ergo...(I don't think I have ever used that word before! )...well, ergo, the wine was spoiled due to the lack of proper cooling. Now since this particular wine was taken from Carsini's own cellar Columbo knew that Carsini must have shut down the A.C., and that he had not anticipated the heat wave. The wine spoiled, Ric died, and well....Columbo didn't have to pay the bill at the restaurant!!!
Again I will say, there are so many factors to this episode that do not add up....but in the end, I still find it charming.

Sure you can call me C.G. Can I call you Franco? Thanks for the explanation. As I got further into the message board it became clear that I'm not the only one who had a problem with that ending. The rest of the episode was enjoyable overall.

I am a moron at times...and I haven't watched my tape of The Dirty Dozen in quite a while....although it is one of my top 10 movies...so I sort of missed the "Franco" reference at first.....but thanks...and yes, you can call me Franco anytime!!