OK...now wait one darn pickin' minute MR. CENSOR THINGY!! All I said was that Ray Milland was a p*u*s*s*y*c*a*t!! Geesh!!!

I pretty much agree with what Eric said.

Unlike some, I find the first season episodes a notch higher in overall quality than those of subsequent seasons. I'm currently in the process of watching them again, and I've enjoyed every single one immensely. (Yes, even "Dead Weight" and "Lady in Waiting". Maybe I should also confess that I always liked "Short Fuse", and only paid attention to its shortcomings after reading "The Columbo Phile".)

Just my opinion - quality is sometimes very hard to define. However, what I've called the "freshness" of the first season episodes probably has a lot to do with the fact that the Columbo character isn't yet too much caught in mannerisms and broad comedy - "weighed by gimmicks" as Eric said. Also, the music scores in the first season by both Mellé and Goldenberg are, in my opinion, outstanding. If I had to choose, however, I too would prefer Mellé's jazzy scores.

As to "Death Lends a Hand", I think another nice scene is the second one with the golf pro. (Columbo waiting in the pro's car and suggesting they take a walk etc.) Here, talking to someone whom he doesn't consider a suspect and who is already defeated, Columbo isn't putting up his usual act. It's a nice contrast to the first scene at the golf club.

As has already been mentioned, "Death Lends a Hand" really benefits from strong performances from the leads: Culp is an incisively self-assured murderer; Milland oozes sympathy and compassion as the widowed man etc. etc.;

The plot twists the woman-cheats-on-husband theme very effectively, but the best aspect of this episode is how Columbo subtlety questions and contradicts Culp's characters's theories and suspicions.

The way Columbo "gets his man" is terrific; the hitherto confident yet volatile murderer is slowly undermined by Columbo's well-aimed, provocative assessments of the clues. The irony is that Columbo lies about the missing contact lense to unmask the killer; it is vintage stuff.

The ending reflects the quality of the overall episode; unlike two other otherwise excellent offerings from Season 1, namely "Murder by the Book" & "Lady in Waiting" which effectively cheat the viewer with unconvincing endings.