More goofs from Murder by the Book that show the perils of shooting a scene in a cluttered office:

Look at what's on the wall under the Newsweek cover in the opening shot. It's a wooden plaque. Later, when Ken returns to the office, it's been replaced by a certificate of some kind.

Also, in the opening shot we can see two skulls on a table, one a cheap reproduction of a human skull and the other what looks like an animal skull with metal plating on it. They appear to be about a foot apart. Later, when Ken hides his lighter between them, they're only a few inches apart.

When Ken sweeps some items from the table onto the floor, both skulls remain on the table top. However, when Ken retrieves his lighter, the human skull is no longer there.

And finally a goof having nothing to do with the office clutter, although it also takes place in the office... during the final confrontation, Columbo mentions that Jim used to write his ideas on the backs of "matches." He should have said the backs of "matchbooks."

Yeah, that's fun stuff... like catching a glimpse of Columbo's car on a Rockford Files episode, but I think the most interestingly overlooked gaffe of all in MBTB, was the fact that Franklin never asked for police protection.

No matter the imperfections, this one remains among my top 5. I still have a beautiful copy of the ep on VHS tape from the Columbia House library, and I play it more than the DVD.