well, fred..the answer is obvious............it's gotta be 'no time to die'.........
great topic, by the way.
i know this is not the answer that you are looking for but when i saw the title of your thread this episode came into my mind right away...forgotten lady.
that had to be one of columbo's toughest assignments only for the reason that he adored her so much and he knew she was the murderer and also that he knew she was dying..
that had to be rough on him...and i think it took a toll on him emotionally...
(ok..i'll shut up now.. )
A Case of Immunity.
Although the killer made some serious blunders that led directly to him, the fact that he had diplomatic immunity was a big hurdle for Columbo. The Lt. had to deal with the State Department, the security people of a foreign country at the embassy, the higher ups at his own department, he had to make several visits to headquarters where he never seems to go and HE HAD TO WEAR A TUXEDO. And after all that the Lt. needed the help of the King to finally nail his killer.
That was a very tough one cass.... but his personal feelings need to be over lookede in this.....yes, it was great but his arrest of ned diamond was only a quick fix
as i said, fred...i know that wasn't the type of answer you were looking for, but it was the first thing to enter my mind after reading the title of your thread..'columbo's toughest assignment'.
i'll think of a better answer
Hi
It's got to be with Therodore Bikel,how the Lt entices the baddy to re-enact the crime for him.Also not forgetting showing the baddy he is wearing gloves in "Suitable for Framing".
I haven't got series 4 yet but hope to soon,The mind game with Bill Shatner as the TV detective must count as one of columbo's best goals, also not forgetting the mind game with Robert Conrad.I was quite surprised to see so much interest in a detective for so long.Am i an anorak or what ?
Isn't it also in "All In The Game" that the murderess asks Columbo how long it took him to solve his most difficult case. Columbo responds something like, "14 years."
This would make "interesting nod to the viewer" sense if it had been 14 years between "The Conspirators" and "Columbo Goes To The Guillotine". But it wasn't actually that long a period of time.
In terms of sheer leg-work..I think How to Dial a Murder was a pretty tough assignment.
Columbo had to go out to that ghost town, visit laurel and hardy when they were confined, visit the animal trainer where he had to stay up all night long..and all the while had to deal with Dr. Mason's mind games..figuratively and literally.
And to top it all off he had to possibly risk his own life...what if the animal trainer's reversal of the dogs hadn't worked correctly.
I find it odd that in "A Friend in Deed" that Columbo
doesn't resist more the idea that the Deputy Police Commissioner did it. I would think that he would find it incredible, but he glomms onto him just like the other suspects.