Interesting fact about Uneasy....

I just watched Grand Deceptions and it's as good as any top 5 70s episode. It has drama, strong tension between Columbo and the suspect etc. all of the elements are there. It didn't leave much of an impression the first time I saw it, but now that I'm used to the feel of the new episodes I found this one to be on par with the best of Columbo.

I'm not sure i'd rank 'Grand Deceptions' too highly. I find it a rather dour episode of Columbo, which very much lacks a sense of urgency, in terms of there being much really driving the episode forward. There's a sense of blandness surrounding Robert Foxworth, too, which is very much indicative of the feeling i get from the other actors given the task of taking on Columbo, in those other episodes from the first season of the 'new' Columbo.

I believe the second season to be better generally, who's episodes i feel are much brighter, and sharper, and have a greater sense of purpose. A lack of conviction remains a problem in part, too. However from the second season, up to, perhaps, 'Death Hits The Jackpot', the show, generally feels more vibrant and vital. Patrick Magoohan, George Hamilton, Dabney Coleman, and Rip Torn, actually play off Peter Falk fairly well, and although i perhaps wouldn't rival their performances with some of the best from the seventies series, they are still light years away from what we had become more accustomed to with some of the more recent choices of actors chosen to play opposite Falk. There are times, however, i felt a little sorry for Peter, because with shows like 'Murder In Malibu', and 'A Bird In The Hand', a sense of pantomime, within some of the actors, began to rob the show of its credibility. I was never convinced of Andrew Stevens portrayal in 'Murder In Malibu', or pretty much the rest of the cast of that show, either, Falk aside, and although the plot wasn't especially bad, the show as a whole was fairly unconvincing. Tyne Daly in 'A Bird In The Hand', played her role with more conviction, but i've always had a hard time convincing myself that her drunken demeanor, at the shows outset, could ever seriously, constitute what eventually transpired in her being the actual killer. I always felt that there was just too big a gap to bridge. 'It'a All In The Game', is another show i'm not particularly keen on, despite Peter Falk, contributing the basic plot, and the praise it had afforded to it at the time.

However, a show like 'Rest In Peace, Mrs Columbo' was very interesting, and certainly to a degree, effective, even if the storyline, which veered off the more typical Columbo plot, seemed, perhaps, a little too contrived.

Some of the shows are entertaining, even if the plots seem especially hard to swallow - 'Columbo And The Murder Of A Rockstar', and 'Columbo Goes To College' being perfect examples.

After 'Death Hits The Jackpot', in my opinion, the show began to lose what fire there still remained, and for me, few of the remaining shows truly stand up, after initial viewings.

I think your description would apply better to Guillotine than Grand Deceptions, but I agree with all of what you said.

I posted this because I took a break from watching Columbo and now I'm surprised to find the 90s episodes so much better than I remember. It's been a good time going through these again. I still have plenty to go, most of them I've only seen once. The ones I've watched several times are College, Agenda, Crown, Trace, Bird, and Nightlife. All of the rest will be almost like new to me.

I thought Deceptions was great after seeing it again, the first time I didn't really understand how the books in the box were so incriminating. This one is a winner for me.

'A Trace Of Murder' is a very good episode, too. It tends to come out of the blue, because for me, some of those more recent shows were quite mediocre by the standard of a number of the earlier 'new' Columbo's, not to mention the superior classic seventies series. I really did feel with 'No Time To Die', 'A Bird In The Hand', 'It's All In The Game', 'Strange Bedfellows'', and 'Undercover', the show was on a downward spiral, but 'A Trace Of Murder' following on from these is a nice surprise. The effectiveness of the acting from the cast was a huge step up, in my opinion. The show was arguably Shera Danese's best role in a Columbo show, too. It's up there with 'Agenda For Murder', 'Uneasy Lies The Crown', 'Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous To Your Health' and 'Columbo Goes To College' as one of the better 'new' Columbo's.

I think though, a huge handicap with some of those later Columbo's, is the condition of Peter Falk's voice. Beginning with the final season of the original seventies Columbo series, Peter Falk's voice begins to lose some of its clarity. With the first season of the 'new' Columbo's, this is extremely noticeable, and tends to be a distraction from the storylines. By the second and third seasons, his voice improves greatly, but by the last dozen or so episodes, i find it a real challenge at times being able to decipher what he's saying. I'm sure age has a lot to do with this, and although it's rarely mentioned in fan forums, etc. i think it is a real issue, which sometimes is even a bigger problem than, say the quality of the plots, the choice of music, and some of the excessive use of humor.

hi J Wilton Jones,

I love the 90s episodes and that's what got me interested in COlumbo in the first place. Agenda for Murder is an episode I fondly remember when I was in high school and it's my favorite episode.

The 90s episodes took some getting used to, so the first time I watched them there was some disappointment, then after not watching them for about a year and having lower expectations, I discovered there were some really good episodes there.