It's one of the best IMO. The ending - the "gotcha" as we say - is maybe the best ever, because even up 'til the very last moment, Hayward believes he had created the perfect fake clue. He's so cocky about it too; practically yelling at Columbo to dig those bullets out of the wall and compare them with the ones from the Stone murder gun. And THEN triumphantly looking around at everyone in the room! (See there? They ARE trying to kill me!) A masterpiece!

I agree. It's one of my favorite episodes to watch

The back and forth between Hayward and Columbo is fun to watch.

I like both the political episodes Agenda for Murder being the other one

I agree, too, about the ending and the entire episode.
One scene I think is especially well done is when Hayward is filming his campaign ad, and Columbo is in the background, just out of hearing distance, talking to Hayward's wife. The tension in that scene is quite palpable, with Hayward's fear of what Columbo may be saying distracting him from the ad, even causing the filming crew to comment on his lack of focus.

The episode has my favorite appearance by Vito Scotti, as well ("There are different shades of brown..."), and also one of my favorite performances from a murder victim.
One aspect of the ending I particularly like is the closing line, "You're under arrest, sir." It's such a classic line for a cop, yet, if I'm remembering correctly, this is perhaps the only instance (in the 70s run, at least) where Columbo uses it, making it all the more effective (especially with the accompanying eerie music).

I enjoy this episode and have watched it often. Great acting. But it is probably the least realistic episode, and most of it is rather unbelievable.

The trouble with this episode begins immediately. Since Hayward has risen in his career, and since there is no indication that he is psychotic, we have to assume that he is rational. So the premise is ridiculous. What candidate for the Senate would kill a campaign manager two days before the election? Hayward easily could have found another solution to the problem.

But that is just the start.

Hayward and the manager fake the death threats. Considering the scrutiny the press would have given that no one in his or right mind would fake such threats.

The cop leaves his post at the door. A cop responsible for a life would not leave the door. The cops would not have one cop at the door and three downstairs anyway.

The campaign manager actually agrees to the scheme. He just was the boss and now he is listening to a man who wants to change clothes with him and help him elude cops.

Hayward sneaks up behind his wife just before the party. That is a good way to scare her to death, and it is amazing that she recovers so quickly.

Hayward actually believes that people would believe his explanation that he did not want anyone to know about the party so he could have privacy. No, politicians have parties all the time - they just live with the publicity and they actually use police presence to ensure privacy.

No one mentions the death any longer. Its business as usual at the campaign headquarters the next morning. Hayward and staff show no concern that the manager has been murdered.

Hayward argues with Columbo about the Lt's theories during their second and very long meeting. A smart politician would just nod - there was no need to argue because Columbo was just thinking out loud.


and on and on.

The worst part is the ending. Hayward actually lights a firecracker to make a sound resembling that of a pistol shot. I guess Hayward never played with firecrackers as a kid. If so he would know they leave a mess and also a firecracker explosion would barely be loud enough to be heard in the living room all the way from the ledge, passed two closed doors.

I like this episode because of the acting. It is the most cartoon like of the Columbo all the same.

"I enjoy this episode and have watched it often. Great acting. But it is probably the least realistic episode, and most of it is rather unbelievable."

We'll see.

"The trouble with this episode begins immediately. Since Hayward has risen in his career, and since there is no indication that he is psychotic, we have to assume that he is rational. So the premise is ridiculous. What candidate for the Senate would kill a campaign manager two days before the election? Hayward easily could have found another solution to the problem."

Did you not listen to Ray Fleming in Prescription: Murder on how rationality doesn't preclude murder in whatever circumstances are necessary?

"But that is just the start.

Hayward and the manager fake the death threats. Considering the scrutiny the press would have given that no one in his or right mind would fake such threats."

The suggestion of the episode is that Hayward had always planned these fake death threats as a cover for murdering his campaign manager. He intended to use the threats to gain sympathy and the 'mistaken' murder to both push him over the line and make sure that the person who was basically his main weakness was out of the way when he did. We join late so it initially looks like a spontaneous decision in response to the threats at the top of the episode, but it's not. The manager was likely persuaded on the first point. He believed that, given what he had on Haywood, he would in fact be in charge even though Haywood was the one who was elected.

"The cop leaves his post at the door. A cop responsible for a life would not leave the door. The cops would not have one cop at the door and three downstairs anyway."

That's an assumption based on a lot of information that unless you are a specialist you, probably, don't have. It may be a very stupid thing to do but sometimes stupid things happen in both reality and in stories. It was also the mid '70's and may be more likely then.

"The campaign manager actually agrees to the scheme. He just was the boss and now he is listening to a man who wants to change clothes with him and help him elude cops."

As said above if Haywood is elected it is essentially him who is elected, it would probably seem to him to be beneficial to him to humour Haywood at least to a point before he is elected. Remember they both want Haywood to be elected and need to avoid a scandal that might jeopardize that.

"Hayward sneaks up behind his wife just before the party. That is a good way to scare her to death, and it is amazing that she recovers so quickly."

Oh, come on! That depends on her character, their history, so many details that we just don't know.

"Hayward actually believes that people would believe his explanation that he did not want anyone to know about the party so he could have privacy. No, politicians have parties all the time - they just live with the publicity and they actually use police presence to ensure privacy."

Are you thinking of modern politicians or politicians in the 70's? Again this depends a lot on the character of poeple involved.

"No one mentions the death any longer. Its business as usual at the campaign headquarters the next morning. Hayward and staff show no concern that the manager has been murdered."

That's unlikely to be true, they're just getting on with their business, Haywood may be intimidating to them, the campaign manager may be unpopular, most of the scene involves Columbo who tends to be distracting. The other characters at campaign headquarters mostly aren't important. It doesn't matter if they aren't discussing it when we're with them, there's plenty of other opportunities.

"Hayward argues with Columbo about the Lt's theories during their second and very long meeting. A smart politician would just nod - there was no need to argue because Columbo was just thinking out loud."

But this is Columbo. He knows how to provoke reactions in people.


and on and on.

"The worst part is the ending. Hayward actually lights a firecracker to make a sound resembling that of a pistol shot. I guess Hayward never played with firecrackers as a kid. If so he would know they leave a mess and also a firecracker explosion would barely be loud enough to be heard in the living room all the way from the ledge, passed two closed doors."

The man can get a gun that he thinks can't be traced back to him, it's not a stretch to think that he could get a specially made firework that wight resemble a firecracker but would better suit his purposes.

"I like this episode because of the acting. It is the most cartoon like of the Columbo all the same."

I like the episode too, though sometimes it drags a bit. I hope these responses have addressed some of your concerns.

Yeah right, I'm sure "Rachel" would agree.