Did anyone else think Columbo went to far by courting the lady in question and even kissing her?
I was well jealous!! ha ha

Did anyone notice that her mug was empty and Columbo said to her - 'you haven't touched your coffee. Shall I take it from you'

Hey - did anyone notice that my post was 'on-topic'!

I loved this episode. I loved how Faye Dunnaway fell in love with him. It started out as just a diversion but became something more for her. It pushed the envelope that they kissed, its still a little hard to take, and I was half way rooting for something between them but at the end when he said that he was a married man, it was an awesome testimony for the good man he is. I especially loved the fuss about his new tie. Boy I can't wait for the next DVD set.

All good and well, but she gets really ****** off at Columbo when he refers to her ex as a "scum bag." Actually, Barney relays that to Columbo first.

Columbo actually kisses another woman?? I am kinda torn between wanting to see this episode and wanting to avoid it, don't like to think of Columbo getting too friendly with a woman, especially after all this time of idolizing his wife.

I didn't like the fact that he let the daughter go. Could any average person watch their mother kill someone, then cover the body with an electric blanket, and sit in the room with a dead body for an hour, then fire a gun to attract attention, and flee?

Anyone capable of this is guilty and deserving of punishment. I shutter to think of what will happen to the next guy she dislikes. This wasn't a long term abusive relationship that went on for years, it was just a scumy guy taking advantage of two women. The normal course of action would have been to press charges for assault after being cut on the neck, or just telling the guy to get lost.

These two women plotted a cold blooded murder and carried it out with out any conscious, and were joyful after it was done.

I'm afraid Columbo fell for a suspect and his human side got the better of him. If Columbo was ever going to let a murderer go I think it would have been much more appropriate to have let Abigail Mitchell off the hook. I think we can all agree that Abigail would never hurt anyone else, and she had a much more sympathetic motive.

So we learn that Columbo is human, it's just a fact of life, we are all susceptible to our own emotions and weaknesses.

Very true.......I will have to watch this episode again and revisit my romantic take on this. I also wished Abigail had been given another chance.

I don't think I've ever seen this one, wish it was on dvd now.

Very old post, I know, but I was reading all comments regarding the "it's all in the game" episode, which I recently watched again and found interesting, and I agree it's a bit of a strange conduct by columbo to let the daughter off the hook.

However I saw a phrase which annoyed me: "I think we can all agree that Abigail would never hurt anyone else, and she had a much more sympathetic motive."

This much more sympathetic motive for abigail was revenge! Abigail is actually one of the murderers that make me happiest when they get caught.

Peter Falk wrote this episode and I enjoyed the dialog very much. This is the only episode he is credited with writing, I wish he had written more.

i also was uncomfortable with the flirting in this episode. i liked that he sort of took it all back and attributed it to strategy at the end.

I also hope this episode comes out on DVD asap.I am dying to see it. So far I have seen upto the first episode of season 9, i.e, "Murder, a self portarit".

R.M

The key to this episode, I think, is the tie that Lauren buys for him. All the time Lauren is trying to get on the good side of Columbo in order to throw him off the track, or maybe to persuade him to drop the case and let her off. But you know the Lieutenant, he can't be corrupted in that way. Many other muderers have tried similar tricks... flattery, lavishing expensive cigars on him etc etc, but they never succeed.

At the very end of this episode, Columbo gives the tie away and makes a statement about Mrs. Columbo that makes you realise he is totally professional, incorruptible and would never be unfaithful to his wife. This is the point when you get the impression that Columbo was just playing along with Lauren's amorous tricks and never intended to let her off the hook. Justice was seen to be done, even though Lisa escaped without charges... but in any case there was not really enough evidence to convict her.

I don't think Columbo fell for Lauren... I think he was just playing along all the time.