Hi Michael. I'm pretty sure the killer was not present. We did see him biting the cheese, shortly before the murder. But the cheese gets Columbo's attention during the initial crime-scene investigation, before Columbo meets the lawyer.

I do underatnd your point, that it's a bit jarring to see Columbo helping himself to a dead guy's food at a crime scene! I just thought I'd offer some somewhat parallel past behaviors, to suggest that while it is a bit disturbing, it's not necessarily completely out of character.

No, the murderer is not a the scene when Columbo talks about taking the cheese. Columbo hasn't even found out about Oscar Finch yet. It is also possible Columbo was just joking about taking the cheese. Other than the free sample he had, we never see him take it.

I really liked how Patrick M. directed the scene when the piece of cheese is returned to the table (to be used as evidence by Columbo later). Finch puts the cheese and the gun down at the same time. I suspect most people are looking at the gun, not realizing what's happening with cheese. It's clever way of "hiding" the final clue without cheating the viewer. I only realized this when I rewatched the episode. I completely missed it the first time around.

This food discussion reminds me of a couple of major annoyances I have with A Trace if Murder. First, Columbo shows up handing out bananas, potentially compromising the crime scene. I don't think our good lou would do this. (At least when he cracked his hard-boiled egg on the murder weapon in A Stitch in Crime, he asked if it had been printed.) Then, he doesn't mention that the victim is several feet away from the panic button he was supposed to have pressed. The coroner says the victim died instantly. How then could he be so far from the security panel? This should have been the major clue that bothered Columbo.

Ok...this is getting down-right annoying!! First of all I haven't seen the "cheese episode", so I can't stick in my 2 cents!! You know how hard that is for me!!! And then...you guys talking about cheese all the time is making me so hungry!!! It is one of my favourite foods, and I am dieting!! And then Ted had to bring up reggiano!!! You guys are driving me crazy!

I'm sorry! I'm sorry!! I really love this episode, but Columbo and the cheese business has bothered me a while. Hey, I've got some old-fashioned hoop cheese and some muscadine wine--I'm ready for a snack myself

Wait a second...when we see Finch put the cheese down, I think it's YELLOW (like cheddar cheese) but reggiano cheese is WHITE (I just used some in a recipe). (At least the cheese looked yellow, correct me if I'm way wrong.) Therefore, Columbo wanted to sequester the reggiano cheese for his own enjoyment because (1) the killer wasn't present when he made the remark and (2) he was looking at a large chunk of white cheese on the desk, as opposed to the small piece Finch was munching on.

Darn good observations--I'm going to have to review that segment soon. I suppose discussions of Columbo plots that revolve around food have been exhausted already.

Thanks a lot!! Now I am going to have to raid the fridge....I have some great Boar's Head cheddar in there and I suppose I will have to knock back a few slices!!
Michael, I'm sure you know, the best episode about food is Murder Under Glass!! And also there is that scene in A Stitch in Crime when Columbo crashes Dr. Mayfield's party and eats that plate of food. And let's not forget the escargot in The Most Dangerous Match.
I'm so hungry!!!!