Columbo

[connundro]

Has anyone got any opinions on what was the best ever Columbo episode?,my favourites where the ones in which Jack Cassidy played the villian-the episode where he killed his writing partner stands out,and also the Patrick Magoohan episodes,both acting and directing-anyone any other favourites?

[jon1968]

I liked the one with Roddy McDowell where he'd trained the doberman guard dogs to attack and kill anyone who said 'Rosebud' and then killed his friend by 'phoning him and getting him to say it!
Good twist at the end when Columbo did his confrontational thing at the end having miraculously retrained the dogs in a matter of days!?!

[jon1968]

Was it Roddy Mc Dowell - not sure now!!?

[Lorcan]

Nicol Williamson was actually the playing the psychiatrist who trained the dogs. Brilliant Columbo noticing the 'phone off the hook and declaring the death to be murder, when others were saying a clear case of dogs gone mad. Class ending with Columbo trusting the retrainig entiely. This is 'How To Dial Murder' and probably my favourite overall.

Jack Cassidy was my favourite 'regular' killer (in three eps. I love the literature one when he kept on goading Columbo, saying things like 'Mrs Melville wouldn't do that.'

The Dick van Dyke one was superb with the phoney kidnapping. A hilarious moment when Columbo followed a witness trail into a homeless shelter and, due to his crumpled appearance, was mistaken for a tramp. I love it when Columbo had these 'awkward comedy' moments.

And, as a huge William Shatner fan, I like 'Fade In To Murder.' William was also in a New Columbo but I don't count them.

Jon - Roddy M was the killer in 'Short Fuse,' an episode I find memorable for an amusing finale on a cable-car.

[jon1968]

Ah the cable car and the exploding cigar ! That's the one!
My mistake! Sorry!

[spudqueen]

Yes, I like the Jack Cassidy one with the writing partner aswell but I think my favourite one is the one with the subliminal messages - which of course if how Columbo gets his man!

[DMA]

What I wanna know is did he ever have a search warrant when he turned up out of the blue out of the suspects kitchen at 10 O'clock at nite when the suspect was just starting to relax after dodgin questions all day. He was never invited in the house - so what was he doing there. The suspects should have had him done for tresspassing.

[connundro]

I think "Last Salute To The Commadore"was the wierdest(Patrick Magoohan directed it, which explains it ),can,t remember exactly but I think it was the only one where the initial identified suspect,played by Robert Vaughn,gets killed off half way through,and the end scene has Columbo rowing off into the sea in a rowboat,to meet his wife somewhere,I think.It has a Poirot type scene included in it as well,in a boathouse ,where the Leutenant quizzes the suspects on thier motives,one by one,until he arrives at the true murderer.Despite being unusual though,it wasn,t one of the best.