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July 11, 2025: Our Columbo rewatch continues with…Murder Under Glass!

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This episode aired January 30, 1978.

“Murder Under Glass” was directed by Jonathan Demme who would go on to win an Oscar for directing The Silence of the Lambs.

Robert Van Scoyk’s script for “Murder Under Glass” won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television Episode.

Antony Alda, Mario the Italian waiter, was the half-brother of actor Alan Alda (MASH’S Hawkeye Pierce).

Shera Danese, aka Mrs. Falk, makes her second series appearance, playing Eve Plummer in this episode.

France Nuyen, who played Miss Choy, was once married to Columbo veteran Robert Culp.

My thoughts on this episode in chronological viewing order…

Fugu poisoning! Most fugu is farmed now so it’s a much less dangerous dish but the vestiges of toxin purportedly numben the tongue. I found the taste neutral. My wife, Akemi, thinks it’s delicious.

Why is the chef’s hat the only element of traditional kitchen garb this cook wears? Columbo will do the same thing later in the episode.

He has to cough up 25% for a good review. 25% of what?

Is this waiter related to someone? He seems pretty incompetent.

Fugu poisoning is a pretty horrible way to fo. Your body shuts down and goes into paralysis, including your lungs. But your mind remains fully aware throughout.

Open on Columbo dining at the crime scene! He’s like a mafia don, receiving the whispered words of his consigliere before waving Gerard to join him.

Of course our foodie Columbo is a big fan.

Did the tox screen already come back with results pointing to poison?

Mrs. Columbo is apparently NOT a good cook. Why am I not surprised?

“The two, trouble and murder, they seem to go together. At least that’s been my experience, sir.” Well said.

“I wish it was you dead in there,”says Albert the chef. But Gerard takes it surprisingly well.

Columbo’s Italian is pretty good here but I have to question his approach to this poor, frightened young man who just witnessed his uncle’s death and now must face Columbo’s angry accusations.

“Oh, there’s just one other thing.” The appointment book – meetings with other restauranteurs. Super important. Circles and exclamation marks!!!

“Sorry, Mr. Gerard, but I can’t let you get away with it.”
Off Gerard’s panicked: “What?”
“Your recipe. You didn’t think I’d remember, did you?”
Oh, he’s on to him already.

“Is that galatine of duck?” Columbo’s appreciation of food is great. One more thing we have in common.

Shouldn’t Columbo be washing his hands before helping to garnish that dish?

Stuffed mushrooms. For the man who has everything!

“I am beginning to regard you as an old acquaintance, lieutenant.”
“Well, thank you very much, sir. I’m beginning to know you pretty well too.”

Aha! It WAS the wine. But how?

The waiter was also a friend of the deceased and brings Columbo a platter of complimentary hors d’oeuvres. A less professional detective would find a way to drag out this investigation.

Uh oh. Gerard offering theories on how the poison could have ended up in the bottle. Big mistake.

“Is this ripe, sir? I don’t think it’s squishy enough.” Great.

Terrific scene where Columbo posits the theory Vittorio was trying to poison Gerard. But why would he try to do that? Columbo promises to work on finding an answer.

Louis Jordan makes for a delightfully devilish villain.

Gerard sends Eve off to Paris. Those were the days when women could actually travel there safely by themselves.

Does Columbo really have to open a fresh bottle of wine to demonstrate?

Does Columbo really have to fake a fall in front of young Mario who is still clearly suffering from PTSD?

Why would Vittorio have been slamming drawers? This line of investigation that leads to the discovery of the cheques is, in a word, “lame”.

When that music cue starts at the funeral, I initially thought it was Columbo’s cell phone going off.

Why the hell would any of them react so strongly to the cheque?

“As long as you’re on this case, you’ll never go hungry.”
Well, looks like this case is going to take longer than I thought!

Columbo grew up eating Chinese food. More egg rolls than cannelloni.

So why DID she rip up the cheque? This whole pay off angle is very confusing.

I would definitely not be eating fugu sashimi in L.A.

Eve opens the door to a faceful of cigar smoke.

“I never go to funerals. I prefer to remember my friends as I saw them last.”
“I believe Mr. Rossi was yelling at you when you saw him last.”
Lol

Columbo, never one to turn down food.

Would this Japanese man who speaks perfect English really assume Lt. Columbo is a member of the military?

After he’s asked if he’s got a suspect: “Well, I’ve got my eyes on one.” And swings a look to Gerard. Love it.

“Every year hundreds die trying to prepare fugu themselves.” I don’t believe that’s true…even at the time the episode was produced.

“Oh, one more thing. Gee, I almost forgot what I came here to ask you.”
“Fortunately you remembered.”
The back-and-forth between these two is great.

“As the Chinese say, there’s more than one fish in the sea.” Made me laugh.

Columbo exchanging looks with the geisha!

Columbo enjoying coffee cake… at the bank!

“She took out three thousand in cash.”
“In travelers cheques.”
“in travelers cheques!” Beat. “This is the best cake I’ve ever eaten!”

He’s got Eve dead-to-rights.

Mrs. Columbo had her night school final exam in accounting so she couldn’t make the dinner. Another missed opportunity.

This banquet montage is fantastic.

Why are they congratulating Mario for accepting the award on his dead uncle’s behalf?

Columbo promises to arrest the murder within 24 hours!

Why would Gerard plot to kill Columbo? It’s not as if all the evidence he’s gathered will die with him.

Columbo with the chef’s hat! Making dinner AND laying out how the murderer did it.

That wine sitting there, begging to be drunk.

The tox screen revealed fugu poisoning – something you can apparently buy in L.A.’s Little Tokyo. Which I don’t believe.

Love Columbo holding the wine glass. Will he or won’t he drink?

Aha! The murderer used a syringe to inject poison into the opener.

And he came back to switch the opener! I really like how Columbo figured this out. That’s some great sleuthing.

“Shall we drink to your successful solution of the case?”
“I couldnt’ have done it, sir, without your help.”
Columbo drinks the wine!

“Oh, I can’t prove any of this, sir.” However….
“You switched the openers again, but I switched the glasses. That’s the poison glass, sir. The glass I was supposed to drink.”
“I’ll just keep this for the boys down in the lab. That’s what they call proof.”
Brilliant.

“You must try this, sir. I’m really interested in your opinion.”
That scallopnini looks pretty dry.
“You’re a very able man, lieutenant. I respect that. But I really don’t care for you very much.”
“You know, sir I was thinking the same thing about you. I respect your talent. But I don’t like anything else about you.” And: “The dressing is perfect.”

I absolutely love the fact that this is one of those very rare occasions where Columbo explains why he was suspicious of the murderer so early in the case…and it makes perfect sense.

“Lieutenant, I wish you had been a chef.” Fitting final words.

Another wonderful episode. Louis Jordan makes for a charmingly devilish villain and another worthy adversary, delivering some great verbal sparring that sees Columbo give as good as he gets. The whole cheque angle with the restaurant association was unnecessarily confusing, but I forgave a lot because the script is otherwise pretty tight. The way in which Columbo puts together the pieces of the puzzle, from the initial tip-off to Gerard’s guilt (revealed late) to the cooking denouement, is clever and founded on proper detective work and solid conjecture instead of the wild leaps in logic that often typify his investigations. And, of course, the whole culinary theme backdrop was the cherry on the cake.

My revised episode rankings: 1. Forgotten Lady, 2. Try and Catch Me, 3. Now You See Him, 4. Fade in to Murder, 5. Negative Reaction, 6. Any Old Port in a Storm, 7. Murder Under Glass, 8. Double Exposure, 9. A Friend In Deed, 10. Double Shock, 12. A Stitch in Crime, 12. Death Lends a Hand, 13. Suitable for Framing, 14. Publish or Perish, 15. Dagger of the Mind, 16. Requiem for a Falling Star, 17. Prescription: Murder, 18. Murder by the Book/Ransom for a Dead Man (tie), 19. By Dawn’s Early Light, 20. Swan Song, 21. Troubled Waters, 22. Lady in Waiting, 23. An Exercise in Fatality, 24. Etude in Black, 25. Playback, 26. The Most Crucial Game, 27. Blueprint for Murder, 28. Lovely But Lethal, 29. The Bye Bye Sky-High IQ Murder Case, 30. A Deadly State of Mind, 31. The Most Dangerous Match, 32. The Greenhouse Jungle 33. Identity Crisis, 34. Dead Weight, 35. Short Fuse, 36. A Case of Immunity, 37. Candidate for Crime, 38. Mind Over Mayhem, 39. Old Fashioned Murder, 40. Last Salute to the Commodore.

And now it’s time to consider the evidence and decide whether Columbo has enough to put Paul Gerard away. Is GUILTY or ACQUITTAL? In this case, I don’t think there’s any doubt. As Columbo tells Gerard: “I’ll just keep this for the boys down in the lab. That’s what they call proof.” GUILTY!

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July 10, 2025: Best Of…Farscape and Firefly!

Farscape – Season 2, Episode 5 “The Way We Weren’t” and Firefly – Season 1, Episode 8 “Out of Gas”

I had a great discussion with my co-host Jeremy Adams…

https://x.com/BaronDestructo/status/1943475409506697592

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July 9, 2025: Amazing Covers!

A few that caught my eye this week…

Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes and Rivals #1 – cover art by Mark Brooks

Batman and Robin #23 – cover art by Rafael De Latorre

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – A League for Justice #1 – cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz

DC vs Vampires: World War V #11 – cover art by Otto Schmidt

So which were YOUR favorites?

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July 8, 2025: Best Of…Eureka and The Expanse!

A great check with my co-host, Carolyn Hinds.

Check out the recording here: https://x.com/BaronDestructo/status/1942750590171504883

 

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July 7, 2025: Our Columbo rewatch continues with…Try and Catch Me!

This episode aired November 21, 1977.

Richard Alan Simmons, a friend of Peter Falk who wrote season six’s “The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case”, took over as the show’s producer, bringing with him a fresh perspective and, in some ways, atypical approach.

In The Columbo Phile, author Mark Dawidziak breaks down the three things that typified the Simmons era:

Columbo always made a grand entrance. In contrast to the disheveled unremarkable detective searching for a pencil, Simmons’ version of Columbo always made a splashy debut. According to Simmons: “Right away the murderer should think “Oh oh, I’m in trouble. I’ll have to be careful, but I can handle this guy.” “Columbo’s entrance should be entertaining and interesting – a little theatrical.” Last episode, he rear-ends the cop car. In the episode, he walks out of the safe.

At some point, we hear the murderer’s story. In contrast to Levinson and Link’s erudite upper-crust villains, the murderers in this iteration of Columbo would be sympathetic to a certain degree. We would get to now why they did what they did and perhaps even understand why they did it. More Adrian Carsini than Dr. Barry Mayfield.

While learning about the murderer, Columbo will reveal a little about himself as well. That was the high point of the last episode and another terrific scene in this one where we learn Columbo has lost both parents.

Said Simmons: “I’m pretty good at what I do and there is a natural sync between Peter and me. I guess that’s why I ended up doing Columbo. I want to entertain myself when I make a tv show. If I like it, maybe other people will like it too.”

Ruth Gordon, at the age of 80, was the oldest actor to play a murderer on Columbo.

Mariette Hartley makes her second guest appearance on the show. Said Hartley: “Oh yes, the belly dancing outfit. That was great fun. And it was great getting to play opposite Ruth Gordon, although she knew she was the queen on the set. Of the two Columbus I did, that was the one I enjoyed ore. The role was a little better.”

My thoughts on this episode in chronological viewing order…

This beach looks like the beach where Charleston Heston discovers the Statue of Liberty at the end of Planet of the Apes.

Oh, Abigail blames Edmund for the death of her niece!

“It’s not a question of what you want. It’s what I want.” Oh, I can already tell she is going to be a handful.

So kind of her to draft his will for him. What a sweet old lady.

Why did it look like she was about to shut the vault door given she knew she was waiting for the wills to arrive for signing?

What does Edmund believe he’s sneaking back for? An amorous rendezvous?

Why does she hide the keys in the sand of the ashtray? Why didn’t she just take them with her?

Great scene – Shot of the jet with the voice-over of her learning about Edmund’s death…and then ordering another scotch.

Columbo makes his grand entrance by exiting the safe.

Aha! Columbo already doubts it was an accident.

“Oh I can’t really imagine you confused,”Columbo tells Abigail. “Not someone who can plan a murder like you.” Her brief look! Already on to her or a perfectly innocent comment?

Of course Mrs. Columbo is her biggest fan. The first to put her order in…at the library.

She’s going to help him figure it out and he’s like “Oh, I would appreciate that, ma’am. That would be a big help.”

When Columbo asks if he can pull up the chair: “Well, that’s what it was made for – four hundred years ago.” She is delightfully snarky. And Columbo is delightfully awkward sitting in that antique chair.

She lays out the possible accident scenario – and he’s not buying it.

The Mystery of the Missing Keys!

Columbo admiring the dead man’s shoes. Too bad they’re not his size.

She fishes the keys out from under the flower pot and then suddenly realizes: ““Uh oh. Fingerprints. Is it too late?” Clever girl.

Columbo gets a flower for his wife. A true romantic.

Abigail evidently speaking in front of The Ladies Hat Society.

This crowd is full of what my wife would call “easy laughers”.

I love the women applauding the notion of poisoning someone.

This is a terrific sequence – Abigail putting Columbo on the spot and Columbo availing himself nicely, even offering some kind words back at Abigail –
“Even with some of the murderers I meet, I even like them too. Sometimes I like them and even respect them.”
“Because there’s niceness in everyone.”

“My car is French,”says Columbo. “Very rare.”
“Yes, oh I can see why”replies Abigail drily.

Columbo gets to drive the Rolls!

I love her scooting after him as he investigates. Her character is quite endearing…for a cold-blooded murderer.

Edmund had no pictures of his wife. Does that mean he killed or? Or does that mean he is so grief-stricken he can’t bear to be reminded of her.

Veronica angling for a raise – and an invitation to the cruise. Or potentially an invitation to murder her? This is a great scene.

Columbo distracted by the belly dancers. Yet again!

Why does he find it strange that her assistant is joining her on the cruise?

This is a fun little beat of Columbo of completely encircled by belly dancers, unable to escape.

Columbo appears before she can get rid of the evidence – just like last episode. Not sure why she offers up those keys though.

This is a wonderful moment between Columbo and Abigail in which he shows compassion and understanding for the loss of her daughter.
And then…
“I’m beginning to be very fond of you, lieutenant. I think you’re a very kind man.”
“Don’t count on that, Miss Mitchel.. Don’t count on that.”

“Oh, lieutenant Columbo. Just one more question.” And the hunter becomes the hunted.

“And call me any time you find a body in your safe,”says her lawyer. The look they exchange suggests…he knows.

No keys in the crime scene photos. Oh, Abigail. Why didn’t you just ditch the keys the night of the murder?

“Ah, his message from the grave,”she says. I love how she toys with him as he struggles to put it together.

Y? “Dear Edmund in a safe, questioning the meaning of life.”

The writing in this scene is top-notch.
“Oh, every character that I write knows exactly why he was murdered. Let’s try again.”
An arrow pointing straight down. “Do you think he wanted to call attention to his new shoes?”
An arrow pointing straight to heaven. “Heaven’s my destination.”

The Night I was Murdered = I Was Murdered by Abigail Mitchell. Now THAT is bad luck. She should have chosen another title.

“Death bed testimony. That’s considered very strong evidence, ma’am. ” Is it?

She appeals to him, but he remains the true professional he is.

“If you would have investigated my niece’s death, all this need never have happened.” Possibly? I do like the fact we never receive a satisfactory answer as to whether or not Edmund was really responsible for the death of her niece.

Abigail Spencer is my favorite Columbo murderer to date. Snappy, sarcastic, yet seemingly harmless – she essentially uses Columbo’s old M.O. against him, her seemingly benign and humorous facade belying a formidable foe. Ruth Gordon is fantastic in this episode and her scenes with Falk also rank amongst my absolute favorites. This episode had it all – a true battle of wits, a seemingly unsolvable murder, some great Columbo moments – and a brief appearance by Dog! My only issue with the episode was those damn keys! Why didn’t Abigail just take them with her and dump them somewhere or dump them after encountering Columbo at the pier? But it feels like a minor quibble in an otherwise stellar episode.

My revised episode rankings: 1. Forgotten Lady, 2. Try and Catch ME, 3. Now You See Him, 4. Fade in to Murder, 5. Negative Reaction, 6. Any Old Port in a Storm, 7. Double Exposure, 8. A Friend In Deed, 9. Double Shock, 10. A Stitch in Crime, 11. Death Lends a Hand, 12. Suitable for Framing, 13. Publish or Perish, 14. Dagger of the Mind, 15. Requiem for a Falling Star, 16. Prescription: Murder, 17. Murder by the Book/Ransom for a Dead Man (tie), 18. By Dawn’s Early Light, 19. Swan Song, 20. Troubled Waters, 21. Lady in Waiting, 22. An Exercise in Fatality, 23. Etude in Black, 24. Playback, 25. The Most Crucial Game, 26. Blueprint for Murder, 27. Lovely But Lethal, 28. The Bye Bye Sky-High IQ Murder Case, 29. A Deadly State of Mind, 30. The Most Dangerous Match, 31. The Greenhouse Jungle 32. Identity Crisis, 33. Dead Weight, 34. Short Fuse, 35. A Case of Immunity, 36. Candidate for Crime, 37. Mind Over Mayhem, 38. Old Fashioned Murder, 39. Last Salute to the Commodore.

Finally, let’s consider the evidence against the delightful Abigail Spencer and decide whether it’s enough for a GUILTY verdict. Or is Abigail looking at an ACQUITTAL? Sadly, I think that in this case, the evidence will be enough to put her away. So…guilty. But, on the bright side, she will have time to work on many more novels, free of the distractions of the outside world.

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July 6, 2025: Sharky Sunday!

Akemi attempting to walk two dogs – front-runner Bubbie and laggard Sharky

This L.A. dog prefers cooler weather.

All smiles.

Goat heart…

Will anyone notice?

Asian pear…

Quaso!

Sharky’s double coffee outing…

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July 5, 2025: Best Of – Pros and Cons! Readying Time Loopalooza!

Two discussions in to this Best Of marathon and I am very, very pleased with my co-hosts to date.  Both Tom Luongo and Dr. Ben Hunt proved immensely entertaining and hugely informative.  The X Spaces, on the other hand, has proven frustratingly buggy.  As I posted…

The fact that the Spaces do not record by default is impractical, but the fact that they will still occasionally not record despite your toggling RECORD when creating your Space is downright ridiculous. The interface makes it too damn easy to accidentally mute speakers given the mute button’s proximity to other controls like speaker management. The notification system is spotty. Sometimes followers are notified about Spaces and sometimes they’re not. Listeners report being bounced from Spaces and then having trouble rejoining. The fact that we don’t have the option to host Spaces via desktop is inconvenient and, to be honest, kind of baffling. It would make things a hell of a lot easier all around, especially when dealing with interface issues. It’s been three years since X Spaces was rolled out and there’s been a notable lack of feature development or improvement regarding the aforementioned issues.

Will stick with it for now but am considering switching to another platform.  Would prefer not to support either youtube or facebook and am not interested in the video feature, so not sure where I’ll land for next month’s Time Loopalooza marathon.

Speaking of which, here is the semi-final list of every time loop episode ever produced.  Some are borderline.  What do you think?  Are there any that you feel don’t belong here?

The Twilight Zone #2.26 Shadow Play May 5, 1961 25 minutes

The Twilight Zone #406 Death Ship February 7, 1963 51 minutes

Star Trek: TNG #518 Cause and Effect March 21, 1992 46 minutes

Deep Space Nine #317 Visionary February 27, 1995 46 minutes

Lois and Clark #411 Twas the Night Before Christmas December 15, 1996 44 minutes

Star Trek: Voyager #315 Coda January 92, 1997 46 minutes

Xena: Warrior Princess #302 Been There, Done That October 6, 1997 45 minutes

Star Trek: Voyager #$08-9 Year of Hell Parts 1 and 2 November 5, 12 1997

Seven Days #104 Come Again October er 21, 1998 43 minutes

The X-Files #614 Monday February 28, 1999 45 minutes

Farscape #103 Back and Back and Back To The Future April 2, 1999 50 minutes

Charmed #122 Deja Vu All Over Again May 26, 1999 42 minutes

The Outer Limits #516 Deja Vu July 9 1999 45 minutes

Stargate: SG-1 #406 Window of Opportunity August 4, 2000 44 minutes

Charmed #314 The Good, the Bad, and the Cursed February 15, 2001 42 minutes

Sealab 2021 #106 Lost in Time September 30, 2001 11 minutes

Buffy the VS #605 Life Serial Oct 23, 2001 1 hour

The Dead Zone #215 Deja Voodoo July 20, 2003 43 minutes 1

Tru Calling #111 The Longest Day December 11, 2003

Angel #519 Time Bomb April 28, 2004 42 minutes

South Park #1012 Go God Go November 1, 2006 22 minutes

Lost #308 Flashes Before Your Eyes February 14, 2007 43 minutes

PainKillerJane #117 Playback August 17, 2007 47 minutes

Blood Ties #093 5:55 October 26, 2007 43 minutes

Supernatural #311 Mystery Spot February 14, 2008 55 minutes

Eureka #304 I Do Over August 19, 2008 50 minutes

The Suite Life on Deck #106 International Date Line October 24, 2008 23 minutes

Stargate: Universe #108 Time November 13, 2009 44 minutes

Being Erica #304 Wash, Rinse, Repeat October 12, 2010 45 minutes

Haven #206 Audrey Parker’s Day Off August 19, 2011 44 minutes

Community #304 Remedial Chaos Theory October 13, 2011 22 minutes

Futurama #1013 Meanwhile September 4, 2013 22 minutes

Lost Girl #408 Groundhog Fae December er 29, 2013 44 minutes

Space Dandy #110 There’s Always Tomorrow,, Baby March 9, 2014 23 minutes

Adventure Time #619 Is That You? November 25, 2014 10 minutes

Person of Interest #411 If, Then, Else January 6, 2015 43 minutes

Phineas and Fern #430 Last Day of Summer June 12, 2015 46 minutes

Dr. Who #911 Heaven Sent November 28, 2015 55 minutes

The Librarians #208 And the Point of Salvation December 13, 2015 42 minutes

The Vampire Diaries #710 Hell Is Other People January 29, 2016 41 minutes

12 Monkeys #208 Lullaby June 6, 2016 43 minutes

The Mindy Project ##508 Hot Mess Time Machine February 28, 2017 25 minutes

Dark Matter #304 All the Time in the World June 23, 2017 43 minutes

The Good Place #202 Dance Dance Resolution September 28, 2017 22 minutes

Star Trek Discovery #107 Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad October 9, 2017 47 minutes

Travelers #207 17 Minutes December 26, 2017 44 minutes

Legends of Tomorrow #311 Here I Go Again February 19, 2018 42 minutes

Cloak and Dagger #1.07 Lotus Eaters July 12, 2018 42 minutes

Arrow #806 Reset November 26, 2019 42 minutes

The Magicians #503 A Life in the Day January 29, 2020 43 minutes

The Magicians #506 Oops!… I Did It Again February 12, 2020 44 minutes

Fringe #218 While Tulip April 15, 2020 44 minutes

The Twilight Zone 2019 #209 Try, Try June 25, 2020 42 minutes

Agents of SHIELD #709 As I Have Always Been July 22, 2020 43 minutes

American Dad #1524 Yule. Tide. Repeat December 21, 2020 21 minutes

Doctor Who #??? Eve of the Daleks January 1, 2022 58 minutes

Tales of the Walking Dead #102 Blair/Gina August 14, 2022 47 minutes

Quantum Leap #111 Leap. Die. Repeat. January 30, 2023

Animaniacs #305 Groundmouse Day February 17, 2023 8 minutes

***

Tomorrow, the Best Of marathon continues at 3 pm Eastern with an X Spaces discussion about Blake’s 7, Dark Matter, and Dr. Who!

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July 4, 2025: The Columbo rewatch continues with The Bye Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case!

This episode aired May 22, 1977.

Theodore Bikel, who played Oliver Brandt, was a real life member of MENSA.

Bikel on his Columbo experience: “I remember we had twenty-two shooting days for a ninety minute episode. That was wonderful. The whole experience was a lot of fun. I read mysteries and like them, so it was a pleasure to do a Columbo. Peter is not what he plays. He’s much more cultured. He had a lot of artistic control and he used it to make other artists comfortable. He’d tell me he would go for as many takes until I was pleased with it. That’s very rare in television.”

An eighteen-year-old Jamie Lee Curtis has a small part as the waitress who confiscates Columbo’s donut.

Carol Jones, who played 14-year-old prodigy Caroline Treynor, was actually 22.

This episode saw Richard Alan Simmons come on as a producer on the show, something that no doubt helped convince Falk to eventually sign on for a seventh season. According to Falk: “Dick Simmons had a slightly different approach. Dick tried to create a lot more tension between Columbo and the murderers. So he made the entrances a little more formidable. Columbo was no longer looking for his pen. In the first shows, the adversaries were totally confident and Columbo represented some minor annoyance. I don’t think Dick quite believed that. Dick wanted more tension. It was another way of looking at it. On reflection, the entrances in Dick’s shows aren’t all that dissimilar to what Levinson and Link wrote for prescription: Murder. There is a certain amount of tension when he first meets the murderer.”

In one memorable scene, Columbo is caught without his signature raincoat in the middle of a downpour. According to series co-creator Dick Levinson: “We always wanted the last show to be a story in which he doesn’t wear his raincoat during the entire case. It’s being dry-cleaned. At the very end, with the case solved, he walks outside and it’s starting to rain. He puts his hands in the air and we have a freeze-frame. That’s how we wanted the series to end.”

My thoughts on this episode in chronological viewing order…

I find this tickling sequence bizarre.

“I think I just drank my contact lens.” Love it. Goes to show geniuses aren’t brilliant at everything.

I know of no middle-aged men who tickle their friends. I don’t know. Maybe I need to expand my social circle.

“I’ll have to kill you.” Refreshingly honest!

This is a pretty elaborately staged murder.

“Here I’ve been talking with the most intelligent people in the world and I didn’t even notice.” Burn.

Love the fact that everyone has conflicting accounts of the murder. “Well, that clears that up,”says Columbo.

Mrs. Columbo is apparently a whiz at puzzles!

What was the point of that red car narrowly missing Columbo’s car?

“We must put Bertie out of our minds.” He’s been dead less than 24 hours!

“You’ve been behaving very strangely lately.” Setting aside the fact his best friend was just found murdered.

This female receptionist happily explaining that women aren’t hired as secretaries because they are not given the opportunity to move up in the company! Hoo boy.

Odd that Brandt uses a handkerchief to handle the gun, but then uses his bare hand.

Great bit of Columbo surprising him as he’s about to dump the gun. The entire suspenseful sequence with the trash can is one of two highlights of this episode for me.

Boy, there’s a lot of discussion about that umbrella. Is Columbo triggered from his experience in “Dagger of the Mind”?

14-year-old genius Caroline suspects murder. I hope she helps Columbo solve the crime. Now THAT would be a spinoff series I would check out.

“You not only have a terrific mind. You’re also a remarkably pretty girl.”
“You know something, lieutenant. That’s the very first time anybody told me they liked me for my body instead of my mind.”
Er, wut?

This genius suspects Bertie committed suicide, but made it look like murder by using an elastic band. Seemingly preposterous, but I believe this was actually done in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.

The one time Columbo isn’t wearing his raincoat, he gets caught int he rain.

Columbo didn’t even touch his wine!

He lands on her and apologizes. Her: “I enjoyed it.”
She seems like fun!

Is she high? “I like the way you wear your hair.”

Oh, back in the days of carpeted restaurants. Gross.

Love the Jamie Lee Curtis waitress confiscating his donut.

Columbo is already in his office. A classic move.

“You are the mother of my predicament.” Great line.

Vivan wants nothing to do with Oliver’s admission of embezzlement. I mean, what can SHE do about it now after all?

“Mr. Brandt. I know exactly what you did and how you did it.” Off his shocked look, Columbo reveals he’s referring to the puzzle he gave him. Columbo is toying with him.

Mr. and Mrs. Columbo teaming to solve a puzzle I likely never would have figured out.

Love the dark and stormy night backdrop.

This scene in which the two men confide in each other is tremendous – and the second highlight of this episode. We gain insight into Columbo, about how he persevered amid much smarter co-workers by simply working harder.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Last night when I was at your house, I took the wrong umbrella.” Columbo has him on the ropes.

“He would have to be a genius.”
“I think so too, sir.”
Absolutely toying with him.

Love the dual crescendo of the scene and music. Columbo stokes and prods his ego until Brandt blunders.

“Come to bed. I need you.” Pretty suggestive.
“Alas, my dear. I shall not be needing you…anymore.”
Who could say no to Samantha Eggar?

Brandt realizes Columbo is a genius as well. Appearances can be deceiving!

“Lieutenant have you ever considered a different line of work?
“Me, sir? No, Never. I couldn’t do that.”
Is this a hint at his return for season 7?

Not a bad episode. I did like the set-up, seeing Columbo’s battle of wits against a bonafide genius, and there were some truly great moments like the aforementioned episode highlights (the trash scene and the scene in which Columbo and Brandt confide in one another), Columbo’s interaction with the rest of the brainiacs, and the donut confiscation. Not sure I bought the carefully orchestrated murder (A lot of things had to go right for it to work – and they did) and while I love the idea of Brandt’s ego leading to his downfall, it did feel too convenient and dramatically unsatisfying.

My revised episode rankings: 1. Forgotten Lady, 2. Now You See Him, 3. Fade in to Murder, 4. Negative Reaction, 5. Any Old Port in a Storm, 6. Double Exposure, 7. A Friend In Deed, 8. Double Shock, 9. A Stitch in Crime, 10. Death Lends a Hand, 11. Suitable for Framing, 12. Publish or Perish, 13. Dagger of the Mind, 14. Requiem for a Falling Star, 15. Prescription: Murder, 16. Murder by the Book/Ransom for a Dead Man (tie), 17. By Dawn’s Early Light, 18. Swan Song, 10. Troubled Waters, 20. Lady in Waiting, 21. An Exercise in Fatality, 22. Etude in Black, 23. Playback, 24. The Most Crucial Game, 25. Blueprint for Murder, 26. Lovely But Lethal, 27. The Bye Bye Sky-High IQ Murder Case, 29. A Deadly State of Mind, 28. The Most Dangerous Match, 30. The Greenhouse Jungle 31. Identity Crisis, 32. Dead Weight, 33. Short Fuse, 34. A Case of Immunity, 35. Candidate for Crime, 36. Mind Over Mayhem, 37. Old Fashioned Murder, 38. Last Salute to the Commodore.

Finally, let’s consider whether or Columbo has enough evidence for a conviction. Will Brandt be found GUILTY or is he looking at an ACQUITTAL? Given the fact that the umbrella evidence would be inadmissible, I think the prosecutor would have their work cut out for them given the complexity of the murder. Throwing out Brandt’s admission of guilt, I would say ACQUITTAL.

The post July 4, 2025: The Columbo rewatch continues with The Bye Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

July 3, 2025: Best Of…Battlestar Galactica (2004) and Black Mirror!

Well….shit.

I pressed “RECORD” when I set up the X Space but apparently I have to hit “RECORD” AGAIN before starting the X Space.  As a result, I didn’t record tonight’s X Space which was a brilliant discussion of the aforementioned shows with the amazing Dr. Ben Hunt.

Now I’m going to bed angry!

 

The post July 3, 2025: Best Of…Battlestar Galactica (2004) and Black Mirror! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

July 2, 2025: Amazing Covers!

A few that caught my eye this week…

Bring on the Bad Guys: Green Goblin #1 – cover art by Lee Bermejo

Bring on the Bad Guys: Green Goblin #1 – cover art by Derrick Chew

The Immortal Thor #25 – cover art by Alex Ross

X-Men #19 – cover art by Scott Koblish

Gotham City Sirens: Unfit for Orbit #1 – cover art by Noobovich

So which were YOUR favorites?

The post July 2, 2025: Amazing Covers! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.