10. Columbo Goes to School (1990)
For essentially the most half, the revival episodes of Columbo pale compared to the unique run. The 24 TV motion pictures aired intermittently between 1989 and 2003 tended to make the lieutenant really feel misplaced in his personal present, sticking him into hard-boiled cop drama, forcing him to do prolonged and unfunny bits (see: the tuba enjoying in “Intercourse and the Married Detective”), or lean into discordant raunchy plots (see, once more: “Intercourse and the Married Detective”).
Nonetheless, 1990’s “Columbo Goes to School” recovers among the previous magic by pitting the lieutenant towards a pair of snotty faculty jerks (Stephen Caffrey and Gary Hershberger) who suppose their wealthy dad and mom will defend them from punishment. Falk will get some back-up within the type of Robert Culp, who co-starred in among the finest episodes of the unique sequence, for a narrative that builds to one of the crucial satisfying confession moments.
9. Fade into Homicide (1976)
At its top, Columbo gave visitor stars an opportunity to point out off their abilities and play towards sort. Not so for William Shatner, who appeared in 1976’s “Fade into Homicide” as, get this, an conceited actor! All kidding apart, Shatner is magnetic as Ward Fowler, who performs a charismatic detective Lieutenant Lucerne on tv. When Fowler kills his controlling agent (Lola Albright) whereas disguised as a stick-up artist, he hopes to attract consideration away from himself by providing undesirable recommendation to Columbo.
Fowler is a traditional Columbo killer, so stuffed with himself and so devoid of regret that he doesn’t see the folly of judging an actual detective based on the requirements of the man he performs on TV. Shatner invitations the viewers to hate him, after which utterly wins them over along with his infinite charisma. Simply don’t pay an excessive amount of consideration to Shatner’s previous Star Trek crew mate Walter Koenig as police officer in a single scene, an unlucky reminder that guys like Fowler aren’t so enjoyable to be round in actual life.
8. Double Shock (1973)
Not like most thriller reveals, Columbo wasn’t a whodunit. Quite, it was a “howcatchem,” an inverted detective story that reveals the killer and the homicide within the first act, and spends the remainder of the episode exhibiting how Columbo figures it out and will get the unhealthy man to admit. The season 2 finale “Double Shock” initially appears to be following the standard path, starting with ill-tempered Dexter (Martin Landau) killing his wealthy and aged Uncle Clifford, earlier than the latter can marry a a lot youthful girl (one-time Catwoman Julie Newmar).
However with the reveal that Landau additionally performs Dexter’s outgoing similar twin brother Norman, viewers notice that they might not know what they suppose they know. The dual conceit forces Columbo watchers to guess greater than regular, however it additionally offers Landau loads of room to point out off his abilities, various between the sullen Dexter and the sunny Norman. Even higher, “Double Shock” options one of many extra pleasant interludes, when the lieutenant turns into an initially reluctant however then exuberant visitor on Norman’s cooking present.
