Columbo - Season 6 & 7 (Remastered) (1976)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Crime Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1976
Running Time	612
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (4)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Bernard L. Kowalski Robert Douglas Jonathan Demme James Frawley
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Peter Falk William Shatner Celeste Holm Theodore Bikel Ruth Gordon Louis Jourdan Patrick O'Neal Clive Revill Joel Fabiani Kim Cattrall Jamie Lee Curtis Shera Danese
Case	?
RPI	$39.95	Music	Bernardo Segall

    At this stage, it seems wasteful to spend too much time introducing this gem of a show. Columbo stars Peter Falk as the titular homicide detective, who is always seen wearing his iconic rumpled raincoat, smoking a cigar. Lt. Columbo is a highly intelligent policeman who likes to let suspects believe that he’s dumb, when he is in fact one step ahead of them at all times. Each episode of Columbo is essentially a feature-length movie, running between 70 and 95 minutes, and it’s a far different type of show to the likes of Law & Order or NCIS since we see the murder taking place and the fun is watching to find out how Columbo will get his man. It’s a nice change of pacing from the typical “whodunit” formula.

    Columbo started life as a stage play entitled Prescription: Murder, which was later adapted as a TV movie that served as the first pilot for this show. Three years afterwards, NBC began airing Columbo in full seasons, producing one season per year on average. Here we have the final episodes from this show’s NBC years; three episodes from Season 6, and five episodes from Season 7. The final episode of Season 7 aired in 1978, and it took eleven years for the show to be resurrected, with ABC subsequently producing infrequent specials from 1989 up until the final episode in 2003. By that stage, Falk had played the character of Lt. Columbo for a staggering thirty-five years.

    The eight episodes on this set are spread across four discs, with each disc containing two episodes. Here’s what we have:

Disc 1

Fade in to Murder (70:32)

    Ward Fowler (William Shatner) is an arrogant television star who plays a detective on a weekly program, but he’s being blackmailed by his producer and ex-lover Claire Daley (Lola Albright) over the fact that he deserted during the Korean War. Pushed to his limits, Fowler seeks to kill Claire. He stages a robbery to cover up the murder, and tricks a friend into providing an alibi. As per usual, though, not everything adds up in the mind of Lt. Columbo, who frequently consults with Fowler during the course of his investigation.

    Shatner is a pretty perfect pick for this role - after all, he plays an egotistical film star who does not care much about his craft and consistently demands for actors to be fired. (Goodness, this is almost a documentary.) Falk plays well with the often hammy Shatner, who would go on to feature in another episode of the show in 1993. “Fade in to Murder” is not the greatest season opener, but it is a highly enjoyable Columbo yarn, well-paced and taut at around seventy minutes. Fans will enjoy it, as it makes for easy viewing. And one scene is actually set at the Jaws segment of the Universal backlot tour, which is a nice touch.

Old Fashioned Murder (72:38)

    The Lytton Museum has long been overseen by siblings Ruth (Joyce Van Patten) and her older brother Edward (Tim O’Connor), but the business is beginning to struggle. Edward seeks to rid himself of the burden and sell the museum, a suggestion that Ruth thoroughly resents. Thus, Ruth tricks ex-con-turned-security guard Milton Shaeffer (Peter S. Feibleman) into staging a robbery when Edward is in the museum doing inventory. As Milton carries out the deed, Ruth kills both Edward and Milton, making it look as if the pair shot each other. However, it doesn’t take long for Lt. Columbo to see inconsistencies and raise questions...

    “Old Fashioned Murder” is old-fashioned Columbo, another enjoyable if unremarkable episode that lacks the spark of the better Columbo telemovies. It sticks by the usual formula, and with its brisk seventy-minute runtime, it’s breezy viewing and easy to digest. It also has one of the funniest sequences in the show’s history, involving the lieutenant at a hairdressers.

Disc 2

The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case (70:21)

    Bertie Hastings (Sorrell Booke) and his friend Oliver Brandt (Theodore Bikel) are members of the Sigma Society, a Mensa-type club for intelligent individuals. Hastings discovers that Brandt has been embezzling funds from an accounting firm where they are both partners, and threatens to expose his wrongdoings. To save his reputation, Brandt kills Hastings, and uses a complicated apparatus to make it look as if a burglar is to blame. Brandt is confident that he has done enough to deflect suspicion, but he did not expect somebody like Lt. Columbo to investigate the murder.

    Columbo has gone up against intelligent minds before, in the mediocre Season 3 episode “Mind Over Mayhem.” This is a far more successful endeavour, and though the title is long and rather peculiar, it’s arguably the best Columbo of Season 6. It goes without saying that Falk is perfect as per usual here, still a charismatic presence with a nice humorous edge to him, and the episode is light in tone to make it easy viewing. Although the ending is not quite a knockout, this is still an entertaining telemovie that Columbo fans are sure to enjoy. Fun fact: Jamie Lee Curtis (whose mother, Janet Leigh, appeared in the Season 5 episode “Forgotten Lady”) has a small role as a waitress here.

Try and Catch Me (70:17)

    Successful crime fiction author Abigail Mitchell (Ruth Gordon) is convinced that her nephew-in-law Edmund (Charles Frank) murdered his wife in a boating accident, but managed to get away with it. Even though little evidence exists to confirm this theory, Abigail decides to kill Edmund, locking him in an airtight walk-in safe where he suffocates to death. As per usual, Abigail believes she has concocted an iron-clad alibi, but Lt. Columbo is convinced that the author is involved in Edmund’s death.

    “Try and Catch Me” is not only the best episode of Season 7, it’s also the best telemovie of this set and one of the greatest Columbo cases in the show’s history. Gordon is an absolute treat as Abigail, well-matched against the consistently-reliable Falk. This is one of the better-written Columbo telemovies, with humorous dialogue and an engaging narrative, leading up to one of the best finales that the show has ever beget. Indeed, the best “gotcha” moments are usually amusing, but “Try and Catch Me” serves up a far more sophisticated ending, clever and full of pathos. This episode will play best for fans, but it will also be a worthwhile entry point into the show for any newcomers.

Disc 3

Murder Under Glass (70:34)

    Powerful restaurant critic Paul Gerard (Louis Jourdan) can decide the fate of any establishment, and, in his greediness, he has started to extort chefs by demanding money in exchange for good reviews. But when Italian chef Vittorio Rossi (Michael V. Gazzo) refuses to pay and threatens to expose the critic’s dirty ways, Gerard responds by killing Rossi using poisoned wine. Gerard believes that he has pulled off the perfect murder, but Lt. Columbo is not easily fooled.

    “Murder Under Glass” was directed by Jonathan Demme, who would go on to helm such films as The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia. Added to this, the episode was written by Robert Van Scoyk, who also contributed to similar mystery programs like Murder, She Wrote, and the result is a Columbo telemovie that dials back some of the more recognisable idiosyncrasies of the show in a highly successful fashion. Jourdan is an exceptional antagonist here, and the cat-and-mouse antics are often intense, leading to a terrific finale. Perhaps the biggest charm of this episode, though, is the sight of Columbo interacting with Italians, all of whom respect the lieutenant and cannot stop feeding him all the food that he wants. The humour which stems from this conceit is simply delightful. This is a great episode.

Make Me a Perfect Murder (93:42)

    Award-winning TV executive Kay Freestone (Trish Van Devere) is engaged in a secret affair with her boss, Mark McAndrews (Laurence Luckinbill). But when McAndrews is given a high-level position in New York City, he decides to end the relationship, and doesn’t even name Kay as his replacement. In response, Kay chooses to kill McAndrews, carrying out the deed during a screening of her latest made-for-TV movie entitled “The Professional.” Since Kay is in charge of changing the reels in the projection booth, she’s confident that she will avoid suspicion. But Lt. Columbo is assigned to investigate, and he soon begins to unravel Kay’s complicated plan.

    Thankfully, this is another hugely satisfying Columbo telemovie, maintaining the quality set by the two episodes preceding it. It sees the return of director James Frawley, who also helmed the first episode of Season 7, “Try and Catch Me.” The television production environment makes for a nice backdrop for this particular case, and even though the script can be nitpicked in a few areas, it’s consistently enjoyable, putting the show’s trademark formula to good use. And the murder itself is one of the most intense, tautly-edited set-pieces in the show’s history. Despite its flaws, Columbo fans will most likely find this episode worthwhile.

Disc 4

How to Dial a Murder (69:38)

    Behavioural psychologist Dr. Eric Mason (Nicol Williamson) loses his wife under suspicious circumstances, and eventually finds out that she was having an affair with his friend Dr. George Hunter (Joel Fabiani). Dr. Mason is an expert in the field of mind control, and concocts a clever way to kill Dr. Hunter using his two trained dogs. Tricked into saying the dogs’ trigger word over the phone, Dr. Hunter is mauled, and it looks like an unfortunate accident. However, avid dog lover Lt. Columbo doesn’t believe that the attack was unprovoked, and seeks to prove that the “accident” was, in fact, murder.

    Another excellent episode courtesy of director James Frawley, “How to Dial a Murder” is just the type of breezy, enjoyable Columbo telemovie that we come to expect from this show. Falk is predictably terrific, while Williamson is ideal as the killer here; the dynamic they share really sparkles. Although it lacks the thematic relevance of the show’s best episodes, it does its job extraordinarily well, bolstered by the ingenious murder plot and a nail-biting finale. Add to this the brisk pacing, the comedic touches, and the strong storytelling, and it’s one of the better telemovies of the season - not to mention this set. A very young Kim Cattrall also has a role as the resident of Dr. Mason’s guest house.

The Conspirators (93:13)

Video

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The Region 1 release contains no extras, so it's a draw in terms of supplements. However, since this release contains the remastered video presentations, it has the edge. Buy local.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall