To the fans of the 70s run of "Columbo": ever noticed a deep change as of Season 6?

I am with you on all this, save for "Etude in Black". Cassavettes is rather good in it, but the murder is so sloppy... That giveaway clue which jumps at you from the get-go...

 

Oh I never rate the plausibility of the murders highly when I score an episode. For me it is all about the Murderer and his/her interaction with Columbo -which is why I rate Etude in Black at the top of my list.

 

Any Columbo is better than no Columbo..

 

Murder by the Book, Swan Song, and Now You See Him are the episodes that still really impress me after all these years. Yes, some of the episodes aren't that great, but as ernibert says, "Any Columbo is better than no Columbo."

 

They aired Ransom For A Dead Man this Sunday, the TV pilot directed by Richard Irving.

I don't like it!

So much so that I am not sure that, had I been in charge, I would have given the series the green light with this particular one... (OTOH, the old feature film before that, Prescription: Murder, was excellent.)

I concede that the murderer guest star has beauty, class, a paced and restrained delivery: she is excellent for the role. But the episode is verbose, and the only real ("extramural") action taking place is the flying training session, which lasts an eternity... Then there is the improbably characterized step daughter, with those repeated gun shots and a couple of other shock effects going totally against the canons of the show (see Deesky's linked article in post #3)... To top it off, the soundtrack is humdrum and "undramatic"...

I don't understand its position in the above list, among the Tops...

 

I haven't watch that one for a few years -I think it is on the series 1 dvd set. I'll rewatch it when I return from travel and share my thoughts.

 

I finally made it to the "new" ones starting in 1989. The first 2 were forgettable. The third one involving a radio therapist is more back on track... it was ok I guess.
I would have expected the show to come back stronger.

 

It is in the season one disc. I think its better than the pilot of other shows in that most of the elements of the show are already there so it doesn't feel like it's brand new and that the actors are trying to find their way.

 

The episode Sex and the Married Detective isn't one of my favorites...that is the episode you eluded to. I don't remember what the first two are, but I think I thought they were fine. Which is why this is a good series. There are a lot of different story lines so I'm sure they don't appeal to everyone every time. I like a higher percentage of the newer episodes than the older ones.

 

I'm looking forward to the next ones.

 

I just was looking and one of the first two you watched wasnt very good either, but the other was..I forgot what it was now. But yes, keep going! There are some really good ones. Butterfly In Shades of Grey with Shatner is really good. A Trace of Murder is really good too, and is Death Hits the Jackpot with Rip Torn, one of my favorites! Another great one is Columbo Goes To College. Watch all those if you own them on dvd and then I think you will look forward to some others, though there are certainly some duds mixed in!

 

I had replied to a Columbo thread a while back (apparently back in 2015). I wanted to add an update, but can't seem to respond to it.

[MODERATOR UPDATE: Reopened; merged.]

Anyway, in the discussion about changes in Columbo and the later (1989 on) episodes, I commented that at that time, I had just started to watch those episodes. I had picked up the complete series DVD set and was working my way through them.

I found the first few new ones not so good. It was like they tried to be contemporary (still in the show formula) and it just felt flat.

I noticed as the newer ones progressed, they found their way so to speak. Not classic tv by any stretch, but enjoyable for fans like me.

I just watched "Strange Bedfellows" last night (with George Wendt of Cheers) and it was enjoyable enough. Wendt wasn't great in the role, though I liked how he was a little more aggressive in terms of character.

At this point, I have one more on this disc and then one more disc. I tend to watch them over time (clearly) depending what else in on my tv plate.

 

Columbo died when he went into the army

 

The rebooted series was some ten years after the original series ended. In that time, Falk had significantly aged and 'slowed down', at times appearing confused. That, coupled with trying to recapture lightning in a bottle with a less capable production team (IMO), just didn't make for a great comeback. There ware a few good eps in there for sure, but overall I think it was a pale imitation of the glory days.

 

I probably liked them a little more than you, but I generally agree. I just love the premise, and his character, so much that I can over look a lot. This is my favorite show and I probably average two episodes a week and I never grow tired of them. Early on I discovered that I liked about half the old episodes, and about the same for the newer reboot, so I likely enjoy the two time periods equally. Some of the newer ones are really well done, like the episode with Rip Torn and the other with William Shatner. Columbo Goes To College is another strong one. I try to revisit the one's I never liked but still, after all these years, still can't get into some of them. One I never used to like that I now regularily watch is the one the op mentioned, Strange Bedfellows.

I had been holding off on the import bluray box but there was a used one on ebay recently so I gulped and clicked the Buy It Now button, which to me mean't I would read about a US release about two minutes after paying. Anyway, it's as good as others have said and there are little snippets that were cut from the standard ed that I notice pop up in the blu ray. If you're a big fan, and I do play them all the time, than ask Santa for a copy! It's a lovely set and it's nice to have them all in one box.

 

Huh? That sure went over my head!

 

I got the complete box set a few years back, and went through each and every episode and movie over the course of a few weeks. I'd seen the original classics while growing up, and in reruns, but binge-watching them again was a great experience. Since I never remember what the tell-tale clue will be that gives the murderer away, I can watch them again and again every year or two, without knowing what will happen. Offhand, the only real cringe-worthy episode that comes to mind is one of the 'rebooted' ones, where they have Columbo masquerading as a gangster 'Godfather' type. But overall, Peter Falk was generally always great, on TV and in films.

 

One of the longer episodes where the extraneous scene really worked for me (because it was so funny) was when Columbo met the DMV driving tester (played excellently by Larry Storch). That scene is classic Columbo and very funny and the episode "Negative Reaction" is still a favorite of mine.

 

I'm not sure what caused the quality dip in seasons 6&7. I do believe something significant transpired that impacted the quality (the evidence is easily viewable). Certainly the quality of the guest stars started to decline. Still, these seasons contain a few excellent episodes, such as "Fade To Murder", "Murder Under Glass", "Try and Catch Me" and "The Bye Bye, Sky High IQ Murder".

 

Peter Falk renegotiated his contract after season 5. Many believed "Last Salute To The Commodore" would be the last episode produced. If you are a close credit watcher, you will see an almost entire new staff on Columbo for season 6. There was a different tone in the show after that.

 

I also think Falk himself took over more and more control over the show, kind of becoming a de facto "co-showrunner" in terms of script and cast approval. This is not always a good idea for a TV star, since they already have enough work to do just in learning their lines and carrying the show as the lead character.

 

They aired Death Lends A Hand last night (French dubbed version) (1973, starring Robert Culp and Ray Milland). What a fantastic episode! And is that Bernard Kowalski a great TV director or what?... (I see at IMDB that he has quite a resume indeed.) The camerawork and lighting are also just splendid. Plenty of studied, special angles plus those wonderful chiaroscuros galore... The various shots giving visual pre-hints of the lost contact lens business are too numerous to mention. For instance, the director and/or cinematographer often find opportunities to light and shoot Culp's eyeglasses at some angle just so as to have subtle, hint-giving reflections in them. Action and editing fast-paced... Not a second wasted... And to top it all off - like when everything has to go well - an exquisite Gil Mellé soundtrack! Check out their light, swinging take on the >>Columbo Gil Mellé theme<< when the lieutenant drives to the murder scene under a clear blue, smogless sky (not that common in the early 70s LA, relying on that series!)...

 

One of my favorite episodes. They got everything right in this one, and it really makes a difference when you compare it to more middling episodes.