Anyone Here Watch Columbo?

[TRON JA307020]

He was duped once by a fashion editor/photographer(Played by Ian Buchcanon). The fashion editor made Columbo think he had killed his partner and in reality he hadn't. It was all a publicity stunt. In the last 15 or 20 minutes of the episode the fashion editor did kill his partner because she wanted to sell the magazine. The fashion editor made it look like his partner had fled to Europe or some other place again but Columbo figured it out. Other than that one stunt that fooled Columbo he was never really outwitted for long. I think Columbo would give Lechter a run for his money.

Okay then, how about...

Columbo vs. Perry Mason?

Columbo solved them all, as you said. Perry - that I'm aware of - won every one of his cases (with the side note that Hamilton Burger must therefore be the most incompetent prosecutor in history ). So is this an irresistable force/immovable object scenario?

Actually Mason lost one case. I have never seen the episode but I did read about it.

 

[Christopher]

I liked all the original Mystery Movie shows. Appointment viewing in my house. McMillian & Wife might be the weakest of the three. Though I had a big crush on Susan St. James. John Shuck and Nancy Walker were great as the comic relief.

It's interesting that, out of all the various mystery shows they tried out in the two Mystery Movie wheels, the original three were the only ones with real staying power. (Although McCloud was actually imported to the Mystery Movie after debuting as part of a different wheel show the previous year.) They tried out fully eleven other series, but only Hec Ramsey and Banacek made it to a second season -- although it did have one breakout show in the final season, Quincy, M.E., which was quickly spun off into an hourlong weekly series and eventually abandoned the murder-mystery format in favor of social activism and issue-of-the-week stories. The ABC revival played out much the same way -- only Columbo lasted more than two seasons.

Actually Mason lost one case. I have never seen the episode but I did read about it.

Only technically. He lost the case at the beginning of the episode (probably the only time we saw an actual jury trial in that show, since Mason always seemed to expose the real killer during the preliminary hearing), but he continued the investigation and uncovered the real killer, getting his client's conviction overturned.

Perry Mason's another show that had a successful movie-series revival in the '80s and '90s, though not as part of a wheel. They did quite a few of those, which I remember as being relatively cheesy and built largely around celebrity guest stars (much like Murder, She Wrote).

 

[TRON JA307020]

I liked all the original Mystery Movie shows. Appointment viewing in my house. McMillian & Wife might be the weakest of the three. Though I had a big crush on Susan St. James. John Shuck and Nancy Walker were great as the comic relief.

It's interesting that, out of all the various mystery shows they tried out in the two Mystery Movie wheels, the original three were the only ones with real staying power. (Although McCloud was actually imported to the Mystery Movie after debuting as part of a different wheel show the previous year.) They tried out fully eleven other series, but only Hec Ramsey and Banacek made it to a second season -- although it did have one breakout show in the final season, Quincy, M.E., which was quickly spun off into an hourlong weekly series and eventually abandoned the murder-mystery format in favor of social activism and issue-of-the-week stories. The ABC revival played out much the same way -- only Columbo lasted more than two seasons.

Actually Mason lost one case. I have never seen the episode but I did read about it.

Only technically. He lost the case at the beginning of the episode (probably the only time we saw an actual jury trial in that show, since Mason always seemed to expose the real killer during the preliminary hearing), but he continued the investigation and uncovered the real killer, getting his client's conviction overturned.

Perry Mason's another show that had a successful movie-series revival in the '80s and '90s, though not as part of a wheel. They did quite a few of those, which I remember as being relatively cheesy and built largely around celebrity guest stars (much like Murder, She Wrote).

Aw man I never saw the episode now I know how it ended.

Yeah the Mason revival was ok. What really stunk was that after Raymond Burr passed away they made a few more episodes without Burr or the character of Perry and still called them Perry Mason movies.

 

[Christopher]

What really stunk was that after Raymond Burr passed away they made a few more episodes without Burr or the character of Perry and still called them Perry Mason movies.

Well, they renamed them from Perry Mason to A Perry Mason Mystery as a way of continuing the brand. According to Barbara Hale, it was actually Raymond Burr's wish that they carry on the series after his death, because he didn't want to see the cast and crew have to break up after working together for so long. Also, I imagine they probably already had the scripts commissioned for at least the first couple of them.

I liked the one with Paul Sorvino, who was quite charismatic in the lead role. Unfortunately, he was only in the first one, and Hal Holbrook did the other three.

 

[ihno]

Now you did it. I'm watching the Columbo pilot. ui, it's with William Windom. Now where do I know that name from?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ "The Doomsday Machine" from Trek, probably. Windom played Commodore Matt Decker.

 

[Silvercrest]

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VI9mUyG_f0[/yt]

I was very young when I first saw that intro. It creeped me out.

 

[ihno]

^ "The Doomsday Machine" from Trek, probably. Windom played Commodore Matt Decker.

Thanks, it was supposed to be a joke. Too much a fan here not to know the name.

I watch at the computer andI have the (bad) habit to check the actors of nostalgic movies/series at imdb.

There was something about a reboot in the news. What do you think about that? I hope it never comes to that, that can only fail.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Only if they cast Dirk Benedict as Columbo. He was successful in taking the role to the stage.

 

[Melakon]

^ "The Doomsday Machine" from Trek, probably. Windom played Commodore Matt Decker.

Thanks, it was supposed to be a joke. Too much a fan here not to know the name.

Or, maybe you saw Windom's series My World and Welcome to It.

 

[J.T.B.]

I liked all the original Mystery Movie shows. Appointment viewing in my house.

Also, IIRC, right after The Wonderful World of Disney, so probably a lot of kids sticking around for the more "adult" show.

McMillian & Wife might be the weakest of the three. Though I had a big crush on Susan St. James. John Shuck and Nancy Walker were great as the comic relief.

Yeah, Sally was so cute, but what a lot of trouble! Nancy Walker was pretty big there for a while, with MTM/Rhoda, McMillan and Wife and the Bounty commercials.

Dennis Weaver was a winner in just about anything. McCloud also had three TOS vets recurring: Diana Muldaur, Ken Lynch and Teri Garr.

I was very young when I first saw that intro. It creeped me out.

It never bothered me, but I can see that. The Ironsides intro was the one that scared me.

 

[ihno]

Or, maybe you saw Windom's series My World and Welcome to It.

Not YET. I'm watching Columbo right now. The nasty psychiatrist is just killing his wife. But I will check that series out, I like Windom. Thanks.

 

[Christopher]

There was something about a reboot in the news. What do you think about that? I hope it never comes to that, that can only fail.

I think I heard something -- probably just an idle suggestion -- about the possibility of Mark Ruffalo as Columbo. I think that could work very well.

 

[publiusr]

I can see that easily. Liev Schreiber also makes for a good Boris Spassky

 

[TRON JA307020]

^ "The Doomsday Machine" from Trek, probably. Windom played Commodore Matt Decker.

Thanks, it was supposed to be a joke. Too much a fan here not to know the name.

I watch at the computer andI have the (bad) habit to check the actors of nostalgic movies/series at imdb.

There was something about a reboot in the news. What do you think about that? I hope it never comes to that, that can only fail.

I agree. I don't want to see a reboot. They can make one after I die but not while I walk this earth. Imo Falk did such a stupendous job as Columbo that anyone else would just be a poor copy. So many of the episodes are fantastic that there is no need for a reboot.

 

[Christopher]

Oh, I don't know... I'm sure that a century or so ago, there were plenty of people who thought that William Gilette was the only actor who should ever play Sherlock Holmes because anyone else would be a poor copy. Great characters deserve to live on down through the ages. Many actors have played Holmes and Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot and the like. Columbo is probably the greatest detective character to originate on television; why shouldn't he have the same immortality as other great detectives from literature? Reinventing a great character or story isn't blasphemy, it's keeping it alive and relevant for new generations. Of course there's no guarantee that a reboot would be done well, but there's always the chance that it could be terrific, and nobody will ever know if nobody ever tries. (And of course Falk was not the first actor to play Columbo. He was originally played by Bert Freed in a short-story adaptation called "Enough Rope" on The Chevy Mystery Show, then by Thomas Mitchell in the stage version of Prescription: Murder.)

Then again, the question is whether current or future audiences would really relate to the Columbo premise. Even in its day, the show was as resistant to modern trends as Columbo himself was, fighting against network pressure to put in car chases and gunfights and love interests for the lead, clinging to a very talky and deliberate format. And it's hard to see how Columbo could work these days when every series has to have some ongoing serial arc. So maybe the time isn't right.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Oh, I don't know... I'm sure that a century or so ago, there were plenty of people who thought that William Gilette was the only actor who should ever play Sherlock Holmes because anyone else would be a poor copy. Great characters deserve to live on down through the ages. Many actors have played Holmes and Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot and the like. Columbo is probably the greatest detective character to originate on television; why shouldn't he have the same immortality as other great detectives from literature? Reinventing a great character or story isn't blasphemy, it's keeping it alive and relevant for new generations. Of course there's no guarantee that a reboot would be done well, but there's always the chance that it could be terrific, and nobody will ever know if nobody ever tries. (And of course Falk was not the first actor to play Columbo. He was originally played by Bert Freed in a short-story adaptation called "Enough Rope" on The Chevy Mystery Show, then by Thomas Mitchell in the stage version of Prescription: Murder.)

Then again, the question is whether current or future audiences would really relate to the Columbo premise. Even in its day, the show was as resistant to modern trends as Columbo himself was, fighting against network pressure to put in car chases and gunfights and love interests for the lead, clinging to a very talky and deliberate format. And it's hard to see how Columbo could work these days when every series has to have some ongoing serial arc. So maybe the time isn't right.

That's what I am thinking they will do if a reboot happens. Car chases, action, sex, gunfights etc. and forget about what makes Columbo unique. I know Columbo was played by other actors before but the early takes on the character just weren't as good. The current ones hold up very well today except of course the large amount of new technology(For the time of course.) that they showcased in the shows date the shows somewhat but other than that they are holding up great.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Oh, I don't know... I'm sure that a century or so ago, there were plenty of people who thought that William Gilette was the only actor who should ever play Sherlock Holmes because anyone else would be a poor copy. Great characters deserve to live on down through the ages. Many actors have played Holmes and Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot and the like. Columbo is probably the greatest detective character to originate on television; why shouldn't he have the same immortality as other great detectives from literature? Reinventing a great character or story isn't blasphemy, it's keeping it alive and relevant for new generations. Of course there's no guarantee that a reboot would be done well, but there's always the chance that it could be terrific, and nobody will ever know if nobody ever tries. (And of course Falk was not the first actor to play Columbo. He was originally played by Bert Freed in a short-story adaptation called "Enough Rope" on The Chevy Mystery Show, then by Thomas Mitchell in the stage version of Prescription: Murder.)

Then again, the question is whether current or future audiences would really relate to the Columbo premise. Even in its day, the show was as resistant to modern trends as Columbo himself was, fighting against network pressure to put in car chases and gunfights and love interests for the lead, clinging to a very talky and deliberate format. And it's hard to see how Columbo could work these days when every series has to have some ongoing serial arc. So maybe the time isn't right.

That's what I am thinking they will do if a reboot happens. Car chases, action, sex, gunfights etc. and forget about what makes Columbo unique. I know Columbo was played by other actors before but the early takes on the character just weren't as good. The current ones hold up very well today except of course the large amount of new technology(For the time of course.) that they showcased in the shows date the shows somewhat but other than that they are holding up great.

The quirky detective trope is rather well entrenched on TV. Most of those shows don't do gunfights and car chases.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

My favorite episode is the Leonard Nimoy one.

What makes 70s detective shows different from current ones is that starting with CSI there's been a focus on forensics. Colombo just mindf***ed the killers into revealing themselves, and that's far more compelling.

 

[Melakon]

Even in its day, the show was as resistant to modern trends as Columbo himself was, fighting against network pressure to put in car chases and gunfights and love interests for the lead, clinging to a very talky and deliberate format.

There was also pressure to get rid of his car for a newer one, but Falk had picked out the Peugeot himself from the prop cars already in the studio's storage lot.