I think it was Falk who said that being chased (investigated) by Columbo is like being nibbled to death by a duck. I think that's a perfect description, and a big part of why we all love it so much! Falk was a brilliant Columbo.
@@ogto Thanks, and it’s goes right to the part where he says it too, which is nice, because I’d otherwise never watch the show that had his interview, but it was nice to see him saying it.
Most shows all start off with him asking such unproductive questions you really wonder how the killer will be caught. Either Columbo is too clueless or the killer is too good or some combination of these
I like the mythological aspect of Columbo. His curiosity, mannerisms, and tangents make it seem like he pops into existence to catch a killer and is relishing his short-lived freedom.
The Greeks had a godess known as "Adrasteia" who later became the Roman "Nemesis" She was the godess of inevitable fate and inescapable punishment. she is the one who curses Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection. and is sometimes mother of Helen of Troy. we don't have a lot of her mythology left, but in Greek tragedies, she appears to avenge crimes and punish hubris.
I think another big reason Columbo has aged like fine wine is the fact that the deductions followed the CLASSIC Sherlock Holmes formula to the letter (while adding sprinkles of Hitchcock ,admittebly,with us knowing who the killer is and how they did it, all the while feeling their unease and pressure as Columbo slowly catches up to them and finds a way to make them give themselves away) The fact that many of Columbo's deductions could be made by basically anyone as long as they pay attention gives credence to the theme of Columbo being an average joe who just knows how to be devilishly observant Like in the episode "Murder Under Glass" where he reveals at the end that he suspected the head chef almost immediately because, despite him hearing that someone was poisoned at his restaurant, somene he had *dinner with* ,he came straight away to the scene when called instead of going to the hospital first like any reasonable person would have out of fear for their life. That is, unless they were involved somehow or knew something they shouldn't.
Columbo once busted a guy by cross-referencing their concrete alibi with the record player that stopped half way, giving a valid explanation that nobody would ever stop a record half way as it would risk damaging the record, and somebody of a high stature would never be this callous. Sherlock kind of manifests evidence out of thin air to frame anyone present in the story, Columbo's conclusions always make sense.
Fortunately for everyone, Peter Falk didn't need to kill anyone to play the character. ;-) As a kid growing up in the 70s, I liked Columbo, but I didn't really understand why I liked it. As an adult, I can see the various factors mentioned here, good characters, good actors, the class difference, the humor Falk/Columbo brings to it, and especially the cat-and-mouse game between Columbo and the murderer. Nonetheless, there is still a mystery there in the stories: what is the one clue or piece of evidence that's going to prove the murderer's guilt? Sure, Columbo jousts with the murderer over the clues and evidence, but none of it is conclusive until that final piece of evidence is turned up, the piece that justifies arresting the murderer and which is going to convict him or her in court. Columbo stories are still detective stories, the story of the detective finding the necessary evidence to prove his case.
I first caught Columbo in the late 70s when I was waiting in the lounge at the gym for my mother to finish working out. I was about eight or nine years old. There was a TV in the lounge showing a re-run of Columbo and I was utterly transfixed. I remember thinking it was a feature film being shown on TV. I couldn't articulate the appeal, I just knew it was entertaining. In the following years, I would occasionally catch an episode of Columbo on re-run and it always made an impression. It wasn't until decades later while rewatching the whole series on a streaming service that I realized that that first episode I saw in the gym lounge was "By Dawn's Early Light", the one that takes place in a military academy. To this day, that's one of my favorite episodes.
thanks! i found few proper videos about Columbo on youtube, there's one by PushingUpRoses and that's about it. i really felt the show deserved more love and attention. unfortunately NBC Universal seems VERY quick on blocking stuff with Columbo in it, so fingers crossed they don't kill this video.
An extra feature is despite him being an unstoppable force who always gets the killer he isn’t all seeing or all knowing or rather he might see but can’t prove all in a court of law. The grim reality that some crimes can’t be solved but the killer shoots themselves in the foot by trying to cover themselves up even further and giving themselves away, like in Nimoys episode Columbo admits he can’t get him for the murder of Sharon Martin but he can get him for the attempted murder of the doctor
A really good run down of Columbo and the factors that led to its success. Nice to see such an in-depth view of the show, highlighting all the little pieces that came together and really made it work. Great video analysis all round.
Agreed. It is only when analysed like this that one can appreciate all the 'moving parts' that not only need to go together to make the whole, but also need to work 'unseen' - like a craftsman making something difficult, look quite simple.
Columbo was my favourite TV show when I was a boy. One evening, just before it was due to start, I made up my mind to try and beat Columbo to the killer's identity. So I deliberately missed the first 20 minutes of the show, and stayed in my room. My mother knew how much I loved the show, so every 2 minutes she was at the foot of the stairs shouting up to me: "you're missing it. Are you coming down?". I didn't try to tell her I was putting myself in competition with the great detective, but I wished she'd stop shouting up at me. When I finally joined her, just as the adverts were finishing and the show was about to restart, a sudden realisation came over me. I felt monumentally stupid. Of course, Columbo will be with the killer throughout the rest of the show. Bugging him. I confessed to my mother what my plan had been. She laughed, and maybe thought she'd raised an idiot. Stumbling on the analysis of the show's format reminded me of that occasion, and I can still feel a fool.
And the physical gags. Falk did them so seamlessly one hardly noticed that’s what they were; trying to find the door, trying to open the door, never finding his own lighter for his cigar, all that added so much to the show as well.
I used to watch Columbo daily when A&E would air it early in the day. Before I had to head to work. Then found it all these years later. Started watching one while my wife was on the couch half paying attention. Halfway through she was like can we restart it. Since she wanted to see how Columbo was going to figure it out.
This is the best breakdown of Columbo. I have watched it three times now! I dated a Cuban woman who always said I was just like Columbo the way I sized people up. I'd never heard of this but when I decided to try and understand what she was talking about I just looked up the psychology of Columbo and this is great thank you.
I've been a huge Columbo fan for decades and this analysis describes the appeal and mechanics of the show perfectly. Like Columbo, you've put together a water-tight case from snippets of evidence and examples. Truly excellent, thanks!
Hard if not impossible to come by another fictional detective who can be more likeable as PF's Columbo...there's something about his unflashy excentricism and common man's self-contentment which subconsciously strikes a particular humane chord in the mind of the audience that neither poirot, nor holmes etc could ever attain... what makes Columbo memorable in the purest sense are not necessarily his numerous deductive feats etc but rather his unrestrained way in which he displays his emotions thus allowing the audience to naturally bond with him
You have defined the program perfectly. We are put in the killer's shoes right away with each episode. We can't help but empathize with their effort to evade being caught. Like hoping Lucy gets out of her predicament without Ricky finding out. Despite our core understanding that murder is wrong, and that TV cops are heroes, Colombo's progression toward solving the crime is seen by the viewer more as annoying than heroic.
I love the “angel of vengeance” fan theory. The jist is basically that Columbo is a supernatural being who appears only to catch those who would have gotten away with it because of their privilege or skill. Columbo appears out of nowhere, knows who did it from the beginning, figures out how to catch them, exposes them, and then disappears. The idea that the detective is some working class ghost catching evil no one else would have is so fun to me. It also makes the show more fun if you have that in mind
I forgot _Columbo_ made Spock AND Kirk into murderers. I also snickered out loud when you called out Louis Jordan having been a Bond villain and "looking evil" 😂
@@Selrisitai yeah i talked to my mother about this show and she was like "That show was on when i was little. I didn't even watch it. how do you know about it." However, she gave me pretty much the same reaction when i started watching Hogan's Heroes so she should have expected i would discover this absolute gem an a show!
If you buy the premise that in each episode of "Columbo" the killer is the protagonist, not only does that make Columbo a villain but it also means that in every single show the villain wins.
Negative Reaction!!! is awesome! The Nun in the Soup kitchen, mistakes him for a tramp, then thinks he's undercover dressed as one. And the ending was sublime! That smile as he leaves the office on "Mistaken Identity", when the guy threatens him. Like he's just finding it funny, he was threatened.
Columbo is my favorite show of all time. I just adore Peter Falk. Everything about the 70s cinema is utterly perfect. He's like the anti-Sherlock Holmes: working class, unpretentious, obsessed---but not sociopathic---and is a virtual unknown, despite him probably being the most successful homicide detective in the history of the LAPD. I also enjoy that his co-workers aren't stupid, in order to make him seem even smarter than he is. Everyone is just about getting the work done. Brilliant. This show aired 14 years before I was born and the first seven seasons keep me entertained over and over.
My next dnd character character or npc I make will be based on Colombo for sure. I just love this type of clever under the surface character, playing dumb until he can pounce.
Culumbo feels like an inversion of a killer movie. For criminals, it is like Culumbo the slasher slow walking after them. He is the inevitable threat they are trying to escape from. It is just like how an action movie hero could just as easily be a horror movie monster... when you are the one he is gunning for.
There’s something that often gets overlooked about Columbo: it makes a comment on class and wealth. Columbo is a blue collar guy, and the murders always take place in high society. He plays the fool for them, but more than that, he uses their preconceived notions of him to toy with them. Whenever he interacts with another “normal” person, he’s much more direct and straightforward with them.
I don't remember who I heard it from, but someone said something he found funny about the show is "these dopes would get away with it half the time if they got a lawyer and stopped talking." The more you learn about real murders this seems to be the case too. These dopes can't or won't stop talking.
I loved this show. Grew up with it, although only on second-plus runs. Here's the opening quatrain of a sonnet I wrote in tribute to Peter Falk on the occasion of his demise: Just one more thing: there's more than met that eye As each paraded by, those waxen foes, Those rows of ducks, to fall and there to lie As lives determined, since to lie they chose.
Twitter memes are how I learned about Columbo and months later a clip of the show was in my TH-cam recommendations, and I instantly fell in love with it.
Jack Cassidy and Robert Culp always played the most despicable villains in my opinion. Their smugness and self assuredness was so irritating and so satisfying when Columbo caught them in the end. No other killers underestimated Columbo's genius like the murderer's they portrayed. As one of my all-time favorite old shows, this was an excellent synopsis. Well done, sir.
Eventhough, Lt. Columbo is super fantastic, I remember seeing his first name once when he showed his ID. It said Lt. Frank Columbo and yet no one ever called him by his first name. Not even at the office. Great show!!
In every episode of Columbo, I like to imagine he disposed of his wife some years ago but maintains the illusion she lives with constant references to her.
Couple of things. First, this is probably one of the best Colombo essays on TH-cam. Second, this is my first time watching a video on your channel. Your editing skills are top-notch, and that accent could melt an iceberg!
Also, having watched most of the episodes, I can say that some the resolutions didn't actually work. Like the episode with Robert Conrad. Columbo didn't actually prove that the fitness mogul actually killed his employee. The final scene only showed that it was possible to have faked the phone call that served as the alibi, not that it had actually happened. The fitness mogul himself didn't admit guilt, and I suspect could have had the case dismissed in court. Another case that stood out to me was where video evidence was used to create the alibi for the killer, but Columbo was able to use some magical magnification of the video image to spot the envelope of a party invitation in the corner of the room to disprove the alibi, with no consideration to image resolution.
I dont know how I immediately deduced this would be an eastern European accented channel when I saw the Columbo thumbnail but I guess that makes me Columbo now.
What is conspicuously absent is the 4th type: the "I'm not answering any of your questions, I want my lawyer" which thankfully never turned up as it kinda stops the show in its tracks. The law in the US makes anything inadmissible if they said they don't want to be questioned any more. You can then only subpoena them which would generally require an assurance that they are not a suspect as the law cannot compel people to be a witness against themselves.
Quite a few of the original clinchers/ideas are used in the newer ones. Exercise in fatality/murder in Malibu , Friend in deed/RIP Mrs Columbo , Blueprint/Cries wolf , Case of immunity/Strange bedfellows , Conspirators/Hazardous to your health , Suitable for framing/Hits the jackpot. Even the one off Last Salute format gets re used in A bird in the hand. I read Crime and Punishment & all I can remember is the bit with the horse being hit & it was long.
This is a brilliant videssay with numerous excellent observations! The singular criticism I can only say is that PERHAPS somewhat more emphasis could be placed on the fact that COLUMBO *IS* a "color film noir" than being tagged on at the end. Your other observations cleanly & clearly establish the other elements of entertainment with most excellent clip choice, sequencing, and other editing. (The writing is ALWAYS overlooked! Good job fixing that. The Spielberg quote was the coup de grace!) Will be sharing on my XTwitter account today. (5,000+ VETTED followers).
Thankyou for such a great video. Very enjoyable. I have to admit liking the old Columbo episodes much more than the newer ones, but I always had a sneaking wish that they'd have one or two episodes where he failed to catch the killer. I can only remember one, where the killer was almost going to get away with it because of diplomatic immunity until the very last second. :o)
I really like this show, Peter Falk was great in the role. It's pretty enjoyable watching him needle the perp even when he probably has enough evidence to make the arrest. But... Each and every episode is a perfect example of the violation of a tenet that would have kept a great many of those celebrity guests out of prison...keep your mouth shut and go about your business. Don't try to "...help any way that I can.". Don't suggest possible theories. Above all, do NOT say things like, "Suppose I DID do it...". Just shut up. This isn't about how to get away with a crime. This is how to avoid incriminating yourself even when you are not guilty.
16:30 "... and that's when they make their best "Ah shit, Columbo's caught me bullshitting face"....": brilliantly put. Thank you for this upload: an oasis of interesting fun on a planet that's busy dumbing down!
i dont remember much about this series, but i bet having a top tier actor as a support one time character each week must have been what it launched this series to stardom... they do the same whit the series CSI and such they pair unknown actors whit old time actors and so they elevate the quailty of it all
The second run is captivating because it opposes the original run. The first seven seasons are realistic, as if they could happen in real life. Even the locations don’t feel like they ever could be on the stage. The second run is suspended in a dream-like world. Everything feels like it happens on a stage, there’s many points at which the visuals could not ever occur in real life (the painter episode for instance). I think if you look at the second series as not a continuation, but a different perspective on the character, it becomes more enjoyable than it may be on first glance.
The show makes you question if Mrs. Columbo even exists or if she is just someone Columbo invented for his games with the killer. Soemtimes I am not sure if Columbo even works for the police.
The one mistake I noted was casting Janet Leigh in the adversary role. I truly think that at some point her character truly forgot that she committed murder.
I think some would rank him higher than Holmes, at least in certain respects. Probably not in fame just in the character itself, but they’re very different really. Holmes established an archetype, and Columbo was kind of part of an American archetype of the hard boiled detective, the Bogart type.
I think it was Falk who said that being chased (investigated) by Columbo is like being nibbled to death by a duck. I think that's a perfect description, and a big part of why we all love it so much! Falk was a brilliant Columbo.
he says it in this interview: th-cam.com/video/mDb4qQxbbe4/w-d-xo.html
was thinking of adding it in the video :D
@@ogto Thanks, and it’s goes right to the part where he says it too, which is nice, because I’d otherwise never watch the show that had his interview, but it was nice to see him saying it.
@@misskim2058 The rest of the interview was wonderful with lots of laughs.
@@misskim2058 I'm with you. I couldn't stomach the show even to see that interview. "The View" is and always has been a blight upon humanity, IMO.
Most shows all start off with him asking such unproductive questions you really wonder how the killer will be caught. Either Columbo is too clueless or the killer is too good or some combination of these
I like the mythological aspect of Columbo. His curiosity, mannerisms, and tangents make it seem like he pops into existence to catch a killer and is relishing his short-lived freedom.
He comes from the Columbo Dimension
Which makes it more interesting, as the internet has absorbed him into the world of the 21st Century.
You make him sound like an SCP
@@TheFuri0uswc Funny you say that. Look up SCP-3190
The Greeks had a godess known as "Adrasteia" who later became the Roman "Nemesis"
She was the godess of inevitable fate and inescapable punishment. she is the one who curses Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection. and is sometimes mother of Helen of Troy. we don't have a lot of her mythology left, but in Greek tragedies, she appears to avenge crimes and punish hubris.
I think another big reason Columbo has aged like fine wine is the fact that the deductions followed the CLASSIC Sherlock Holmes formula to the letter (while adding sprinkles of Hitchcock ,admittebly,with us knowing who the killer is and how they did it, all the while feeling their unease and pressure as Columbo slowly catches up to them and finds a way to make them give themselves away)
The fact that many of Columbo's deductions could be made by basically anyone as long as they pay attention gives credence to the theme of Columbo being an average joe who just knows how to be devilishly observant
Like in the episode "Murder Under Glass" where he reveals at the end that he suspected the head chef almost immediately because, despite him hearing that someone was poisoned at his restaurant, somene he had *dinner with* ,he came straight away to the scene when called instead of going to the hospital first like any reasonable person would have out of fear for their life.
That is, unless they were involved somehow or knew something they shouldn't.
Such an incredible episode
I loved that episode.
Columbo once busted a guy by cross-referencing their concrete alibi with the record player that stopped half way, giving a valid explanation that nobody would ever stop a record half way as it would risk damaging the record, and somebody of a high stature would never be this callous.
Sherlock kind of manifests evidence out of thin air to frame anyone present in the story, Columbo's conclusions always make sense.
Fortunately for everyone, Peter Falk didn't need to kill anyone to play the character. ;-)
As a kid growing up in the 70s, I liked Columbo, but I didn't really understand why I liked it. As an adult, I can see the various factors mentioned here, good characters, good actors, the class difference, the humor Falk/Columbo brings to it, and especially the cat-and-mouse game between Columbo and the murderer.
Nonetheless, there is still a mystery there in the stories: what is the one clue or piece of evidence that's going to prove the murderer's guilt? Sure, Columbo jousts with the murderer over the clues and evidence, but none of it is conclusive until that final piece of evidence is turned up, the piece that justifies arresting the murderer and which is going to convict him or her in court. Columbo stories are still detective stories, the story of the detective finding the necessary evidence to prove his case.
I first caught Columbo in the late 70s when I was waiting in the lounge at the gym for my mother to finish working out. I was about eight or nine years old. There was a TV in the lounge showing a re-run of Columbo and I was utterly transfixed. I remember thinking it was a feature film being shown on TV. I couldn't articulate the appeal, I just knew it was entertaining. In the following years, I would occasionally catch an episode of Columbo on re-run and it always made an impression. It wasn't until decades later while rewatching the whole series on a streaming service that I realized that that first episode I saw in the gym lounge was "By Dawn's Early Light", the one that takes place in a military academy. To this day, that's one of my favorite episodes.
im 53 still watch the show weekly even though ive seen every episode 25 times
I think the fact it’s not a murder mystery really helps with the rewatch-ability compared to other crime shows
One of the best produced Colombo retrospectives on YT!
Props and you garnered a new sub!
thanks! i found few proper videos about Columbo on youtube, there's one by PushingUpRoses and that's about it. i really felt the show deserved more love and attention. unfortunately NBC Universal seems VERY quick on blocking stuff with Columbo in it, so fingers crossed they don't kill this video.
Peter Falk was still Colombo in The Princess Bride.
Was lovely to know he had a grandson eventually!
An extra feature is despite him being an unstoppable force who always gets the killer he isn’t all seeing or all knowing or rather he might see but can’t prove all in a court of law. The grim reality that some crimes can’t be solved but the killer shoots themselves in the foot by trying to cover themselves up even further and giving themselves away, like in Nimoys episode Columbo admits he can’t get him for the murder of Sharon Martin but he can get him for the attempted murder of the doctor
A really good run down of Columbo and the factors that led to its success. Nice to see such an in-depth view of the show, highlighting all the little pieces that came together and really made it work. Great video analysis all round.
Agreed. It is only when analysed like this that one can appreciate all the 'moving parts' that not only need to go together to make the whole, but also need to work 'unseen' - like a craftsman making something difficult, look quite simple.
Columbo was my favourite TV show when I was a boy. One evening, just before it was due to start, I made up my mind to try and beat Columbo to the killer's identity. So I deliberately missed the first 20 minutes of the show, and stayed in my room. My mother knew how much I loved the show, so every 2 minutes she was at the foot of the stairs shouting up to me: "you're missing it. Are you coming down?". I didn't try to tell her I was putting myself in competition with the great detective, but I wished she'd stop shouting up at me. When I finally joined her, just as the adverts were finishing and the show was about to restart, a sudden realisation came over me. I felt monumentally stupid. Of course, Columbo will be with the killer throughout the rest of the show. Bugging him. I confessed to my mother what my plan had been. She laughed, and maybe thought she'd raised an idiot. Stumbling on the analysis of the show's format reminded me of that occasion, and I can still feel a fool.
And the physical gags. Falk did them so seamlessly one hardly noticed that’s what they were; trying to find the door, trying to open the door, never finding his own lighter for his cigar, all that added so much to the show as well.
the only bad bit of this video was the fact that it ended. i could've watched this all day
Not watched the video yet but Columbo for me is hands down the greatest Detective series of all time.
I used to watch Columbo daily when A&E would air it early in the day. Before I had to head to work. Then found it all these years later. Started watching one while my wife was on the couch half paying attention. Halfway through she was like can we restart it. Since she wanted to see how Columbo was going to figure it out.
I've been plugging through the old Columbo series. It's currently on Prime. Just great TV!
This is the best breakdown of Columbo. I have watched it three times now! I dated a Cuban woman who always said I was just like Columbo the way I sized people up. I'd never heard of this but when I decided to try and understand what she was talking about I just looked up the psychology of Columbo and this is great thank you.
I've been a huge Columbo fan for decades and this analysis describes the appeal and mechanics of the show perfectly. Like Columbo, you've put together a water-tight case from snippets of evidence and examples. Truly excellent, thanks!
Even the villains in Columbo have dignity, when they are caught there's often even a knowing nod. It's great.
A fantastic TV show that has stood the test of time. Thanks for a great analysis of the program.
This is a great video essay. You did a fantastic job.
Hard if not impossible to come by another fictional detective who can be more likeable as PF's Columbo...there's something about his unflashy excentricism and common man's self-contentment which subconsciously strikes a particular humane chord in the mind of the audience that neither poirot, nor holmes etc could ever attain... what makes Columbo memorable in the purest sense are not necessarily his numerous deductive feats etc but rather his unrestrained way in which he displays his emotions thus allowing the audience to naturally bond with him
You have defined the program perfectly. We are put in the killer's shoes right away with each episode. We can't help but empathize with their effort to evade being caught. Like hoping Lucy gets out of her predicament without Ricky finding out. Despite our core understanding that murder is wrong, and that TV cops are heroes, Colombo's progression toward solving the crime is seen by the viewer more as annoying than heroic.
In addition to great editing and scene clips.
Your voice is sublime.
I love the “angel of vengeance” fan theory. The jist is basically that Columbo is a supernatural being who appears only to catch those who would have gotten away with it because of their privilege or skill. Columbo appears out of nowhere, knows who did it from the beginning, figures out how to catch them, exposes them, and then disappears. The idea that the detective is some working class ghost catching evil no one else would have is so fun to me. It also makes the show more fun if you have that in mind
Ngl that's more lame than him being a good ol regular dude that's also quite the sharp fellow
After a few dozen clips showing up in my recommended for a show I never heard of before.. cool to see a video on it show up
I absolutely loved that show back when I was a kid.
Great show. Such fond memories watching this growing up. Still watch it now.
Favorite episode is the Dick van Dyke one.
I forgot _Columbo_ made Spock AND Kirk into murderers. I also snickered out loud when you called out Louis Jordan having been a Bond villain and "looking evil" 😂
wha-w- Why am i just now learning of this shows existence!!!! This is like all my favorite types of mystery things rolled into one!
Maybe you're just young. It's not like anyone talks about it these days, but quality-wise, in every aspect, it is certainly one of the greats.
@@Selrisitai yeah i talked to my mother about this show and she was like "That show was on when i was little. I didn't even watch it. how do you know about it."
However, she gave me pretty much the same reaction when i started watching Hogan's Heroes so she should have expected i would discover this absolute gem an a show!
If you buy the premise that in each episode of "Columbo" the killer is the protagonist, not only does that make Columbo a villain but it also means that in every single show the villain wins.
Negative Reaction!!! is awesome! The Nun in the Soup kitchen, mistakes him for a tramp, then thinks he's undercover dressed as one. And the ending was sublime!
That smile as he leaves the office on "Mistaken Identity", when the guy threatens him. Like he's just finding it funny, he was threatened.
Columbo is my favorite show of all time. I just adore Peter Falk. Everything about the 70s cinema is utterly perfect. He's like the anti-Sherlock Holmes: working class, unpretentious, obsessed---but not sociopathic---and is a virtual unknown, despite him probably being the most successful homicide detective in the history of the LAPD. I also enjoy that his co-workers aren't stupid, in order to make him seem even smarter than he is. Everyone is just about getting the work done. Brilliant. This show aired 14 years before I was born and the first seven seasons keep me entertained over and over.
An extremely well thought out, edited, and put together tribute to one of my all time favorite shows (and my all time favorite tv characters).
My next dnd character character or npc I make will be based on Colombo for sure. I just love this type of clever under the surface character, playing dumb until he can pounce.
"One more thing" the phrase to define this character
Thoroughly excellent analysis of why Columbo was so uniquely entertaining.
Culumbo feels like an inversion of a killer movie. For criminals, it is like Culumbo the slasher slow walking after them. He is the inevitable threat they are trying to escape from.
It is just like how an action movie hero could just as easily be a horror movie monster... when you are the one he is gunning for.
Absolutely wonderful essay (writing and editing). Thank you so much for this one!
Great job! Love Columbo and this video was entertaining and informative. Thank you!
There’s something that often gets overlooked about Columbo: it makes a comment on class and wealth. Columbo is a blue collar guy, and the murders always take place in high society. He plays the fool for them, but more than that, he uses their preconceived notions of him to toy with them. Whenever he interacts with another “normal” person, he’s much more direct and straightforward with them.
I don't remember who I heard it from, but someone said something he found funny about the show is "these dopes would get away with it half the time if they got a lawyer and stopped talking." The more you learn about real murders this seems to be the case too. These dopes can't or won't stop talking.
I loved this show. Grew up with it, although only on second-plus runs. Here's the opening quatrain of a sonnet I wrote in tribute to Peter Falk on the occasion of his demise:
Just one more thing: there's more than met that eye
As each paraded by, those waxen foes,
Those rows of ducks, to fall and there to lie
As lives determined, since to lie they chose.
Twitter memes are how I learned about Columbo and months later a clip of the show was in my TH-cam recommendations, and I instantly fell in love with it.
Jack Cassidy and Robert Culp always played the most despicable villains in my opinion. Their smugness and self assuredness was so irritating and so satisfying when Columbo caught them in the end. No other killers underestimated Columbo's genius like the murderer's they portrayed. As one of my all-time favorite old shows, this was an excellent synopsis. Well done, sir.
Even when Culp was the killer's dad he was dismissive of his ability.
I grew up watching Columbo on TV when I was a kid. They don't make TV like that anymore.
Perfect 💙 Thank you for putting this together and sharing your take on Columbo. Really enjoyed it 💙
Eventhough, Lt. Columbo is super fantastic, I remember seeing his first name once when he showed his ID. It said Lt. Frank Columbo and yet no one ever called him by his first name. Not even at the office. Great show!!
In every episode of Columbo, I like to imagine he disposed of his wife some years ago but maintains the illusion she lives with constant references to her.
Watching Falk slouch forward all the time is giving me a sore neck.
Very well put together thank you
Couple of things. First, this is probably one of the best Colombo essays on TH-cam.
Second, this is my first time watching a video on your channel. Your editing skills are top-notch, and that accent could melt an iceberg!
Can't believe that you overlooked mentioning William Shatner as one of the more memorable Columbo villains.
Also, having watched most of the episodes, I can say that some the resolutions didn't actually work. Like the episode with Robert Conrad. Columbo didn't actually prove that the fitness mogul actually killed his employee. The final scene only showed that it was possible to have faked the phone call that served as the alibi, not that it had actually happened. The fitness mogul himself didn't admit guilt, and I suspect could have had the case dismissed in court.
Another case that stood out to me was where video evidence was used to create the alibi for the killer, but Columbo was able to use some magical magnification of the video image to spot the envelope of a party invitation in the corner of the room to disprove the alibi, with no consideration to image resolution.
He did mention that name
This is a fantastic analysis. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot. Thank you.
@Radu Pericol Tiguans - It's not a contest, ma'am, I'd just like to make an exception...this is the "best" Columbo essay in YT.
I dont know how I immediately deduced this would be an eastern European accented channel when I saw the Columbo thumbnail but I guess that makes me Columbo now.
Wonderful treatment of a wonderful show.
And an extra thanks for ending on "He said the thing!"
7:51 I was so prepared for this to go into an ad read
So often the villain has made no mistakes, until they think Columbo is getting too close ... then they make the mistake
My only and all time tv detective = Columbo♥️❤️🌟✨👍✌️
Amazing!
"A wonderful rotating cast of colorful scumbags". Well put.
A Hollywood firm in homage to Columbo can be seen in *Fracture* (2007) starring Antony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling.
What is conspicuously absent is the 4th type: the "I'm not answering any of your questions, I want my lawyer" which thankfully never turned up as it kinda stops the show in its tracks.
The law in the US makes anything inadmissible if they said they don't want to be questioned any more. You can then only subpoena them which would generally require an assurance that they are not a suspect as the law cannot compel people to be a witness against themselves.
Quite a few of the original clinchers/ideas are used in the newer ones. Exercise in fatality/murder in Malibu , Friend in deed/RIP Mrs Columbo , Blueprint/Cries wolf , Case of immunity/Strange bedfellows , Conspirators/Hazardous to your health , Suitable for framing/Hits the jackpot. Even the one off Last Salute format gets re used in A bird in the hand. I read Crime and Punishment & all I can remember is the bit with the horse being hit & it was long.
Great job putting this together!
Nicely done sir! Informative, thorough video, and an espacialy good description too.
Rian Johnson's show Poker Face is a great tribute to Columbo. Natasha Lyonne is a gem and the stories are awesome.
Never knew Cassevetes was on the show. Thank you
This is a brilliant videssay with numerous excellent observations! The singular criticism I can only say is that PERHAPS somewhat more emphasis could be placed on the fact that COLUMBO *IS* a "color film noir" than being tagged on at the end.
Your other observations cleanly & clearly establish the other elements of entertainment with most excellent clip choice, sequencing, and other editing. (The writing is ALWAYS overlooked! Good job fixing that. The Spielberg quote was the coup de grace!) Will be sharing on my XTwitter account today. (5,000+ VETTED followers).
Thankyou for such a great video. Very enjoyable. I have to admit liking the old Columbo episodes much more than the newer ones, but I always had a sneaking wish that they'd have one or two episodes where he failed to catch the killer. I can only remember one, where the killer was almost going to get away with it because of diplomatic immunity until the very last second. :o)
Columbo is fantastic - Peter Falk was a legend.
The show Poker Face is set up in a Columbo style.
I love this narrator. Cracked me up.
Great job on this essay!
Well done, thanks.
This was a very entertaining video. Excellent job.
I think that also the personal details where important. Like Dog, the car and the raincoat.
I really like this show, Peter Falk was great in the role. It's pretty enjoyable watching him needle the perp even when he probably has enough evidence to make the arrest. But...
Each and every episode is a perfect example of the violation of a tenet that would have kept a great many of those celebrity guests out of prison...keep your mouth shut and go about your business. Don't try to "...help any way that I can.". Don't suggest possible theories. Above all, do NOT say things like, "Suppose I DID do it...". Just shut up. This isn't about how to get away with a crime. This is how to avoid incriminating yourself even when you are not guilty.
16:30 "... and that's when they make their best "Ah shit, Columbo's caught me bullshitting face"....": brilliantly put. Thank you for this upload: an oasis of interesting fun on a planet that's busy dumbing down!
This is an awesome essay. The only thing that would make it better is if you titled the last bit "just one more thing".
i dont remember much about this series, but i bet having a top tier actor as a support one time character each week must have been what it launched this series to stardom... they do the same whit the series CSI and such they pair unknown actors whit old time actors and so they elevate the quailty of it all
I had intrigue for dinner last night. It was everything I anticipated.
I love how Columbo basically only ever speaks positively about his wife.
If you think about it Columbo is more or less Death Note with the supernatural elements removed.
The second run is captivating because it opposes the original run. The first seven seasons are realistic, as if they could happen in real life. Even the locations don’t feel like they ever could be on the stage. The second run is suspended in a dream-like world. Everything feels like it happens on a stage, there’s many points at which the visuals could not ever occur in real life (the painter episode for instance). I think if you look at the second series as not a continuation, but a different perspective on the character, it becomes more enjoyable than it may be on first glance.
The show makes you question if Mrs. Columbo even exists or if she is just someone Columbo invented for his games with the killer.
Soemtimes I am not sure if Columbo even works for the police.
03:21 Just a small FYI. The guy did not kill his landlady in the movie, he killed the pawnbroker lady.
The one mistake I noted was casting Janet Leigh in the adversary role. I truly think that at some point her character truly forgot that she committed murder.
That was the point
I loved Colombo from the first episode.
Incredible video 🤟
I think some would rank him higher than Holmes, at least in certain respects. Probably not in fame just in the character itself, but they’re very different really. Holmes established an archetype, and Columbo was kind of part of an American archetype of the hard boiled detective, the Bogart type.
incredible video
Columbo went above and beyond the call of duty to convince the killer that the killer was guilty;
usually it's the job of the DA to convince the jury.
The show definitely has mystery. The mystery of how it will be solved. It's not a who done it but a how solve it.
Great vid. You forgot to mention a character; The Peugeot. -The rolling trench coat.
Peter Falk said once that everything is the same with me and Columbo, with the exception that he's highly inteligent.
So... Let's all get this straight. In Columbo's universe there are no lawyers or the right to have access to a lawyer, right?
Frustrating thing here in England is of the 69 episodes made we keep getting the same ten , repeated
Like getting QI here in the States. Aggravating, isn't it. I bought the set of Columbos on DVD, except it's missing my four favorite episodes.
@@tomlord5398 How frustrating. Why would they just leave episodes out? :(
@@AmyLSacks I did it myself - lost the best DVD of the bunch.
not sure if it works for you in the UK but the first seven seasons are streaming on Amazon Prime.. i hope thats internationally available..
@@tomlord5398 That sucks. I own another collection which was packaged badly so as to damage some of the discs. I feel your pain.
it reminds me of how they do the twist in invincible
One great part is that there is very little racism and sexism which helps it alot in my eyes it means it ages really well