Tuesday 5 June 2012

Season 8, Episode 2- Murder, Smoke and Shadows

Alex Brady is some kind of film director wunderkind. His old friend Lenny comes to visit him but Lenny doesn’t seem happy. It seems he’s found some old footage of Alex killing his sister Jenny is an horrific accident. Lenny isn’t too pleased about Alex killing his sister and lying about it for years. Alex doesn’t want the truth to come out so he electrocutes Lenny.
Columbo comes along at 21 minutes and 25 seconds and is playing with a train set. He doesn’t leave Alex alone. Alex appears to be genuinely mentally ill.
The columboid is a mass of circumstantial evidence.
Things we learn about Columbo: he’s scared of heights, he likes ice cream sodas and his mother would chop off his hands if he turned down the pages of a book.
During this episode I wore egg yolk yellow socks and a matching cardigan.

Season 8, Episode 1- Columbo Goes to the Guillotine

Elliot Blake is a doctor is para-psychology, a bit like Peter Venkman but not as funny or good looking. Along with a luscious haired lady called Paula he runs a psychic institute, which is basically just a load of old nonsense. The CIA are going to fund the institute if they can prove for sure Elliot is not a con man. They get in top exposer of psychics Max the Magnificent to test him. However Max and Elliot know each other, they were in a Ugandan prison together and Max taught Elliot loads of fake psychic tricks. Elliot is also pretty sure that Max sold him out for his own freedom. The solution? Chop off his head with a magic guillotine.
Columbo shows up at 24 minutes and 34 seconds. He enlists Elliot’s help to solve the case, all the time knowing that Elliot is the murderer. Classic Columbo move.
The columboid is Columbo almost getting his head chopped off.
This is the first of the 1980s episodes and Columbo now wears glasses, he is still allowed to smoke cigars at crime scenes. He also carries an egg in his pocket and wears a wizards hat.
During this episode we find out that Columbo’s wife buys psychic magazines.
I was encouraged to watch this episode by @thefeudalsystem

Season 7, Episode 4- Make me a perfect murder

Unusually we hear Columbo immediately and then see him soon afterwards at 0 minutes and 19 seconds, record? I think so. He’s involved in a minor car accident, hurts his neck and has to wear a neck brace. On to the dirty murder business…. Kay Freestone is an executive assistant at a top TV network. She’s having an affair with Mark and when he’s promoted she expects to fill his place but he just gives her a new car and dumps her. Before he can take up his new position she sneaks out of a projection booth and shoots him.
Columbo comes back onto the scene and has an electrifying sexual chemistry with Kay. She tells him he’s attractive without his neck brace. It’s all very sexy. Despite a certain amount of sympathy on Columbo’s part and all the sexiness he still has to catch her and he does so with an excellent projection columboid.
Things we learn about Columbo: as a youngster he liked to put on his father’s glasses to feel grown up, he used to build model aeroplanes as a kid, his 15 year old nephew makes 8mm movies, his brother in law has a back problem and he doesn’t watch TV because he has to work nights.
During this episode I experienced a mild sense of panic.