Season 4, Episode 3- By Dawn’s Early Light

Colonel Lyle C. Rumford runs a military academy that’s about to be closed down by the founder’s grandson- William Haynes. Rumford’s face is sweaty throughout.
William turns up and insists on presiding over the founder’s day ceremony, Rumford had counted on this and has rigged a canon so that it will back fire and kill him.
Although it looks like an accident Columbo still shows up to sniff around at 16 minutes and 44 seconds. He hangs about outside on all girls school and sets up a rebellious cadet called Springer. The columboid: elusive cider.
Columbo was in the army, wears a vest and size 10 ½ to 11 socks and only his wife uses his first name.
During this episode I ate a giant meringue.

Season 4, Episode 2- Negative Reaction

Dick Van Dyke is Paul Gales, a top photographer with a hot assistant. He really wants to go to the Philippines with her. Unfortunately Paul has a wife. She is posh, drunk and quite horrible. She makes him angry. He takes her to an abandoned cabin, ties her to a chair and takes a takes a picture of her next to a clock telling the wrong time. Then he shoots her. He’s also been paying an ex-con to look at real estate. He meets up with the con shoots him and shoots himself in the knee. It’s a convoluted plan involving a fake kidnap set up. Dick is dead smug.
Columbo shows up at 20 minutes and 27 seconds. He feigns an interest in photography to annoy Dick Van Dyke and catches him out before he can go to the Philippines with the assistant.
Things we learn about Columbo: He’s had his coat for 7 years, his dog is in love with the cocker spaniel next door and he took pictures at his cousin’s wedding but they were awful.
During this episode I put on green socks.

Season 4, Episode 1- An Exercise in Fatality

Super fit old guy Milo Janus runs a gym franchise. He’s involved in some kind of racket that forces his franchise owners to pay over the odds for supplies. Gene Stafford has found him out and is going to reveal all. Milo comes up with a lovely little plan to strangle Gene, dress him in a tracksuit and drop some weights on him. Whilst doing this he spills hot coffee on himself and a rug. Afterwards he goes home, rings his own house and plays a recording of Gene that he made earlier. This is going to be fool proof. Then Columbo shows up.
Columbo catches him out for many reasons. Mainly because he’s the greatest detective of all time. Other reasons are shoe marks on the polished floor, the coffee burn, Gene ordering a large meal of Chinese food and some shoe laces.
Things we learn about Columbo: his wife isn’t thin and he wouldn’t want her to be, he enjoys eating chilli (of course) and a rare steak now and then, Columbo can’t swim and doesn’t even have a deep tub.
During this episode I picked a scab.

R.I.P. Peter

Peter Falk
September 16th 1927- June 23rd 2011
Peter Falk is and always will be Columbo. He was an amazing and talented actor who made me very happy.

Season 3, Episode 8- A Friend Indeed

Hugh has accidentally killed his wife Janice so calls his friend Mark for help. Mark goes to their house and makes it look like a robbery, whilst Hugh goes to a bar and makes an ostentatious phone call.
Mark is a deputy police commissioner and his wife is a rich shrew.
Columbo’s back appears at 15 minutes and 24 seconds, closely followed by the rest of him. He’s looking for his cigar.
Mark goes on to murder his own wife, drowning her in the bath. Later he gets Hugh to chuck her in the pool whilst he watches from a helicopter. Now it looks like a serial killing burglar is on the loose.
Columbo knows Mark did it as there’s soap in his wife’s lungs. Mark has the audacity to threaten Columbo, even telling him “you just lost your badge my friend”.
The columboid: Columbo sets up a real burglar to blackmail Mark, then plants a fake address in the burglar’s file, making sure Mark sees it. Mark then goes to the apartment to plant evidence but it’s Columbo’s flat and Columbo is there!
It appears we learn nothing about Columbo during this episode.
What did I do during this episode? Suggestions below please.

Season 3, Episode 7- Swan Song

Johnny Cash is a country singer. Not just in real life but also in the fictional world of Columbo. In this world his name is Tommy Brown, ahhh. His wife is a religious fanatic who won’t let him fool around with young girls and buy a rolls Royce. Instead she wants to use his money to build a big massive church.
After a successful gig they get ready to board a plane that Tommy is going to fly. Tommy drugs up Edna and her protege Mary Ann. They’re quietly dozing whilst he flies them around. He then parachutes out and leaves them to crash and burn.
Columbo appears at 21 minutes and 49 seconds and he has some pretty strong suspicions about old Tommy. He starts hanging round so he can catch him out and even eats chilli made with squirrel meat at a Tommy Brown party.
The columboid is Columbo tricking Tommy into going back to the crash site to retrieve his hidden parachute.
Things we learn about Columbo: he was in the military police during the Korean War and, contrary to his claim in ‘Double Exposure’, his wife does all the shopping.
During this episode I sewed buttons onto a cardigan.

Season 3, Episode 6- Mind over Mayhem

Marshall is a big time computer scientist. His son Neil is about to win scientist of the year but he doesn’t deserve it as he stole the idea and all the research. A man called Howard knows this and won’t stand for it so Marshall has to kill him. He’s a pretty pushy parent and won’t let anything stand in the way of his progeny being named scientist of the year, even though he’s actually a rubbish scientist.
Columbo appears at 16 minutes and 22 seconds and he’s having dog trouble.
This episode has a chess playing robot.
The columboid is the arresting of the son to get the father to confess.
Things we learn about Columbo: his dog failed training class because he de-moralized the other students, his dog now sits about the house and drools, Columbo gets his cigars from the supermarket and when a case gets too tough he talks to his wife.
During this episode I had some French onion soup.