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Curtsy

By Curtsy
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SnarkShark

SnarkShark

On 3/5/2023 at 6:20 AM, debraran said:

I randomly caught the one with Johnny Cash on Saturday. He talked of doing Columbo and LHOP and how it was fun but he was out of his element. I thought he did pretty well and of course could sing a lot. 

That writing of that episode makes up for any awkwardness in his performance.  The ending is a true classic.

 

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meowmommy
meowmommy

"Comfort Viewing: 3 Reasons I Love ‘Columbo’"  

Yokosmom
Yokosmom

Of the later (1990s) episodes, I've always liked "Columbo Goes to College".  The actors playing the students were a bit old, but that's ok.  They were so arrogant through the whole thing, and so trans

Pallas
Pallas

Falk was a great pocketer of other people's disposable lighters. One Sunday afternoon, Dabney Coleman was expecting Falk over to watch a game. On the table in front of the TV: two big glass ashtrays -

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debraran

debraran

(edited)
On 3/7/2023 at 3:04 PM, SnarkShark said:

That writing of that episode makes up for any awkwardness in his performance.  The ending is a true classic.

 

Yes, I never forgot that ending and what he said. Two entirely different shows but his episode of LHOP where he played a pretend preacher who could sing, was corny but heartwarming too and although he planned on stealing things had a complete turnaround at the end that was believable and his wife June played his wife on show too.

Even though most like the Jack Cassidy type of episodes, I liked the ones where he seemed to like the criminal and they weren't just deplorable. : )

Edited by debraran
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Milburn Stone

Milburn Stone

Maybe this has been mentioned, but...The other night we watched the Sky High IQ episode, the one with Theodore Bikel. In a short restaurant scene, a young surly waitress comes over and has a few lines with Falk. Mrs. Stone recognized her first. 

MV5BYWVlZmM2YWYtZWJjNC00ODYzLThlY2MtNjFkNzZmYzBjZWExXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjUxMjc1OTM@._V1_UY580_CR2680392580_.jpg.536d67b1d385a05208d35bf4edca4945.jpg

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

15 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

MV5BYWVlZmM2YWYtZWJjNC00ODYzLThlY2MtNjFkNzZmYzBjZWExXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjUxMjc1OTM@._V1_UY580_CR2680392580_.jpg.536d67b1d385a05208d35bf4edca4945.jpgMaybe this has been mentioned, but...The other night we watched the Sky High IQ episode, the one with Theodore Bikel. In a short restaurant scene, a young surly waitress comes over and has a few lines with Falk. Mrs. Stone recognized her first. 

What interests me most from her Wikipedia article is:

Quote

Samantha Eggar was born Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar. . . . The initials of the two triplets of given names form the initials of each of her parents' first lovers.

 

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chessiegal

chessiegal

3 minutes ago, illdoc said:

I thought it was obviously Jamie Lee Curtis.

Doesn't look like Jamie to me. Maybe because the one thing I've seen her in recently is NCIS, and she looks nothing like that woman.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

On 3/23/2023 at 6:16 PM, Milburn Stone said:

Meanwhile, we watched the opener of S7, the Ruth Gordon episode, and it is so much better than any episode in S6. There must have been a new creative team on the job! Looking forward to the rest of this season.

I watched that one recently too: "Try and Catch Me" 
It's one of the few Columbo episodes with an 8+ rating on IMDb.

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Milburn Stone

Milburn Stone

(edited)

It's so well-written. From the moment at the beginning of the investigation when Columbo first walks out of the safe, til when he leaves the house at the conclusion of the visit, is a continuous dialogue between him and Abigail of a length practically nonexistent in television. And every bit of it is riveting.

Edited by Milburn Stone
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Blergh

Blergh

(edited)
7 hours ago, debraran said:

That was a good one . My mom loved the Janet Leigh episode which was different than the rest. Forgotten Lady was the title.

 

Have you ever seen 'Dead Weight' (1971)? That's the one in which Suzanne Pleshette plays this rather vulnerable divorcee who witnesses a murder but even her own mother disbelieves her. Then the perp turns out to be a renowned general (played by Eddie Albert) who woos her to do his best to gaslight her.  Will Columbo get to the bottom of this? It was interesting seeing the usually tough Miss Pleshette playing such a vulnerable character who had a believable MO for being manipulated (yet never quite losing her Pleshette coolness)  and  the usually likable Mr. Albert was no slouch in playing a tough and unscrupulous military man who wasn't above killing or schmoozing to get his way!

Of course, behind the scenes, this is when Peter Falk evidently decided to feign illness when they declined to have him direct this episode which resulted in them shooting the scenes with Miss Pleshette and Mr. Albert using a body double before Mr. Falk  backed off from his demands &decided to return then tried to insist on them reshooting everything with him. That would have caused a major problem for Miss Pleshette in particular since she was due to participate in another production as soon as this one was done AND, she later would recount, in spite of the fact that she was married to a millionaire, half of their house had gotten destroyed in a mudslide so ' for the first time in my life, I REALLY needed the money'[of all the productions she could participate in since she wasn't yet a Bob Newhart Show co-star). Had she not been unable to leave Columbo in time to do the next project she'd committed herself to, it would have hurt her rep and gotten others reluctant to hire her. Thankfully, the episode's director Jack Smight saved the day by saying that since he was the director, he declared the episode complete and they wouldn't have to reshoot.  She later would say that despite her having known Peter Falk since she was fourteen, she was so furious with him that she didn't speak to him for a year afterwards but then admitted  'how can you NOT speak to Peter Falk?' . Miss Pleshette would eventually somewhat retroactively understand Mr. Falk's MO at the time when she herself had some litigation going on which resulted in her being legally  unable to be as open about it  as much as her friends would have liked her to have done during that later time. And Eddie Albert told Mr. Falk that he'd always wanted to meet Mr. Falk and had  admired his work but pulled no punches and told Mr. Falk that he was a real a--hole!

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debraran

debraran

Yes, I remember that but not super clearly. I can see the drama though, so many actors now come out with arguments and all out wars on the sets we never had the joy of hearing about. That was unfortunate though. Egos abound. On a lighter note, I almost didn't forgive him for using his wife at times. ; )

I saw an article comparing the William Shatner episode with the lamer Leonard Nimoy one on Columbo. I remember Nimoy as the doctor with the bad stitching, but need a refresher on Shatner's.

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seacliffsal

seacliffsal

Shatner was in two episodes-the first one he played a t.v. detective and the second he was radio personality (?-not quite clear on the second one).  He was very hammy and overacted in both of them (IMO).

I love this back story information.  Anything else you have I would love to know about.

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illdoc

illdoc

Just now, seacliffsal said:

Shatner was in two episodes-the first one he played a t.v. detective and the second he was radio personality (?-not quite clear on the second one).  He was very hammy and overacted in both of them (IMO).

The detective one was a 70s Columbo. The radio one (think Rush Limbaugh) was a 90s one. 

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chessiegal

chessiegal

2 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

He was very hammy and overacted in both of them (IMO).

What's new? I tell my husband when I tune onto Star Trek that I'm planning on watching Shatner chew the scenery. 😄

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SnarkShark

SnarkShark

On 3/22/2023 at 3:36 PM, chessiegal said:

Doesn't look like Jamie to me. Maybe because the one thing I've seen her in recently is NCIS, and she looks nothing like that woman.

Well, except it looks 100% like her (plus I've seen that photo before).

She was also in The Hardy Boys, and Quincy ME.

 

 

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

On 3/26/2023 at 6:34 AM, debraran said:

That was a good one . My mom loved the Janet Leigh episode which was different than the rest. Forgotten Lady was the title.

Thanks for the tip, @debraran! I just watched "Forgotten Lady," and it was fabulous, especially the end. 

I know smoking was common then (most of my friends smoked), but wasn't cigar smoke strong enough to warrant and occasional complaint? I would think the fastidious house servants in "Forgotten Lady" would have complained about it.

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debraran

debraran

(edited)
34 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Thanks for the tip, @debraran! I just watched "Forgotten Lady," and it was fabulous, especially the end. 

I know smoking was common then (most of my friends smoked), but wasn't cigar smoke strong enough to warrant and occasional complaint? I would think the fastidious house servants in "Forgotten Lady" would have complained about it.

I agree, if you didn't smoke in real life, you got enough for a week doing take after take. I do recall one woman complaining about his cigar but I forgot what episode. This is a montage of some of his cigar encounters. I'm glad I share one Peter Falk's favorites, an article said "Falk's own favorite Columbo episodes were "Any Old Port in a Storm", "Forgotten Lady", "Now You See Him" and "Identity Crisis"

 

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

(edited)
1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Thanks for the tip, @debraran! I just watched "Forgotten Lady," and it was fabulous, especially the end. 

I know smoking was common then (most of my friends smoked), but wasn't cigar smoke strong enough to warrant and occasional complaint? I would think the fastidious house servants in "Forgotten Lady" would have complained about it.

In Double Shock, the one where Martin Landau plays twins, one of them electrocutes his uncle in the tub, there is Mrs. Peck, the housekeeper who follows him around yelling about ashes on her clean floors.

Edited by peacheslatour
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Milburn Stone

Milburn Stone

4 hours ago, Fool to cry said:

Yeah I found that out after posting 😂. It's incredible. It's like Elaine gave birth to her twin!

You're not far wrong. Elaine had Jeannie at 17, so that's the difference in their ages.

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BetyBee

BetyBee

We've been watching on Prime and are really enjoying Columbo. I pair it (like fine wine!) with the Scottish guys who have a podcast called The Columbo Podcast. They're charming and informative. Last night we watched the Forgotten Lady with Janet Leigh. I told my husband to watch for a small role for Jamie Lee Curtis, because I had read here that she had a role, but I guess that's in another episode with Janet Leigh. We are really enjoying this mostly well written show. I never thought about Peter Falk, but now he's my avatar! It's so fun to see old actors and young ones that I know from other shows and movies. I think the discourse here is very informative too!

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debraran

debraran

1 hour ago, BetyBee said:

We've been watching on Prime and are really enjoying Columbo. I pair it (like fine wine!) with the Scottish guys who have a podcast called The Columbo Podcast. They're charming and informative. Last night we watched the Forgotten Lady with Janet Leigh. I told my husband to watch for a small role for Jamie Lee Curtis, because I had read here that she had a role, but I guess that's in another episode with Janet Leigh. We are really enjoying this mostly well written show. I never thought about Peter Falk, but now he's my avatar! It's so fun to see old actors and young ones that I know from other shows and movies. I think the discourse here is very informative too!

I happened to catch that one with Janet on Cozi I think. I liked the ending.

I also thought the one with Johnny Cash was fun to watch. That song was only done on the dhow and you can download it but never on his albums. Another singer did it. It was catchy back in the day. ; )  He did that show and LHOP and both were good considering he wasn't an actor.

 

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BetyBee

BetyBee

Last night's viewing was "Identity Crisis" with Patrick McGoohan. Very good in some ways, but the two scenes that did not hold up to the test of time were when Patrick McGoohan gave his giant panda to a young teen-aged girl and when Columbo (unkempt and wearing a rumpled raincoat) struck up a conversation with two little girls at a picnic table. The dialogue in both scenes was positively creepy and I'm sure that wasn't the intention! 😳

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NoReally

NoReally

Last night I watched "Troubled Waters," set on a cruise to Mexico, in which Robert Vaughn constructs an incredibly elaborate plan to shoot his girlfriend and frame a musician for the murder.

They're on a ship! Why couldn't he come up with a simpler plan to just push her overboard?

Still, Columbo dismissing the obvious "clues" planted by Vaughn and concentrating on tiny discrepancies made this episode a good one. And seeing Columbo in a Hawaiin shirt was worth the price of admission.

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seacliffsal

seacliffsal

40 minutes ago, NoReally said:

Last night I watched "Troubled Waters," set on a cruise to Mexico, in which Robert Vaughn constructs an incredibly elaborate plan to shoot his girlfriend and frame a musician for the murder.

They're on a ship! Why couldn't he come up with a simpler plan to just push her overboard?

Still, Columbo dismissing the obvious "clues" planted by Vaughn and concentrating on tiny discrepancies made this episode a good one. And seeing Columbo in a Hawaiin shirt was worth the price of admission.

This is one of my favorite episodes.  I really enjoy watching the Captain (not Stubbing) and other officers learning to appreciate Columbo and helping him.  As for throwing her overboard, part of his plan was to have an 'air tight' alibi.  And, even if people had seen him with her in Vegas, the 'evidence' would point them away from him and to the pianist (who was Dean Stockwell who played a victim in another episode when Robert Culp killed him [about control of a football team]).  

I love this show (and yes, there are a few episodes I don't really care for, but overall it is so good IMO).

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BetyBee

BetyBee

We finished The Conspirators the other night and I do believe that's the last of the Amazon Prime Columbo episodes. Apparently they don't have the reboot from the late 80s. I've really enjoyed watching Columbo, usually while we eat dinner. I may look for those later episodes at the library. I may have to change my avatar! 😢

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possibilities

possibilities

I know I watched the reboot, but I can't remember where. It wasn't that long ago, so I am thinking they are probably still available somewhere. Don't give up! They look different (brighter lighting, more color saturation, less grainy) but the feel is pretty similar.

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seacliffsal

seacliffsal

If you still have cable, COZI and Hallmark Mysteries and Movies show all of the seasons/episodes.  There are several episodes of the reboot that I really enjoy: the college one, the one with Tyne Daly, the Dabney Coleman one, etc.  Obviously I don't know the titles... There are also some reboots that are, quite frankly, terrible.

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chessiegal

chessiegal

2 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

Hallmark Mysteries and Movies

Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is now Hallmark Mysteries. They dropped the sappy movies and put them in the regular Hallmark channel. I watch Monk on Hallmark Mysteries from 9 am-12 noon ET most weekdays. That is now followed by Murder, She Wrote. I can't remember what it used to be after Monk. I think there may be other channels that air Columbo besides Cozi and Hallmark Mysteries. I'll keep an eye out.

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