The Shabby Detective: Yet Another Columbo Podcast

Peter Falk said no. Richard Levinson and William Link said no. Fred Silverman did it anyway. Mike and Chris take a detour into the Columbo universe's most dubious corner: Mrs. Columbo, Season 2, Episode 5, "A Chilling Surprise" (aired November 22, 1979). Kate Callahan — no longer even Mrs. Columbo in any meaningful sense — investigates a body that won't stay put in a restaurant freezer. When her f...

Mike and Chris close the book on Season Seven with "The Conspirators," a 1978 episode that takes Columbo somewhere the series rarely ventured: the murky, morally weighted world of real geopolitical conflict. Clive Revill — Tony-nominated stage actor, Matilda's trainer in the boxing kangaroo film of the same name, and the original voice of Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back — plays Joe De...

What's the perfect alibi? Being at the doctor's office while your dogs do the dirty work. Mike White and Chris Stachiw sink their teeth into Season Seven's "How to Dial a Murder," a 1978 episode that features one of the most ingeniously gruesome murder methods in the entire Columbo canon.   Nicol Williamson commands the screen as Dr. Eric Mason, a behavioral psychologist with iron self-control, a...

Hell hath no fury like a TV executive scorned. Mike and Chris train their cameras on Season Seven's "Make Me a Perfect Murder," a 1978 entry that puts Trish Van Devere center stage as Kay Freestone — a network programmer who, after being passed over for the big promotion by her boss and lover Mark McAndrews (Laurence Luckinbill), decides that a well-timed gunshot during a screening room preview is...

As Mike and Chris continue to traipse through the controversial official final season of Columbo with the Shabby Detective returning to the kitchen to face off against Louis Jourdan as a snotty TV chef and food critic who uses blowfish poison to take out a victim of blackmail who was going to go public. Is the all-star cast and steady directing from Jonathan Demme enough to save the episode? Becom...

Mike White and Chris Stachiw kick off season seven of Columbo with a close look at “Try and Catch Me,” where literary titan Abigail Mitchell (Ruth Gordon) believes she’s engineered the perfect murder—cool, elegant, and legally, uh, airtight—only to underestimate a rumpled detective who thrives on patience and psychological pressure. The conversation delves into Columbo's new show-runner, giving th...

Mike and Chris dig into the uneasy moral terrain of The Storyteller, a 1977 NBC movie that turns television itself into the accused. Starring Martin Balsam as a celebrated writer blamed when a child’s death echoes the plot of his work, the film wrestles with guilt, responsibility, and the limits of artistic intent. Written by Richard Levinson and William Link, this forgotten TV drama fits squarely...

Mike and Chris keep their arms in the car at all times with writer-producer and Rollercoaster superfan Richard Hatem for a wild ride through James Goldstone’s 1977 star-studded disaster-thriller that pits George Segal’s weary safety inspector against Timothy Bottoms’s soft-spoken, delightfully unhinged bomber.  They dig into the film’s oddball mix of procedural beats, theme-park mayhem, and Sensur...

The Shabby Detective closes out Season Six with “The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case,” a murder most cerebral — and a little bit silly. When genius accountant Oliver Brandt (Theodore Bikel) kills his embezzling partner at an exclusive Mensa-like club for the gifted, Columbo wanders into a den of self-proclaimed intellectuals armed only with a cigar and a rumpled raincoat. The result? A battle of...

The Shabby Detective returns to Season Six with “Old Fashioned Murder,” where genteel larceny meets genteel homicide. Joyce Van Patten takes center stage as Ruth Lytton, a spinster running her family’s failing museum. When her ambitious brother threatens to sell off the artifacts, Ruth turns to murder and possibly taking revenge for things that happened off-screen twenty years prior. This episode...

The sixth season of Columbo kicks off with “Fade in to Murder,” and we’re right there with it. Yes, we had to scrap our planned chat on Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky (Mike just couldn’t stomach it), but that means we get to dive straight into William Shatner swaggering his way through one of the great villain roles of the NBC years. Chris can’t help but heap praise on Shatner’s performance as ego-f...

Not every Peter Falk performance comes with a rumpled coat and a homicide to solve. In this episode, we take a look at Griffin & Phoenix, a 1976 made-for-TV gem that finds Falk in rare romantic form. As Geoffrey Griffin, a terminally ill professor, Falk trades sharp wit for quiet heartbreak opposite Jill Clayburgh’s Phoenix, a fellow traveler on a limited timeline. What might sound like a reci...

It’s here. The one we’ve all been bracing for: Last Salute to the Commodore. As the final episode of Columbo’s fifth season and a proposed ending place for the entire NBC run, it manages to sink the ship with an almost gleeful disregard for coherence, tone, and character.  Mike and Chris try to make sense of the chaos—was it Jackson Gillis’s bewildering script? Patrick McGoohan’s direction? Peter...

In this special bonus episode of The Shabby Detective, Mike White sits down with author Glenn Stewart to discuss his insightful and wildly entertaining book Columbo Explains the ’70s: A TV Cop’s Pop Culture Journey. Stewart’s book explores the cultural and historical shifts of the 1970s—from Watergate to disco, second-wave feminism to fast food—with the trench-coated sleuth as our shrewd, inquisit...

The great Santini takes center stage—but Lieutenant Columbo isn’t impressed by smoke and mirrors. In this episode of The Shabby Detective, Mike and Chris shine a spotlight on Now You See Him, the 1976 Columbo classic starring Jack Cassidy in his final turn as a Columbo killer. Cassidy plays the arrogant nightclub magician who thinks he can make murder disappear, but the rumpled detective sees righ...

Mike and Chris head south of the border for A Matter of Honor, the rare Columbo episode set in Mexico, where the Lieutenant faces bulls, bravado, and a different kind of justice. Ricardo Montalbán plays a retired matador with a secret—and a motive—and Columbo has to navigate a new culture and language barrier while staying one step ahead. The guys dig into the episode’s unique setting, the ethics...

Mike and Chris slip into the shadows with Identity Crisis, Columbo’s espionage-laced foray into cloak-and-dagger territory. Directed by none other than Patrick McGoohan—who also stars as a smug, sartorially superior spy—this episode finds the Lieutenant matching wits with a killer who’s as cool as he is cold-blooded. The guys dive into the episode’s slick style, surreal touches, and McGoohan’s unm...

In this episode of The Shabby Detective, Mike and Chris take a diplomatic detour into A Case of Immunity, where political protocol, palace intrigue, and murder collide. Columbo finds himself navigating foreign immunity laws and velvet robes as he tries to outwit a slippery embassy official (Héctor Elizondo) with a taste for treason. The guys break down the episode's unique tone, the curious case o...

Step onto the faded red carpet and into the world of aging Hollywood glamour as The Shabby Detective takes on "Forgotten Lady", one of Columbo's most poignant mysteries. In this episode, we unravel the tragic tale of fading movie star Grace Wheeler (Janet Leigh), who dreams of a comeback but finds herself tangled in a web of murder and memory. With Peter Falk’s rumpled lieutenant navigating a case...

In this episode of The Shabby Detective, we examine the riveting 1974 TV movie The Gun, a gripping exploration of fate and consequence. Crafted by the legendary writing duo Richard Levinson and William Link and directed by John Badham, the film follows the journey of a single handgun as it passes through various lives, leaving a trail of drama and intrigue. Join us as we unpack the film’s unique e...

Between Columbo's Seasons 4 and 5, we're shifting our detective lens to explore another powerful creation by Richard Levinson and William Link: The Execution of Private Slovik (1974). Directed by Lamont Johnson and featuring an unforgettable performance by Martin Sheen, this adaptation of William Bradford Huie's work tells the harrowing true story of Eddie Slovik—a small-time Michigan criminal who...

We conclude the 4th season of Columbo with the episode "A Deadly State of Mind" wherein George Hamilton is a suave hypnotist of ladies -- one in particular played by Leslie Ann Warren. He has designs on her while also conducting "research" for his work. Her husband as other ideas.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast...

Season 4 continues with "Playback," an episode starring another Cassavetes alum, Gina Rowlands.  Unfortunately, she's sidelined as a innocent bystander and wife to the episode's murderer, played by Oskar Werner.   He's a fan of gizmos which aid his plan to murder his mother-in-law but, of course, they're ultimately his undoing.    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcas...

Set sail for murder as Lt. Columbo takes a cruise to Mexico with his wife only to be asked to help solve the murder of lounge singer Rosanna Wells (Poupée Bocar) at the hands of used car sales exec Hayden Danzinger (Robert Vaughn). It's the return of Bernard Hill and Dean Stockwell in an episode Chris Stachiw says may be the best of the season. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.sprea...

Welcome to the show Mr. Patrick McGoohan as Colonel Rumford, headmaster at an all-boys military academy and devotee of rules and regulations. When his reign is threatened he retaliates by killing his rival with a cannon! Now it's up to Lt. Columbo to stick around the academy and solve the crime in one of the more solid episodes of Season 4. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker....