The Shabby Detective: Yet Another Columbo Podcast

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.

Season 4 of Columbo continues with a favorite of Mike's, Negative Reaction wherein Dick Van Dyke plays photographer Paul Galesko who think he's committed the perfect murder of his wife (Antoniette Bower) and patsy (Don Gordon). Unfortunately for him, Columbo is on the case. This episode features great roles for Vito Scotti, John Ashton, Joyce Van Patten, Larry Storch, and Michael Strong.This episode of The Shabby Detective also features an interview with author David Koenig about his new book, Unshot Columbo: Cracking the Cases That Never Got Filmed.  Get it today at https://amzn.to/3Sh9VCj

We start off the fourth season of Columbo with a discussion of Exercise in Fatality in which our titular detective squares off with tough guy and fitness guru Milo Janus (Robert Conrad) in a case that gets everyone tied up in knots. This episode also features an interview with Amelie Hastie, author of Columbo: Make Me a Perfect Murder, a close reading of the series.  Get it now at https://amzn.to/3xf8Pjk

Chris Stachiw and Mike White are taking a break between the third and fourth seasons of The Shabby Detective: Yet Another Columbo Podcast and discussing one of Peter Falk's later roles as the patriach of the Romano family which includes Paulie (Peter Berg) and Peter (Chris Penn) along with black sheep Corky (Chris Kattan).We discuss Kattan's career, the panning of Corky Romano, and the Happy Madison universe.

We wrap up the third season of Columbo with a solid episode wherein Columbo (Peter Falk) is put on the case of a pair of murders including the death of police commissioner (Richard Kiley)'s wife. Written by Peter S. Fischer, the episode was directed by Falk's friend Ben Gazzara.

Chris and Mike discuss the Columbo episode where Peter Falk was in danger of being overshadowed by his co-star when Johnny Cash stars as a gospel singer who's under the thumb of Ida Lupino as she's lording over him being prosecuted under the Mann Act.

Mike and Chris look at Mind Over Mayhem, the 6th episode of the 3rd season wherein Lt. Columbo is faced with a puzzling murder that takes place on the campus of a think tank where the lead scientist, Jose Ferrer, wants to protect his son from an accusation of plagiarism.

Jack Cassidy is back to square off against Lt. Columbo. He's gone from author to publisher in "Publish or Perish" where he knocks off the prize author (Mickey Spillane) who is about to move to his rival's publishing house. The twist this time is that Cassidy is setting himself up as the murder as well as providing himself with an air-tight alibi courtesy of a mad bomber.

Robert Culp is back for his third time in the villain position as Dr. Bart Kepple, a big shot media consultant who uses subliminal images to murder one of his clients as well as his projectionist Chuck McCann ("The Far Out Space Nuts") in a solid turn from Stephen J. Cannell.

Writer Richard Hatem joins Chris and Mike to discuss the political thriller Columbo episode "Candidate for Crime" in which Jackie Cooper murders his campaign manager in order to protect himself and his affair.

A contender for one of the best episodes of Columbo ever made, Any Old Port in a Storm pits Lt. Columbo against winemaker Adrian Carsini who has murdered his own brother in order to keep control of the family vineyard. Donald Pleasence turns in a powerhouse performance while Peter Falk is in top form. This episode also features an archival interview with story-writer Larry Cohen.

We begin our third season with the murder of a cosmetics genius (Martin Sheen) by his treacherous boss (Vera Miles). Also along for the ride is a under-used Vincent Price.

Like Peter Falk, we're taking a break between seasons. Chris and Mike talk about John Cassavetes's A Woman Under the Influence (1974), a harrowing look at mental illness, marriage, and gender.

We conclude the second season of Columbo with a double dose of Martin Landau as he plays twins Dexter and Norman Paris; a playboy TV chef and stuffed shirt with a gambling problem. Have they murdered their uncle before he can marry Julie Newmar? Why couldn't they have done away with their uncle's annoying housekeeper (Jeanette Nolan) instead?

Lt. Columbo enters the thrilling world of competitive chess in The Most Dangerous Game where he faces off with the conceited champion Emmett Clayton (Lawrence Harvey), one of his best rivals.

Lt. Columbo faces one of his deadliest foes, Dr. Barry Mayfield (Leonard Nimoy), a hotshot surgeon whose payday is being put off by his mentor Dr. Edmund Hidemann (Will Geer). When Mayfield performs heart surgery on Hidemann, he uses some bum suture which leaves a ticking timebomb in his chest...Artwork by parmaali02 from DeviantArt

On the latest episode of The Shabby Detective, Mike and Chris discuss the fifth episode of the second season, Requiem for a Fallen Star wherein a seasoned actress, Nora Chandler (Anne Baxter), may have murdered the wrong person... or persons.This episode includes an interview with The Columbophile, a major fan of Columbo who has written The Columbo Companion, 1968-78: Investigating Every Detail of All 45 'Classic Era' Columbo Adventures, which is available here: https://amzn.to/45me5xG

On this episode of The Shabby Detective, Columbo goes to England in "Dagger of the Mind," the fourth episode of second season. He goes up against Honor Blackman and Richard Basehart as a pair of actors who happen to murder their potential benefactor,The Columbo episode was released as a film in Italy as Scacco Matto a Scotland Yard. Check it out here: https://vimeo.com/609864275

On the latest episode of The Shabby Detective, Mike and Chris discuss the return of Robert Culp, the death of Dean Stockwell, the cost of shoes, and we're visited by special guest, director Jeremy Kagan.

On the second episode of Columbo's second season he's paired with Bob Dishy as one (of two) Sgt. Wilsons and squares off as victim-cum-killer Ray Milland as Jarvis Goodland, an avid orchid collector who murders his nephew (Bradford Dillman)... to fuel his orchid addiction?