Wear your hazmat suit! We're blogging film and television.
Caution: Too much exercise may be hazardous to your health.
We compare two Columbo episodes that makes health and exercise machines important plot devices. Produced two seasons apart, they may appear completely different styles. Let’s take a close look. It’s the second season episode, “Double Shock” versus “An Exercise in Fatality” from season four.
Robert Culp’s first Columbo episode was
“Death Lends a Hand”. His last, “Columbo Goes to College”. Made decades apart, the pair are separated by two networks. “Death Lends a Hand” was aired during the first season on NBC on 1971. In this edition of Columbo episode comparisons we reach deep for similarities between mysteries starring one of the series’ most iconic villain.
It’s the psychologist vs. the psychiatrist,
with Columbo episodes “Prescription: Murder” and “A Deadly State of Mind”. Both bad, mad mind-doctors practice murder. Produced years apart, they have many things in common.
Videotapes,
a clever piece of technology and ahead of its time in 1975. Just as useful in 1991, the videotape may be used as misleading evidence by the unscrupulous. It’s “Playback” versus “Caution: Murder can be Hazardous to your Health”.
In Columbo’s Internal affairs,
good cops go bad. We take a look at “A Friend in Deed” and “A Trace of Murder” and , where Columbo’s investigation leads to an inside man. From two separate era’s we compare how alike and how different they are.
Young geniuses,
made rare appearances on Columbo. But we headline two villains who made their rise fast on a history of crime and murder. From season one, there is Peter Stanford from “Short Fuse”, who explodes to the top of the petroleum industry. Next, from the ABC years, is Alex Brady from “Murder, Smoke, and Shadows” a shocking director making questionable decisions. We make a comparison how similar in formula these two episodes are.
Killer pilots,
with two of them on Columbo. We take a look at “Ransom for a Dead Man and “Swan Song”. Each had their differences but some curious similarities. Read more about Columbo’s killer pilots.
Columbo’s book writers,
Ken Franklin vs. Abigail Mitchell, in a duel of mysteries. It’s season one “Murder by the Book” and season seven “Try and Catch Me”. Which episode better illustrated the anxieties of a mystery writer? It’s a battle of two great episodes.
Escaping blackmail Columbo style,
with two unhappy husbands desperate to escape from their marriage. It’s murder with Johnny Cash vs. Dick Van Dyke, its “Swan Song” vs. “Negative Reaction”. Come read about them both. Which is your favorite?
With Blackmailed under contract,
we compare two Columbo episodes, “Now You See Him” and “Fade in to Murder”. Both showcase villains as victims to her blackmailing boss taking a too-large cut of their income. Unlike others, the victims wanted to keep their pigeons employed. We’re not including examples where the murderer was actually fired; see “Short Fuse” or “Playback”, both have their villains kicked out of the company.
