Day 227: Columbo, Negative Reaction

Show: Columbo

Episode Particulars: S4EP2, “Negative Reaction”, original airdate October 6^th, 1974.

 Summary: Photographer Paul Galesko (Dick Van Dyke) has a problem; his wife Frances (Antoinette Bower) is a completely horrible person. In order to get rid of her without incriminating himself, he uses ex-convict Alvin Deschler (Don Gordon) to purchase a ranch house (for what Deschler thinks is innocent purposes), then takes his wife there, ties her up, takes her photo, and kills her. After setting up a fake ransom note, he meets Deschler at a junkyard, then shoots him. Galesko even shoots himself in the leg to make it look like a money exchange gone horribly wrong. But all that’s going to accomplish is a permanent scar, because with Columbo on the case, there’s no way Galesko’s going to get away with it.

Standalone Thoughts: I enjoyed this episode, primarily because of the way the story handles the material surrounding the murder itself. At the beginning, we actually have a little bit of sympathy for Galesko, because his wife is clearly awful (although that does raise the question of why he married her). Then he goes through with the murder, and based on the fact that he made a fake ransom note, you start to wonder if this is a retread of “Ransom for a Dead Man”. But then Deschler is introduced, and things all got flipped around. Not only is the murderer bringing in a third party this time, but the third party is unaware of their role in the events. This also paints Galesko in a new light, because it’s hard to be sympathetic to someone who’s going to frame an innocent man, especially one who seems to have turned over a new leaf. It’s a clever and creative development, and I very much approve, even if I disapprove of Galesko’s actions.

On a related note, the acting of the supporting characters is noteworthy in this episode. Bower successfully makes you hate Mrs. Galesko, and Gordon does an excellent job in making Deschler likeable, even though he’s only present in the story for five minutes or so. Dick Van Dyke’s performance, meanwhile, is fine, but that one’s a little harder to discuss because I’m just so used to thinking of him as playing nice characters. The fact that he speaks his lines in the same warm, friendly tone as he’d use in something like Mary Poppins doesn’t help with that. I can only imagine it was worse for audiences in 1974, since they were so used to seeing him on The Dick Van Dyke show. Still, it’s not like I disbelieve him as a murderer, so it’s a bit distracting but not a dealbreaker.

The other thing that’s really worth discussing are two scenes that seem to serve the dual purpose of filling time and also making jokes at Columbo’s expense. In the first, Columbo goes to a homeless shelter to talk to a potential witness, and is mistaken for a hobo by a Sister of Mercy (Joyce van Patten). In the second, Columbo has to question a DMV employee, and gives said employee a lift in his car, to the man’s consternation. Both of these scenes may be difficult to watch for those who don’t like cringe comedy, and I think that having two such scenes in one episode is a bit of overkill. If you asked me to choose, I’d cut out the homeless shelter scene and put it in another episode. It has enough amusing moments to make it worth using elsewhere (I particularly like the way Columbo visibly just gives up and lets the Sister make her assumptions), but it’s completely pointless in this episode. The witness was too drunk to remember the events, and he never appears in the story again after this scene. Therefore, the scene exists solely for padding, and because someone thought it would be a funny idea. They aren’t entirely wrong about that, but I feel like it could have been used to better effect.

This is a solid episode, with decent setups and payoffs and some “show, don’t tell” that works for me, although others may think differently. Already this season is proving to be stronger than its predecessor. And given that I know tomorrow marks the first appearance of a recurring guest actor (and director), I’m looking forward to seeing if that episode continues the trend.

Number of “Columbo-isms”: 4.5/6. There’s an entire bit revolving around Columbo’s car, several mentions of his wife, a few “Just one more things”, and a little fumbling. The .5 is because he talks about his dog, but we never actually see him. And since they are willing to show the dog, that means this only counts for half.

Other: *I’m not sure if it was intentional continuity or not, but Columbo apparently learned his lesson after “Double Shock”, because he doesn’t automatically put his cigar ashes in the first thing that looks like an ashtray in Galesko’s house. In fact, he’s nervous to put them into any of the surfaces in the room, and ultimately just puts them in his pocket. It’s a small moment, but it made me grin.

*Given Columbo’s dealings with bureaucracy in the past, it’s kind of surprising that he actually manages to deal with the DMV with little incident. That place is considered the poster child for government lines and regulations. Though speaking of which…

*There’s a throwaway bit during the scene where Columbo drives the DMV guy back to the office where the man informs Columbo that seatbelts are a requirement for cars, thanks to a new regulation that was instated fourteen months earlier. Now there’s a sign of the times; it’s hard to imagine there was a time when seatbelts weren’t standard.

Would This Hold Up in Court?: Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that Galesko incriminated himself. No, in the sense that he was set up. I’m not sure which one would hold more weight in a court of law.