Day 240: Columbo, The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case

Show: Columbo

Episode Particulars: S6EP3, “The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case”, original airdate May 22^nd, 1977.

 Summary: Oliver Brandt (no relation to the Brandts of the previous episode, and played by Theodore Bikel) is part of the Sigma Society, a MENSA-like group of geniuses. His business partner Bertie Hastings (Sorrell Booke) is a member as well, and after a meeting of the society, they retreat up to the library and have an argument, where Hastings reveals he knows that Brandt is embezzling funds from their clients. Having known about this in advance, Brandt shoots him with a silenced pistol, then rigs up a system to make it sound like the shots happened once he was safely downstairs. It’s enough to fool Brandt’s fellow geniuses, but Columbo, as expected, has a higher IQ than Brandt gives him credit for.

Standalone Thoughts: I feel like nobody was entirely sure what they were doing with this episode. It feels like a collection of moments and ideas that don’t really fit together. Let’s start with the big one; despite the fact that the conceit supposedly revolves around a murder happening in the presence of the smartest people in the world, the episode does practically nothing with it. After the scenes that establish them, there’s one scene where they all give conflicting information, and then a scene where two of the members come in to offer Columbo their ideas on how it was done, only for Columbo to gently shoot them down. The group could have been used for serious or comedic purposes, but the most we get out of them is a bit of cringe comedy that plays right into the “book smart but not socially smart” stereotype. Not to mention the fact that there’s an exchange between Columbo and a fourteen year-old girl (Kathleen King) that is meant to be sweet and just winds up feeling really uncomfortable…

Then there’s the random mishmash of material. The music that opens the episode sounds like it would be right at home in a sci-fi movie (the Doctor Who theme sprang to mind, and I only know about it through cultural osmosis). Meanwhile, the scene at the end where Columbo discusses things with Brandt is set up like a horror movie, complete with dramatic thunder and lightning and an eerie, empty mansion. There’s a scene that appears to be taking place in some sort of swingers club that serves no purpose whatsoever, especially since the important information could have been given in a more believable location. Bikel has at least three monologues where he comes off as extremely unlikeable and pretentious, thus making it even harder to parse what is going on. Even the editing has problems, using rapid cutting to ruin what could have been a great “dancing around the issue” between Brandt and Columbo. Basically, about the only things in this episode I really liked are the initial concept and a monologue by Columbo that feels genuine rather than forced. But that’s definitely not enough for me to recommend it.

Number of “Columbo-isms”: 3/6. There’s a brief bit with the car, a few mentions of Mrs. Columbo and how smart she is, and one variation of “Just one more thing”. There’s also a slight subversion where Columbo isn’t wearing his raincoat while it’s raining because his wife wanted to try a new cleaning product on his coat. A predictable joke, perhaps, but still a fun one.

Other: *I honestly want to know who created the title for this episode. It seems overly twee, and I fail to see how “Bye-Bye” has any connection to the plot. It can leave a bad first impression before you’ve even started the episode, and while it didn’t go that far for me, I certainly think it’s one of the worst Columbo titles ever. They couldn’t have come up with something a little more dignified?

*Why was Brandt playing a song on the radio while he was setting up the murder? Wasn’t there a risk people would hear the music and wonder who was upstairs? The fact that the song is really annoying (to me) doesn’t help much either.

*I’m not going to include a picture of it this time, but the wallpaper in Brandt’s office is just as startling as the wallpaper I showcased in “Old Fashioned Murder”. It was probably normal for the time, but it’s a bit much of a muchness for me in the here and now.

*Season wrapup: Honestly, this one was short and not so sweet. “Fade In to Murder” was a promising start, but the other two episodes left something to be desired, one because it went for pure melodrama and the other because it’s all over the place. They aren’t terrible (you only really realize how weak this episode is once it’s over), but they’re not great, either. I wonder if possibly the crew was starting to run out of ideas; it would certainly explain why the next season was the last one for over a decade. Sometimes, you just need a break to recharge your creative batteries.

Would This Hold Up in Court?: Yes, partially because of evidence and partly because Brandt incriminated himself. That being said, Columbo both set Brandt up and wouldn’t be able to submit that evidence in court by his own admission, so the defense lawyer could probably make something of that.