Show: Columbo
Episode
Particulars: S7EP1, “Try and Catch Me”, original airdate November 21st,
1977.
Note: The DVD collection I own says this episode is part
of Season Six (which makes sense because this was also from 1977), but both
Wikipedia and this website say that it’s Season Seven, and I’m inclined
to trust their judgment. Though this is par for the course for this particular
DVD, as you’ll see in the next entry…
Standalone
Thoughts: Although this episode has some similarities with two previous
episodes—an author being the murderer from “Murder by the Book” and murder by
suffocation from “Any Old Port in a Storm”—the story takes the ideas in a new,
well-executed direction, and ends up being an episode I really enjoyed. Much
like “Fade in to Murder”, I think this is partially due to the fact that Falk
and Gordon play off each other pretty well, and also that Gordon in general
does a great job playing what appears to be a sweet old lady until you do
something to make her mad. I also think the way Mitchell gets caught out is
very unusual and interesting, and the scene where Columbo gets put on the spot
and has to give a speech to the ladies society is well done, managing to avoid
cringe comedy and instead feeling pretty genuine. It’s another good start to
the season, although I said that about “Fade in to Murder” too and wound up
feeling underwhelmed. We’ll have to find out together which direction this
season is going to take. Though if memory serves, there’s at least one other
decent episode in here…
Number of
“Columbo-isms”: Even though it comes really close to being a perfect 6/6,
I’d like all of them to be definitive cases of each trope. As such, while we
definitely have the car, Mrs. Columbo, Dog, and “This Old Man”, the fumbling
mostly consists of him patting his chest a few times and a somewhat roundabout
“Just one more thing” (although Mitchell actually says it to him at one point). So let’s call this a
4/6, but also “The one that got away.” Well, I’ve got twenty-eight more
episodes to try, and if nothing else, I’ll say this one came close enough for
government work.
Other: *I’m
not entirely sure why the scene where Mitchell sets up her murder is
accompanied by an orchestral backing that would be right at home in a symphony,
but I suppose it does make it somewhat more notable.
*When Mitchell returns home after being contacted about
Galvin’s death, we get two hints that Columbo is on the scene before we
actually see him. One is a shot of his car, which is normal. The other is the
briefly seen glimpse of three cigars in the ashtray…the same ashtray where Mitchell
stashed Galvin’s keys. I really like this, because it’s a reminder of Columbo’s
presence and a bit of foreshadowing of impending tension. Whoever came up with
that detail was brilliant.
*We get another tiny bit of continuity when Columbo
mentions in passing that he and his wife have gone on a cruise before. This
adds nothing to the episode proper, but I always like seeing little flashes of
interconnectivity, especially in a show like this.
Would This Hold Up
in Court?: I think so. It’s not the strongest evidence, but Columbo himself
explains why a jury would probably buy it, and it is pretty damning if you’re willing to accept it. We’ll just have
to imagine what would happen, though, especially if her lawyer Martin Hammond
(G. D. Spradlin) gets involved…
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