Day 251: Columbo, Columbo Cries Wolf

Show: Columbo

Episode Particulars: S9EP2, “Columbo Cries Wolf”, original airdate January 20^th, 1990.

 Summary: Playboy (and Playboy expy) Sean Brantley (Ian Buchanan) has made a successful business out of girly mags and a fabulous lifestyle. His business partner and sometimes lover Diane Hunter (Deidre Hall) has finally grown tired of his antics, and is thinking of selling her controlling interest in the magazine to an English media mogul. Brantley isn’t happy about this, and conveniently for him, Hunter disappears shortly after arriving in England. When Columbo arrives at Brantley’s mansion to investigate, he finds evidence of foul play that suggests that Hunter got in trouble before she even left Los Angeles. Now it’s just a matter of proving his case…and finding the body.

Standalone Thoughts: It’s really hard to talk about this episode without spoiling things, but I’ll say this much; it’s an excellent example of playing with both the Columbo formula and tropes in general. I had enough memory of the episode to not be completely surprised by this, but I bet it shocks quite a few viewers when they see it for the first time. For my part, it reminds me of the early days of the show, when they stuck with the formula but found ways to keep it fresh, and therefore I really appreciate what they did with it. It’s definitely making me more interested in what else I’ll find in Season Nine.

Besides that, I’m not sure how much more I can say. The acting’s generally good, the scenario is clever even before they start playing with expectations, and everything’s pretty well put together. About the only other thing worth mentioning is that it’s clear we haven’t fully moved out of the 80’s despite this being filmed and released in 1990. I say this because the music has a very 80’s vibe to it, and several of the women have what I think people call “big 80’s hair”. That’s more an accent note than key to the episode, but it’s one of the few non plot related elements that really jumped out at me. As for the plot I haven’t really talked about…I think it’s because I’d suggest watching it for yourself. Which I guess is the highest recommendation I can give.

Number of “Columbo-isms”: A surprisingly slim 3/6. The car gets the most prominent focus, you can faintly hear “This Old Man” on the soundtrack a few times, and while they aren’t the greatest examples, I’m willing to say Columbo does one or two “Just one more things”. The complete lack of mention of his wife, especially given the fact that he’s surrounded by beautiful young ladies, is honestly the biggest surprise to me. I’m going to try not to read anything into that.

Other: *Serious question; would it even have been possible in 1990 to make a bracelet/pager combination like the ones we see Brantley and Hunter wear? It’s at least justified in-universe by saying they had them specially made, but I still have my doubts that such a thing was possible back then. At the very least, I wouldn’t expect them to be as light as Columbo claims they are.

*Speaking of technology, we see our first mobile phones in this episode, and they’re more of the “brick” variety. They do date the episode, but in a charming way, and they’re not around long enough to be distracting, so I’m ultimately glad they’re there.

*I was astounded when we got a little bit of continuity from the older episodes; Columbo is put onto the case because Inspector Durk from “Dagger of the Mind” remembered him and called him once Hunter failed to arrive for her meeting in London. It’s just a brief reference and Columbo doesn’t go into details about how he and Durk know each other, but it threw my theory that ABC couldn’t mention anything from the NBC era out the window. Still, continuity nods are continuity nods, so I’m ultimately glad it’s there. I hope we get a few more of those in the future.

*Columbo does seem to have changed a little in the ten-plus years he was off the air. While he still seems uncomfortable with direct nudity, I previously mentioned in “Sex and the Married Detective” that he seemed a little more at ease with the concept. More notably, he not only flies in a helicopter this episode with no problems, but he climbs onto the roof of the mansion and then up another ladder to look into the chimney, again without appearing nervous. I’m not sure how he managed to overcome his fear of heights, but more power to him for doing so.

*Brantley’s, or rather Buchanan’s, voice is interesting in this episode. There were long stretches where he sounded somewhat American, or maybe a hint of an accent you can’t place. Then there was a scene between him and Columbo in the limo, and suddenly I could hear what I’m pretty sure is a Scottish accent loud and clear. Once I heard it, I could hear it creeping in every now and then in subsequent conversations. I’m not sure if it’s just me being somewhat unobservant or if Brantley was supposed to be American and Buchanan couldn’t quite sustain the accent, but it can make for interesting listening either way.

Would This Hold Up in Court?: Yes. Given what Columbo found, there’s no question about it, and I’m pretty sure everything he did was above board. It does make you wonder how Brantley missed that detail, though.