Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Day 241: Columbo, Try and Catch Me




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…

 Summary: Murder mystery author Abigail Mitchell (Ruth Gordon) has decided to murder her nephew by marriage Edmund Galvin (Charles Frank), because she suspects him of murdering her beloved niece. After staging a scenario where they write wills naming each other as primary heir and making it look like Galvin left the property, Galvin returns supposedly to learn the combination to Mitchell’s large safe, only for Mitchell to lock him in there and leave on a trip, secure in her alibi. Galvin does indeed die, but he’s left behind some odd clues, like a torn paper, burnt matches, and scratch marks on his belt buckle. Just the sort of thing a mystery writer—and Columbo—like to work out.


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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