#columbo pilot

[columboscreens]

[dumbassalex]

Watching the Columbo pilot (somebody compared John Constantine to Columbo, got me inspired especialy after a video talking about the show) and my god that man has ADHD.

[fern-spotting]

Columbo S0E2: "Ransom for a Dead Man" (1971)

Fern spotted at 46:48! I believe it's a Kimberly Queen Fern, but at this resolution it's hard to tell.

Bonus fiddle-leaf fig at 00:53.

[pinbones]

Columbo Pilot 1 "Prescription: Murder" Smoke Stats

Smoked onscreen: 11

Smoked onscreen by Columbo: 7 (64%)

Lit onscreen: 7

Lit onscreen by Columbo: 5 (71%)

Lit twice in one scene: 2

Lit twice in one scene by Columbo: 2 (100%)

Scenes where Columbo does not smoke or have a cigar at all: 0

Pens lost by Columbo: 2

__________

Cigarettes count, not only cigars. Usage of a pipe would also count.

'Smoked onscreen' defined as smoked in actuality or suggested to be smoked in-universe, including ambiguous Columbo cigar scenes where he may only be chewing it unless stated/demonstrated to be factually unlit in-universe.

Unnamed characters or characters out of focus would count unless they both would be considered strongly to be part of the background, e.g. a member of a crowd, and were never in focus during any shot.

'Lit twice' defined as two consecutive lightings of the same cigar(/etc) successfully. (Are cigars sometimes lit twice in real life or is that just a Columbo thing?)

[bredforloyalty]

you keep posting about columbo. do i need to watch it would u recommend?

first of all sorry for answering more than a week later... i had a feeling if i just keep on columboposting all alone eventually someone will be like what's going on.. my brain's been like THE KLUMBO!! every day most days for a while now so bear with me for a moment

my answer to "do you recommend x" is always that i can tell you about it, say what i like about it and what's possibly not to like so you can better evaluate whether it's something you would enjoy, yeah? 😳 like in the end it's either for you or it isn't and only you can find out. you know what i mean

um so columbo, the episodes are feature-length self-contained murder mysteries, if you wanted to you could start anywhere. and they aren't exactly mysteries because the concept is that you watch the murder happen and then the clues that lead to the arrest are uncovered gradually and the lieutenant and the killer dance around each other until the latter incriminates themself. usually because they underestimated columbo because he's a shabby little guy and appears to be sort of a bumbling idiot but is actually incredibly perceptive and sharp-witted, and he knows how the (usually rich) self-important murderers see him and uses that against them, as well as his compassion and intuition. that's pretty much it, it's a reverse whodunnit

i think (and it may be obvious) that the appeal of the show other than the crime/mystery is columbo, if you like him that could possibly be the thing that makes you continue watching. so i'll tell you that he doesn't carry a gun, can't stand the sight of blood, or high places, loves his wife. and his dog. simple guy, shrewd though. same rumpled coat and shitty little peugeot convertible all the time. he's very socratic in his methods, non-violent, and i think that's what really attracted me to this show. i enjoy the masculinity without the usual baggage, without the arrogance and the domineering and the posturing, if that makes sense lol.. plus i think peter falk's performance is wonderfully human, stephen fry said this once in an interview if i remember correctly: there's a certain warmth to it. columbo's a humble, virtuous character, yeah he's disheveled, a little all over the place but he understands people and is endlessly curious and dedicated and that's how he wins. and i like that and i think he's a bit of an unusual character because we're far from the macho tough guy cops who intimidate and coerce and threaten And from the trope of the egotistical superhuman genius detective.. he's a little guy c'maahn he's just a little guyy (it's not about him though viewers aren't even supposed to know his first name and it's hard to tell when he's bluffing and his private life is never the focus. so, a mysterious little guy)

TLDR: yes i recommend it if you like mysteries and would enjoy a crime drama with moments of silliness or would appreciate the unconventional masculinity (for his time definitely) i see in this character, and no i don't recommend it if you'd rather watch things that are short and snappy or if you strongly prefer an overarching plot or if you hate the look and feel of the 70s or if you don't like peter falk's whole deal and especially not if your pet peeve is talking in circles. oh and there are some moments and aspects of episodes that didn't age well but they're very few and far between imo. just wanted to mention that, i know nothing is perfect ofc<3

so yeah i do recommend it because i love it, thank you for asking !! :)

[captainsspnanon]

watching columbo for the first time

having seen the first four episodes (aka the first two pilots and then first two episodes), I have realized that it’s not “Columbo finds out who the killer is and how they did it”, it’s “Columbo has seen the script and KNOWS who the killer is.   now he figures out how to prove how they did it”

Once I got a grasp of that concept, I’m enjoying myself immensely!

[elder-sister]

This Columbo episode has been great actually

[birbwell]

all the season 1 columbo villains (excluding the pilot episodes!)

kind of want to make a series out of this hrmmm

[delphinidin4]

By the way, in case you’ve never watched Columbo, here it is for free and legal on the Internet Archive. First episode is the pilot, so it’s slightly different than the rest. Season 8 and 9 are a reboot with the same actor. They’re fascinating and suspenseful murder mysteries with an endearing detective and a surprisingly sympathetic view of the murderer (usually). Funny and well written.

[andhumanslovedstories]

I realized that I’d missed the second pilot for Columbo, “Ransom for a Dead Man” so I took a break from the elevated hijinks of season three to go watch it. I didn’t really like it. Some weird choices, some grating characters. But I do think I love it?

The movie is so weirdly sexist. Like I mean that the way it is sexist is weird. The murderer is like if you reached into a bag of every evil female archetype/cliche, and you just grabbed a random fistful. She’s a gold digger evil stepmother career woman femme fatale stone cold bitch. She’s Barbra Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, and she’s the evil queen from Snow White. All the people around her keep saying stuff like “it must be hard for you, a man, to work for a woman,” and “she always wanted to be a big time fancy lady lawyer!” Her fatal flaw is that she’s too evil.

And Columbo ends up respecting her so much. And she ends up respecting him the same. There’s an alternate universe version of Columbo where there were any recurring characters except Columbo, where she’s the best character in all detective universes: recurring evil person the detective has a weird amount of sexual chemistry with. Something about Columbo’s characterization in this episode put me off, but from the point where they both know that Columbo believes she committed murder, it’s fuckin primo shit dude. They’re tangoing with each other. There’s a point where it seems like she’s having so much fun. You get the sense that she’s never had a real nemesis before and that it delights her.

She was also far and away the best character in the entire movie. Every time she wasn’t there, I wondering when’s my queen was gonna come back. There was a scene where Columbo’s getting lunch, and I was like “get the fuck outta here dude, I know my beautiful murderess is not joining your lame ass at this diner eating chili”

[martixartist]

Lieutenant Mithrun Inspired by a shot from the Columbo pilot!

[columboscreens]

[chapstick-child]

god is it bad to admit out loud that i had no idea acapulco was a real place, like, i thought it was a fictional place made up for bittersweet candy bowl

and i only realized YEARS later that it was real after watching the pilot episode of columbo...

[fern-spotting]

Columbo S0E1: "Prescription: Murder" (1968)

No ferns spotted.

[autismsupersoldier]

Hi! I just want you to know that I did not know what Columbo was before I started following you, and tonight, I finally broke and watched the first episode. I can say that is isn't really my type of show, but, Columbo is a slut and I need him to stop blinking like that because it's making him pretty to me and I'm uncomfortable about that. Anyways! Thank for contributing to the last hour and a half of my life and some rapid self discovery this evening. I hope you're having a good day!

SNICKERING AT THIS!

i am curious if you watched the pilot [Prescription: Murder] (where columbo is a youngin, as pictured above) or the first-first episode [Murder by the Book]... his pilot self is VERY different from how he ends up being in the actual show

[vintagetvstars]

i hope you enjoy columbo! a big part of the fun of it imo is all the actors from other vintage tv shows and movies who guest star on it!

I won’t talk about it too much since I know Peter Falk has already been nominated for the men’s bracket and I don’t want to sway anyone’s opinion on accident.

But as far as the show as a whole goes, I was hooked on minute one and kept exclaiming how much I enjoyed it and how well done it was the entire time I was watching the first episode (or I believe the first pilot). Mod Violet can attest as I was actively screaming about how good it is in their DM’s last night 😅. Needless to say I am a fan and I’m excited to watch the rest!

Also excited to know there are a lot of vintage tv guest stars so I’ll get to play my favorite game of guess where you’ve seen and/or heard this actor before 😊

- mod vintage