It’s a Robert Culp! In this season two episode, he’s the day-to-day manager of a sports empire owned by dissolute heir Dean Stockwell. For hazy reasons, Culp kills the guy and, well, the episode just looks awful pretty, okay? Author Glen Erik Hamilton (Past Crimes, Hard Cold Winter) joins Jon and RJ to break it all down.
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According to netflix this episode is season two, not season three. Also: CULP!
Yeah, I was also going to mention that it’s season 2, not season 3. And then I was going to apologize for being That Guy.
OH no. I’m that guy.
I’m rewatching this now through the prism of the podcast…this episode is proving better than I remember…the power of Culp!
I kept wondering why Culp’s character killed Stockwell’s, and how Columbo could possibly figure it out when the audience couldn’t. But there was still a lot to like in this episode, even if some of it was (possibly unintentional) comedy.
Totally agree. Watching it again (having had my DVD freeze & need cleaning just before the denouement) I get why I’ve never rated it so highly, The Columbo Phile calls this as one of the weakest entries in the series, and I’ve always agreed – but now I know why. The motive is…what, exactly? Who benefits how? That’s what pulls everything else down. There’s loads of great Columbo stuff here, loads to enjoy. But if they’d sorted the motive(s) out, it would have been much better. The sheer Columbo-ness of the episode pulls it through. Falk and Culp are wonderful. But I get why it’s the significant lesser of The Culp Trinity.