The 10 Best Episodes of Columbo

From 1968 through 1978, and then again from 1989 to 2003, the rich and powerful, the haughty and the vain, all feared one man; a man who looked like he had forgotten to comb his hair and couldn’t remember to remove his overcoat. That man was Lieutenant Columbo of the Los Angeles Police Department, played by Peter Falk.

Introduced as a side character in a short story by writers Richard Levinson and William Link, Lieutenant Columbo first appeared in a 1960 episode of The Chevy Mystery Show, played by Bert Freed. When that same story was remade as the TV movie Prescription: Murder in 1968, Falk took the part and immediately made an impression. Falk proved popular enough to warrant a second TV movie, Ransom for a Dead Man, in 1971, later that year getting a proper premiere as part of The NBC Mystery Movie series.

Drawing inspiration from Inspector Porfiry Petrovich from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Levinson and Link imagined Columbo as a wise and wily investigator. When Falk came aboard, he began adding affectations that became the character’s calling card: his unkempt appearances, he busted car and ever-present cigar, a dog named “Dog” and references to a forever-unseen wife, and, of course, his catchphrase, “Just one more thing…”

Columbo solved his last case when he caught a killer played by Matthew Rhys in 2003, but he leaves behind a host of great mysteries, including these 10 standout episodes.

10. Columbo Goes to College (1990)

For the most part, the revival episodes of Columbo pale in comparison to the original run. The 24 TV movies aired intermittently between 1989 and 2003 tended to make the lieutenant feel out of place in his own show, sticking him into hard-boiled cop drama, forcing him to do extended and unfunny bits (see: the tuba playing in “Sex and the Married Detective”), or lean into discordant raunchy plots (see, again: “Sex and the Married Detective”).

However, 1990’s “Columbo Goes to College” recovers some of the old magic by pitting the lieutenant against a pair of snotty college jerks (Stephen Caffrey and Gary Hershberger) who think their rich parents will protect them from punishment. Falk gets some back-up in the form of Robert Culp, who co-starred in some of the best episodes of the original series, for a story that builds to one of the most satisfying confession moments.

9. Fade into Murder (1976)

At its height, Columbo gave guest stars a chance to show off their skills and play against type. Not so for William Shatner, who appeared in 1976’s “Fade into Murder” as, get this, an arrogant actor! All kidding aside, Shatner is magnetic as Ward Fowler, who plays a charismatic detective Lieutenant Lucerne on television. When Fowler kills his controlling agent (Lola Albright) while disguised as a stick-up artist, he hopes to draw attention away from himself by offering unwanted advice to Columbo.

Fowler is a classic Columbo killer, so full of himself and so devoid of remorse that he doesn’t see the folly of judging a real detective according to the standards of the guy he plays on TV. Shatner invites the viewers to hate him, and then completely wins them over with his endless charisma. Just don’t pay too much attention to Shatner’s old Star Trek crew mate Walter Koenig as police officer in one scene, an unfortunate reminder that guys like Fowler aren’t so fun to be around in real life.

8. Double Shock (1973)

Unlike most mystery shows, Columbo wasn’t a whodunit. Rather, it was a “howcatchem,” an inverted detective story that reveals the killer and the murder in the first act, and spends the rest of the episode showing how Columbo figures it out and gets the bad guy to confess. The season 2 finale “Double Shock” initially seems to be following the usual path, beginning with ill-tempered Dexter (Martin Landau) killing his rich and elderly Uncle Clifford, before the latter can marry a much younger woman (one-time Catwoman Julie Newmar).

But with the reveal that Landau also plays Dexter’s outgoing identical twin brother Norman, viewers realize that they may not know what they think they know. The twin conceit forces Columbo watchers to guess more than usual, but it also gives Landau plenty of room to show off his skills, varying between the sullen Dexter and the sunny Norman. Even better, “Double Shock” features one of the more delightful interludes, when the lieutenant becomes an initially reluctant but then exuberant guest on Norman’s cooking show.

7. Try and Catch Me (1977)

If Columbo had a motto, it might be, “Looks are deceiving.” After all, nearly every episode involves some vain person dismissing Columbo as an air-headed buffoon, only to learn that he’s three steps ahead of them. At first, author Abigail Mitchell of “Try and Catch Me” doesn’t seem to fit the mold, and not just because she’s played by pint-sized octogenarian Ruth Gordon. Rather, the spunky old writer seems like a genuine sweetheart—until she commits one of the most upsetting murders in the series, trapping his nephew-in-law (Edmund Galvin) in an airtight walk-in safe to suffocate to death.

Yet, there’s more than meets the eye in even that action, as Mitchell murders the man for killing her beloved niece. That sense of justice allows the always-delightful Gordon to play Mitchell as a sweet and spunky antagonist to Columbo, even as her vendetta starts claiming less-guilty lives.

6. Forgotten Lady (1975)

Abigail Mitchell covers her killer instinct under the exterior of a sweet old lady. Grace Wheeler-Willis, the past-her-prime actress played by Janet Leigh in “Forgotten Lady” goes even further. Along with her on-screen partner Ned Diamond (John Payne), Grace plans a triumphant comeback, if only she can get funding for her new production. When her husband Henry (Sam Jaffe) refuses to devote his finances to the endeavor, Grace takes things into her own hands by killing him and making it look like a suicide.

Stories with celebrities within the world of the show can be hit-or-miss (see: “Swan Song,” which wastes Johnny Cash playing a killer), but it’s always fun to see the lieutenant act like a fanboy, either on his own behalf or that of Mrs. Columbo. “Forgotten Lady” takes it one step further by making Grace into not just a sympathetic villain, but a tragic one, leading to one of the most surprising final moments of any Columbo episode.

5. Étude in Black (1972)

Outside of the show, Falk is perhaps best known for his work with close friend John Cassavetes, the indie auteur behind such raw classics such as A Woman Under the Influence and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Those two worlds collide with the season two premiere “Étude in Black,” in which Cassavetes plays a brilliant composer who kills his mistress to prevent her from revealing the affair to his wife (Blythe Danner).

Falk and Cassavetes pair so well because the former’s shambling persona offsets the latter’s manic energy, and “Étude in Black” is no different. Few suspects have been so convincingly irritated by Columbo’s constant presence, and rarely has the lieutenant seemed so unbothered. Although the episode drags a bit, a result of NBC expanding the run-time to capitalize on Columbo‘s popularity, the script by future Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue creator Steven Bochco remains compelling, leading to a fantastic showdown at the end.

Fun fact: one could argue that “Étude in Black” counts as Gwyneth Paltrow‘s first screen appearance, as her mother Danner is visibly pregnant with her during a tennis scene.

4. A Stitch in Crime (1973)

Part of Columbo‘s appeal came from the way he contradicted other pop-culture cops at the time. While Dirty Harry Callahan and Popeye Doyle are making the streets safe by brutalizing everyone they meet, Lieutenant Columbo genially annoys suspects until their conscience overtook them, like Inspector Petrovich before him. “A Stitch in Crime” features the rare instance of the lieutenant losing his cool. Even better, it’s Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock himself, who pushes Columbo over the edge.

Nimoy plays Dr. Barry Mayfield, a talented young surgeon who feels that his older colleague, Dr. Heideman (Will Geer), is blocking his success because he refuses to rush a new drug to market. When Heideman needs emergency surgery, he foolishly entrusts Mayfield to perform the procedure, sealing his fate. To his credit, Mayfield does come up with an ingenious way of covering his crime. But not so smart that it can fool Columbo, who quickly runs out of patience with the surgeon’s callous attitude toward human life.

3. Any Old Port in the Storm (1973)

Columbo almost always expresses admiration for his suspects, but it usually feels like an extension of his act to get them to underestimate him. Columbo’s respect for winemaker Adrian Carsini (the great Donald Pleasence) feels different. The lieutenant figures out almost immediately that Carsini killed his half-brother Ric (Gary Conway) to prevent him from diluting the family’s wine offering in pursuit of higher profits. Yet, he’s happy to take his time with Carsini, listening to the man speak passionately about his beverage.

To be clear, the lieutenant still brings Carsani to justice by the end of “Any Old Port in the Storm.” However, the interactions between Columbo and Carsani give Falk the chance to play his character straight. Moreover, it’s nice to see a suspect actually respect the lieutenant and recognize his cleverness right away, even if that means he’ll be held accountable for his actions.

2. Negative Reaction (1974)

As already seen with Leonard Nimoy in “A Stitch in Crime,” a guest spot on Columbo gives character actors the opportunity to play against type. No one embraced the opportunity better than Dick Van Dyke, who soured his affable screen presence to play angry photographer Paul Galesko. Galesko spends the first act setting up an elaborate kidnapping hoax to kill his unpleasant wife, giving Van Dyke plenty of space to express his hatred of her.

Even at his angriest, Van Dyke cannot completely subdue his likability, making Galesko a killer both alluring and repellent. It also adds a unique charge to his interactions with Columbo, as we viewers fear that the lieutenant’s in danger, even when Galesko seems to play along with his interruptions. The combination makes for a thrilling episode of Columbo, one only slightly diminished by the tenuous nature of the evidence the lieutenant uses to get a confession out of Galesko.

1. Murder by the Book (1971)

As this list shows, some incredible talents have worked on Columbo. But the greatest of all may be the person who directed the show’s debut as part of The NBC Mystery Movie series. Steven Spielberg directed “Murder by the Book” in 1971, the same year as his debut feature film, Duel. Right away, Spielberg’s incredible talent for blocking is on full display, with a bravado sequence showing author Ken Franklin (Jack Cassidy) interrupting his writing partner Jim Ferris (Martin Milner), to play along with his pal before murdering him to prevent the loss of their shared profits.

Even without Spielberg’s direction, “Murder by the Book” would be an all-time great. The charismatic Cassidy always plays a great smarmy Columbo killer, and his Franklin condescends to the lieutenant with the best of them. Even better, the episode illustrates what makes Columbo such a great detective, with multiple scenes that find the lieutenant moving away from the crowd to pick up on a clue or detail that everyone else has missed.

In most cases, it is disastrous when a show’s first episode is its best episode. But with Columbo, “Murder by the Book” simply set a standard that was met bet the majority of the shows that followed.

Columbo is streaming on Peacock.