I wonder what other form of mystery (besides inverted and police procedural) would work for the character Columbo?Īlthough he is nominally a police officer, Columbo is really a Great Detective in the Gideon Fell/Father Brown mold. UNDERCOVER and NO TIME TO DIE have worked as McBain’s novels and in countless cop shows, it was the character Columbo that did not work. The scenes in the police station had me screaming for the Columbo I had come to watch. Dropping the inverted mystery could have worked but the changes in the character of Columbo, especially his lack of normal independence, was fatal. TV dramas can get away with taking risks with stories but not changing its characters. But certain parts of any successful drama is like a running gag in a comedy sacred to the audience. Sergio, you are right, after so many years creative people tend to take a risk – if only to relieve the boredom. A pointless (and expensive to film) scene where they recover the loot, but having the independent arrival and exit of Columbo, the real Columbo with his dog, in his special car, and finally dressed properly, was like a special note reassuring the fans that the Columbo they loved still lived.Ĥ. The best scene in the episode was the one tacked on to the end. We didn’t watch COLUMBO to see a story better suited for MCCLOUD. Bradstreet, you are right every TV series has a theme, abandoning the theme of a self-contained episode rarely works. UNDERCOVER and NO TIME DIE could work, but sadly they don’t – which is a shame, but then COLUMBO did set the bar very high!ģ. Falk acknowledged that the McBain adaptation were controversial in, of all places, an episode of the sitcom THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW but the discussion, as I recall, got derailed by Jeremy Piven’s derriere. In my view the same goes for RIP MRS COLUMBO, which also takes a few liberties (but less than it at first seems). However, in the case of DOUBLE SHOCK and LAST SALUTE TO THE COMMODORE, both of which unexpectedly become whodunits, this felt like a clever variation that added somethign new without damaging the formula. Well, so late in the day and perhaps inevitably there are going to be attempts to tinker with the formula. It’s like an episode of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE where, instead of tricking the bad guy into destroying himself, they simply get a sniper and kill him in the first two minutes. The problem with this particular film was that the inverted crime was so much a part of the COLUMBO format that by removing it you rip out the heart of the show. You did notice Peter Falk was executive producer. It was as if watching a GAMES OF THRONE story done for THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW. Some genius thought lets take a great crime writer and great crime TV series and put them together. This episode is also available on DVD (Mystery Movie Collection: 1994-2003).ġ6 Responses to “A TV Review by Michael Shonk: COLUMBO “Undercover” (1994).”Īt what point did this sound like a good Columbo episode? Both books were from McBain’s 87th Precinct book series. This and the episode “No Time to Die” (adapted from McBain’s book So Long As You Both Shall Live (1976) and was the only COLUMBO episode without a murder) were the only Columbo episodes not originally written for the series. The McBain book adapted here was Jigsaw (1970). But there was nothing about this episode that made it special enough to abandon the series premise of the inverted mystery or the main character’s methods.Ĭolumbo does a story by Ed McBain, master of the police procedurals! There are so many things wrong with that sentence. The script by Gerry Day ( Wagon Train, Dennis the Menace, Murder She Wrote) had its moments such as when one character described Burt Young’s character as looking like that guy from Rocky. The acting, directing and production values were up to usual Columbo standards. We expect more from Columbo.Īfter a man is murdered by someone searching for a piece of a photograph, the alleged Columbo goes undercover searching for the killer and the photograph that would lead to the location of the missing four million dollars from a botched bank robbery. Until then this imposter works in a police station where he shares a desk with his partner, needs his Captain’s approval to take the case, goes undercover, carries a gun and gets knocked out by the bad guy in this average TV mystery.Īnd the most unforgiving flaw with this cop show posing as a Columbo episode, was I knew who the killer was while Columbo believed it was another suspect. OK, who is this character posing as Columbo? Where is the inverted mystery? The real Columbo, one properly dressed in his car with his dog does not arrive on screen until the final scene. Sorry for the commercial interruptions on this YouTube video. Guest Cast: Ed Begley Jr, Burt Young, Harrison Page, Shera Danese, Tyne Daly. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link. Produced and Directed by Vincent McEveety.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |