The whole premise of Columbo is that we, the audience, see first hand how and why the murder happens, in detail. The expectation is about HOW the lieutenant will solve the crime.
After the canon, as bright ideas burned out, the structure began to get changed. Okay, I'm on board with the inevitable. I even enjoy some of these later Columbos more than a few of what makes part of the canon.
But the change has to contribute meaningfully to the show. It wasn't so with this one.
Basically, the "gotcha" is a lame version of what was perfectly used in an old episode. What happens if someone other than the victim has dressed the victim? The direction of the shoe lace loops was the giveaway in that classical story. And in this one, the whole deal boils down to wearing an underwear backwards. Unlike the former, this is no proof that someone else has dressed the woman! Anyone can accidentally put on a piece of underwear backwards.
And the lack of credibility doesn't even end there: How can Columbo be so sure of the murderer's gender based solely on that? It makes no sense!
Yeah, this is one of those killers who will definitely walk free.
But I don't think the writer should walk free after such a clumsy ending. Because the inconsistency is not only there, but also with the planning of the murder.
This lousy man, this tennis player has shot the victim twice, with different pistols, to make it look like he had shot a corpse the second time? Is THAT what he thinks would help him?
So he KNOWS for a fact that forensics would not make a mistake and figure out the second bullet hit an already dead person. WHY? How can one premeditate a murder and put himself at such a high risk at the same time? How can he trust so much the forensics? And... WHY would he think that, having shot at the corpse would absolve him of further inquiry into whether he was the murderer already?
Why would anyone move on with such convolution?
If he is so smart, why doesn't he simply kill her, remove the body and throw it out into the ocean? How would that be any more risky than that stunt he's pulling throughout the episode?
The way the crime is committed doesn't match with the character and the overall attitude of the killer.
The only thing that is successfully murdered here is the narrative pattern that makes Columbo the great show it is!
The only reason I'm giving this a 6 and not a 4 is because Peter Falk is still in character, the changes provide colorful entertainment at certain scenes, just like the occasional need to dispose of the egg shells does.
Also, I enjoyed the music. It had character and was different than Columbo's usual tunes, signaling us that the pattern was gonna be breaking bad with this one.
After the canon, as bright ideas burned out, the structure began to get changed. Okay, I'm on board with the inevitable. I even enjoy some of these later Columbos more than a few of what makes part of the canon.
But the change has to contribute meaningfully to the show. It wasn't so with this one.
Basically, the "gotcha" is a lame version of what was perfectly used in an old episode. What happens if someone other than the victim has dressed the victim? The direction of the shoe lace loops was the giveaway in that classical story. And in this one, the whole deal boils down to wearing an underwear backwards. Unlike the former, this is no proof that someone else has dressed the woman! Anyone can accidentally put on a piece of underwear backwards.
And the lack of credibility doesn't even end there: How can Columbo be so sure of the murderer's gender based solely on that? It makes no sense!
Yeah, this is one of those killers who will definitely walk free.
But I don't think the writer should walk free after such a clumsy ending. Because the inconsistency is not only there, but also with the planning of the murder.
This lousy man, this tennis player has shot the victim twice, with different pistols, to make it look like he had shot a corpse the second time? Is THAT what he thinks would help him?
So he KNOWS for a fact that forensics would not make a mistake and figure out the second bullet hit an already dead person. WHY? How can one premeditate a murder and put himself at such a high risk at the same time? How can he trust so much the forensics? And... WHY would he think that, having shot at the corpse would absolve him of further inquiry into whether he was the murderer already?
Why would anyone move on with such convolution?
If he is so smart, why doesn't he simply kill her, remove the body and throw it out into the ocean? How would that be any more risky than that stunt he's pulling throughout the episode?
The way the crime is committed doesn't match with the character and the overall attitude of the killer.
The only thing that is successfully murdered here is the narrative pattern that makes Columbo the great show it is!
The only reason I'm giving this a 6 and not a 4 is because Peter Falk is still in character, the changes provide colorful entertainment at certain scenes, just like the occasional need to dispose of the egg shells does.
Also, I enjoyed the music. It had character and was different than Columbo's usual tunes, signaling us that the pattern was gonna be breaking bad with this one.