The Shabby Detective: Yet Another Columbo Podcast

Hell hath no fury like a TV executive scorned. Mike and Chris train their cameras on Season Seven's "Make Me a Perfect Murder," a 1978 entry that puts Trish Van Devere center stage as Kay Freestone — a network programmer who, after being passed over for the big promotion by her boss and lover Mark McAndrews (Laurence Luckinbill), decides that a well-timed gunshot during a screening room preview is a more satisfying career move than updating her résumé. Our hosts wrestle with the episode's real weaknesses: a runtime that overstays its welcome by a good twenty minutes, bogged down by a meandering subplot involving Lainie Kazan's has-been singer and one too many scenes of Columbo fiddling with TV equipment. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

As Mike and Chris continue to traipse through the controversial official final season of Columbo with the Shabby Detective returning to the kitchen to face off against Louis Jourdan as a snotty TV chef and food critic who uses blowfish poison to take out a victim of blackmail who was going to go public. Is the all-star cast and steady directing from Jonathan Demme enough to save the episode? Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

Mike White and Chris Stachiw kick off season seven of Columbo with a close look at “Try and Catch Me,” where literary titan Abigail Mitchell (Ruth Gordon) believes she’s engineered the perfect murder—cool, elegant, and legally, uh, airtight—only to underestimate a rumpled detective who thrives on patience and psychological pressure. The conversation delves into Columbo's new show-runner, giving the Lieutenant's catchphrases to others, and how a skilled mystery writer can bungle a crime so badly. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

Mike and Chris dig into the uneasy moral terrain of The Storyteller, a 1977 NBC movie that turns television itself into the accused. Starring Martin Balsam as a celebrated writer blamed when a child’s death echoes the plot of his work, the film wrestles with guilt, responsibility, and the limits of artistic intent. Written by Richard Levinson and William Link, this forgotten TV drama fits squarely in The Shabby Detective’s wheelhouse: smart, talky, ethically thorny, and very much of its era—when network television wasn’t afraid to put itself on trial. Watch the movie on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go0Yesa9m0Q Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

Mike and Chris keep their arms in the car at all times with writer-producer and Rollercoaster superfan Richard Hatem for a wild ride through James Goldstone’s 1977 star-studded disaster-thriller that pits George Segal’s weary safety inspector against Timothy Bottoms’s soft-spoken, delightfully unhinged bomber. They dig into the film’s oddball mix of procedural beats, theme-park mayhem, and Sensurround feeling, tracing how Rollercoaster fits alongside Link & Levinson's energy and why its cat-and-mouse structure still works. Expect talk of Segal’s hangdog charm, Richard Widmark’s righteous scowling, and the many ways a bomber with a walkie-talkie can make a grown man sweat. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

The Shabby Detective closes out Season Six with “The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case,” a murder most cerebral — and a little bit silly. When genius accountant Oliver Brandt (Theodore Bikel) kills his embezzling partner at an exclusive Mensa-like club for the gifted, Columbo wanders into a den of self-proclaimed intellectuals armed only with a cigar and a rumpled raincoat. The result? A battle of wits where the lieutenant’s “low” IQ proves a lot more useful than anyone expects. Mike and Chris puzzle through the episode’s uneven tone, bizarre musical choices, and one of the show’s strangest final acts. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

The Shabby Detective returns to Season Six with “Old Fashioned Murder,” where genteel larceny meets genteel homicide. Joyce Van Patten takes center stage as Ruth Lytton, a spinster running her family’s failing museum. When her ambitious brother threatens to sell off the artifacts, Ruth turns to murder and possibly taking revenge for things that happened off-screen twenty years prior. This episode went over-budget and over-schedule thanks to some behind-the-scenes meddling from Peter Falk's pals, leaving a messy and uninspired episode where it's tough to care about anything apart from Lt. Columbo's bizarre hairstyle. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

The sixth season of Columbo kicks off with “Fade in to Murder,” and we’re right there with it. Yes, we had to scrap our planned chat on Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky (Mike just couldn’t stomach it), but that means we get to dive straight into William Shatner swaggering his way through one of the great villain roles of the NBC years. Chris can’t help but heap praise on Shatner’s performance as ego-fueled actor Ward Fowler, while Mike wrestles with the episode’s meta conceit, its TV-within-TV layers, and Peter Falk’s always-dependable rumpled brilliance. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

Not every Peter Falk performance comes with a rumpled coat and a homicide to solve. In this episode, we take a look at Griffin & Phoenix, a 1976 made-for-TV gem that finds Falk in rare romantic form. As Geoffrey Griffin, a terminally ill professor, Falk trades sharp wit for quiet heartbreak opposite Jill Clayburgh’s Phoenix, a fellow traveler on a limited timeline. What might sound like a recipe for melodrama turns into something far more poignant and disarming, with Falk giving one of his most restrained and vulnerable performances. We dig into the film’s TV-movie roots, its place in the 1970s “disease-of-the-week” wave, and how its frank, unvarnished take on death—and love—holds up nearly fifty years later. It’s Peter Falk without the trench coat, but not without charm, soul, and a monologue or two.

It’s here. The one we’ve all been bracing for: Last Salute to the Commodore. As the final episode of Columbo’s fifth season and a proposed ending place for the entire NBC run, it manages to sink the ship with an almost gleeful disregard for coherence, tone, and character. Mike and Chris try to make sense of the chaos—was it Jackson Gillis’s bewildering script? Patrick McGoohan’s direction? Peter Falk’s performance? Or all of the above? Whatever happened, the result is a baffling, self-sabotaging parody of the show itself. Come for the messy nautical metaphors, stay for the analysis of Columbo’s most infamous misfire.

In this special bonus episode of The Shabby Detective, Mike White sits down with author Glenn Stewart to discuss his insightful and wildly entertaining book Columbo Explains the ’70s: A TV Cop’s Pop Culture Journey. Stewart’s book explores the cultural and historical shifts of the 1970s—from Watergate to disco, second-wave feminism to fast food—with the trench-coated sleuth as our shrewd, inquisitive guide. Mike and Glenn dive into the origins of the project, the writing process behind channeling Columbo’s voice, and how Stewart cultural criticism and TV history into a distinctive, illuminating take on the decade. Whether you're a fan of the show or just obsessed with ’70s Americana, this episode is for you.

The great Santini takes center stage—but Lieutenant Columbo isn’t impressed by smoke and mirrors. In this episode of The Shabby Detective, Mike and Chris shine a spotlight on Now You See Him, the 1976 Columbo classic starring Jack Cassidy in his final turn as a Columbo killer. Cassidy plays the arrogant nightclub magician who thinks he can make murder disappear, but the rumpled detective sees right through the act. Chris and Mike unpack the episode’s sleight-of-hand plotting, its eerie undertones of Nazism and blackmail, and Cassidy’s show-stealing performance. Along the way, they ponder Robert Loggia’s mustache, comment on the trickery of typewriter ribbons, and debate whether this outing is one of Columbo’s best.

Mike and Chris head south of the border for A Matter of Honor, the rare Columbo episode set in Mexico, where the Lieutenant faces bulls, bravado, and a different kind of justice. Ricardo Montalbán plays a retired matador with a secret—and a motive—and Columbo has to navigate a new culture and language barrier while staying one step ahead. The guys dig into the episode’s unique setting, the ethics of honor killings, and how the show handles cultural sensitivity (or doesn’t). Is this an underrated gem or a misstep in a sombrero?

Mike and Chris slip into the shadows with Identity Crisis, Columbo’s espionage-laced foray into cloak-and-dagger territory. Directed by none other than Patrick McGoohan—who also stars as a smug, sartorially superior spy—this episode finds the Lieutenant matching wits with a killer who’s as cool as he is cold-blooded. The guys dive into the episode’s slick style, surreal touches, and McGoohan’s unmistakable fingerprints all over the production. Is this Columbo at its most cerebral—or just a secret agent detour too far? Join the investigation and find out.

In this episode of The Shabby Detective, Mike and Chris take a diplomatic detour into A Case of Immunity, where political protocol, palace intrigue, and murder collide. Columbo finds himself navigating foreign immunity laws and velvet robes as he tries to outwit a slippery embassy official (Héctor Elizondo) with a taste for treason. The guys break down the episode's unique tone, the curious case of Sal Mineo, and the appearance of Jeff Goldblum.

Step onto the faded red carpet and into the world of aging Hollywood glamour as The Shabby Detective takes on "Forgotten Lady", one of Columbo's most poignant mysteries. In this episode, we unravel the tragic tale of fading movie star Grace Wheeler (Janet Leigh), who dreams of a comeback but finds herself tangled in a web of murder and memory. With Peter Falk’s rumpled lieutenant navigating a case where sympathy and suspicion go hand in hand, we dissect the episode’s emotional depth, the heartbreaking performance of Sam Jaffe, and the delicate balance of justice and mercy. Plus, we take a closer look at Columbo’s softer side—does the good lieutenant let sentiment cloud his sharp detective instincts?

In this episode of The Shabby Detective, we examine the riveting 1974 TV movie The Gun, a gripping exploration of fate and consequence. Crafted by the legendary writing duo Richard Levinson and William Link and directed by John Badham, the film follows the journey of a single handgun as it passes through various lives, leaving a trail of drama and intrigue. Join us as we unpack the film’s unique episodic structure and the creative forces behind this powerful cautionary tale.

Between Columbo's Seasons 4 and 5, we're shifting our detective lens to explore another powerful creation by Richard Levinson and William Link: The Execution of Private Slovik (1974). Directed by Lamont Johnson and featuring an unforgettable performance by Martin Sheen, this adaptation of William Bradford Huie's work tells the harrowing true story of Eddie Slovik—a small-time Michigan criminal who made history as the only U.S. soldier executed for desertion during World War II.

We conclude the 4th season of Columbo with the episode "A Deadly State of Mind" wherein George Hamilton is a suave hypnotist of ladies -- one in particular played by Leslie Ann Warren. He has designs on her while also conducting "research" for his work. Her husband as other ideas.

Season 4 continues with "Playback," an episode starring another Cassavetes alum, Gina Rowlands. Unfortunately, she's sidelined as a innocent bystander and wife to the episode's murderer, played by Oskar Werner. He's a fan of gizmos which aid his plan to murder his mother-in-law but, of course, they're ultimately his undoing.