List of Columbo episodes
The following is an episode list for the crime fiction television series Columbo. After two pilot episodes, the show originally aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 as one of the rotating programs of The NBC Mystery Movie. Columbo then aired less frequently on ABC beginning in 1989. The last installment was broadcast in 2003.
Because the Columbo episodes from 1989 to 2003 aired infrequently, different DVD sets have been released around the world. In Region 2 and 4, all episodes have now been released as 10 seasons, with the 10th season covering the last 14 shows from "Columbo Goes to College" (1990) to the most recent, "Columbo Likes the Nightlife" (2003).[1][2] However, in France, and The Netherlands (also Region 2) the DVDs were released as 12 seasons.[3] And in Region 1, all episodes from season 8 are grouped differently; all the episodes that are originally aired on ABC were released as the COLUMBO: The Mystery Movie Collections.[4] For the sake of clarity, all episodes in this article are arranged as they appear in the UK release.
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | ||||
| Pilots | 2 | February 20, 1968 | March 1, 1971 | NBC | ||
| 1 | 7 | September 15, 1971 | February 9, 1972 | |||
| 2 | 8 | September 17, 1972 | March 25, 1973 | |||
| 3 | 8 | September 23, 1973 | May 5, 1974 | |||
| 4 | 6 | September 15, 1974 | April 27, 1975 | |||
| 5 | 6 | September 14, 1975 | May 2, 1976 | |||
| 6 | 3 | October 10, 1976 | May 22, 1977 | |||
| 7 | 5 | November 21, 1977 | May 13, 1978 | |||
| 8 | 4 | February 6, 1989 | May 1, 1989 | ABC | ||
| 9 | 6 | November 25, 1989 | May 14, 1990 | |||
| 10 + specials | 14 | December 9, 1990 | January 30, 2003 | |||
Episodes
Pilot episodes
Before Peter Falk was cast in the role of Columbo, Bert Freed played the character in "Enough Rope", a 1960 episode of The Chevy Mystery Show, a TV anthology series. In 1962, that episode became a stage play titled "Prescription: Murder" (starring Thomas Mitchell as Columbo).
The play was adapted as a made-for-TV movie in 1968, with Falk debuting in the role. In this made-for-TV movie, Columbo—rather than making the rumpled presentation that would later become the character's trademark—is less shabbily dressed, wearing suits, shorter hair, and heavier stage makeup. He carries a raincoat, which would become a staple, during some scenes. He also appears somewhat more aggressive when confronting suspects.
| No. in series |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim played by | Original air date | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Prescription: Murder" | Richard Irving | Richard Levinson & William Link based on their play | Gene Barry | Nina Foch | February 20, 1968 | 94 min | |
|
Dr. Ray Flemming (Gene Barry), a psychiatrist, murders his wife (Nina Foch) and persuades his mistress Joan Hudson (Katherine Justice), who is an actress and one of his patients, to support his alibi by impersonating her. Final clue/twist: Columbo stages the suicide of Flemming’s mistress, then urges him to confess now that the love of his life has killed herself for him. Flemming mocks Columbo’s words, saying he never cared deeply for Joan and would have gotten rid of her eventually anyway. Joan, listening in, agrees to testify against Flemming. | ||||||||
| 2 | "Ransom for a Dead Man" | Richard Irving | S : Richard Levinson & William Link; T : Dean Hargrove | Lee Grant | Harlan Warde | March 1, 1971 | 92 min | |
|
Leslie Williams (Lee Grant), a brilliant and ruthless lawyer, murders her husband Paul (Harlan Warde) to get his money, arranging the act to look as if he had been kidnapped and killed by his captors. Final clue/twist: Margaret (Patricia Mattick), who hates her stepmother Leslie, tells Leslie she will go away if Leslie gives her a lot of money. When Leslie pays Margaret off with some of the ransom cash, Columbo, who had persuaded Margaret to demand money from Leslie, has the final proof he needs. | ||||||||
Season 1 (1971–72)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim(s) played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | "Murder by the Book" | Steven Spielberg | Steven Bochco | Jack Cassidy | Martin Milner, Barbara Colby | September 15, 1971 | 76 min |
| 4 | 2 | "Death Lends a Hand" | Bernard Kowalski | Richard Levinson & William Link | Robert Culp | Patricia Crowley | October 6, 1971 | 76 min |
| 5 | 3 | "Dead Weight" | Jack Smight | John T. Dugan | Eddie Albert | John Kerr | October 27, 1971 | 76 min |
| 6 | 4 | "Suitable for Framing" | Hy Averback | Jackson Gillis | Ross Martin and Rosanna Huffman | Robert Shayne, Rosanna Huffman | November 17, 1971 | 76 min |
| 7 | 5 | "Lady in Waiting" | Norman Lloyd | S : Barney Slater; T : Steven Bochco | Susan Clark | Richard Anderson | December 15, 1971 | 75 min |
| 8 | 6 | "Short Fuse" | Edward M. Abroms | S : Lester Pine & Tina Pine; S/T : Jackson Gillis | Roddy McDowall | James Gregory and Lawrence Cook | January 19, 1972 | 75 min |
| 9 | 7 | "Blueprint for Murder" | Peter Falk | S : William Kelley; T : Steven Bochco | Patrick O'Neal | Forrest Tucker | February 9, 1972 | 75 min |
Season 2 (1972–73)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim(s) played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "Étude in Black" | Nicholas Colasanto | S : Richard Levinson & William Link; T : Steven Bochco | John Cassavetes | Anjanette Comer | September 17, 1972 | 97 min |
| 11 | 2 | "The Greenhouse Jungle" | Boris Sagal | Jonathan Latimer | Ray Milland | Bradford Dillman | October 15, 1972 | 74 min |
| 12 | 3 | "The Most Crucial Game" | Jeremy Kagan | John T. Dugan | Robert Culp | Dean Stockwell | November 5, 1972 | 74 min |
| 13 | 4 | "Dagger of the Mind" | Richard Quine | S : Richard Levinson & William Link; T : Jackson Gillis | Richard Basehart and Honor Blackman | John Williams, Wilfrid Hyde-White | November 26, 1972 | 98 min |
| 14 | 5 | "Requiem for a Falling Star" | Richard Quine | Jackson Gillis | Anne Baxter | Pippa Scott | January 21, 1973 | 74 min |
| 15 | 6 | "A Stitch in Crime" | Hy Averback | Shirl Hendryx | Leonard Nimoy | Anne Francis, Jared Martin | February 11, 1973 | 74 min |
| 16 | 7 | "The Most Dangerous Match" | Edward M. Abroms | S : Richard Levinson & William Link; S/T : Jackson Gillis | Laurence Harvey | Jack Kruschen | March 4, 1973 | 74 min |
| 17 | 8 | "Double Shock" | Robert Butler | S : Jackson Gillis, Richard Levinson & William Link; T : Steven Bochco | Martin Landau in a dual role | Paul Stewart, Julie Newmar | March 25, 1973 | 74 min |
Season 3 (1973–74)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim(s) played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 1 | "Lovely But Lethal" | Jeannot Szwarc | S : Myrna Bercovici; T : Jackson Gillis | Vera Miles | Martin Sheen, Sian Barbara Allen | September 23, 1973 | 73 min |
| 19 | 2 | "Any Old Port in a Storm" | Leo Penn | S : Larry Cohen; T : Stanley Ralph Ross | Donald Pleasence | Gary Conway | October 7, 1973 | 96 min |
| 20 | 3 | "Candidate for Crime" | Boris Sagal | S : Larry Cohen; T : Irving Pearlberg, Alvin R. Friedman, Roland Kibbee & Dean Hargrove | Jackie Cooper | Ken Swofford | November 4, 1973 | 93 min |
| 21 | 4 | "Double Exposure" | Richard Quine | Stephen J. Cannell | Robert Culp | Robert Middleton, Chuck McCann | December 16, 1973 | 70 min |
| 22 | 5 | "Publish or Perish" | Robert Butler | Peter S. Fischer | Jack Cassidy and John Chandler | Mickey Spillane, John Chandler | January 13, 1974 | 73 min |
| 23 | 6 | "Mind Over Mayhem" | Alf Kjellin | S : Robert Specht; T : Steven Bochco, Dean Hargrove & Roland Kibbee | José Ferrer | Lew Ayres | February 10, 1974 | 73 min |
| 24 | 7 | "Swan Song" | Nicholas Colasanto | S : Stanley Ralph Ross; T : David Rayfiel | Johnny Cash | Ida Lupino, Bonnie Van Dyke | March 3, 1974 | 99 min |
| 25 | 8 | "A Friend in Deed" | Ben Gazzara | Peter S. Fischer | Richard Kiley and Michael McGuire | Rosemary Murphy and an uncredited actress | May 5, 1974 | 98 min |
Season 4 (1974–75)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim(s) played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 1 | "An Exercise in Fatality" | Bernard Kowalski | S : Larry Cohen; T : Peter S. Fischer | Robert Conrad | Philip Bruns | September 15, 1974 | 97 min |
| 27 | 2 | "Negative Reaction" | Alf Kjellin | Peter S. Fischer | Dick Van Dyke | Antoinette Bower, Don Gordon | October 6, 1974 | 95 min |
| 28 | 3 | "By Dawn's Early Light" | Harvey Hart | Howard Berk | Patrick McGoohan | Tom Simcox | October 27, 1974 | 98 min |
| 29 | 4 | "Troubled Waters" | Ben Gazzara | S : Jackson Gillis; S/T : William Driskill | Robert Vaughn | Poupée Bocar | February 9, 1975 | 98 min |
| 30 | 5 | "Playback" | Bernard L. Kowalski | David P. Lewis & Booker T. Bradshaw | Oskar Werner | Martha Scott | March 2, 1975 | 73 min |
| 31 | 6 | "A Deadly State of Mind" | Harvey Hart | Peter S. Fischer | George Hamilton | Stephen Elliott, Lesley Ann Warren | April 27, 1975 | 74 min |
Season 5 (1975–76)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim(s) played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 1 | "Forgotten Lady" | Harvey Hart | William Driskill | Janet Leigh | Sam Jaffe | September 14, 1975 | 100 min |
| 33 | 2 | "A Case of Immunity" | Ted Post | S : James Menzies; | Hector Elizondo and Sal Mineo | André Lawrence and Sal Mineo | October 12, 1975 | 70 min |
| 34 | 3 | "Identity Crisis" | Patrick McGoohan | William Driskill | Patrick McGoohan | Leslie Nielsen | November 2, 1975 | 95 min |
| 35 | 4 | "A Matter of Honor" | Ted Post | Brad Radnitz | Ricardo Montalban | Robert Carricart | February 1, 1976 | 70 min |
| 36 | 5 | "Now You See Him..." | Harvey Hart | Michael Sloan | Jack Cassidy | Nehemiah Persoff | February 29, 1976 | 85 min |
| 37 | 6 | "Last Salute to the Commodore" | Patrick McGoohan | Jackson Gillis | Fred Draper | John Dehner and Robert Vaughn | May 2, 1976 | 91 min |
Season 6 (1976–77)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim(s) played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 1 | "Fade in to Murder" | Bernard L. Kowalski | S : Henry Garson; T : Lou Shaw and Peter Feibleman | William Shatner | Lola Albright | October 10, 1976 | 73 min |
| 39 | 2 | "Old Fashioned Murder" | Robert Douglas | S : Lawrence Vail; T : Peter S. Feibleman | Joyce Van Patten | Peter S. Feibleman and Tim O'Connor | November 28, 1976 | 73 min |
| 40 | 3 | "The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case" | Sam Wanamaker | Robert Malcolm Young | Theodore Bikel | Sorrell Booke | May 22, 1977 | 70 min |
Season 7 (1977–78)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 1 | "Try and Catch Me" | James Frawley | T : Paul Tuckahoe; S/T : Gene Thompson | Ruth Gordon | Charles Frank | November 21, 1977 | 70 min |
| 42 | 2 | "Murder Under Glass" | Jonathan Demme | Robert van Scoyk | Louis Jourdan | Michael V. Gazzo | January 30, 1978 | 73 min |
| 43 | 3 | "Make Me a Perfect Murder" | James Frawley | Robert Blees | Trish Van Devere | Laurence Luckinbill | February 25, 1978 | 97 min |
| 44 | 4 | "How to Dial a Murder" | James Frawley | S : Anthony Lawrence; T : Tom Lazarus | Nicol Williamson | Joel Fabiani | April 15, 1978 | 73 min |
| 45 | 5 | "The Conspirators" | Leo Penn | Idea : Pat Robison; T : Howard Berk | Clive Revill | Albert Paulsen | May 13, 1978 | 93 min |
Season 8 (1989)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 1 | "Columbo Goes to the Guillotine" | Leo Penn | William Read Woodfield | Anthony Andrews | Anthony Zerbe | February 6, 1989 | 88 min |
| 47 | 2 | "Murder, Smoke and Shadows" | James Frawley | Richard Alan Simmons | Fisher Stevens | Jeff Perry | February 27, 1989 | 90 min |
| 48 | 3 | "Sex and the Married Detective" | James Frawley | Jerry Ludwig | Lindsay Crouse | Stephen Macht | April 3, 1989 | 89 min |
| 49 | 4 | "Grand Deceptions" | Sam Wanamaker | Sy Salkowitz | Robert Foxworth | Andy Romano | May 1, 1989 | 90 min |
Season 9 (1989–90)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer played by | Victim played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 1 | "Murder: A Self Portrait" | James Frawley | Robert Sherman | Patrick Bauchau | Fionnula Flanagan | November 25, 1989 | 98 min |
| 51 | 2 | "Columbo Cries Wolf" | Daryl Duke | William Read Woodfield | Ian Buchanan | Deidre Hall | January 20, 1990 | 98 min |
| 52 | 3 | "Agenda for Murder" | Patrick McGoohan | Jeffrey Bloom | Patrick McGoohan | Louis Zorich | February 10, 1990 | 98 min |
| 53 | 4 | "Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo" | Vincent McEveety | Peter S. Fischer | Helen Shaver | Edward Winter | March 31, 1990 | 98 min |
| 54 | 5 | "Uneasy Lies the Crown" | Alan J. Levi | Steven Bochco | James Read | Marshall R. Teague | April 28, 1990 | 92 min |
| 55 | 6 | "Murder in Malibu" | Walter Grauman | Jackson Gillis | Andrew Stevens | Janet Margolin | May 14, 1990 | 90 min |
Season 10 and specials (1990–2003)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Murderer(s) played by | Victim(s) played by | Original air date | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | 1 | "Columbo Goes to College" | E.W. Swackhamer | S : Jeffrey Bloom & Frederick King Keller; T : Jeffrey Bloom | Stephen Caffrey and Gary Hershberger | James Sutorius | December 9, 1990 | 98 min |
| 57 | 2 | "Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health" | Daryl Duke | Sonia Wolf & Patricia Ford & April Raynell | George Hamilton | Peter Haskell | February 20, 1991 | 98 min |
| 58 | 3 | "Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star" | Alan J. Levi | William Read Woodfield | Dabney Coleman | Cheryl Paris | April 29, 1991 | 98 min |
| 59 | 4 | "Death Hits the Jackpot" | Vincent McEveety | Jeffrey Bloom | Rip Torn and Jamie Rose | Gary Kroeger | December 15, 1991 | 98 min |
| 60 | 5 | "No Time to Die" | Alan J. Levi | S : Ed McBain; T : Robert van Scoyk | (No murder. Daniel McDonald plays the would-be murderer.) | (None) | February 15, 1992 | 93 min |
| 61 | 6 | "A Bird in the Hand ..." | Vincent McEveety | Jackson Gillis | Tyne Daly and Greg Evigan | Steve Forrest and León Singer and Greg Evigan | June 19, 1992 | 98 min |
| 62 | 7 | "It's All in the Game" | Vincent McEveety | Peter Falk | Faye Dunaway and Claudia Christian | Armando Pucci | October 31, 1993 | 98 min |
| 63 | 8 | "Butterfly in Shades of Grey" | Dennis Dugan | Peter S. Fischer | William Shatner | Jack Laufer | January 10, 1994 | 98 min |
| 64 | 9 | "Undercover" | Vincent McEveety | S : Ed McBain; T : Gerry Day | Ed Begley Jr. (Jon Beshara and an uncredited actor also portray two characters who kill each other) | Burt Young and Shera Danese | May 2, 1994 | 98 min |
| 65 | 10 | "Strange Bedfellows" | Vincent McEveety | Lawrence Vail | George Wendt | Jeff Yagher and Jay Acovone | May 8, 1995 | 89 min |
| 66 | 11 | "A Trace of Murder" | Vincent McEveety | Charles Kipps | David Rasche and Shera Danese | Raye Birk | May 15, 1997 | 98 min |
| 67 | 12 | "Ashes to Ashes" | Patrick McGoohan | Jeffrey Hatcher | Patrick McGoohan | Rue McClanahan | October 8, 1998 | 90 min |
| 68 | 13 | "Murder with Too Many Notes" | Patrick McGoohan | T : Patrick McGoohan; S/T : Jeffrey Cava | Billy Connolly | Chad Willett | March 12, 2001 | 98 min |
| 69 | 14 | "Columbo Likes the Nightlife" | Jeffrey Reiner | Michael Alaimo | Jennifer Sky and Matthew Rhys | Carmine Giovinazzo and Douglas Roberts | January 30, 2003 | 88 min |
Repeat offenders
Here is a list of the actors who starred as more than one murderer:
- Patrick McGoohan starred in four episodes as the murderer: By Dawn's Early Light (Emmy Award) (1974), Identity Crisis (also directed) (1975), Agenda for Murder (Emmy Award) (also directed) (1990), and Ashes to Ashes (also directed (and co-wrote - uncredited)) (1998). He also directed two additional episodes: "Last Salute to the Commodore" (1976) and "Murder With Too Many Notes" (also co-wrote) (2001).
- Jack Cassidy starred in three episodes as the murderer: Murder by the Book (1971), Publish or Perish (1974), and Now You See Him... (1976).
- Robert Culp starred in three episodes as the murderer: Death Lends a Hand (1971), The Most Crucial Game (1972), and Double Exposure (1973). Also appeared in one episode as the father of the murderer: Columbo Goes to College (1990).
- George Hamilton starred in two episodes as the murderer: A Deadly State of Mind (1975) and Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health (1991).
- William Shatner starred in two episodes as the murderer: Fade in to Murder (1976) and Butterfly in Shades of Grey (1994).
- Martin Landau starred in one episode in a double role as identical twin brothers who committed murder together: Double Shock (1973).
Notes
- "Columbo - Complete Series DVD UK". Retrieved April 2, 2012.
- UK DVD Cover shows the complete collection
- "Columbo, saison 12 Fr". Retrieved April 2, 2012.
- "COLUMBO US DVD release at Universal Studio". Retrieved April 2, 2012.
References
- Dawidziak, Mark (1989). The Columbo Phile : A Casebook. New York: Mysterious Press. ISBN 978-0-89296-984-5.
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