Carl and Thad are joined by special guest Ryan Riddle to discuss “Short Fuse,” starring Roddy McDowall as the murderer of the week. We had a fun and extensive conversation with Ryan that even touched on the episode at times.
Images for those listening on our website (or who cannot see the chapter images)
Darkroom Bomb-makingDenim SuitPortraits of Yourself“I was not prepared for all the ass shots”Cigar StorageRoddy McDowall: Freaking ToolAnswering MachineHomoerotic Silly String
In this episode, Thad and Carl discuss “Lady in Waiting,” the fifth of the first season of Columbo. While we would never condone murder, we both agree that Bryce Chadwick is the most murderable victim we have seen to date. We also get incredibly distracted by the usual things, including the inexplicable “Webster” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” crossover episode.
Images for those listening on our website (or who cannot see the chapter images)
“Webtrek”Bryce’s KeychainIsaac Asimov: L.A. CopBryce’s Framed PortraitTime Out for Star TrekDrive-in Car TraysColumbo Being ColumboClothing Store / Bar / Pool Hall
Thad and Carl discuss “Suitable for Framing,” the fourth episode of the first season of Columbo. Famous art critic (if that’s a thing) Dale Kingston murders his uncle to inherit his considerable art collection. But we are more focused on his fashion sense, the propensity of people in the 70s to have bars in their homes, and yet another television set.
In this episode, we discuss episode three of Columbo’s first season, “Dead Weight,” which had some behind-the-scenes drama that might be more interesting than the episode itself. We also get a bit hung up on issues related to Convoluted Body-Removal in murder mysteries.
We discuss “Death Lends a Hand”, which introduces another future-repeat murder: Robert Culp. We also take issue with some of Columbo’s ethics this time (or lack thereof), and we reminisce about taking our driving exams.
Images for those listening on our website (or who cannot see the chapter images)
Redressed OfficeShag Carpet in a Beach HouseGlasses ReflectionThe Cost of Golf BallsSee-Through MapColumbo Being a DickState of the Art ComputerTopher Grace GuyColumbo Being a CreepShag Carpet SearchCar Trench
We officially kick off the first season of Columbo with “Murder by the Book,” which hits the ground running with a great first appearance by Jack Cassidy as the Murderer of the Week. The episode was also directed and written by nobodies Steven Spielberg and Steven Bochco. I wonder whatever happened to them…
In this episode, Thad and Carl discuss “Ransom for a Dead Man,” the second Columbo pilot produced by NBC. In addition to dissecting the seemingly perfect murder plan, we also comment on an overuse of green in Lee Grant’s office and spend an inordinate amount of time obsessing about a television.
Join Licence to Spiel this episode as we leave the world of spies and espionage to start a new series that we admit will take us a while. We are going to be covering the entirety of “Columbo,” the fictional TV police detective who solves crimes that we have already seen be committed.
And we are, of course, starting at the beginning with the 1968 television movie that started it all: “Prescription: Murder,” in which we see Gene Barry as Dr. Ray Flemming play the role of the first in a long line of famous murderers on the show. Peter Falk hits the ground running as the titular detective, despite being overly kempt for this outing. We also have lots of comments about Dr. Flemming’s choices in art, questionable police procedures, and the complete lack of booth seating on airplanes today.
Programming Note: since recording this episode, Thad, Carl, and the show have all left the Platform Formerly Known as Twitter. You can find us all at the following handles on Bluesky:
Also, because we are talking about a lot of visual things in this episode, we have put some photos in as chapter art so you can see what we are talking about. Please let us know on Bluesky if you have trouble seeing them. Thanks!
For those listening on our website:
Credits70s PartiesCake Fire HazardGreen Shag and an End TableAirplane LobbyNot Dead Body OutlineColumbo Being ColumboFlemming’s Secret Bar
