List of Columbo episodes explained

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 episodes from "Columbo Goes to College" (1990) to the series finale, "Columbo Likes the Nightlife" (2003).^[1] In France and the Netherlands (also Region 2), however, the DVDs were released as 12 seasons.^[2] In Region 1, all episodes from season 8 are grouped differently; all the episodes that were originally aired on ABC were released as the COLUMBO: The Mystery Movie Collection.^[3] For the sake of clarity, all episodes in this article are arranged as they appear in the UK release.

Series overview

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, which starred Thomas Mitchell as Columbo, Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead as Roy and Claire Flemming, and Patricia Medina as Flemming's mistress.^[4]

The play was adapted to 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 later became 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. He wears the raincoat in most of the 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

Season 1 (1971–72)

See main article: Columbo (season 1).

Season 2 (1972–73)

See main article: Columbo (season 2).

Season 3 (1973–74)

See main article: Columbo (season 3).

Season 4 (1974–75)

See main article: Columbo (season 4).

Season 5 (1975–76)

See main article: Columbo (season 5).

Season 6 (1976–77)

See main article: Columbo (season 6).

Season 7 (1977–78)

See main article: Columbo (season 7).

Season 8 (1989)

See main article: Columbo (season 8).

Season 9 (1989–90)

See main article: Columbo (season 9).

Season 10 and specials (1990–2003)

See main article: Columbo (season 10).

Repeat performers

Here is a list of the actors who starred as more than one murderer:

Patrick McGoohan guest 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) (1998). He also directed two additional episodes: "Last Salute to the Commodore" (1976) and "Murder With Too Many Notes" (2001; also wrote).
Jack Cassidy guest starred in three episodes as the murderer: "Murder by the Book" (1971), "Publish or Perish" (1974), and "Now You See Him..." (1976).
Robert Culp guest starred in three episodes as the murderer: "Death Lends a Hand" (1971, filmed at the Marion Davies estate), "The Most Crucial Game" (1972), and "Double Exposure" (1973). He also appeared in one episode as the father of the murderer: "Columbo Goes to College" (1990).
George Hamilton guest 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 guest starred in two episodes as the murderer: "Fade in to Murder" (1976) and "Butterfly in Shades of Grey" (1994). He also did a voiceover in "Double Exposure" (1973).
Martin Landau guest starred in one episode in a double role as identical twin brothers who committed murder together: "Double Shock" (1973).

Some actors starred as the murderer in one episode and played supporting roles in other episodes:

Though not a repeat murderer, Robert Vaughn guest starred in two episodes: once as the murderer in "Troubled Waters" (1975), and once as the victim in "Last Salute to the Commodore" (1976).
Ray Milland appeared as a murderer in "The Greenhouse Jungle" (1972) and the husband of the victim in "Death Lends a Hand" (1971).
Fred Draper appeared as the murderer in "Last Salute to the Commodore" (1976) and appeared in supporting roles in "Lady in Waiting" (1971), "Lovely but Lethal" (1973), "Negative Reaction" (1974), "A Deadly State of Mind" (1975), and "Fade in to Murder" (1976).
Patrick O'Neal played the murderer in "Blueprint for Murder" (1972), and appeared in "Make Me a Perfect Murder" (1978).
Joyce Van Patten starred in "Old Fashioned Murder" (1976) as the murderer, and played a minor supporting role in "Negative Reaction" (1974).
Dabney Coleman appeared as the murderer in "Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star" (1991), and also appeared as a cop in "Double Shock" (1973).
Ed Begley Jr played the murderer in "Undercover" (1994) and played Officer Stein in "How to Dial a Murder" (1978).
Tyne Daly starred in "A Bird in the Hand" as co-murderer Dolores McCain (1992), and "Undercover" as the supporting character Dorothea McNally (1994).
Shera Danese plays a disgruntled wife who assists in a murder in "A Trace of Murder" (1997), in addition to appearing in five other episodes as a supporting character.

Notes and References

Web site: Columbo - Complete Series DVD UK. Amazon UK . April 2, 2012.
Web site: Columbo, saison 12 Fr. April 2, 2012.
Web site: COLUMBO US DVD release at Universal Studio. April 2, 2012.
Book: Lachman, Marvin. The villainous stage : crime plays on Broadway and in the West End. 2014. McFarland. 978-0-7864-9534-4. 903807427.