Just One More Thing

On the next show, we’ll be discussing season one’s “Suitable for Framing,” in which Ross Martin offs his uncle to get control of the old man’s valuable art collection. Also, Vic Tayback as some sort of laid back post-hippie artist? Crazy, man. Manning Krull returns to the program to talk about the whole crazy thing. The episode is available on Netflix Instant and DVD.

In “Make Me a Perfect Murder,” Trish Van Devere is a network TV up-and-comer who figures she’ll get her big break once her boss/special night friend is put in charge of the entire joint. That does not happen, so she shoots him dead and concocts a plan for escaping discovery with far too many moving parts. Fighting through a case of whiplash, Columbo is able to figure through the whole thing. Also, Lainie Kazan plays some Judy Garland analogue? Donna Bowman (The AV Club) and Noel Murray (The Dissolve, The AV Club) join Jon and RJ for the hugs and neck rubs.

On the next show, we’ll discuss “Make Me a Perfect Murder,” a season seven tale of television violence and unwanted neck rubs. Writers and critics Donna Bowman (The AV Club) and Noel Murray (The Dissolve, The AV Club) will be along for the ride. The episode is on Netflix instant and DVD.

Ruth Gordon is mystery novelist and playwright Abigail Mitchell, in season seven’s “Try and Catch Me.” When Mitchell’s beloved niece dies in a boating incident, she suspects murder. When the police fail to find evidence of foul play, she does the next natural thing- killing the niece’s husband by locking him in a vault. Everyone does that, right? Myke Chilian (Uncle Grandpa, Rick and Morty, Channel 101) joins Jon and RJ to see how Columbo could find such a sweet old lady to be such a cold-blooded killer.

Next time, we’ll be talking about the season seven episode, “Try and Catch Me,” starring the beloved Ruth Gordon as a coldblooded killer, which isn’t quite so beloved. Joining us will be Myke Chilian (Uncle Grandpa, Rick & Morty). The episode is available on Netflix Watch Instantly and DVD, if you’d like to bone up. Ha-ha. “Bone up.”

“Undercover” is not a typical Columbo, by any stretch of the imagination. Columbo carries a gun. The mystery (such as it is) isn’t solved until the end. There’s no one central murder. He kind of has a partner. A lot of this is due to it being based on an Ed McBain 87th Precinct novel. But still, why on earth…? And the whole Tyne Daly thing? Anyway, Jon, RJ and returning guest Leonard Pierce (leonardpierce.com) try to figure out why this season 12 episode happened. It is a very, very strange thing.

Jumping ahead to season twelve for a 1990s Columbo, “Undercover,” in which Columbo goes, well, undercover. Leonard Pierce (leonardpierce.com) returns to the podcast to help us wrap our heads around this one. The episode is available on DVD or places around the internet, if you’d like to watch along.

From season six, it’s “The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case,” in which Columbo has to solve a murder committed at a club for some of the world’s foremost minds that isn’t Mensa. Comedian and podcaster Richard Massara (facebook.com/comedyrich) joins us from the UK to talk about the episode, as well as why the heck Columbo never left their TV sets over the years. Also- Jamie Lee Curtis? Quincy? Jon’s I.Q. at age 11?

Season six this time, for “The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case,” with our guest, comedian Rich Massara, who will join us from waaay across the sea. If you’d like to watch beforehand, it’s available on DVD or Netflix Watch Instantly.

For our latest, we go back to Columbo‘s first episode (yes, yes- there was the TV movie and then the pilot, but this is the first episode), directed by a young go-getter named Steven Spielberg. It’s Jack Cassidy’s first turn as a murderous creep, killing his writing partner (Martin Milner), rather than letting him break up the team. Joining us is The AV Club‘s Gwen Ihnat, who wrote a wonderful column about Columbo‘s best episodes a little while ago.