Just One More Thing

Next time, we’re going back to the beginning- season one, episode one. It’s a discussion of “Murder by the Book,” with Gwen Ihnat (The AV Club). If you’d like to watch beforehand, it’s available on DVD or Netflix Watch Instantly.

Also:  Gwen’s AV Club piece, “10 episodes that show why Columbo is the most iconic TV detective of all time.”

Restaurant critic, bunco artist, murderer- Paul Gerard (Louis Jourdan) is a triple threat! Chef Allan McPherson (picnichfx.com) joins us to discuss season seven’s “Murder Under Glass,” a tale of extortion, free meals and the deadly fugu. Also: Alan Alda’s half-brother, fancy cooking, Mako and Night Goliaths.

Here’s Allan’s review of “Murder Under Glass” that got this whole episode going.

Oh hey! We’d like you to tell us which actors and actresses you think would have been good villains on 70s and 90s Columbo episodes. Go ahead and leave them in the comments or email to [email protected].

We will soon be back from our hiatus with a discussion of season seven’s “Murder Under Glass.” Joining us will be chef Allan McPherson (picnichfx.com). If you’d like to watch beforehand, the episode is on Netflix Instant and on DVD.

And we’re back to the later episodes, for season eight’s “Columbo Goes to the Guillotine,” which does a fair job of debunking the whole psychic/ESP nonsense. Sadly, it cannot debunk the fact that sharp blades will chop off heads. That’s just real. Joining us to discuss the episode and its possible real-life background is Leigh Beadon (techdirt.com), who’s well-versed in the mentalism and magic game. If you guessed that this is a good episode of the podcast, what are you, The Amazing Kreskin or something?

Also please note- we will be taking a brief hiatus after this one.

On the next Just One More Thing, we’ll talk about “Columbo Goes to the Guillotine,” a 90s episode from season eight. Joining us will be Leigh Beadon (techdirt.com). If you’d like to watch it before the show hits the internet, it’s available on DVD, via Netflix or Amazon or whathaveyou.

Gordon Bennett, it’s “Dagger of the Mind!” Fading theatrical couple Richard Basehart and Honor Blackman accidentally kill the producer they’ve been tricking into funding their production of that play you’re not supposed to say the name of. Can they get away with it? Well, you see, this detective by the name of Columbo just happens to be visiting London to review techniques at Scotland Yard and… the short answer is no. Manning Krull (manningkrull.com) joins us to discuss blackmail, tax evasion, French Columbos and so much more.

Next time, we’ll be looking at “Dagger of the Mind,” a season two Columbo episode where the lieutenant heads to London. Cor and/or blimey. Joining us to discuss will be Manning Krull (manningkrull.com). Want to watch beforehand? It’s on Netflix watch instantly, as well as DVD.

Think tank head Jose Ferrer applies his brainpower to the equation of murder in “Mind Over Mayhem,” which also sees Columbo assisted by Robby the Robot. No, wait- come back here, it works, it really does. Appropriately, Alex Knapp (who writes the “Robot Overlords” weblog for Forbes) joins Jon and RJ to dissect this tale of deceit, war games, natural gas-powered cars and misunderstood boy geniuses. Also discussed- Warriors gangs. Sure, why not?

Our next episode will be Season Three’s “Mind Over Mayhem,” with guest Alex Knapp (Forbes) joining us for the discussion. You can watch it beforehand on DVD or Netflix Watch Instantly. As always, there’s the preview clip below.

Avuncular Dick Van Dyke is not so avuncular in “Negative Reaction,” playing a photographer who fakes his nagging wife’s kidnapping, murders her, then kills the ex-con who he’d framed for the snatch. Luckily, Columbo is focused on the task, brushing away a film of uncertainty, ever ready to develop a solution to the case through the lens of crimefighting (What??- ed.). Photo-taking person Kevin O’Mara (klophoto.com) joins Jon and RJ for this snapshot of- oh god, I’m sorry about the photographic stuff. It’s been a long day. Please just listen. Photography.