Just One More Thing

Tell the landscaper to get away from that fountain- our next one is Season Two’s “Requiem for a Falling Star.” Past guest Nate Patrin (Vice sports) returns to talk about has-been Anne Baxter becoming a murder-been (?). It’s available on Netflix instant and the DVDs, if you want to catch it before the podcast.

In “An Exercise in Fatality,” gymnasium chain magnate Milo Janus’ (Robert Conrad) business double-dealings are about to be exposed by a disgruntled franchisee! What’s his wisest course of action? Why, cancel the fellow’s contract with a metal pipe to the throat and make it look like a tragic gym accident! As Columbo tries to put it all together, you’ll be plunged into a world of vitamins, sweaty dudes, X-rated Italian horror films, soulless bureaucracy, and Jim Rockford’s ladyfriend in a bikini. Critic Phil Dyess-Nugent is here to spot Jon and RJ as they try to lift the heavy, heavy barbell of 70s murder show recapping.

Wipe off those machines when you’re done, because we’re going to talk about season four’s “An Exercise in Fatality.” Robert Conrad is a gym magnate/fitness flim-flam man who resorts to murder when someone’s about to expose his whole operation. Critic Phil Dyess-Nugent will be helping Jon and RJ maintain quality.

GOTV! Time to vote for your candidate for killer with a mustache in a 90s Columbo who’s tripped up by not finishing a tiny snack. Your clear choice is Patrick McGoohan, in “Agenda for Murder.” McGoohan (who also directs) is Oscar Finch, a criminal defense attorney and political fixer whose ambitions are put in jeopardy when a racketeer threatens to expose some past sins in exchange for a favor. Instead of a favor, the guy gets a faked suicide. Not a good IOU. Anyway, it’s a great chance to see late-era Lt. Columbo go up against one of the best villains from the 70s run. Joining the show are guests Chris Sims (Movie Fighters, War Rocket Ajax, X-Men ’92) and Matt Wilson (Movie Fighters, War Rocket Ajax, Copernicus Jones: Robot Detective).

After a break, we are back. This time, it’s still a 90s episode, but it’s a McGoohan! Season nine’s “Agenda for Murder,” which is directed by and stars Patrick McGoohan (Double-threat! Okay, triple-threat, if you count killing a guy). Chris Sims and Matt Wilson will join Jon and RJ on the discussion. The episode is available on DVD (or other wink-wink means) if you’d like to check it out beforehand.

Hopefully, “Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo” will put lie to the “There is no Mrs. Columbo” conspiracy theories out there. Because, in this one, someone actually tries to take out the Lieutenant’s wife! Helen Shaver plays Vivian DiMitri, a crooked real estate agent whose husband was sent to the pen by Columbo a few years ago. The guy died in the joint, so she kills her boss (who may have ratted the husband out), mostly to bring Columbo into the case. Her grand plan to take down Columbo? Find his wife’s favorite type of toast spread, apparently. Illustrator Stevie VanBronkhorst (@spoolses)is here to help Jon and RJ make some sense of all of this. Also, we all learn a bit about the wonderful town of Warrenton, Virginia.

Staying in the 90s, with season ten’s “Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo,” which the title kind of gives away, in terms of the big story at its core. Along for the ride will be Stevie VanBronkhorst (@spoolses). This one’s only on the DVDs or the occasional TV broadcast, so keep those eyes peeled.

In the later episode, “Columbo Goes to College,”  Columbo goes to a college. There you go.

Wait, no, there’s more- while Columbo’s at the college, guest lecturing before a criminology course, the professor is murdered. Thankfully for justice, the Lieutenant was the one who drew the short straw to be there that night and get the case. Not so thankfully for the two rich frat guys who engineered the murder (Via a gun under the hood of a monster truck?), the Lieutenant was the one who drew the short straw to be there that night and get the case. Also, Robert Culp is sort of in this, but he doesn’t murder anyone, so that’s a bit of a wash. This was not an easy episode. Comedian Richard Massara returns to talk about the whole thing, along with murder cars, buckets of cocaine, and lots of imagined backstory.

Next up is season ten’s “Columbo Goes to College,” in which the Lieutenant is asked to be the guest lecturer for a criminology course. When the professor winds up murdered before the class is through, it seems the kids are going to get some first-hand education in homicide. Joining in the discussion will be returning guest Richard Massara. The episode is available on DVD.

“Lady in Waiting” stars Susan Clark as Beth Chadwick, heiress to the fabled Chadwick advertising fortune. When she shoots her brother after years of his holding her back and trying to sabotage her relationship with Leslie Nielsen, Columbo is the only one who sees not a tragic accident, but a calculated murder. Daniel Kibblesmith (Late Show with Stephen Colbert) and Jennifer Wright (It Ended Badly: Thirteen of the Worst Breakups in History) join Jon and RJ to talk about Strawberry Shortcake hats, 1971’s most popular whiskey, creepy haunted baby dolls, the best way to propose to someone on Wall Street and oh, so much more.