Columbo Episodes, Ranked

Ten murders solved by a man who just has one more thing.

Entries
10
Category
TV
Updated
  1. A cluttered publisher's desk with a manuscript stack, a brass apartment key and a small alarm-clock bomb.

    10. Publish or Perish

    Columbo · 1974

    Jack Cassidy again, this time as a publisher who hires a hit on his star author, played by Mickey Spillane, of all people. Peter S. Fischer wrote it. Cassidy then blows up the hitman. The lock on the victim's door gets changed, and so does his luck.

  2. A magician's water tank under a stage spotlight, a top hat and an electric typewriter ribbon on the edge of the stage.

    09. Now You See Him...

    Columbo · 1976

    Jack Cassidy's third and final turn as a killer, now a magician called The Great Santini who murders a blackmailing club owner mid-act. Harvey Hart directed. A typewriter ribbon finishes him. Cassidy died later that year, and the show never found a better smug.

  3. A psychiatrist's leather couch in a wood-paneled office, a prescription pad and an airline ticket on the side table.

    08. Prescription: Murder

    Columbo · 1968

    The first Falk TV movie, from Levinson and Link's stage play: Gene Barry as a psychiatrist who kills his wife and has his mistress impersonate her on a flight. Falk wears a suit and looks almost presentable. He would correct this in three years.

  4. A ceremonial brass cannon on a military academy parade ground at sunrise, a jug of cider hidden in the grass nearby.

    07. By Dawn's Early Light

    Columbo · 1974

    Patrick McGoohan as a military academy commandant who rigs a ceremonial cannon to kill the man shutting him down. McGoohan won an Emmy for it, then kept coming back to kill people and direct episodes. He is caught by knowing where the cadets hid their cider.

  5. An open parachute pack lying in desert scrub at dawn, a guitar case and a set of rental car keys beside it.

    06. Swan Song

    Columbo · 1974

    Johnny Cash as a gospel star who drugs his wife, played by Ida Lupino, and a backup singer, then parachutes out of his own plane. Cash sings, the plane does not survive, and the rental car keys in his pocket undo the whole thing. Never plan your alibi around a return trip.

  6. Ornate empty gilt picture frames leaning against a wall in a modernist living room, a pair of gloves on a side table.

    05. Suitable for Framing

    Columbo · 1971

    Ross Martin as an art critic who kills his uncle for the collection, then his accomplice for tidiness. Hy Averback directed, Jackson Gillis wrote, Don Ameche plays a lawyer. The ending turns on Columbo's gloves. The raincoat never changes, but he knew about gloves.

  7. Two vintage cameras on an evidence table under a fluorescent light, beside a stack of glossy black-and-white prints.

    04. Negative Reaction

    Columbo · 1974

    Dick Van Dyke, cast against every instinct, as a photographer who stages his wife's kidnapping. Columbo shows him a reversed photo, then lets him grab the right camera himself. Peter S. Fischer wrote it. The best gotcha in the series takes about four seconds.

  8. The open door of a heavy steel walk-in safe, a burnt match and a torn strip of manuscript paper on the floor beneath a bare bulb socket.

    03. Try and Catch Me

    Columbo · 1977

    Ruth Gordon, 81, as a beloved mystery novelist who locks her nephew-in-law in a soundproof safe and leaves for the weekend. He leaves a clue in the light socket. She was the oldest killer in the series, and the most charming person ever to commit premeditated murder.

  9. A stack of mystery paperbacks beside a vintage typewriter and an unopened rotary phone in a lakeside cabin at dusk.

    02. Murder by the Book

    Columbo · 1971

    The first regular episode: Steven Bochco wrote it, a 24-year-old Steven Spielberg directed it, and Jack Cassidy plays the half of a mystery-writing team who never actually wrote anything. TV Guide later ranked it among the 100 greatest TV episodes. Not bad for a debut.

  10. A dusty wine bottle and a single half-full glass of red wine on a tasting table in a dim stone cellar, a thermometer on the wall reading high.

    01. Any Old Port in a Storm

    Columbo · 1973

    Donald Pleasence as a wine snob who locks his half-brother in an airtight cellar during a heatwave. Columbo traps him by serving him a cooked bottle, and his palate confesses before he does. Leo Penn directed. Best villain, best ending, best manners.

Honorable mentions

  • A small private propeller plane on a rural airstrip at dusk, a canvas bag of cash on the wing.

    Ransom for a Dead Man

    Columbo · 1971

    The second pilot, the one that sold the series: Lee Grant as a lawyer and pilot who kills her husband and stages his kidnapping. Richard Irving directed, Dean Hargrove wrote. It is the moment Columbo became Columbo, raincoat and all.

Dishonorable mentions

  • An antique pocket watch lying open on the deck of a moored sailboat, a captain's cap beside it.

    Last Salute to the Commodore

    Columbo · 1976

    Patrick McGoohan directed this one, turned it into a whodunit, played it for laughs and hid the killer until the end, which is the one thing Columbo never does. Robert Vaughn is in it and dies. The whole show did, briefly.

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