Watching the Detective

[healyg]

Recently, due to some circumstances I'd rather not get into right now, I've been getting into the classic mystery series Columbo. I just finished the the 6th episode, Suitable for Framing, about an asshole art critic who offs his uncle for his inheritance. They're pretty good, of course! Some episodes are better than others, but all of them so far have been a cracking good time. I'm especially fond of the way Columbo is always staring up at the perps with a slouch, like he's the David to their Goliath.

If I had to name a favorite episode, it'd probably be Murder by the Book, the one directed by Steven Spielberg, but the episode I find most interesting is actually the first one, Prescription: Murder. For one, Columbo is a much different character than he is in the rest of the series; sure, he still has his fumbling nature and his easy-going amiability is there, to a certain extent, but he's definitely a lot more raw, a lot more... ruthless, for lack of a better term. There's even a scene where he screams at a woman. Anyway, I do think it's a good thing that they softened the character later on, but I do wish we could have seen how that particular version of the character would have developed if they kept him more of a hardass. Maybe not as a hero, but a villain, even.