Fade in to Murder

For Lieutenant Columbo this case must have been like looking through the mirror because he was facing a TV creation here. Of course the elegant, dapper, white suited Lt. Lucerne is so unlike the working class hero that Peter Falk made so immortal.

Our murderer here is William Shatner who as Columbo with his usual dogged style keeps seeking his company and getting bit by bit of information, goes in and out of his TV character. It also turns out that his name of Ward Fowler is also a pretense and he didn't just change it for stage purposes.

I won't reveal the reason, but it's why Lola Albright who was the producer of Shatner's TV show is murdered in a plot that predates the Mark Wahlberg film Four Brothers where Fionula Flanagan is killed during a convenience store holdup. She was also involved with Shatner at one time, but now she's blackmailing him and sucking him dry. It's all she has because husband Alan Manson is out stepping with Shera Danese.

I agree with another reviewer that the solution does come out of the left field bleachers, but the best thing that this Columbo episode has going for it are the scenes of Shatner and Falk together. A real duel of champions.

I thought FADE IN TO MURDER was a very good episode of the Columbo show. The thing that you'll either love or hate about this is William Shatner as the guest villain. He plays a movie detective and is so larger than life that he dominates the whole thing. Shatner has never been so mannered as he is here and yet his character is completely likable throughout; in fact he plays one of the most likable characters of his whole career. I loved the bizarre interludes in which he gets interviewed by Columbo and adopts his TV detective persona, helping out the crumpled detective.

The rest of the production is above average. The opening murder sequence is surprisingly violent and arresting and unlike any other in the show. There's a fantastic little cameo from Walter Koenig which STAR TREK fans will love, and Columbo himself seems to be particularly bashful here and awed by Shatner's exuberance. The ending is one you won't see coming and FADE IN TO MURDER as a whole has the feel-good factor which makes it a delight to sit through.

Columbo is one of my favourite TV series of all time, and once again Fade in To Murder is a solid and very enjoyable episode. I like Fade in To Murder especially for one of the most cleverly executed murders in Columbo history, the fact that the murderer leaves evidence, clues and questions helping Columbo in a sense, and the scenes between Columbo and Fowler which are very dynamic. What I didn't quite like so much was that was final solution was a little underwhelming, I liked Shatner's final line but other than that the ending could have done with a stronger build-up and at the end of the day considering how well-executed the murder itself was it felt somewhat amateurish introducing the incriminating clue that wasn't even mentioned until then.

However, it is slickly filmed, with everything looking beautiful especially the settings, the dialogue amuses and the story is clever and interesting a vast majority of the time. Pacing is solid and Kowalski's direction shows why he was one of the more consistent directors of the show. Peter Falk is as always brilliant as Columbo, playing with humour, an inquisitive air and cunning. William Shatner, whose performance is better than in Butterfly in Shades of Grey(an episode I was mixed on and I wasn't crazy about Shatner in it), can be seen as hammy and a little stiff at times, but considering the ego of his character and the story concept it works.

All in all, very enjoyable and a solid entry in one of the all-time great detective series. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Decently plotted and reasonably originally conceived Columbo Season 6 opener, which sees him square-off, rather interestingly, against an actor renowned for his portrayal of the television detective Lt. Lucerne (played by William Shatner) who murders his blackmailing ex-lover (the show's producer) in a made-to-look-like robbery.

The most noticeable thing about this episode is the inordinate amount of screen time between Columbo and murderer, which therefore places a heavier emphasis than normal on having a quality script. In this respect, the scenes are carefully drawn and many of them are executed in a pleasing style, particularly as we get more information on the murderer's motives behind his crime. Nevertheless, the playful style of Columbo's interfacing with his rival (which may be too strong a word) is not a particularly rewarding approach by the script-writer, who almost airs on the side of caution to maintain a lighter atmosphere than is often the case in Columbo adventures. This style also renders a lack of build-up to the conclusion, which with all the open-mindedness in the world, is very inauspicious and unsatisfying.

Shatner's performance is carefully executed but overly hammy; although he probably does everything he is asked of in the script, particularly in conveying his character's deep-rooted insecurity, which is rather heavily portrayed at the end as he tries to seek sympathy for his crime.

I especially liked the final piece of dialogue after Columbo collars the murderer: Lt. Lucerne to Columbo - "...you would do me a enormous favour if you would stop calling me sir...."

It's a very curious episode with positives and negatives in equal measure; perhaps the script-writer could have allowed Lt. Lucerne's character to possess more self-assuredness, particularly as he gifts Columbo evidence off and on during this adventure.

William Shatner (James Kirk) plays an actor who murders a woman for revenge. He has an entire plot planned, with his roommate drunk and a baseball game taped, and a "borrowed" gun used only for the crime. Shatner plays a detective on TV who was Columbo's role model, and the lieutenant is over re-joiced that he will work with Shatner on the mystery. Great mystery with a completely obvious clue to the solving (when it's explained) unseen by anyone but Columbo (when I say anyone, I mean the audience, too), a real treat (just as all the Columbo movies are).