eric-65207

There are some really good episodes of Columbo, and there are some really bad ones. This one might be the worst. I probably saw the whole episode years ago, but rewatching it last night, I could only make it about halfway through. 1) I knew I might be in trouble when it began with Columbo singing in his car. That's not how a Columbo episode begins! 2) Peter Falk's acting of the character was different from most other episodes. Why the change? 3) The scene where Columbo is backstage at the television studio talking to the technical guy who handles the soundboard and what not: Columbo starts randomly pressing the buttons and looking at the monitors like he's on LSD. Plus, why would those buttons do that anyway? It was a bizarre scene. Nothing but filler. 4) I had to stop watching when the murderer visited her old abandoned home just to bask in how far she has come in her life. And Columbo happens to be there because, "Your secretary told me you would be here"!!!!!! And then... and then... she starts giving Columbo a massage! That's when I turned it off. There's more that was really bad, but those are some of the highlights. The whole thing was irritating, annoying, and not what a real Columbo episode should be.

I agree with one of the other two comments regarding this episode. I have liked every episode of Waking the Dead until this one. Annoying characters, annoying dialog, annoying camera work, annoying special camera effects. The whole episode was jarring to the senses. In other words, the director of this episode was horrible. Every time I watch the first bad episode of a good series, it feels like it is directed by a new person fresh out of film school who is trying too hard to impress someone or another, or trying too hard to incorporate his or her unique style, which isn't unique at all; we've seen it all before. Just direct it straight-up; keep the camera steady; tell the story and keep your little ego ambition out of it, because the end result is pathetic.

Night Court had a way of being completely zany and off the.wall, then unexpectedly switching the tone to something rather deep and meaningful. Only Night Court could do that. Seasons 1 through 5 are the best in television history, especially Seasons 3 and 4. Seasons 6 and 7 are also very good. Seasons 8 and 9 are NOT good (all the best writers and producers had left the show); do not judge Night Court by Seasons 8 and 9; they are not "Night Court."