The Most Crucial Game

THE MOST CRUCIAL GAME is a strong early showing for everyone's favourite TV detective. It features regular guest villain Robert Culp as one of his most belligerent bad guys, the manager of an American football team who decides to do away with the wayward young owner in an almost perfect crime.

I say almost, because it doesn't take long for Peter Falk to get involved in the case and begin to unpick loose ends. As with the other TV movies starring Culp, watching the interplay between both actors is inherently amusing and difficult to dislike. Culp seems particularly short-tempered here, and he certainly gives Falk a hard time as the story progresses.

Also of note is the strong supporting cast, including the likes of Deans Jagger and Stockwell, and Valerie Harper as the call girl. There's plenty of natural, free-flowing humour in this one, particularly in Columbo's hunt for a new pair of shoes. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't have a problem with the ending, which I actually thought was really great in the way it was filmed, with the camera zooming in on both Culp's and Falk's faces as the realisation hits. Top stuff.

A refreshingly originally plotted Season 2 Columbo episode which sees the general manager of an American Football team, Paul Hanlon (played by Robert Culp) bump off the lazy, unambitious and wasteful owner, Eric Wagner (played by Dean Stckwell).

The script adds one or two nice twists along way and Culp, in his second outing as a Columbo villain is consistently stern-faced and oddly humourless throughout; in fact, he encapsulates the devious, selfish determination of his character and his scenes with Columbo are increasingly confrontational.

There is humour afoot in this story too: the scene when Columbo goes to call-girl Eve Babcock's home to question her is really funny, as she thinks Columbo is one of her customers.

There are however some nagging minus points - some aspects of the script rely too heavily on coincidence and luck. For instance, Eric Wagner was obviously a stubborn person - Hanlon's pestering manages to ensure that he is the pool so he can orchestrate his murder. This happens too easily for my liking...

Furthermore, the sealing clue is both inconclusive and rather contrived: amongst other things, Columbo's damning of Hanlon's alleged alibi-creating phone call takes place at exactly the same clock time it was perpetrated some days earlier. Therefore, Columbo miraculously judges his typical end-of-case wrant to perfection....

A very curious episode in many ways....worth a look for its's controversies.

It is interesting that the writer of Bonanza episodes (Dugan) got tapped to write a Columbo episode. There is plenty of humor present from the Ding-A-Ling brand of Ice Cream to Rhoda (Valerie Harper) performing a call girl routine on Columbo.

The cast here is quite strong as Robert Culp is at his prime here. It is amazing but it appears that if Culp didn't need to hose off the pool deck, he would get off on this one. Susan Howard's role as the widow is really very limited, like her role on Dallas as Ray Krebs wife often seemed. She only has 3 scenes here.

What hits the formula here is how Columbo trips up Culp though I am at a total loss how Culp benefits from murdering a boss who he was in complete command of when he is alive. The performances are good enough that you don't mind.

Enjoyable enough episode except what was the motive?

While Peter Falk as Columbo is always a treat, this episode kinda stinks. First of all unless Dean Stockwell's body was discovered within 15 minutes of drowning, the thin coat of water that Robert Culp sprayed on the decking would have been long gone in Southern California by the time of Columbo's arrival. And you just knew he would use some gimmick to discover the fresh water. But to actually touch it and taste it was too much. Like the pool water that splashes onto he decking above the pool, chlorine dissipates when exposed to sunlight and heat. So, 5 minutes into it he just knows something's afoot. I mean he's good if a bit eccentric, but come on. And the ending was unsatisfying too, "ya know I've been listening to this tape for hours and I just found out it was a sound that should be there but isn't." As far as I can tell Culp has no motive for murder in the first place. The guys wife inherits and they'e not even involved. Love Columbo, but this is a very sub-par episode.