This episode first aired January 20, 1990.
This is the first episode of Columbo in which the victim is not killed in the first act.
Ian Buchanan who played Sean Brantley and Rebecca Staab who played Tina would reunite on the daytime soap Port Charles (1997).
My thoughts on this episode in chronological viewing order…
The opening to The Fine Young Cannibals immediately dates this outing.
Ian Buchanan excels at playing punchable slimeballs.
“No more live-in nymphs!” Seems kinda harsh.
That secretary aint exactly subtle in her snooping.
Who hasn’t asked their limo driver to stop somewhere and pick up some thinly slicked Scottish salmon?
Shades of “Blueprint for Murder” with this airport swithcheroo.
Why the heck is Columbo driving to what sounds suspiciously close to the Seinfeld opening theme?
Not sure why Columbo would go down the path of assuming she was swapped out.
Columbo can’t say no to a fancy helicopter ride. Or a good cigar.
Aha! A shell casing.
This is the same panning shot of the poolside models from the opening but, for some reason, flipped so we’re panning from right to left instead of left to right. Did they seriously not have enough B-cam footage?
So Columbo is basing his theory on the gunshot and the fact that Diane was bundled up when she exited the vehicle. Hmmm.
Columbo can’t figure out crime books, even after the detective has laid it all out in the end. I’ve read a few of those this year.
Ah, the days of flying when you could breeze past security without removing your sunglasses or head covering.
Custom made matching beepers. How romantic.
Aha! The lady in the security cam video is putting cream in her coffee – something the missing Diane never did!
Brantley’s angry response to being suspected of murder is a very unmurderer-like reaction.
I like the scene of Columbo walking in on a half dozen models just playfully lounging around the bedroom.
The scene of Columbo and co. hiding out in the public bathroom is kind of funny.
I do question Columbo’s need to review all those security tapes when he could have just reviewed the relevant ones.
If it WAS Tina, how could she have returned from London? With a fake passport?
Tina is really taunting Columbo, first throwing the papers in his face, then the cannonball into the pool.
A postcard from Diane?! Is this a ruse?
Weird scene transition. It looks like Columbo walks out on Brantley to a waiting limo in time to see Brantley, now changed, heading out. Not a convincing time cut.
Columbo crammed into the limo with the models.
The models have two minutes to shop. If I was them, I’d skip the clothing stores and head straight for the nearest Van Clef.
Columbo jogging alongside Tina echoes a similar/better scene from “An Exercise in Fatality”.
Tina in that crop top and pants. In a word: “Wow”.
Do they really need to handcuff her? I think this is Columbo getting back at her for the pool cannonball.
Diane makes a reappearance, having returned from her trip to London. Did NOT expect that twist!
And neither did Columbo.
They made him look like quite the fool.
There is a surprising lack of cocaine in these 90’s model party scenes.
This, I believe, is the latest a murder is committed in an episode of Columbo – with less than 14 minutes remaining. Also, the fastest Columbo solves a case.
It’s a pretty great Gotcha!, although I could have done without him actually sending the “Gotcha” message. Also, lucky for him that the body just happened to be buried close enough for them to hear the pager.
This episode does not come close to the lofty heights of the classic Columbo episodes – BUT it does take the top spot of the new Columbos. Buchanan plays a suitably smarmy villain and I have to admit to being surprised by the late episode twist that sees Diane make an unexpected return. The Gotcha was, I thought, very well done as well. While I found Columbo’s investigative presumptions a little hard to swallow, and the show’s 90’s elements annoyingly dated (outside of that one outfit Tina was wearing), they were minor quibbles in an otherwise solid episode.
Next up, Columbo investigates a murder made to look like a suicide in “Agenda for Murder”. Here’s hoping season 9 continues it’s modestly solid run.
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Window Of Opportunity vs Colombo
Joseph Malozzi thank you for your intriguing (like usually) Colombo review of today.
I’d like to start from the following lines in your analysis : “While I found Columbo’s investigative presumptions a little hard to swallow, and the show’s 90’s elements annoyingly dated (outside of that one outfit Tina was wearing), they were minor quibbles in an otherwise solid episode”.
Last night- on AXN Black TV – I rewatched my favorite episode of Stargate SG1, “Window of Opportunity” (Season 4, Episode 6, 2000), for the 5th time. A fans’ well-loved episode. Once again, it proved to be a masterpiece. Not only does it have artistic and scientific value, humor, and iconic moments, but it also feels modern, relevant, and exciting. I first saw it in 2001, then in 2007, 2015, 2020, and now in 2025. Even in 2055, I believe it will still feel fresh, challenging, and in tune with the times. That’s what makes it a masterpiece.
As a Universal Literature Teacher, I watched it with a different perspective and I can say that it is timeless. It belongs to a category of universal works that transcend time because it explores timeless themes, experiences, and emotions that resonate with people from different cultures and periods of time.
Congratulations to Joseph Malozzi for creating such a remarkable episode!
I was fascinated also by the tiny artistic gem of O’Neill and Teal’C studying a book titled “Latin for the Novice” by Joseph Mallozzi, Ph.D. It was a subtle and clever signature, reminiscent of the unusual way in which some of the Renaissance painters signed their works.
And now it hits me! Perhaps that’s why we are no longer “ so much in love” with “Colombo” even though it’s a classic of its genre. It seems stuck in the time period it originated from. It’s like listening to an “Oldies but Goldies” song – it’s lovely, but you can easily pinpoint the period of time and style.
NOW, A QUESTION FOR ALL OF YOU: IF YOU WERE STUCK IN A TIME LOOP AND HAD TO RELIVE A SINGLE DAY OF YOUR LIFE ENDLESSLY ( AS DEPICTED IN THIS EPISODE), WHICH DAY OF YOUR LIFE WOULD YOU PICK?
Thanks for the kind words re: WOO.
While I do feel these later Columbos do feel dated, the earlier Columbos really feel timeless to me.
Not sure I could pick a single day to relive – although I often do feel that I am stuck in a wonderful time loop of daily routine that involves us taking Sharkiy for a walk, reading and doing my morning stretches, sitting down to lunch with Akemi, taking Sharky out for an extended afternoon walk to a coffee shop, reading and/or watching Columbo, having a light dinner, doing an evening workout, one final walk for Sharky and then a shower and an early bedtime of youtube videos with the wife while Sharky falls asleep between us.
You are right! It is a wonderful time loop. The loop of happiness! The best one. A beautiful family and a beautiful every day life. Thank you for sharing with us. You are right about Colombo,too! Indeed, like Teal’C used to say.
Excellent review! You raised a few good points that never occurred to me but should have. (such as the cocaine)
Columbo can’t figure out crime books, even after the detective has laid it all out in the end. I’ve read a few of those this year. I’ve lost my patience for books like that. I call it a stupid tax and move to another book. On that note, I’ve finished “Killers of a Certain Age” (very good) and have started “The Hallmarked Man” in the Strike series. I love Robert Galbraith’s Strike series.
Back to Columbo! Who takes Salmon on a plane? Rich people are weird.
I didn’t see the big twist coming with the fake death. The beeper at the end was a nice touch. Seeing the old tech is always fun.
I liked the episode and @Ponytail, I’ve started eating an ice cream sundae or making an ice cream soda while I watch these episodes.
Tam – Good for you!! I ran out. I’ll have to restock my Blue Bell Ice Cream and baby cans of coke. Then I will join you! Delicious!
I’m already falling behind and only watched this episode last night.
I was slightly spoiled by the twist in that I had already read the last part of your review before watching. I wanted to know if I was in for a good or bad episode! It wasn’t much of a spoil as all I knew was that the murder happened towards the end but I didn’t know who would be murdered.
My working theory while watching was that Diane had faked her own disappearance so she could kill Sean. Why? I don’t know. But it wouldn’t be the most nonsensical motive for murder we’ve seen in Columbo.
The producers are trying really hard to make Columbo (the show) sexy with all these scantily clad women! That’s two episodes in a row now.
I was confused with Columbo’s original explanation of how the “murder” went down. It would have been extremely risky for the switch to happen in the two minutes the chauffeur was in the restaurant. What if he’d come out after hearing the shot and actually tried to speak to Diane to see if she was OK? The jig could have been up! But, again, it wouldn’t be the first murder on Columbo that required a very specific set of circumstances to go exactly right in order for the murderer to not be immediately caught.
I liked how because we didn’t see the murder, and there wasn’t a body, the episode played out more like a classic whodunit.
I was also wondering how Tina was supposed to have returned from London? Surely it would have been relatively simple to check the passenger manifests and camera footage of the few flights that would have got Tina back to LA within 28 hours. It would have been easy to address with a couple of lines of dialog.
As soon as I saw the builders renovating the bathroom I knew someone was getting plastered into a wall. Chekhov’s Builders. Even without the beeper gotcha it would have been the first place I would have looked. Also, I don’t think the garment bag would contain the smell.
All up, an enjoyable episode. Ian Buchanan surely does have a punchable face.
Chekhov’s Builders! Brilliant.
Yes, a solid episode, even if Ms. Hall spells her name all wrong. 😉
Just one little problem (in my humble opinion)…
I’ve had a dead mouse in the wall. Smells terrible. So even in a plastic bag, that body is gonna start to turn in a day or two, and eventually someone is gonna find it.
Side note – I was once at a party supply place to get tablecloths for an event. As I was making the payment, a maggot fell onto the counter. Then another. We (the clerk and I) looked up, and at first noticed nothing. Then I spied a teeny tiny hole in the drop ceiling, and sure enough, out wiggled another maggot. I suggested there may be a dead body in the attic, then I grabbed my stuff and skedaddled out of there, never to return.
My point? I have no idea. 😛
das
Uh…was there no follow-up?
Well, well, well…wouldn’t you like to know! 😀