Columbo (tv) . The Boston Phoenix . 12-01-97

Columbo (tv)

DIRECTED BY: Steven Spielberg

REVIEWED: 12-01-97

Actually, Mrs. Columbo is probably my favorite TV character of all time. As far as I know, she never appeared on an episode of Columbo, but she always came up at just the right moment, giving Peter Falk that crucial opportunity to scratch his head self-consciously and ask the one last seemingly harmless question that inevitably caught the murderer off guard. And that's what was so great about Columbo himself: his lack of pretense, his bumbling appearance, the fact that he seemed to be more interested in digging up a piece of trivia for his wife than in grilling a possible suspect. No, he didn't carry a gun, and God help him if he ever had to chase a criminal on foot or in his broken-down car. He was Poirot without pretense, Sipowicz minus the bad temper. And -- who knows? -- maybe the Lieutenant wasn't even really married. Maybe it was all a ruse. Now that would be brilliant. And I wouldn't put it past him.

Taken from The Boston Phoenix's "Character Sketches," a celebration of viewers' favorite TV characters. Click here for the full article.

Other Films by Steven Spielberg
Amistad
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Saving Private Ryan
The Lost World

Film Vault Suggested Links
Hawaii Five-O (tv)
Dragnet (tv)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (tv)

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