Customer Reviews

Columbo - The Complete Fourth Season

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Here's a list of the six Columbo segments presented in this fourth season collection:

1.) AN EXERCISE IN FATALITY. Robert Conrad stars as a health club businessman who murders his partner and makes it look like an accident. This episode is highlighted by Gretchen Corbett who plays Conrad's sexy secretary.

2.) NEGATIVE REACTION. Dick Van Dyke plays against type as a famous photographer who kills his wife and makes it look like an ex-con committed the deed. This segment features the incredibly gorgeous JoAnna Cameron, who played Isis in the Saturday morning programs "Shazam" and "Isis" circa '75 and '76.

3.) BY DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT. Patrick McGoohan stars as the head of a military academy who kills one of the school's govenors by sabotaging a cannon on Founder's Day, making it look like a gun cleaning accident.

4.) TROUBLED WATERS. While vacationing on a cruise liner Columbo must solve the murder of the singer of the ship's band. The murderer, Robert Vaughn, sets up an ironclad alibi -- he was recovering in Sickbay from a minor "heart attack."

5.) PLAYBACK. An inventor video tapes his mother-in-law's murder and later plays it back to the security guard, to give himself an alibi.

6.) A DEADLY STATE OF MIND. George Hamilton stars as mesmerizing doctor who murders the husband of one of his patients that he's intimately involved with (Leslie Ann Warren). He then decides to kill her utilizing his hypnotic skills.

BONUS EPISODE: Mrs. Columbo -- "A Riddle for Puppets."

The three disks are thankfully one-sided, unlike the third season collection.

I'd rate the episodes, but we Columbo fans know that they're ALL fabulous!

The fourth season ranks, in my opinion, with the second and first as being the best (I haven't seen season five yet), and, as there is almost universal agreement on, this set is highly recommended.

The episodes:

An Exercise in Fatality: Robert Conrad stars as a health club businessman who murders his partner and makes it look like an accident.

Negative Reaction: Dick Van Dyke plays against type as a famous photographer who kills his wife and makes it look like an ex-con committed the deed.

By Dawn's Early Light: Patrick McGoohan stars as the head of a military academy who kills one of the school's govenors by sabotaging a cannon on Founder's Day, making it look like a gun cleaning accident.

Troubled Waters: While vacationing on a cruise liner Columbo must solve the murder of the singer of the ship's band. The murderer, Robert Vaughn, sets up his alibi-he was recovering in Sick bay from a minor "heart attack."

Playback: An inventor video tapes his mother-in-law's murder and later plays it back to the security guard, to give himself an alibi.

A Deadly State of Mind: George Hamilton as a mesmerizing doctor who murders the husband of one of his patients that he's involved with (Leslie Ann Warren). He then decides to kill her.

Plus a Mrs. Columbo bonus episode: "A Riddle for Puppets."

Excuse me...just two more things:

1. Problems with the DVD is most likely an issue with your player, not the DVDs themselves. This is mostly evidenced by the thousands of copies that are watched with no problem. The DVD specification, and the huge variety of players out there guarantee some sporadic problems. Think of it as having to put a penny on the label of the 45 to keep it from slipping back when we used record players. It's possible that your disc is defective, but unlikely.

Don't let that potential problem stop you from watching these!

2. While I suppose some "extras" would be nice from an archival point of view, they're not necessary. With, what, thirty or forty episodes altogether, what is there to say about each one? This is a personality-driven show, so watching it is the real treat. I often...well maybe not often, but occasionally...wonder just what it is people do with the extras? Is it really all that interesting to watch the ten minute "backstage access" special or watch film trailers over and over again? How many films really warrant a commentary track, and of those, how many are well done? A few dozen over the history of film? Maybe? I'm all for the extras, but I suspect they would be of little interest in this series, and really would exist just to give those that complain about "no extras" the ability to complain about "bad extras."

Again, the lack of bonus materials shouldn't keep you from enjoying these shows. Enjoy!

Season 4 is when the series reached its peak.
Among outstanding guest stars were Patrick McGoohan
in "By Dawn's Early Light", Dick Van Dyke in "Negative
Reaction" and Robert Vaughan in "Troubled Waters".
If you can only afford one season's worth of DVD's,
this is the one. We see outstanding performances by
the guest stars, great directing, and ingenious
plots.
A tantalizing hint: It is in one of the episodes
from this season that we get closest to seeing
Mrs Columbo. Find out which one it is!

Is the Executive Producer at Universal deaf, dumb & blind? Does he/she somehow not know about the Amazon review pages online? Does he/she somehow not know they are a direct reflection of the people's personal sentiments?

I've just received the 4th season from Amazon, and was shocked to see yet another no-frills packaged season set, ommiting any worthwhile extras, no interviews, no trivia, no trailers, promos, nothing.

Yet the producers, in their infinite backwards-wisdom, have decided to include yet another "bonus" episode of Mrs. Columbo, a putrid series that failed miserably and doesn't even qualify as a spin-off to Columbo, which it never was. If anyone has been reading reviews of the 3rd season, they will clearly see an overwhelming "negative reaction" to the Mrs. Columbo inclusion. All Columbo fans, myself included, love the show for its core essentials: Falk's mannerisms and his subtle nuances in forming the Lieutenant's character. The show also operated on a high level of intelligence . There was something special about the look of Columbo, and the style of Levinson & Link's storytelling. Columbo is ultimately about the power of perception and of course, the charm that Falk brought to the main character. Of course, none of this exists in the Mrs. Columbo production, and I couldn't even tell you the name of the actress who played her. I can't help but find the whole thing insulting- here we have an opportunity to create a lasting legacy for a very special show, and these mindless robots are insistent upon channeling Columbo down the superhighway of mainstream averageness. Columbo, Falk, Levinson & Link get 5 stars. The episodes do not even require review. They are all outstanding. The driving instruction scene with Larry Storch is hysterical, even after the 100th viewing.

The executive producers get zero stars. How fixated on mediocrity are the decision-makers at Universal??? And do the people's opinions mean anything? Apparently not.

Every episode so far (season's 1 thru 4) are all uncut, the way they are supposed to be. I have every episode on vhs tape that columbia house video put out a while back and they are all uncut
and i have compared the running times on both the vhs and dvd's.
And the dvd's are once again UNCUT AND NOT THE SYNDICATED EPISODES.

Lt. Columbo continues to put some of Hollywood's hottest stars (well, they were at the time these episodes were filmed!) behind bars. This season is a good mix of episodes. One advantage of a show like Columbo is that the mix of directors and writers, and the 1.5 hour length, make the stories deeper than your average TV murder mystery. All the episodes follow the usual Columbo formula, where we (the audience) get to see the murder and how it was committed. We then follow Columbo as he works his way through the evidence to determine how the killer did it. In this season it often involves some trickery or a detail that the killer overlooked. This set's episodes are:

1. An Exercise in Fatality - a fitness guru murders one of his business partners. Watch as Columbo tries to keep up with him jogging on the beach while dogging the suspect with questions.

2. Negative Reaction - Dick van Dyke sets up an elaborate plot to murder his wife and frame an ex-con. This is Columbo at his best, as he matches wits (and has to learn the art of photography) with the murderer.

3. By Dawn's Early Light - a military school's commandant murders the school's president. Columbo must earn the trust of the school's plebes and instructors, not an easy task for an outsider! Probably the best episode of the season.

4. Troubled Waters - Columbo meets the Love Boat! On a cruise, a lounge singer is murdered, and it looks to Columbo like the band's piano player has been set up. This sets him in conflict with the ship's captain, the ultimate arbiter while on the high seas. With a star-studded cast and some neat twists, this is an extremely enjoyable episode.

5. Playback - another "Columbo has to sort out the technology episode." The security cameras at the house appear to give the murderer an iron-clad alibi, that Columbo must dismantle to bring the killer to justice. One of the weaker episodes of the season, due to the less-than-stellar guest stars.

6. A Deadly State of Mind - a somewhat strange episode, where an accidental murder is covered up with a deliberate one. Columbo matches wits with a successful psychologist in an attempt to solve two murders.

Clearly, episodes 2, 3, and 4 are the cream of the crop here, and stand up with the greatest Columbo episodes of the whole series. The other three are not as good, but interesting nonetheless. As usual, these DVD's are devoid of extras, except for an episode of "Mrs. Columbo," wherein Kate Mulgrew (later to become famous as Capt. Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager) portrays the elusive Mrs. Columbo. As you might expect, the show is a little silly - shorter and boringly linear compared to a typical Columbo episode. But at least it's an extra feature of some interest.

The 4th season has arrived. The quality seems fine and shows better than the vhs collection. I agree with others that the 2 sided DVD is a poor format, although this 4th season is back too one sided. Along with that, all of the DVD seasons seem to have differences; sizes of boxes, thickness of DVD cases, one side vs two sided DVD's. I am just happy they have been released on DVD at all.


Patrick McGoohan is fantastic in "By Dawn's Early Light". He has played in the beginning and the later Columbo series in "Agenda for Murder" & "Ashes to Ashes" and is great in both era's. I should enjoy seeing next season so we can view a few more stars playing in both time frames of Columbo's long run.

In Exercise in Fatality, check out the office door towards the beginning. When Jessica leaves the office the door stays open. Also I beleive, this is one of only two eposiodes where Columbo gets very mad at the murderer. Do you know the other?

Enjoy. Van

I'm a guy who actually has a raincoat that I won in an auction and it has the autograph "Peter Falk as Columbo". So that should give you an idea of how much I like this character. BUT, could someone PLEASE ask the company that's putting these out to stop including a Bonus Episode of that absolutley horrible show Mrs Columbo? I hated it when it was Mrs Columbo. I hated it even more when some marketing dweeb changed it to Kate Loves A Mystery. If you want to give us bonus footage, how about deleted scenes, gag reels? Please. Just stop wasting space with that Mrs Columbo garbage. Thanks.

It is a cliche to say that Columbo is one on the most engaging and popular characters in television history. The clever detective with the rumpled raincoat is indelibly an American icon. The mysteries are memorable, the stories are engaging, and the writing is top-quality throughout. In season four it is no different. With guest stars like Dick Van Dyke and George Hamilton, the episodes are as alluring as Columbo's pretended and disarming demeanor. Arguably, Patrick McGoohan gives one of the best performances as a strict commadante of a military academy. (He seems so natural, cool, yet with an understated vulnerability.) There is a rich variety of backgrounds and methods to the murderers' methods throughout, so, even if you haven't seen these episodes since their inception, or for the uninitiated (or even if you have seen them recently on A&E) owning this DVD set is worth the price of admission. Today's viewers of "CSI" or other crime shows should also give "Columbo" a try. (The show and the character have stood up to the test of time.) Perhaps to be balanced one criticism remains: Sometimes the coincidences make some of the episodes seems slightly contrived, but the results will make even the most cynical viewer into a fan.

Robert Conrad, Dick Van Dyke, Patrick McGoohan, Robert Vaughn, Jane Greer, Dean Stockwell, Patrick Macnee, Oskar Werner, Gena Rowlands, George Hamilton and Lesley Ann Warren are the most known guest stars of this fourth season. Four out of the six episodes would have their place in a Columbo anthology so don't hesitate to buy this box which features:

Columbo Collector's Edition (An Exercise in Fatality) : **** With Robert Conrad as Milo Janus, a murderer Lt. Columbo will love to confound.

Columbo Collector's Edition: Negative Reaction: ***** The second best episode of the season. Lt. Columbo is mistaken for a beggar by a nun and takes photography lessons.

Columbo Collector's Edition: By Dawn's Early Light: ***** In my opinion, the best episode of the season. Patrick McGoohan earned a well deserved Emmy for his performance.

TROUBLED WATERS: ***** Directed by Ben Gazzara. Columbo in Loveboat with Robert Vaugh as the villain. Great.

Columbo Collector's Edition: Playback: ***** Directed by Bernard Kowalski. With Oskar Werner (Jules and Jim) and Gena Rowlands (Gloria). Fourth ***** star episode in a row. Emmy award for cinematographer Richard C. Glouner. An outstanding episode.

Columbo Collector's Edition: A Deadly State Of Mind : **** Lt. Columbo against George Hamilton as psychiatrist Mark Collier. Watch for the deadly phone call.

A DVD box set that should already be in your library.