Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Columbo, June 26, 2006
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!
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A List of the Fourth Season Episodes, March 17, 2006
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!
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36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Season 4: When Columbo Was At Its Best, February 22, 2006
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!
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