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Columbo - The Complete First Season
All seven 90-minute episodes of the 1971-72 debut season are included here, along with Prescription: Murder and Ransom for a Dead Man; unfortunately, as the lieutenant himself would say, "Oh, just one more thing"--no extras are included in the set, but having these fine TV mysteries in one set should be reward enough for armchair sleuths. --Paul Gaita
RRP: £34.99
Our Price: £7.24 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
TV detective fans rejoice: Peter Falk's rumpled and infallible Lt. Columbo joins the DVD precinct with a five-disc set that features the detective's first nine appearances for NBC. Though Falk as Columbo (no first name) made his TV debut in 1967, the detective had actually first appeared on an episode of the 1960-61 Chevy Mystery Show (Bert Freed played the role) written by veteran TV scribes Richard Levinson and William Link (The Fugitive, Alfred Hitchcock Presents). The pair turned the episode into a stage play titled Prescription: Murder, which was adapted into a TV movie in 1967 with Falk in the lead. NBC greenlit a two-hour Columbo pilot (Ransom for a Dead Man) in 1971, and the series was launched that fall as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie, a rotating 90-minute program that alternated Columbo with episodes of MacMillan and Wife and McCloud (another Levinson/Link creation). Viewers were quickly won over by Falk's shrewd performance as he matched wits with a host of exceptional guest stars (including Gene Barry, Patrick McGoohan, and others), all of whom assumed that the disheveled detective would never figure out their "perfect crimes"; the popularity and quality of the original series allows Falk to continue to don the trenchcoat some 30 years later for occasional Columbo TV movies.
A timeless detective series
Review date: 2007-06-27 Rating: 10 out of 10
There are enough detective shows that even the most hardcore detective show fan could be forgiven for losing count of them, they really are ten a penny but none of them in my opinion will ever match the brilliance of this.
Although I like the odd one here and the odd one there, I have never been a massive fan of detective programmes and I can't think of one that I like more than Columbo, this is not me being in anyway nostalgic as this masterpiece of a detective programme began before I was born.
The reason I love this programme so much is that right from the start you know who the killer is and so that gimmick is out of the way, so from then on it is just about enjoying Columbo sticking to the main suspect like glue and annnoying the hell out of them until he finally finds that all important piece of evidence. Another reason for me loving this programme is the suspects played by well known actors and because they think that they are so clever that they will get away with murder, it is always really satisfying when these smug but usually charismatic characters finally get caught because of usually one small mistake that they made.
It is for this reason why I never get bored of watching this timeless detective series on repeated viewing, because even though you, me and everybody you know who has ever watched this knows that Columbo will catch them in the end, to me it doesn't matter because no matter how many times I watch an epsiode of this and because the suspect is so close to getting away with murder, in a strange sort of way it almost makes me believe that they will still get away with murder on repeated viewing and this is because the pace in which each episode moves along is done to perfection.
Another reason for me loving this is obviously Peter Falk. I always love the way in which the usually charismatic, charming, extremely cool under the circumstances, smug, deadly serious however you want to describe them main suspects nearly always underestimate Columbo at first and then start to realise that he is very clever and so then their behaviour starts to change dramatically, it really is wonderful to watch and this is credit to the actors that play this particular role.
Just a little mention about this boxset, if you really like your extras on dvd boxsets then you will be disappointed with this and although I like extras myself, strangely the lack of them doesn't really bother me that much with this although it would have been nice to have a few commentaries. One last thing about this boxset is that the pilot episodes are on the last disc and I can't make my mind up whether I prefer it this way or not, as I have said before that I find pilot episodes of programmes a little slow and most of the time never show how good a programme really is (The Six Million Dollar Man and The A Team are in my opinion two examples of this).
So then, even if like me you are in no way the biggest detective show fan in the world, if you have never watched an episode of Columbo properly which is unlikely I know, but anyway if you really haven't then I think that you will be really suprised at how good this was and still is and even though this is repeated a lot on channel 5 (with more adverts than the number of times I have watched this), even this couldn't stop me from buying this boxset. ENJOY.
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Reviews
We want extras!!
Review date: 2005-10-23 Rating: 6 out of 10
The episodes are all well and good, I wouldn't buy the DVD if I didn't like the series but why no extras? It surely can't be that difficult to get Peter Falk, some of the producers and other cast members to talk about the episodes. Universal are not making use of the possibilities that DVD offers in order to release the sets more quickly! I hope there will be some on the future releases, but I'm not holding my breath.
They don't make 'em like this any more
Review date: 2005-01-17 Rating: 10 out of 10
These early pilots and episodes of Columbo from the first series have a real quality about them. It's something to do with nostalgia, I guess, but really it's much more than that. All the ingredients are right: Peter Falk; big-name casts; superb Technicolor cinematography; intelligent scripts; humour; and drama.
Columbo never chases anybody in his car, never shoots anyone, never swears, just beats the criminals with the power of his mind, much like Poirot. Columbo is for fans of literate crime drama, and they don't get much better.
I like this particular set, which has six DVDs in a particularly attractive case. It includes both pilot episodes (films in their own right really, which take up a whole DVD each) so you can see how Peter Falk - incredibly young in the first pilot - developed the Lieutenant's character.
I'm impressed too by the quality of the transfer onto DVD. There's a richness to the colour that's very appealing.
Highly recommended.
World class entertainment
Review date: 2004-12-14 Rating: 10 out of 10
Fans of the enigmatic Lieutenant Columbo have every reason to celebrate the launch of this DVD, even if they already know every episode intimately.
A staple of weekend afternoon slots the world over, these are episodes you'll probably have seen a dozen times, but the crisp picture and sound quality of the DVD makes this an essential purchase for the serios Columbo fan.
Detractors of the crumpled detective will argue that every episode is the same. 'Seen one you've seen 'em all,' they moan, but the truth is that quite outside the formulaic approach of each episode, there are countless magical moments in each show that delight the watchful viewer.
Little things, like Columbo's hand movements, the twinkle in his eye when he's on to to his man (or woman) and the delightful interchanges between him and minor characters help make each viewing unique and rewarding.
Falk is magnificent in the role. Even in this, the first series, he plays the Columbo character like he was born to it, immediately achieving a standard of performance that endeared him to millions while never becoming tired, even after three decades in the role. The special guest stars, all certain they can bamboozle the seemingly bungling lieutenant, each add their own inimitable contrast to Falk's central figure and all obviously revel in the roles, mixing up snarling menace, frustration and over-enthusiastic support to their nemesis.
Every episode is a treat, and this DVD also includes both pilot episodes, the first of which features a rather different, and far more aggressive Columbo, but one that is no less enjoyable to watch. There are no extras, which will disappoint some, but for me just the opportunity to have such a collection on DVD is reward enough.
If you're a fan of Columbo, or you just think you might be, buy this, if only to ensure that they release the whole collection on DVD.
The best TV detective ever
Review date: 2004-11-30 Rating: 10 out of 10
What an outrageous yet brilliant idea, to have a detective series where you see who did the murder right at the beginning. The fascination comes from watching Columbo (Peter Falk), scruffy, vague and (apparently) absent-minded, gradually figure oiut how the murdered committed the crime, and relentlessly closing in on his suspect.
In every episode, you see the confident criminal dismiss Columbo as hopeless, then watch with satisfaction as it gradually dawns on them that he's much smarter than he looks. and you wait for the moment when he turns around and says "oh, just one more thing-".
It's a delight to have the complete first series on DVD, I hope it won't be too long before they bring out the others.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Peter Falk
Recording label: Playback
Manufacturer: Playback
EAN: 5050582290585
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Box set, PAL,
Release date: 2004-09-13
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 660 minutes
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)