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Columbo - Series 1-7 - Complete
RRP: £59.99
Our Price: £39.98 (subject to change)
You only get what you pay for
Review date: 2008-06-05 Rating: 6 out of 10
On the face of it this set seems reasonable value for money, but it is let down by by the quality of the storage box, a lack of episode information on the DVDs and the fact that you need another 24 episodes for a complete collection.
To add further detail to previous reviews, this set contains 45 episodes. Episodes 46 to 69 (Series 8 - 11 and the 8 specials are not included. Presently the only way to get every episode, in one set, is to subscribe to the official collection from Hachette part works (http://www.columbocollection.com/index.html). This works out at close to £300.00 after you have collected all 35 DVDs (and binders for the included magazines). However if you are a serious Columbo fan that might be a price worth paying. At least you get individual DVD cases, with Titles on, and a decent storage case.
The full list of episodes in the order broadcast appears below
Episode Number Title--Original Air Date--Season
1 Prescription: Murder--20/02/68--(Pilot)
2 Ransom for a Dead Man--01/03/70--(Pilot)
3 Murder by the Book--15/09/71--(Season 1)
4 Death Lends a Hand--06/10/71--(Season 1)
5 Dead Weight--27/10/71--(Season 1)
6 Suitable for Framing--17/11/71--(Season 1)
7 Lady in Waiting--15/12/71--(Season 1)
8 Short Fuse--19/01/72--(Season 1)
9 Blueprint for Murder--09/02/72--(Season 1)
10 Etude in Black--17/09/72--(Season 2)
11 The Greenhouse Jungle--15/10/72--(Season 2)
12 The Most Crucial Game--05/11/72--(Season 2)
13 Dagger of the Mind--26/11/72--(Season 2)
14 Requim for a Fallen Star--21/01/73--(Season 2)
15 A Stitch in Crime--11/02/73--(Season 2)
16 The Most Dangerous Match--04/03/73--(Season 2)
17 Double shock--25/03/73--(Season 2)
18 Lovely but Lethal--23/09/73--(Season 3)
19 Any Old Port in a Storm--07/10/73--(Season 3)
20 Candidate for Crime--04/11/73--(Season 3)
21 Double Exposure--16/12/73--(Season 3)
22 Publish or Perish--18/01/74--(Season 3)
23 Mind over Mayhem--18/02/74--(Season 3)
24 Swan Song--03/03/74--(Season 3)
25 A Friend in Deed--05/05/74--(Season 3)
26 An Exercise in Fatality--15/09/74--(Season 4)
27 Negative Reaction--15/10/74--(Season 4)
28 By Dawn's Early Light--27/10/74--(Season 4)
29 Troubled Waters--09/02/75--(Season 4)
30 Playback 02/03/75--(Season 4)
31 A Deadly State of Mind--27/04/75--(Season 4)
32 Forgotten Lady--14/09/75--(Season 5)
33 A Case of Immunity--12/10/75--(Season 5)
34 Identity Crisis--02/11/75--(Season 5)
35 A Matter of Honor--01/02/76--(Season 5)
36 Now You See Him--29/02/76--(Season 5)
37 Last Salute to the Commodore--02/03/76--(Season 5)
38 Fade in to Murder--10/10/76--(Season 6)
39 Old-fashioned Murder--28/11/76--(Season 6)
40 Bye-bye Sky High IQ Murder Case--22/05/77--(Season 6)
41 Try and Catch Me--21/11/77--(Season 7)
42 Murder under Glass--03/01/78--(Season 7)
43 Make Me a Perfect Murder--28/02/78--(Season 7)
44 How to Dial a Murder--15/04/78--(Season 7)
45 The Conspirators--13/05/78--(Season 7)
46 Columbo Goes to the Guillotine--06/02/89--(Season 8)
47 Murder, Smoke and Shadows--27/02/89--(Season 8)
48 Sex and the Married Detective--03/04/89--(Season 8)
49 Grand Deception--01/05/89--(Season 8)
50 Murder, a Self Portrait--25/11/89--(Season 9)
51 Columbo Cries Wolf--20/01/90--(Season 9)
52 Agenda for Murder--10/02/90--(Season 9)
53 Rest in Peace, Mrs Columbo--31/03/90--(Season 9)
54 Uneasy Lies the Crown--28/04/90--(Season 9)
55 Murder in Malibu--14/05/90--(Season 9)
56 Columbo Goes to College--09/12/90--(Season 10)
)57 Caution Murder Can Be Haz to Your Health--20/02/91--(Season 10)
58 Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star--29/04/91--(Season 10
59 Death Hits the Jackpot--15/12/91--(Season 11)
60 No Time to Die--15/03/92--(Season 11)
61 A Bird in the Hand--22/11/92--(Season 11)
62 It's All in the Game--31/10/93--(Special 1)
63 Butterfly in Shades of Grey--10/01/94--(Special 2)
64 Undercover--02/05/94--(Special 3)
65 Strange Bedfellows--08/05/95--(Special 4)
66 A Trace of Murder--15/05/97--(Special 5)
67 Ashes to Ashes--08/10/98--(Special 6)
68 Murder with Too Many Notes--12/03/01--(Special 7)
69 Columbo Likes the Nightlife--30/01/03--(Special 8)
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Reviews
5 Stars for the original series
Review date: 2008-03-25 Rating: 10 out of 10
In the states when these episodes finally came out on DVD, the first season was well done. After that, Universal got greedy and decided to release only the syndication episodes with extra commercial cuts. I found characters introduced in the middle or near the end that had not been seen earlier in the episode. There are even scenes that are completely cut. When these episodes originally aired, they were set in a 90 minute time frame, minus 12 minutes for commericals. In syndication, they aired in 2 hour time frames with 30 to 40 minutes for commercials. Please check the times of these boxed episodes carefully. The earliest should be approximately 78 minutes per episode, progressing to approximately 106 minutes for the later 2 hour format. The later Columbo films should vary between 95 and 107 minutes. I did contact Universal. I provided my proof to them that they episodes were cut, and not complete and unedited as they advertise. After initially rejecting my claims, they denied having access to any of the original tapes. They refused to refund money for false advertising. The sets sold in the states are good for collectors who miss this type of show, but if you want the real, complete, and unedited series...this may not be it. Take care in purchasing this set.
Great value but poor packaging!
Review date: 2008-02-19 Rating: 10 out of 10
As mentioned in the other reviews, this box set is great value for money when compared with buying each series separately. But, unfortunately for the serious Columbo fan, its another case of you get what you pay for... The outside box gives a brief description of the show and an episode listing. But thats it!
When you delve inside, you find the disks grouped by series in black packaging with no labeling to identify each series. You have to open up the partitions and look at the actual disks to tell which series you are holding.
There is no booklet to accompany the box set or any pictures/artwork anywhere in the collection. What you have is 23 disks in a box (thats probably why its so cheap).
So to summarize my rant, you pay your money and get the disks. But if what you are looking for is an attractive collection with detailed graphics and the professional touch, you are better off paying more money and buy each series separately.
Five stars for the content, one star for the packaging
Review date: 2008-02-18 Rating: 10 out of 10
If you love Columbo - and you should, for it is one of the bset TV series ever made - you'll want this set. What's more, it comes at a bargain basement price... but unfortunately also with bargain basement packaging. Well, the packaging is unimportant, you may think, with content which is quite so superb. Well, yes, but this packaging is way beyond minimalist. The cardboard box which holds the set is very flimsy and will obviously not last long - which is especially bad, since it contains the ONLY imformation in the set on which episodes / series are contained on which disc. The series folders are thin black cardboard and contain NO information whatsoever, not even a number or series title. Therefore, with the folders in the box, and jumbled about [remember they're NOT numbered] you have no option but to sort through all the discs to find the episode you want.
Oh! Just one more thing - There are no scene selections and the DVD menus are also minmalist.
BUT... Even so, you'll want this set - and maybe label or repackage them yourself, as I certainly shall? My wife, well, she's just crazy about this box set.
Excellent Value
Review date: 2007-12-06 Rating: 10 out of 10
I do not own this set of Columbo episodes, but have rather bought each season individually as soon as they have come out. Each episode is a classic and I could talk for ages on the merits/pitfalls/plots of each episode, however - the main purpose of this review is the price (£44.98 Dec 07).
This set offers great value for money - I must have paid around 2-3 times the price purchasing all of these seasons separately!
As irritating as this is for the likes of myself, it is brilliant news for those of you that have yet to buy them - get it now for an absolute bargain!
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Peter Falk
Recording label: Universal Pictures UK
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
EAN: 5050582522822
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 23
Format: Box set, PAL,
Release date: 2007-10-22
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 3609 minutes