08:00 Columbo
09:30 McMillan And Wife
11:00 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
11:30 WKRP In Cincinnati
12:00 Rising Damp
Columbo. Episode 6. "Suitable For Framing" From the weakest Columbo ending to the very best. None of the Columbo endings were ever as abrupt or satisfying as this. And, unlike any other episode that I can remember, this one has two rapid twists in the final seconds just before the credits roll. It helps that the bad guy in this one (Ross Martin) is one of the least likable characters ever to grace the show. Who am I kidding? He's a jackass! And a cold-blooded killer, too. And it's so sweet when Columbo brings him down.
This is one of those Columbo episodes were there is no great "moment of clarity" for the great detective and no great tell-tale mistake from the killer, either. It's one of those nice simple cases where - logic dictates - there really is only one suspect from the start. And Columbo just hones in on the guy from the moment he meets him. It's also one of those episodes that - while showing everything that happens on the night of the murder - doesn't let the audience know until near the very end what the killer's full plan is. And it's a great plan. Very clever. And, on first viewing, it really does appear like he's going to get away with it.
Even now, years later, watching it again and having a vivid memory of how it all came together (and that glorious final shot) I was at pains to remember how the pieces of the jigsaw actually fell into place. That's great television. Great storytelling. And it reminds me that Columbo episodes can be watched over and over and always satisfy.
The episode is also noteworthy for a great guest shot from Mary Wickes who plays a woman who annoys Columbo in exactly the same way he annoys his suspects. She has a photo of the killer (Columbo hopes) in a place where he said he never was, but on her way to getting that particular photo she keeps stopping to tell Columbo about all the other photos in her album. Bombarding him with pointless trivia about her life. Brilliant.
McMillan And Wife. Episode 2. "Murder By The Barrel" The ending finds a clumsy way to place Sally in danger and some of the comedy falls flat but, by and large, this is yet another solid episode of McMillan And Wife. John Schuck gets more screen time than in the pilot. Which is fine by me. John Schuck, Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James are three actors with superb comedic timing, so putting together a lot serves to keep the show amusing.
Sally stumbles across a dead body. Which is fine by me, too. That's basically the premise of the series. If Sally isn't accidently in the middle of various murders and crimes then the show doesn't exist. I used to hate it when heroes like Magnum, PI, spent more time helping friends and accidentally finding crimes that actually solving cases they had been hired for, but on some shows you just have to accept how the stories happen. And this is how they happen on McMillan And Wife: Sally is always in the wrong place at the wrong time! And, on this occasion, she finds a body, which then disappears before anyone else can see it. Later on, Sally is attacked, but nobody else sees the attacker. And on it goes.
Most of what happens is very funny and the actually story is pretty good to. One sequence of verbal gymnastic between the three stars falls flat and the ending where Sally is lured to the bad guy is really dumb, but I had a lot of fun watching this.
I confess that I really like this show for the happily married couple in the middle of it. The McMillans have always been a favourite TV couple of mine. They are much more fun than the Harts and they are so evidently in love. In this episode, I was watching Mac to see how much suffering he could take and still be devoted to Sally. Even when her stories seem crazy he never doubts her and he always follows up on her suspicions. And that's one thing I really love about the show, too.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Episode 12. "Anchorman Overboard" Ted loses his nerve and starts to mess up every newscast. It's kinda Mary's fault (in a roundabout way) so Lou decrees that she has to fix it. Classic MTM fare. It uses Mary, Ted, Phyllis and Lou to perfection and generates much laughter by leaving them all together in Mary's appartment for a character-based crisis.
WKRP In Cincinnati. Episode 60. "Venus and the Man" A famous episode, where Venus tries to talk a high-school dropout into going back to finish out his education. It should be awful. A sit-com trying to preach about something serious and offering up pointless TV solutions. But, instead, it's very good. It does have a point to make and it makes it very well. There are laughs to be had (particularly from Les, whose one scene is truly superb) but most of it is written (and played) straight. Venus makes some great points. And the kid decides to go back, at least until the end of the year. It's a small victory and Venus reflects in the final scene that the chances of the kid actually staying in school are slim. It's that kind of story-telling that makes WKRP a classic.
Rising Damp. Episode 2. "Black Magic" Phillip is a bit nicer now to Alan, which is how I remember things. They appear to be more of a team now (united against their small-minded landlord) although Alan is still bombarding Phillip with pointless questions. The actual plot revolves around Phillip's 'magic powers' and Eric Chappell generates many laughs from the simple idea that Miss Jones is waiting for a knock on the floor to tell her to come up. It's great.
Highlight? Columbo
Sat, Jun 7th, 2008 - Columbo, McMillan And Wife, Mary Tyler Moore, WKRP, Rising Damp
