Monday, April 5th, 2010
05.00 Castle
06.00 White Collar
09.00 Columbo
Castle. Season 2, Episode 14. "The Third Man"
An episode highlighting the two best things about the show.
1. The chemistry between the two lead characters is fun. In this episode there's a blurb in a newspaper that suggests they are romantically linked so he spends many of the early scene trying to stop her from seeing the story. And... it's very funny. A big part of the charm. Yes, we know they like one another and we have seen this kind of thing many times before but that doesn't take away from the fact that when it's well done, it's very, very entertaining.
2. A good story. A good mystery. This episode is positively brimming over with good story/mystery. The first half of the hour is devoted to a man who sneaks into people's empty homes and lives there while they are on holiday. Nicely mystifying. The second half of the hour switches over to an equally compelling mystery: the secret of what he accidentally saw on one of his sleep overs and why it nearly got him killed.
Sometimes the endings on these shows are a little too clever, when there is no real need. Often on NCIS they return in the closing minutes to a minor character seen earlier and reveal that they are the Big Bad behind everything. You can almost predict it, really. In fact, you could use this pattern to impress somebody watching with you. In the closing ten minutes think back to a minor character from the first ten minutes and boldly declare that they are the culprit. If it's NCIS, then three times out of five you will be proven right. This Castle episode does that, by returning to the brother-in-law of the first victim. And it's a nice twist. But hardly necessary in an already superior hour of TV.
White Collar. Episode 11. "Home Invasion" Five Elephants
In order to enjoy White Collar you have to buy into a couple of things.
First, it's seems like everybody in this world (especially crooks) are forever communicating in elaborate codes. A couple of episodes back Erik Palladino played a cop who left a clue for our heroes in the amount of spare change he deposited as a tip (!!), in this episode Sarah Carter creates a complex code to record five names for herself. This list, of course, falls into the hands of our heroes and they are able to spend hours toiling over it until they track her down. And it's all a lot of fun to watch. But, at the back of your mind, you do have to wonder why she bothered to create the list in the first place.
Second, it seems like Peter and Neal are always going to be doing this same dance of trust over and back, no matter what has happened between them in previous episodes. You would think, by now, they would have a pretty strong bond. But, no... they do seem ready to lose (and regain) their mutual trust on a semi-weekly basis.
These two elements detract slightly from my enjoyment and serve to keep White Collar on a lower tier (quality wise) than the other USA shows that I watch and enjoy.
Columbo. Episode 15. "A Stitch in Crime" Leonard Nimoy
Sometimes the ending to a Columbo episode is so good, so vivid, that you just can't forget it.
I like to leave years between my Columbo re-watches (and it's been over a decade since I last saw this story) and one of the benefits of the time lag is a tendency to forget various details of what happens. Sometimes I'll forget the chronology of events, sometimes I'll forget major scenes and story beats, sometimes I'll even forget the mechanics of how our hero traps the killer at the end. That's always wonderful. It's like seeing it for the first time. Precious, like gold.
But some endings are too strong, make too much of an impact to ever forget, and this is one of those.
Leonard Nimoy is one of my favourite actors and this is one of his best roles. His character is calculating and truly cold-blooded, and his arrogance towards Columbo makes it easy to resent him, and cheer his downfall.
There are two parts to that downfall. First there is the piece of evidence, displayed with a wonderful flourish by the good Lieutenant in the movie's final seconds and freeze-frame, something that lingers long after viewing. In my case, it has lingered - literally - for years.
Second, there is 'the mistake'. Columbo killers always make a mistake somewhere along the way. Sometimes it is at the very beginning of the tale (and it's fun to try and spot it), and sometimes it happens later on in the story, while they are being harassed by the persistent cop. The sweetest, however, can often be in the closing seconds when they do something stupid right there in front of Columbo and he immediately pounces. This type of mistake can fall into two further sub-categories: the mistake of detail, and the mistake of character. And whole both are sweet and rewarding, the second one is the sweeter and more satisfying.
And that's what happens here. Mayfield (Nimoy) does something completely out of character. Something subtle, guaranteed to go unnoticed by the first-time viewer. So subtle that Columbo almost lets it slip by.
But then he remembers. And that final five seconds are amazing.
Unforgettable.
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Castle, White Collar, Columbo
