Double Shock
- Episode aired Mar 25, 1973
- Not Rated
- 1h 14m
A smarmy TV chef and his identical twin brother, a rigidly proper banker, are suspects in the electrocution of their rich uncle.A smarmy TV chef and his identical twin brother, a rigidly proper banker, are suspects in the electrocution of their rich uncle.A smarmy TV chef and his identical twin brother, a rigidly proper banker, are suspects in the electrocution of their rich uncle.
- Casino Gambler
- (uncredited)
- Casino Gambler
- (uncredited)
- Casino Patron
- (uncredited)
- Casino Patron
- (uncredited)
- Dealer
- (uncredited)
- Croupier
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of the very few "Columbo" cases where the viewer does not know the identity of the killer until Columbo reveals it at the conclusion.
- Goofs(at around 1h 7 mins) When Martin Landau is playing both twins on the same screen, one in a blue suit and one in a brown suit, they both follow Columbo out of the room. Martin Landau is in the blue suit and seconds later followed by a double in a brown suit, who looks like he's squeezed into the suit two sizes too small and wearing an wig.
- Quotes
Columbo: Mrs. Peck? Mrs. Peck, I made a very poor introduction of myself to you, I know that. I'm a stranger in your house that you love and I'm here to do something that's not very pleasant, so I don't expect you to like me but I have feelings too, Mrs. Peck. Now, I'm sorry about being untidy. That's something that I can't control. That's a fault of mine that I-I, I don't know, I just can't correct that, and I've tried many years. I'm just very untidy. That's my nature, but I've never been un... I-I-I've never been rude to you, Mrs. Peck, and-and i-if you keep on treating me like an enemy just because I'm here trying to find who killed a man that you worked for for thirty-three years, well, then... well, then I think you're a very unfair person.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Pioneers of Television: Crime Dramas (2011)
As in all "Columbo" episodes, we watch the killer carry out an elaborate scheme to murder someone. This time Landau is the killer. He plays smarmy TV chef Dexter Paris, whose rich uncle (Paul Stewart) is about to marry a woman (Julie Newmar) young enough to be his granddaughter. The uncle's nephew visits him while he takes a bath, plugs in an egg beater and throws it into the tub, electrocuting the old man. But when the young fiancée and a trusted housekeeper (Jeanette Nolan) discover the body, it's clothed in a sweatsuit and slumped over an exercise bike. It looks as if he had a heart attack while riding it. But our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) is on the case and notices a few things that just don't add up.
That's when we meet Landau again, this time playing the rigidly proper banker, Norman Paris, identical twin brother to the looser-mannered TV chef. This immediately alerts us to the possibility that not everything we see is what we think we see. When we think we're watching TV-chef-Landau, are we really seeing uptight-banker-Landau, and vice versa?
Stephen Bochco – now well known for creating popular TV series like "Hill Street Blues" and "L.A. Law" – wrote some of the best episodes of the series, including "Murder by the Book" and "Étude in Black." This time he's listed only as co-writer, which may explain how the script could have turned out flabby and shallow.
The script really fails Martin Landau. Both his characters have some atrociously arch dialogue, including a wisecrack right before the electrocution-murder: "I think you're going to get a charge out of this." Ugh.
Other elements almost – but don't quite – work. For instance, the housekeeper takes an extraordinary dislike to Columbo. She screams at him when she sees him dropping cigar ashes on the carpet and continues screaming throughout the show. This is supposed to be funny, I guess, but it comes off as shrill. However, their interplay does produce a nice moment where Columbo tries to win her back to his side, apologizing for his habitual untidiness and expressing genuine hurt feelings over her dislike of him. This is a side of Columbo we don't see too often.
Then there's the scene where Columbo goes to visit Dexter as he tapes his TV show. Columbo winds up on camera assisting him in preparing a dish. It comes close to being charming because Falk and Landau are clearly improvising. But ultimately it's just long and pointless; and it was an indulgence to include it in the episode.
Two supporting performances are notable. Newmar gives an overly quirky performance as the flighty fiancée. Her behavior is so odd I kept expecting her to turn out to be a drug addict. (Also, her face looks a little too tight, as if she'd had some work done on it. She was around forty but her character was probably supposed to be in her mid-20s.) Dabney Coleman plays another policeman and gives some personality to a minor, functional character without being too distracting. He demonstrates in this early role what a gifted character actor he would later prove to be.
This is an interesting, but ultimately disappointing episode. Die-hards may want to check it out, but casual "Columbo" fans can skip it.
- J. Spurlin
- Apr 14, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Doppelter Schlag
- Filming locations
- 4455 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA(Lisa Chamber's apartment exterior)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro