History Fridge / Columbo

* In "Columbo Likes the Nightlife", not only did Justin Price get caught covering up Tony Galper's death, but he still presumably now owes money for the nightclub he can no longer use to recoup the investment loan. If Justin manages to make parole, he's going to presumably have a price on his head. Even then, the fact that he and Vanessa participated and covered up their murder of a Mafia don's son alone will seal their fates.

* In "Columbo Likes the Nightlife", not only did Justin Price get caught covering up Tony Galper's death, but he still presumably now owes money for the nightclub he can no longer use to recoup the investment loan. If Justin manages to make parole, he's going to presumably have a price on his head. Eve then, the fact that he and Vanessa participated and covered up their murder of a Mafia don's son alone will seal their fates.

* In "Columbo Likes the Nightlife", not only did Justin Price get caught covering up Tony Galper's death, but he still presumably now owes money for the nightclub he can no longer use to recoup the investment loan. If Justin manages to make parole, he's going to presumably have a price on his head.

** The final scene portrays Vivian as having gone off the deep end, if her near-psychotic laughter is anything to go by. In her psychotic state, it wouldn't be implausible to assume she would want some "payback with interest", with the Columbo child as the interest portion.

* Not only did Justin Price get caught covering up Tony Galper's death, but he still presumably now owes money for the nightclub he can no longer use to recoup the investment loan. If Justin manages to make parole, he's going to presumably have a price on his head.

* "Murder by the Book" brings up a concern regarding "Dead Weight"- was Gen. Hollister actually interested in Helen Stewart romantically or would he have eventually killed her too just to silence the only remaining witness against him?

* In "Suitable for Framing", notice how Columbo makes a point of talking to all the civilians present while Edna Williams' house is being searched rather than actually participating in the search with the other officers. It might just seem like typical Columbo faux-bumbling at first, but after the reveal it becomes clear that what he actually doing is making sure that there are independent witnesses to where he was and what he was doing throughout the search... which in turn means that there is plenty of corroboration that he at no point could have planted his fingerprints on the paintings that end up identifying Dale Kingston as the murderer.

* In "Uneasy Lies the Crown" Columbo meets several celebrities at the poker game, including Nancy Walker, who had co-starred on ''McMillan & Wife''. This is even brought up. Did Columbo notice that the case he was investigating was very similar to an episode of that show?
** The script had been written in the 1970s but Falk passed on it, only for ''McMillan & Wife'' to use it. Falk changed his mind later due to a writer's strike leaving him in need of existing material. Nancy Walker's appearance is meant to be a nod but creates an unusual paradox.

* "Forgotten Lady" makes a big deal of Creator/JanetLeigh's career as a dancer in numerous musical films, but completely omits any reference to ''Film/{{Psycho}}''... until you realize that she murdered her husband by [[spoiler:going temporarily psychotic from her neurological condition, which, much in the way Norman Bates couldn't remember his own killings, also forced her to forget she'd committed the crime and assumed that he'd shot himself]].

* Building from the previous point, perhaps one of the reasons he doesn't give out his first name and frequently tells occasionally-conflicting stories about his wife and other relatives who may or may not exist is so he and his real relatives will be harder for the psychos he arrests to trace.

** The final scene portrays Vivian as having gone off the deep end, if her near-psychotic laughter is anything to go by. In her psychotic state, it wouldn't be implausible to assume she would want some "payback with interest", with the Columbo child as the interest portion.

* Columbo occasionally mentions having a child(ren) from time to time. Whether this is true or not can be put up for debate. But assuming that he's telling the truth, it seems odd that in "Rest in Peace Mrs. Columbo" he would claim to Vivian Dimitri that he and his wife never had children. This can be attributed to Columbo knowing early on that Vivian was attempting to kill his wife in the form of RevengeByProxy. While he couldn't know for sure to what extent Vivian would go to exact revenge, he didn't want to offer [[WouldHurtAChild her the chance to simultaneously target his child.]]

* "Forgotten Lady" makes a big deal of Creator/JanetLeigh's career as a dancer in numerous musical films, but completely omits any reference to ''Film/{{Psycho}}''... until you realize that she murdered her husband by [[spoiler:going temporarily psychotic from her neurological condition, which, much in the way Norman Bates couldn't remember his own killings, also forced her to forget she'd committed the crime and assumed that he'd shot himself]].

* "Forgotten Lady" makes a big deal of Janet Leigh's career as a dancer in numerous musical films, but completely omits any reference to ''Psycho''... until you realize that she murdered her husband by [[spoiler:going temporarily psychotic from her neurological condition, which, much in the way Norman Bates couldn't remember his own killings, also forced her to forget she'd committed the crime and assumed that he'd shot himself]].

* Columbo doesn't always ''solve'' the case with conviction-ascertained evidence. We don't see it go to trial, so we don't know if there's a conviction. But he does at least one of three things... 1. Throws somebody's alibi into doubt - so, why did they lie, exactly? 2. Proves it wasn't a suicide or that the current accused isn't the real perp - time to go back and take a look at this new suspect. 3. Tells this smug wealthy arrogant guy that he's not as smart as some scruffy, stumbling detective - some give in just from shame. ...Thusly the perp can be expecting the 'boring' part; a call from Columbo's buddies in forensics who now have the right to double back through every fraction of the crime-scene, his house and his life with a fine-tooth-comb and turn up the real evidence - a tiny spot of blood, a hair, a fired gun. His other pals will be interviewing people who will testify his character and motives... Other guys will be digging up any potential witnesses who were just passers-by... Frankly, the perp might as well enter their plea now and get some time off for it.

* When I first started watching ''Series/{{Columbo}}'' as a kid, I hated the fact that it showed the murder being committed at the beginning, ''showing who did it before the mystery started!'' It completely took away from the concept of following the detective through the case, trying to figure out who the murderer was. It wasn't until recently, when I started watching it again, that I realized that I wasn't supposed to see the story from Lt. Columbo's perspective, ''but from the killer's perspective.'' The killer is the star of his/her own episode. We are shown why they are driven to kill their victim, and sometimes we even sympathize with the killer. We feel the same anxiety that they do when Columbo gets closer and closer to pinning the crime on them. And, most importantly, it makes it impossible for the writer to [[AssPull pull an impossible reveal out of their ass at the end]]. - Japper8
** To add to this; this means that the star of the show, the hero the audience is expected to root for, is not the protagonist but the ''[[HeroAntagonist antagonist]]''. ~ Tropers/DoctorNemesis
* Columbo has a glass eye; as he already DoesntLikeGuns, that would make effective shooting in an actual fight much harder.
** It wouldn't. Depth perception is important in long-range shooting to estimate distance to the target, but in pistol ranges you don't need it. For example, in competitive pistol shooting everyone closes or covers one eye, and aims only with the other one.
** It was never stated that his issue with guns was due to the glass eye- since that never even became canon until the 80s episodes anyway. He just didn't seem to much care for them, and would likely be a lousy shot due to his lack of practice. The 2 times he ever fired a gun it was point blank(once into a sand box to demonstrate noise, the other into a mattress to gather a comparison bullet) and the 2 times he ever carried one for police work(in both 87th Precinct adaptations) he never fires them.
* Why does Columbo always run his theories by the murderer? Making them sweat is fun, but it also tips them off and makes them much more likely to try and cover their tracks. Why take the risk? Then I realized--All the evidence he brings them? It's circumstantial. He is making sure that he has a rock-solid case that no one can disprove, and he tests it by bringing it to the murderer. Who would be more interested in disproving his case than the person who did it?
** Furthermore, more than once, the murderer not only confirms Columbo's suspicions, but screws themselves over by leaving actual ''usable'' evidence in the process of covering up their earlier unusable evidence! ~ Tropers/{{Case}}
* Columbo doesn't always 'solve' the case with conviction-ascertained evidence. We don't see it go to trial, so we don't know if there's a conviction. But he does at least one of three things...
#: Throws somebody's alibi into doubt - so, why did they lie, exactly?
#: Proves it wasn't a suicide or that the current accused isn't the real perp - time to go back and take a look at this new suspect.
#: Tells this smug wealthy arrogant guy that he's not as smart as some scruffy, stumbling detective - some give in just from shame.
** ...thusly the perp can be expecting the 'boring' part; a call from Columbo's buddies in forensics who now have the right to double back through every fraction of the crime-scene, his house and his life with a fine-tooth-comb and turn up the real evidence - a tiny spot of blood, a hair, a fired gun. His other pals will be interviewing people who will testify his character and motives... Other guys will be digging up any potential witnesses who were just passers-by... Frankly, the perp might as well enter their plea now and get some time off for it.

1: Throws somebody's alibi into doubt - so, why did they lie, exactly?
2: Proves it wasn't a suicide or that the current accused isn't the real perp - time to go back and take a look at this new suspect.
3: Tells this smug wealthy arrogant guy that he's not as smart as some scruffy, stumbling detective - some give in just from shame.

** Even if the evidence isn't enough for a 100% conviction right now, it's enough for a solid arrest and the murderer finally knows that Columbo knows, so the entire police force knows and all the specialists are going to be snooping and overturning things and questioning buddies until they DO have enough.

** Furthermore, more than once, the murderer not only confirms Columbo's suspicions, but screws themselves over by leaving actual ''usable'' evidence in the process of covering up their earlier unusable evidence! ~ Tropers/{{Case}}

** To add to this; this means that the star of the show, the hero the audience is expected to root for, is not the protagonist but the ''antagonist''. ~ Tropers/DoctorNemesis

* When I first started watching ''{{Columbo}}'' as a kid, I hated the fact that it showed the murder being committed at the beginning, ''showing who did it before the mystery started!'' It completely took away from the concept of following the detective through the case, trying to figure out who the murderer was. It wasn't until recently, when I started watching it again, that I realized that I wasn't supposed to see the story from Lt. Columbo's perspective, ''but from the killer's perspective.'' The killer is the star of his/her own episode. We are shown why they are driven to kill their victim, and sometimes we even sympathize with the killer. We feel the same anxiety that they do when Columbo gets closer and closer to pinning the crime on them. And, most importantly, it makes it impossible for the writer to [[AssPull pull an impossible reveal out of their ass at the end]]. - Japper8