Title:"Columbo Goes to College"
Directed by: E.W. Swackhamer
Written by: Jeffrey Bloom and Frederick King Keller
Air Date: December 9, 1990
Previous: Murder in Malibu
Next: Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health
Guest Starring: Stephen Caffrey, Gary Hershberger, Robert Culp
"Columbo Goes to College" is the first episode of the tenth season of Columbo.
Best friends Cooper Redman (Gary Hershberger) and Justin Rowe (Stephen Caffrey) are students at Freemont College. Although both come from wealthy and well-connected families, they have strained relations with their fathers. After Cooper impregnated a classmate, his father has threatened to cut him loose if he gets in any more trouble. Justin's father is an overbearing lawyer who is pressing him to succeed at all costs. Cooper and Justin are taking a criminology class taught by Professor Rusk. They attempt to ace one of his exams by stealing the answers, but he discovers their scheme and threatens to expose their cheating to the school authorities, possibly resulting in their expulsion. Cooper and Justin decide that their only option is to kill Rusk.
Rusk has been having an extramarital affair with June Clark, wife of the college's football coach. He has also made a career of investigating organized crime, making powerful enemies in the mafia. Cooper and Justin believe that his murder will be blamed on one of these personal entanglements. They carry out the killing using a wireless television camera and a remote-controlled gun, both concealed in Cooper's truck. While the criminology class is assembled to hear a guest speaker, Professor Rusk leaves the room for what he believes to be a dinner appointment with Justin's father. As he walks through the parking garage, he is shot dead by Cooper and Justin's remote-control gun.
By coincidence, the guest lecturer is none other than Lieutenant Columbo, who tells the class about the various murder cases he has solved. When the class adjourns, he and the students discover Professor Rusk's body in the parking garage. The security guard, Joe Doyle, can't understand how the assailant managed to get in and out of the parking garage without appearing on the cameras.
Columbo and the criminology students discuss Professor Rusk and who might have had reason to kill him. Justin brings up the subject of Rusk's affair with the coach's wife, while Cooper makes a show of reproaching him for defaming the dead. With Cooper and Justin's help, Columbo discovers that Rusk met June Clark at a bar shortly before his death. He interviews Mrs. Rusk and June Clark, but discovers that the two women were together discussing the affair when the professor was murdered. When Columbo reports this to Cooper and Justin, they “remember” a detail about Professor Rusk flying to Phoenix to give information to a government investigator, and speculate that he might have been killed by someone who wanted to silence him.
Meanwhile, Justin has been telling his parents about Columbo's bumbling approach and lack of progress. Justin's father (Robert Culp, in his fourth and final Columbo appearance—he played three murderers in the 1970s run) is outraged about the damage to the college's reputation, and invites Columbo for a frank discussion of his progress. He is shocked to learn that Columbo was unaware of Professor Rusk's work exposing organized crime, and demands that he read Rusk's books to determine who would have a motive to kill him. While Mr. Rowe harangues Columbo, Cooper and Justin eavesdrop on the conversation with a listening device.
Returning to the parking garage, Columbo learns from Joe that it was Justin who saved the surveillance footage from the security camera. He next has a meeting with the dean of the university, Mr. Rowe, and Justin. Mr. Rowe informs Columbo about Joe's brother Dominic, a convicted murderer who was recently released on parole and who, according to Justin, has been hanging around the garage visiting with his brother. Columbo interviews Dominic Doyle, who has no alibi for the time of the murder.
A news station broadcasts a new film of Professor Rusk's murder, different from the security camera footage. Cooper and Justin immediately recognize it as the feed from the wireless TV camera that they used to kill Rusk. Columbo speaks to the station manager, who says that they bought the film from a man with a powerful satellite dish, which just happened to pick up and record the broadcast. Someone must have televised the murder, but she can't say who or why. On the way out of the station, Columbo learns that there are television cameras small enough to conceal on a vehicle.
Columbo pays a visit to Justin and Cooper, where he lets them know about Dominic Doyle and the mysterious broadcast. He also allows them to overhear the specs and license number of Dominic's car. That evening, Cooper locates the car and plants the murder weapon inside it. Police find the gun and take Dominic in for questioning.
At the next criminology class, where Columbo is to give a second guest lecture, he asks Justin and Cooper to park their truck in the same spot as before. He announces that they're going to recreate the murder of Professor Rusk. He shows the class how someone with a car-mounted TV camera and a remote-control gun (operated by a door-unlocking device) could be used to remotely kill someone. Although Columbo has discovered the method, Justin and Cooper still believe they are in the clear, because the murder weapon was found in Dominic Doyle's car. But Columbo reveals that it isn't really Dominic's car. It belongs to Columbo's wife, and the only people who knew the description and license number were Justin and Cooper. So nobody else could have planted the gun. Justin admits to the crime, but insists that Columbo only solved the crime because he got lucky.
Tropes present in this episode include:
- The Alleged Car: Several gags based on this Running Gag of Columbo's old Peugeot. When we first see Columbo drive up to the college the brakes are squealing and the car is backfiring. Later, a valet at the fancy party where Columbo meets Mr. Rowe brings him his keys.Columbo: How'd you know it was mine?
Valet: Just a guess. - Artistic License – Physics: Two notable plot holes-
- The vehicle lock remote the duo use would have had an effective range of a few yards at most. The classroom would need to be directly above the garage and the remote right above the truck to stand a chance of working.
- The local area broadcast they used from the truck to the classroom wouldn't have been powerful enough to override a satellite television broadcast to be recorded on someone's VCR miles away.
- Batman Gambit:
- To bait any potential suspect, Columbo claims to have found a nonexistent plane ticket for Phoenix in Arizona, in Rusk's briefcase. Rusk's wife is understandably surprised but Justin and Cooper can't resist the bait and pretend to have heard Rusk talking about flying to Phoenix to meet a FBI agent or other high-ranked investigator over a mob investigation affair, unknowingly making themselves the prime suspects.
- Columbo allows Justin and Cooper to overhear the make and license numbers of a certain car, knowing that they will plant the murder weapon in it. Columbo used the very same gambit to trap a murderer in the 1974 episode "A Friend in Deed", except it was an apartment instead of a car.
- Better than Sex: "This is better than sex", says Cooper the weasel, as he and Justin listen in and think (wrongly) that Columbo is falling for their scheme.
- Blatant Lies: Even after they get caught, Justin lies about their motive claiming it was For the Evulz when it was actually to cover up the fact that they committed academic fraud (they stole a test and cheated, their professor caught them and planned to flunk or expel them). It was likely to keep their family's financial and political support.Justin: We did it, Lieutenant, because we knew how to do it.
- Bloodier and Gorier: This episode averts the usual Bloodless Carnage due to the blood spray from Rusk being shot in the head. By the time Columbo and the class arrive at the scene of the crime, blood has pooled around Rusk.
- Boom, Headshot!: How the lethal shot does Rusk in.
- Casting Gag: Robert Culp as Jordan Rowe. The overall theme of the episode is an older Columbo going against college aged murderers, with Culp - one of only three actors to play the murderer three times in the series - playing the father of a murderer this time, representing a generational Passing the Torch of sorts.
- Chalk Outline: Well, how else are you going to be able to see where the body fell?
- Continuity Nod:
- When asked about times he entered moral gray areas to apprehend a suspect, Columbo tells the students about the time he pilfered a piece of gum from a lawyer's trash can to see if the bite mark matched a piece of cheese. That's from the episode "Agenda for Murder".
- Additionally, the students ask him about the time he collaborated with the FBI during the Devlin case, referring to the episode "The Conspirators".
- Dawson Casting: Early 20's college students Cooper and Justin were played by a 26 year old and a 31 year old respectively.
- Dramatic Gun Cock: Our killers cocking the gun just as the scene cuts away from their preparations.
- Drives Like Crazy: Another Columbo Running Gag. When he parks his car in the underground garage Columbo bumps it against the wall. Later he parks in a sloppy sideways manner when meeting Cooper and Justin.
- Establishing Character Moment: Within minutes of his first appearance we see Cooper driving a fancy souped-up truck, engaging in nauseating frat boy banter, and getting called out by his father for impregnating three different women in eighteen months. When he arrives at the frat house he tells one of his buddies, "Give a guy a chance to wax his legs".
- Even Evil Has Standards: Justin and Cooper are the killers-of-the-week, on top of being a couple of pampered rich boys who have no sense of responsibility. However, while the boys listen in on Columbo converse with Justin's father, said-father makes it a point to practically boast about how he'll break every bone in Justin's body if he doesn't pass his classes and become a lawyer. At hearing this, the two boys express nothing but disgust that any father would be so cruel or overbearing.
- Failed a Spot Check: When the television camera is used to see when Rusk is lined up with their pistol, they didn't consider using a more obscure or dead channel and their broadcast interrupts the recording of a movie. This gives Columbo the break he needs as someone happened to record the murder, proving there was another mysterious camera in the parking garage. They also didn't setup their remote rig to collect the brass casing, which fell out at street level giving Columbo another clue. A JustifiedTrope with Justin and Cooper in a time crunch to prevent Rusk from reporting their cheating on their final exam.
- Flashback Effect: Used for the flashback that shows Justin and Cooper were watching a handheld mini-TV to time their shot of Prof. Rusk.
- Foreshadowing: We see parts of the remote gun sight in the opening sequence. The television camera is mounted to a Toyota RC pickup truck with a Post-It that says "Got it!" referring to the motive.
- Freudian Excuse: Justin's hatred for his autocratic, domineering father seems to be his main motivation. The only reason he bothers to go along with his father's demands is to continue having access to his money and political influence.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: Justin and Cooper attempt a variation on this during their interactions with Columbo. Justin feeds Columbo sordid facts and rumors about Rusk's personal life, while Cooper loudly deplores Justin's lack of decency.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: The college's security agent is busy watching a baseball match rather than watching over the parking cameras when Rusk is shot. He doesn't catch on what happened until Columbo discovers the body and takes the appropriate measures.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Mr. Rowe, like almost all of Robert Culp's characters on the series.
- Hates Their Parent: Justin has no qualms sharing with Cooper that this trope is his sentiment towards his strict and stern father. No doubt it doesn't help when he overhears that his father plans to beat his own son within an inch of his life should he fail out of college.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Thanks to Columbo humoring Justin and Cooper by acting the fool even more than usual, Mr. Rowe and figures of authority at the college assume that he is an incompetent boob whose leads make no progress on the murder investigation.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Justin and Cooper are so focused on murdering Rusk that they ignore Columbo's lecture, in which he says one of a detective's best strategies is to never reveal more than what's necessary. As a result, Columbo is able to manipulate the arrogant murderers with astonishing ease, feeding their egos and playing the fool even more than usual to trick them into believing they have full control over the investigation. All Columbo has to do is leak false information to them a couple times to trick them into incriminating themselves.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Columbo lampshades the show's Reverse Whodunnit formula when he tells the criminology class, "This isn't really a whodunnit, it's more of a how he did it." It fits especially well with this episode as the how is left ambiguous until the very end of the episode, unlike most episodes where we see the murder in full.
- Mood Whiplash: Just after Justin and Cooper are done murdering Rusk with the remote control gun, the whole class they're sitting in erupts into laughter over one of Columbo's stories/antics.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: While this has always been a favorite tactic of Columbo, he takes it to a new level here. He's able to quickly establish a link between Justin and the crime and notices soon after that he and Cooper plan on manipulating him, so Columbo pretends to be the doddering old fool they believe him to be to ensure that, once he has all the information he needs, he can easily pull off a Batman Gambit to get them to incriminate themselves.
- Oddball in the Series: Unlike most episodes, exactly how Justin and Cooper murdered Rusk is kept secret until the very end, meaning the audience gets to try and solve the Reverse Whodunnit themselves.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Justin and Cooper have one in class when they see Columbo's reconstruction of how the murder happened.
- They have a second one when they realize that Columbo had set them up with a Batman Gambit.
- Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: The main dynamic of the episode is the experienced, aging Lieutenant Columbo up against murderous spoiled rich kids Justin and Cooper.
- The Perfect Crime: Justin thinks they concocted one, and that it would have succeeded if not for Columbo's catching a lucky break. Even if the video of the murder had never turned up, Columbo had already suspected them and would've caught them anyway thanks to his Batman Gambit.
- Really Gets Around: Cooper has obviously a very active sexual life, having caused three girls to become pregnant in 18 months, much to his father's exasperation as he has to deal with the potential lawsuits issued by the girls' parents. Cooper's father warns him that the next screw-up will get him cut off from his money for good.
- Right Behind Me: In one scene Justin and Cooper start mocking Columbo's character tics, unaware he's watching them do so.
- Smug Snake: Justin and Cooper are arrogant Spoiled Brats who believe themselves to be far smarter and competent that they actually are, rarely thinking about the consequences of their actions, and greatly underestimate Columbo who's not fooled the least by their attempts to misdirect his investigation and fall in all of his traps to reveal their culpability.
- Sore Loser: When Columbo tricks them into incriminating themselves, between him and Cooper, Justin best fits this trope. Too proud to either credit Columbo's cleverness or admit their motive was to avoid academic fraud, Justin starts blustering about how they did it because they could, and discredits that Columbo only solved this case out of sheer luck, even going so far as to claim that they will meet again since Justin's father hates to see him lose. Columbo can only sigh in disappointment, driving home how amateur these two are as killers if they couldn't even be bothered to take their loss with dignity like some of his previous adversaries.
- Spanner in the Works:
- Of all of the people to show up as a guest lecturer, it is one of the LAPD's best detectives: Columbo.
- Neither Justin or Cooper considered that Rusk would call the Cafe and leave a message. Nor that Columbo would realize that Rusk was going to meet someone at a restaurant, which leads him to the message he left for Mr. Rowe.
- The cartridge casing from the shooting ends up on the street level instead of left in the garage. Which is the first clue that puzzles the uniformed officer and Columbo as to how it got there.
- The video of the murder showing up on television helps Columbo figure out exactly how the murderer killed Rusk and escaped unseen.
- Spoiled Brat: Professor Rusk accurately declares that Justin and Cooper don't deserve what they have and don't have respect for anyone. Their lack of respect for Columbo leads them to be overconfident and obvious in their efforts to deceive him.
- Those Two Guys: Justin and Cooper.
- Too Clever by Half: The complexity of the murder plot, and the overdone attempts to play Columbo wind up boomeranging on Justin and Cooper. They also seem oblivious to the fact that they are needlessly calling attention to themselves by nosing in on Columbo's investigation, and Columbo is no stranger to these misdirection tactics so the Lieutenant plays along and uses it to lull the duo into a false sense of security.
- Villain Ball: Usually the Villain of the Week realizes that Columbo is a lot smarter than he's pretending, and so learn to be wary of him. Justin and Cooper are so arrogant they fail to realize Columbo's onto them right up to the end. Also...
- They loaded the murder weapon with their bare hands, leaving their fingerprints on the ammunition and the clip.
- They don't get rid of the murder weapon despite having plenty of time to do so.
- They try to frame Dominic Doyle when it's not necessary as Rusk had plenty of enemies.
- Instead of staying away from Columbo, they try to mislead him.
- The final nail in their coffin was planting the gun in what they thought was Doyle's car. They never considered that the car might be under surveillance, someone might see or catch them breaking into the car, or the car is a trap to dupe the duo into dropping off incriminating evidence.
- Wham Line: "It's not Dominic Doyle's car, it's my wife's." Columbo bluffed Justin into planting the murder weapon into his wife's car, after making sure they heard about the make and model.
