YMMV / Columbo S 01 E 04

• Unintentional Period Piece: The purple-black crushed velvet tuxedo with ruffled shirt that Dale spends much of the first act running around in practically screams "This is set in The Early 1970s!" The Third Doctor would nod his head in approval at it. The rest of his wardrobe throughout the episode is comparatively more sedate, though his jacket lapels still tend to be period-appropriately huge.
• Catharsis Factor: Dale is a fairly standard Columbo villain, perhaps one of the most quintessential of the series. He's rich and educated whilst talking down to the 'hapless' Columbo, he's shown to use his superficial charm to seduce women and then violently dispose of them, and its hinted that his career wasn't earned based on his own merits. (His uncle's patronage was said to have cultivated his entire career, and he's shown to be dismissive of anything that hasn't been painted by someone famous. It's a wonder if he actually knows anything about art outside of determining how much a piece costs.) These traits are common across most Columbo villains, save for his reaction to getting caught. Many Columbo villains will either accept their defeat with dignity or be too shocked to speak. Dale on the other hand has a full blown meltdown, shaking with panic as he desperately tries to lie his way out of the situation. After watching this smug murderer act as though he's the smartest man in the room for an hour and fifteen minutes, seeing him petulantly refuse to accept his fate is certainly satisfying.