Line #20 Recap/ColumboS09E03


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/24e4cc7d_fda2_4b6e_aaa5_bdc6f54b9872.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:As usual, Patrick [=McGoohan=] did it.]]
3
4	[floatboxright:
5	Episode: Season 9, Episode 3\
6	Title:"Agenda for Murder"\
7	Directed by: Creator/PatrickMcGoohan\
8	Written by: Jeffrey Bloom\
9	Air Date: November 25, 1989\
10	Previous: Columbo Cries Wolf\
11	Next: Rest In Peace, Mrs. Columbo\
12	Guest Starring: Creator/PatrickMcGoohan, Denis Arndt, Arthur Hill, Creator/BruceKirby]
13
14	"Agenda for Murder" is the third episode of the ninth season of ''Series/{{Columbo}}''.
15
16	Oscar Finch (Patrick [=McGoohan=]) is a high-powered lawyer and and political advisor. He is serving as consigliere to Paul Mackey (Denis Arndt), an ambitious congressman. It's election season, and the California primary is looming. The party's leading presidential candidate, Governor Montgomery (Arthur Hill), has tabbed Mackey as his vice-presidential running mate. Finch himself stands to become Attorney General if Montgomery wins. Everything is going great.
17
18	Everything, that is, except for the fact that this news leads to old skeletons from Finch's past being unearthed. Late one night, Finch gets a phone call from a former client of his, mobster Frank Staplin. Back in 1969, when Finch was a young lawyer in the DA's office, he made a piece of evidence against Staplin disappear to enable him to beat the rap. Now Staplin, on the verge of facing another indictment, wants a similar favor, but Finch, who has moved on to bigger and better things, has no interest in taking such a risk again. Staplin switches from carrot (money) to stick, threatening to not just ruin Finch's career but also Mackey's by association, since he was a prosecutor in the same office back in 1969.
19
20	Finch, who saw this coming and planned in advance, decides to kill Staplin. He drives to his office, where he sets a cigar to burn to make it seem like he was there having a late night meeting. Then he walks to Staplin's house (so that witnesses won't see his car), shoots him in the head, and stages the scene to make it look like Staplin committed suicide in despair over his impending indictment. But as usual, a murderer doesn't count on Lt. Columbo, who notices that the gun landed on a drop of blood but somehow didn't get any blood on itself, and finds it odd that Staplin killed himself right after he faxed a joke to his wife.
21
22	Third episode where Patrick [=McGoohan=] played the killer and the third episode he directed. (Not the same three episodes.[[note]][=McGoohan=] didn't direct [[Recap/ColumboS04E03 his first turn as the murderer]]; and while he directed "[[Recap/ColumboS05E06 Last Salute to the Commodore]]" he didn't guest star in it[[/note]])
23
24	----
25	!!Tropes:
26
27	* AbsenceOfEvidence: Finch sets a stinky cigar to burn in his office while he's out committing the murder, to make a nasty stench that the secretary will notice, thus supporting his alibi that he was working. Columbo intercepts Finch's suit at the dry cleaner, however, and notes that it does not have any cigar smell at all.
28	* TheAlibi: Columbo has a rare DidNotSeeThatComing moment when he discovers that Finch has a congressman as his alibi.
29	* TheAllegedCar: A RunningGag throughout the entire series re: Columbo's ancient Peugeot. When Finch comes to work he sees the Peugeot in his parking spot and says "Who parked that decomposing rattletrap in my space?" Later, after he meets Columbo, Finch asks if Columbo really drives "that oxidized heap."
30	* BaitAndSwitch: The reason why Columbo is so obsessed with the piece of cheese found at the scene of the crime is implied to be because it's a rare type of expensive cheese that was his father's favourite cheese and which he himself loves to the degree of demanding that the other detective present tries it as well and insisting that the lab boys treat with as much importance as all the other piece of evidence in the room, but it turns out that his actual reason for obsessing over the piece of cheese is because he correctly suspected that it carries the suspect's bitemarks on it, which he can then use to confirm his identity.
31	* BlackmailBackfire: Staplin initially tries to appeal to Finch and get him to clear his racketeering charges, by offering to send any amount of money to the latter's Swiss bank account, then he threatens to expose the case that he, Finch and Mackey were involved with. No dice. Finch shoots him.
32	* ButIReadABookAboutIt: Columbo reads an article in a police magazine about a conviction from matched bite impressions, which gives him the idea to match a bitten piece of cheese at the crime scene to his main suspect. Supposedly, Falk himself suggested the ending...because he read an article about it.
33	* ElectionDayEpisode: Ends with Finch getting arrested at the campaign party, as Governor Montgomery is giving his victory speech after winning the California primary (and presumably clinching the nomination).
34	* EmpathicEnvironment: A violent thunderstorm kicks up as Finch arrives at Staplin's house to murder him. The rain damage to Finch's suit and the dry spot under Finch's car both become points of evidence against him.
35	* NeverSuicide: Well of course not, it's ''Columbo''! Finch really goes the extra mile here--extracting the powder from a bullet, burning it, carrying it to the crime scene in a tinfoil wrapper, then blowing it over Staplin's hand to make it look like he fired a gun. Columbo still isn't fooled.
36	* NoNameGiven: Another lampshaded RunningGag. Columbo asks Rep. Mackey for an autograph for his wife. As Mackey picks up a pen he asks Columbo's wife's name, and the Lieutenant says her name is "Mrs. Columbo."
37	* NoPartyGiven: Like "Candidate for Crime", we're never told what party Finch, Mackey, and Montgomery represent. Justified as the episode isn't actually political, but merely politically themed.
38	* NoWarrantNoProblem: Columbo steals a piece of gum from the wastebasket in Finch's office, despite not having a warrant. (And he didn't really need the gum anyway, all he had to do was match Finch's teeth to the piece of cheese.)
39	* PyrrhicVictory: Downplayed with the presidential election. Yes, Montgomery won by a landslide, but his vice-president Mackey is likely to go to trial for a crime that was committed years ago, and their accompanying political advisor Finch is arrested for murder charges by the end of the election.
40	* SpecialGuest: Arthur Hill gets a "Special Guest Star" credit. (This was the last acting role for Hill, who then retired.)

Context Recap / ColumboS09E03