Columbo - The Complete First Season

This CD contains a half dozen or so of the first season's episodes, all admirable presentations of the rumpled detective. A primary nicety of having the CD is, of course, the absence of commercials throughout. Whereas the reruns on certain TV channels contain the necessary ads, the CD doesn't; moreover, there are no snippets missing whereby the producer has replaced with a commercial. Yes, we know these are necessary , but the result is that a short but integral scene has been eliminated. That is, the viewer considers these integral to the development or "fleshing out" of the characters or to nuances in the plot. For example, in "Dead Weight," a recent re-run did not include a scene with Suzanne Pleshette and Eddie Albert dancing romantically after a cozy dinner at Major General Hollister's home. As the scene fades out, we are left wondering about this budding romance, with the couple in compliance with the Hollywood production code. This is probably just as well, as we already know that Pleshette is changing her story as key witness to a murder, as she succumbs to the Major's charm.

What can possibly be said about the best murder mystery program ever created? Columbo is the finest and most entertaining series of this genre, and it has certainly stood the test of time. Although the fashions have changed, and police work has become more scientific, I prefer watching a true detective solve the crime by using his brain. Portraying an air of disorganization and incompetence, Columbo successfully lures the criminals into a false sense of superiority and security. Meanwhile, as they let their guard down, the Lieutenant skilfully ties up any loose ends and brings the hammer down when least expected. A master of the game, Peter Falk is superb and I dare say we will never see the likes of him again.Episodes I can (and have) watched over and over again! Thank you, Lieutenant Columbo!

Oh yeah, just one more thing, I'm not the only person who thought Columbo was one of greatest series on TV between 1968 and 2003. The 69 episodes are all movie-length, between 73 and 100 minutes long. The series was once broadcast on over 80 networks, spanning 44 countries. In 1997, "Murder by the Book" was ranked No. 16 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. And in 1999, the magazine ranked Lt. Columbo No. 7 on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time list. In 2012, the program was chosen as the third best cop or legal show on Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time. In 2013 TV Guide included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time. In 2013, Writers Guild of America ranked it No. 57 in the list of 101 Best Written TV Series. My wife and I have watched each single episode dozens of times and we never get tired of watching the same ones over and over again. There are very few TV shows that I can say that about. And although we already own all episodes that were ever released on DVD, we still in fact enjoy watching them again when they are on broadcast TV. I just wish I could give this DVD series more than FIVE stars. Without a doubt, it is still my favorite TV series of all time. The famous guest stars also added to the show. Some of them appeared more than once. It would be truly hard to pick just one episode as my favorite Columbo episode. You just can't go wrong with watching Columbo.

I am having fun watching the old tv shows I grew up with in color...something unimaginable to young people of today. I love the way Lt. Columbo thinks, and later on, his hound dog adds to the show. The car & his old trench coat are almost as famous as his character. All the episodes were in good working order, no fade outs/screen freezing. I am looking forward to ordering more seasons to complete my collection.

I've been a Columbo fan since the first episode ran on TV when I was 10 years old. I've bought this 1st season probably three or four times. It simply wears out after so many views and I have to replace it. I never get tired of this first season and can watch them over and over again. Classic Columbo. There's only one episode out of the nine that I would give three stars. Out of all the original seasons (1-7) from the late 60's and 70's this is one I can't live without.

When I learned that Peter Falk had died in June of 2011, I came to Amazon and purchased  The In-Laws (1979) [HD ] as a kind of homage, I guess. What I was looking for at the time however, was really Columbo. I can remember back in the '70s, when we all watched TV together as a family, Sunday nights were a big TV night because of The Wonderful World of Disney, and the ABC Mystery Movie. Columbo was always my personal fave, though the others were good too. I come here once in a while and search for stuff that I'd like to get on AIV, and was delighted to see that Season One (at least) was available. While I don't remember seeing many of these particular episodes back then, I remember the feel of them. I remember the rumpled, seemingly-bumbling detective, the beautiful ladies, the handsome men. I mean, come on! Just in this first season you have Lee Grant, Jack Cassidy, Anne Francis, Roddy McDowall, Suzanne Pleshette, Martin Milner (who, according to IMDB, played Officer Pete Malloy in three different TV series in ADDITION to ADAM-12), and a very dashing Leslie Nielsen. You'll also see many excellent character actors and others who later went on to star in regular series TV. These are not generally Emmy-winning performances, just fine 90-minute mysteries with a bit of morality tale, driven by the ever-persistent undauntable Lieutenant Columbo. Uh, just one more thing -- Columbo was produced from 1968 to 2003, and I'd like to get the rest of them. I'll do it in a heartbeat when and if they become available.

This is remastered version of Columbo has really been well done. I'm impressed, using the original 35mm film, you can tell the quality and its such a pleasure to watch, ( in comparison to when the screen Columbo on television is considerably bad quality and soft). It would be great if the company who produced this blu ray and season 2 in blu ray, would spend the time remastering the rest of the Columbo series from the 1970's at least (series 3-10) as they have been so well done, I can definitely see people wanting to watch and own them, I would. A happy customer :)

The second most famous detective of all time, after Poirot, solves his first nine cases including the two movie length pilot episodes.Flipping the mystery genre on it's head by showing who did the murder and why at the very start of an episode even before the police show up shouldn't really work. At least one hundred years of books, plays, films and television had proven beyond a doubt that viewers and readers want that mystery, they want to solve it along with the detective, they want to guess who the murderer is and why it was done. and get that satisfaction of unmasking the culprit if possible in the drawing room by a roaring fire with all the unsuspecting suspects sipping drinks together.Well it turns out that you don't need a mystery at all, show who did it, how and why it was done and then watch the police slowly find the culprit by ingenious detective work and cleverly finding the clues left behind by the bungling criminal. What you do need however is an actor who can pull it off and in Peter Falk you get precisely that.Columbo himself with his shuffling, absent minded, slightly eccentric detecting style is of course a finely nuanced Oscar worthy act to put his quarry off guard, to lull his target into a false sense of security and to convince them that they are dealing with an idiot and someone who they can outwit with ease. There couldn't be anything further from the truth as in fact he is an extremely observant and intelligent man who doesn't miss a thing. His ability to think clearly and focus on the "little things" that bother him and stop him completing his report. The loose ends are of course just a way of giving him the time to solve the case and unmask the murderer which of course we already know.Watching Columbo solve a murder case we already know the answer too is far more entertaining than it has any right to be. Falk's performance is always pitch perfect, however it has to be said that the character does change and grow a little in this series. To start he is quite polite and rather tidy, later on he becomes more wily and a little scruffier to perhaps hide that rapier like mind. His little idiosyncrasies, constantly in a trench coat, never having a pencil, always hungry, constantly chomping on a cigar, driving an ancient car, and of course always referring to Mrs Columbo (who we never meet) make for a character that is not only interesting but relatable. Poirot or Marple he most certainly is not.The first episode after the two pilots, Murder by the Book was directed by a young unknown learning his craft called Steven Spielberg. Of the nine episodes there isn't a dud amongst them, but the best is probably the second Pilot called Ransom for a Dead Man. Appearing in an episode of Columbo became a career staple for many well known actors who went on to big things. Although not exactly A listers you will recognise many of the second leads, often playing the murderer.Set on six disks in a nice box set this first series is superb value for money and I thoroughly enjoyed watching a classic character evolve over all nine episodes. Presented in 4-3 ratio, the DVD quality is what you would expect from seventies television shot on a fairly limited budget. However saying that it is the sublime writing and excellent performances from seasoned professionals are why you watch Columbo, not the quality of the sets etc. The seventies were not big on diversity or sexual politics, and some of the language (babe, doll etc) and what we would now call tropes do occasional raise an eyebrow, but it is what it is and if you can accept that then it is great TV.Great television viewing.

It's nice to see that the Blu Ray version of the Columbo Season 1 episodes shows a much improved HD picture quality than the DVD boxset I previously owned. At the moment there are only 2 seasons available in these single season box sets compared with the very expensive Japanese version.If you like watching Columbo you will enjoy this boxset.Episodes include:Pilot - Prescription: MurderPilot - Ransom For A Dead ManMurder By The Book (Directed by Steven Spielberg)Death Lends A HandDead WeightSuitable For FramingLady In WaitingShort FuseBlueprint For MurderSpecial Features:Original Pilot TV-MoviesOriginal Mystery Movie Opening Title Sequence Columbo - Season 1 (3xblu-ray)Columbo - Season 1 (3xblu-ray)

Absolutely fantastic Season 1 episodes of Columbo with an abundance of 'A' List Co-stars. But even better than that are the two made for TV movies that first introduce Peter Falk as Columbo. The 1st. of these is Prescription : Murder (1968) a very smart looking Columbo.2nd Ransom For A Deadman ( My Favourite).You can't go wrong with this box set.. Enjoy.

very first season in blu raystunning picture and sound quality the 3 blu ray disc set includesboth pilots prescription murder and ransom for a dead man.screen aspect 4.3no subtitlesgreat to see columbo in blu in blu ray one of the world s greatest TVs detectives of all timehighly recommended