Columbo
Short Fuse
TV Flash files “Short Fuse” as the first listed hour of season 1972 — Columbo (1971–2003) on NBC, season 1972, episode 1, aired 1972-01-19, 90 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S1972E01: listed hour 8 of 69 in the Columbo guide, first listed hour of season 1972. It aired 1972-01-19 (90 min). The listed hour before it is “Lady in Waiting” (S1971E06). Next is “Blueprint for Murder” (S1972E02).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Pressured to give up his birthright, a chemical company heir enacts a clever plan to get rid of his blackmailing uncle and take over the family business. But Lt. Columbo suspects the man's death was not just a tragic accident.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Short Fuse sit in the Columbo guide?
S1972E01 is listed hour 8 of 69 — first listed hour of season 1972, season 1972 episode 1.
When did Columbo S1972E01 air?
Short Fuse aired 1972-01-19 and is listed at 90 minutes.
Where should I start?
Prescription: Murder for the 1968 trap, then Murder by the Book for the weekly form. If you only have one night, take Any Old Port in a Storm.
In the series
Why this series still plays
For the manners: an inverted mystery that spoils the killer on purpose, then lets Peter Falk talk a guest star to pieces. Prestige anthology in a raincoat — ego as the puzzle, courtesy as the trap.
The opening is a murder you are allowed to watch. That is the thesis, not a twist. Richard Levinson and William Link built Columbo as an inverted detective story: the killer's competence is the first act, Peter Falk's rumple is the second, and the third is a trap made of manners. If you came for a whodunit, the series has already spoiled itself on purpose. The pleasure is structural. How does a man in a raincoat talk a movie star into a mistake. The cut is the polite question that is not polite.
Filed against
- Peter Falk as Lt. Columbo
Peter Falk’s rumpled Columbo inverted the mystery — howdunit trap, one more thing, guest killers as prestige toys. Levinson and Link spoiled the murderer on purpose, then let a raincoat talk a movie star into a mistake. On TV Flash he is…