Columbo
Blueprint for Murder
TV Flash files “Blueprint for Murder” as hour 9 of 69 in the TV Flash guide — Columbo (1971–2003) on NBC, season 1972, episode 2, aired 1972-02-09, 90 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S1972E02: listed hour 9 of 69 in the Columbo guide, hour 2 of 6 in season 1972. It aired 1972-02-09 (90 min). The listed hour before it is “Short Fuse” (S1972E01). Next is “Étude in Black” (S1972E03).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Elliot Markham, a brilliant architect and con-man, murders a Texas millionaire and hides his body in order to keep his visionary construction project financed.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Blueprint for Murder sit in the Columbo guide?
S1972E02 is listed hour 9 of 69 — hour 2 of 6 in season 1972, season 1972 episode 2.
When did Columbo S1972E02 air?
Blueprint for Murder aired 1972-02-09 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…