Columbo
Publish or Perish
TV Flash files “Publish or Perish” as the first listed hour of season 1974 — Columbo (1971–2003) on NBC, season 1974, episode 1, aired 1974-01-18, 90 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S1974E01: listed hour 22 of 69 in the Columbo guide, first listed hour of season 1974. It aired 1974-01-18 (90 min). The listed hour before it is “Double Exposure” (S1973E08). Next is “Mind Over Mayhem” (S1974E02).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A publisher hires a bomb enthusiast to murder a bestselling author of sex novels. Lt. Columbo is on the case.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Publish or Perish sit in the Columbo guide?
S1974E01 is listed hour 22 of 69 — first listed hour of season 1974, season 1974 episode 1.
When did Columbo S1974E01 air?
Publish or Perish aired 1974-01-18 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…