Columbo
An Exercise in Fatality
TV Flash files “An Exercise in Fatality” as hour 26 of 69 in the TV Flash guide — Columbo (1971–2003) on NBC, season 1974, episode 5, aired 1974-09-15, 120 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S1974E05: listed hour 26 of 69 in the Columbo guide, hour 5 of 7 in season 1974. It aired 1974-09-15 (120 min). The listed hour before it is “A Friend in Deed” (S1974E04). Next is “Negative Reaction” (S1974E06).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A health club owner murders one of his franchisees. Lt. Columbo is on the case. Milo Janus owns a chain of health clubs, but one of his franchisees discovers the man is cheating him - and can prove it to the authorities. Janus responds by murdering his partner and making it look as if he had accidentally killed himself trying to lift a barbell that was too heavy for him. Janus creates a would-be perfect alibi for himself involving a tape recording of his victim's voice, a phone that doesn't light up, a sexy secretary, a party for friends at his house, and a pornographic horror movie. But no alibi is perfect when the rumpled Lt. Columbo is on the case.
Viewer FAQ
Where does An Exercise in Fatality sit in the Columbo guide?
S1974E05 is listed hour 26 of 69 — hour 5 of 7 in season 1974, season 1974 episode 5.
When did Columbo S1974E05 air?
An Exercise in Fatality aired 1974-09-15 and is listed at 120 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…