Columbo
Murder Under Glass
TV Flash files “Murder Under Glass” as the first listed hour of season 1978 — Columbo (1971–2003) on NBC, season 1978, episode 1, aired 1978-01-30, 90 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S1978E01: listed hour 42 of 69 in the Columbo guide, first listed hour of season 1978. It aired 1978-01-30 (90 min). The listed hour before it is “Try and Catch Me” (S1977E02). Next is “Make Me a Perfect Murder” (S1978E02).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Food critic Paul Gerard, who has been extorting money from restaurant owners in exchange for good reviews, murders one when threatened with exposure.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Murder Under Glass sit in the Columbo guide?
S1978E01 is listed hour 42 of 69 — first listed hour of season 1978, season 1978 episode 1.
When did Columbo S1978E01 air?
Murder Under Glass aired 1978-01-30 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…