Columbo
Agenda for Murder
TV Flash files “Agenda for Murder” as hour 52 of 69 in the TV Flash guide — Columbo (1971–2003) on NBC, season 1990, episode 2, aired 1990-02-10, 120 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S1990E02: listed hour 52 of 69 in the Columbo guide, hour 2 of 6 in season 1990. It aired 1990-02-10 (120 min). The listed hour before it is “Columbo Cries Wolf” (S1990E01). Next is “Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo” (S1990E03).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
This time Columbo is put on a murder that was made to look like a suicide. However, he notices some loose ends, and asks a lawyer and a governor to clear these problems up.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Agenda for Murder sit in the Columbo guide?
S1990E02 is listed hour 52 of 69 — hour 2 of 6 in season 1990, season 1990 episode 2.
When did Columbo S1990E02 air?
Agenda for Murder aired 1990-02-10 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…