Columbo
It's All in the Game
TV Flash files “It's All in the Game” as hour 62 of 69 in the TV Flash guide — Columbo (1971–2003) on NBC, season 1993, episode 1, aired 1993-10-31, 120 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S1993E01: listed hour 62 of 69 in the Columbo guide, the only listed hour of season 1993. It aired 1993-10-31 (120 min). The listed hour before it is “A Bird in the Hand...” (S1992E02). Next is “Butterfly in Shades of Grey” (S1994E01).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Lauren Staton and Lisa Martin kill their two-timing lover Nick Franco. Lauren's the one who pulled the trigger and they've made it look like Franco was killed by a burglar in his apartment. They've prepared well with both having solid alibis. Lt. Columbo is in charge of the case and is very much attracted to the beautiful Lauren. She uses that to her advantage and is soon buying him gifts and giving him the odd kiss. Columbo is flattered but begins to see anomalies in some of the physical evidence. He becomes certain that Lauren is involved in Franco's death but ...
Viewer FAQ
Where does It's All in the Game sit in the Columbo guide?
S1993E01 is listed hour 62 of 69 — the only listed hour of season 1993, season 1993 episode 1.
When did Columbo S1993E01 air?
It's All in the Game aired 1993-10-31 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…