Columbo
Murder with Too Many Notes
TV Flash files “Murder with Too Many Notes” as hour 68 of 69 in the TV Flash guide — Columbo (1971–2003) on NBC, season 2001, episode 1, aired 2001-03-12, 120 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S2001E01: listed hour 68 of 69 in the Columbo guide, the only listed hour of season 2001. It aired 2001-03-12 (120 min). The listed hour before it is “Ashes to Ashes” (S1998E01). Next is “Columbo Likes the Nightlife” (S2003E01).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A Hollywood film composer and conductor murdered a talented musician who has been ghostwriting most of his work in recent years.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Murder with Too Many Notes sit in the Columbo guide?
S2001E01 is listed hour 68 of 69 — the only listed hour of season 2001, season 2001 episode 1.
When did Columbo S2001E01 air?
Murder with Too Many Notes aired 2001-03-12 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…