Columbo
Season 1974
7 listed hours · 1971–2003 · NBC
From the desk
How this season is filed
Peter Falk's rumpled trap: an inverted mystery that showed you the killer first, then treated guest-star ego as the actual puzzle — television as a closed argument, not a clue hunt.
TV Flash files Season 1974 of Columbo (1971–2003) on NBC as a mid listed season (1974; 5 of 20) — 7 listed hours, 1974-01-18–1974-10-27 from “Publish or Perish” (S1974E01) to “By Dawn's Early Light” (S1974E07). Titles, dates, and synopses on file — no invented recaps.
Desk essentials in this season
- S1974E04 A Friend in Deed
The department in the trap. When the house style turns inward, the raincoat stops being a comfort.
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S1974E01 Publish or Perish
A publisher hires a bomb enthusiast to murder a bestselling author of sex novels. Lt. Columbo is on the case.
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S1974E02 Mind Over Mayhem
The director of a government institute that employs various scientific geniuses commits a clever murder. But another kind of genius is on the case: Lt. Columbo.
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S1974E03 Swan Song
A gospel singer wants to be rid of his zealous wife. But a murder made to look like an airplane accident does not fool the wily Lt. Columbo.
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S1974E04 A Friend in Deed
A police commissioner provides a false alibi for a wife killer, but then expects an alibi in return.
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S1974E05 An Exercise in Fatality
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.
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S1974E06 Negative Reaction
A photographer murders his wife and blames her death on a bungled kidnapping. But Lt. Columbo has an even sharper eye than the Pulitzer Prize winner.
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S1974E07 By Dawn's Early Light
The commandant of a military academy murders the chairman of the board, who wants to oust him. Lt. Columbo takes up residence in the barracks to expose the killer.
More from the 1970s.