As an actor, Patrick McGoohan is right up there in the pantheon with his striking features, cracked voice, and unpredictable vocal contours. He may have been the best heavy in any of Columbo's cases in "By Dawn's Early Light." And he pulled it off without ever treating the shabby lieutenant with the contempt most other villains did.
But sixteen years is a long time and, watching this episode, a viewer can't help being aware of the passage of time. Columbo himself speaks more slowly and smiles more often -- avuncular rather than inquisitive. And McGoohan has sadly lost some of his hairline and has acquired a fuzzy mustache. He looks simply older, so that when he's chewing gun he seems like one of those old men who constantly fiddle with their false teeth. I'm not ridiculing him. It's a little sad.
And the story begins with some elaborate preparations that McGoohan is making for a fake suicide, in which his blackmailer is the victim. The same detailed preparation are seen in "By Dawn's Early Light" where they led to the core mystery of the plot. Here, they're only incidental. McGoohan is finally undone by a Columbo observation that we haven't been prepared for, a deus ex chewing gun.
The story, in addition to its lack of strength, also has little of the understated humor we associate with Columbo at his best -- or his worst.
I still enjoyed it. I enjoy most of Columbo's cases except a handful in which the bottom of the barrel was truly scraped and any remaining qualities subject to fractional distillation. Yet, it's by no means a bad episode.
But sixteen years is a long time and, watching this episode, a viewer can't help being aware of the passage of time. Columbo himself speaks more slowly and smiles more often -- avuncular rather than inquisitive. And McGoohan has sadly lost some of his hairline and has acquired a fuzzy mustache. He looks simply older, so that when he's chewing gun he seems like one of those old men who constantly fiddle with their false teeth. I'm not ridiculing him. It's a little sad.
And the story begins with some elaborate preparations that McGoohan is making for a fake suicide, in which his blackmailer is the victim. The same detailed preparation are seen in "By Dawn's Early Light" where they led to the core mystery of the plot. Here, they're only incidental. McGoohan is finally undone by a Columbo observation that we haven't been prepared for, a deus ex chewing gun.
The story, in addition to its lack of strength, also has little of the understated humor we associate with Columbo at his best -- or his worst.
I still enjoyed it. I enjoy most of Columbo's cases except a handful in which the bottom of the barrel was truly scraped and any remaining qualities subject to fractional distillation. Yet, it's by no means a bad episode.