MURDER WITH TOO MANY NOTES was the last-but-one case for TV'S Columbo, still played with relish by an ageing Peter Falk. Sadly, this is one of his lesser outings, a fault which lies purely with the disappointing script; although the writers do well to include many of the beloved crime scene clues in this episode, the way the story plays out feels unfocused and more than a little padded.
Instead, what we get are a lot of night-time scenes of driving around, plenty of peripheral investigations, and not a great deal of hard evidence; the final 'reveal' at the climax seems particularly weak and hardly a reason to convict the killer. Falk is still good value but the humour involving his character is in short supply here and as for Billy Connolly, well he plays Billy Connolly with no attempt at a different character. He's a love-him-or-leave-him type of actor and I could definitely leave him in this story. Still, Columbo's Columbo, and MURDER WITH TOO MANY NOTES passes the time if you're a fan of the fictional sleuth.
Instead, what we get are a lot of night-time scenes of driving around, plenty of peripheral investigations, and not a great deal of hard evidence; the final 'reveal' at the climax seems particularly weak and hardly a reason to convict the killer. Falk is still good value but the humour involving his character is in short supply here and as for Billy Connolly, well he plays Billy Connolly with no attempt at a different character. He's a love-him-or-leave-him type of actor and I could definitely leave him in this story. Still, Columbo's Columbo, and MURDER WITH TOO MANY NOTES passes the time if you're a fan of the fictional sleuth.