Peter Falk's 4 Favorite Columbo Episodes

The thing about episodes of "Columbo" is that they're kind of like slices of pizza: even when they're not that great, they're still pretty wonderful. There really aren't any god-awful episodes of "Columbo," and ranking the best of them is a challenge. "Columbo" is pure comfort, a show that feels like a warm hug because Peter Falk as the titular detective is the ultimate dream of what justice should look like. Columbo almost always gets his villain, the bad guys are usually the rich and entitled, and the world feels like a better place, all within the span of 90 minutes or so. I've already written at length about which "Columbo" episodes are the absolute best (in my humble opinion), but how did Falk feel about the series? 

Back in the early 1990s, Falk did a special for A&E where he went over his favorite episodes from the NBC era of the series, which spanned throughout the 1970s and included the first seven seasons of the show. ("Columbo" would return in the late '80s on ABC for seasons 8 and 9, along with a handful of random specials that ran all the way through 2003.) Unfortunately, video of Falk's intros to his favorite episodes is unavailable anywhere, but there are some transcripts and stills, so we know just how Falk felt about his favorite episodes. 

The wonderful blog The Columbophile managed to put together Falk's four favorite episodes from transcripts on the web and in the book "The Columbo Phile" by Mark Dawidziak, and numbers two through four were all from season 5. Ranking at number four was "Identity Crisis," the second outing as villain for actor Patrick McGoohan, who had already played a murderous military commander and would go on to play an additional two murderers. Falk was effusive in his praise for the scenes between himself and McGoohan in his introduction of the episode on A&E, saying:

"The scenes between Columbo and the murderer are, in my judgment, among the best we ever did. They have that perfect balance between being both compelling and amusing. And that's what we always strive for – that's the trick in those scenes, keep 'em tense and keep 'em funny. And a great deal of credit for that goes to Patrick McGoohan. I'll always remember how much fun I had playing 'em, and to this day I get a kick out of watching 'em."

In spot number three was "Now You See Him," which starred repeat guest villain Jack Cassidy as a malicious magician, the Great Santini. (Cassidy tragically died in an apartment fire only 10 months later.) As with "Identity Crisis," Falk praised his co-star for his enjoyment of "Now You See Him," and he continued that trend with his number two pick, "Forgotten Lady," where he loved working with "Psycho" star Janet Leigh. 

Falk's very favorite episode was "Any Old Port in a Storm," an absolutely fantastic episode from season 3 that features Donald Pleasence as a wine connoisseur and trader who gets a bit bloodthirsty when his younger brother tries to sell the family vineyard. The episode works so well because of the back and forth between Pleasence's character and Columbo as the two begin to understand one another a bit better despite their obvious differences. (Columbo learning how to be a wine snob also just makes for truly entertaining television!) In "The Columbo Phile," Falk explained why he loved the episode so dearly, saying that while "Columbo might have been a slob" with his clothes and tendency to leave cigar ash all over, he "had respect and admiration for excellence." That meant that he admired the homicidal wine enthusiast, even as he investigated him for murder. 

It seems like Falk's favorites mostly depend on the guest stars, and there are plenty of other amazing ones that he failed to mention. After all, there are numerous "Star Trek" actors who appeared on the series, including Leonard Nimoy as a killer doctor and William Shatner in two different murderous roles! The true genius of "Columbo," however, is Falk himself, though he was probably a bit too humble to ever say that himself. Despite the fact that originally Falk wasn't the first choice to play the crumpled detective, he was the magic that made the show work.