Criminologie appliquée

I love Columbo, and although it is not one of the best episodes for me, it was a well done and interesting episode. Apart from dragging a little too much in the middle, Columbo Goes to College was a well-paced episode, and the story is once again an interesting one with the final solution where the murderers under-estimate Columbo. Hearing Columbo explaining how it all happened, you do realise how clever the murder really was. As with the case always with Columbo, it is a strikingly shot episode with a convincing setting, and the soundtrack enhances the mood seamlessly, with a fun toe-tapping song right at the start. The script is sharp and incisive. It was fun seeing Robert Culp playing Cooper's father, rather than a murderer for a change. James Sutorious gives a good turn as the Professor. Peter Falk is exceptional as he consistently is, Stephen Caffrey is great as Justin, the more interesting and "juicier" character of the murderous duo and Gary Hershberger while more low-key is also effective as Cooper. All in all, an interesting episode with an ending that is both clever and riveting. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Not one of the strongest of the Columbo movies, but still pretty entertaining. There seem to be some echoes of "Compulsion"(1959) in the plot conceit of two college boy murderers who start insinuating themselves into the police investigation of the killing of their law professor, both to divert attention from themselves and to keep abreast of how much the police are finding out. But in this case, they are up against a much wilier opponent in Lt. Columbo, and their excessive self-confidence and politely suppressed scorn for the rumpled detective eventually lead them into a trap. Despite the fact that the murder plot hinges a little too much on fancy technology to be really plausible (could anyone really work out such a complicated conspiracy, requiring careful timing and gadgetry in just 24 hours?) it is still enjoyable to watch Columbo play the buffoon, lulling the culprits into complacency, and then proceed to wipe the smirks off their faces in the final revelation scene.

This episode of "Columbo" features a pretty clever twist. The two murderers are college kids that aspire to be lawyers, so they get to 'help' Columbo throughout his investigation and throw in as many fake leads as possible. These are really well-written villains, because they clearly show no respect for a character the viewer has been respecting for twenty years. They're just seeing how far they can go, barely able to contain their laughter while talking to Columbo. It makes the inevitable big climax when they're caught so worthwhile.

This is one of my favorite episodes because Peter Falk is just amazing in it. Columbo never appears as smart as he actually is, but here the character has to take playing dumb to a whole new level. He needs the killers to see him as no threat whatsoever, he needs to jump on every obvious red herring that they feed him. These college kids clearly have no idea who they're dealing with, and he has to pretend that he's not gloating. It's a fantastically nuanced performance by Falk, and it makes this an infinitely rewatchable episode.

I felt that way when I saw the episode in its original run and still agree when I watch it on reruns. You had the culprits totally mocking Columbo throughout the episode and treating him like he has down syndrome. And in the end you see their shock when Columbo gets them dead to rights and arrest them. You also get a realistic reaction from the arrogant preppy killers. They stillcouldn't give Columbo his props and say he just got lucky. I like the formula where there is an elaborate crime, the killer(s) totally underestimate Columbo, and then you get their realization that Columbo was totally playing the criminals. I recall in the first few episodes of the post 1989 episodes they weren't following that formula and this was the first episode that I was pleased with.

Columbo is guest lecturer for a criminology class. The students invite him along for their after-class get-together. Transiting the nearby parking garage, they discover their regular teacher, next to his car, dead from a gunshot wound. (No, Columbo was not after the man's job.) As a class project, Columbo involves the students in his sleuthing.

Two students, tentatively identified by the viewer as culprits, were in the lecture hall for the entire class. Furthermore, surveillance camera tapes of the parking garage show that no one other than the professor entered or left after he was last seen unexpectedly departing the lecture hall.

Reversing the normal routine, Columbo is the one that is pestered by the evil (?) duo, eager for progress reports and an ear for their theories. Forensic evidence is almost nonexistent. Solution of the case hinges on some eventual and interesting good luck.

On first viewing, it seemed that Columbo had swallowed whole the culprits' misdirection; however, on repeat viewing, small details revealed that not to have been the case at all.

This reviewer has yet to tire of "Columbo Goes to College."