jmatsu

This is one of the better second generation Columbos. The murder is ingenious and the murderer is more intelligent than many others in the later Colombos. He doesn't make any careless mistakes and if not for his arrogance in thinking he couldn't be caught, probably would have gotten away with it. James Read plays a charming and sophisticated villain. It's a pleasure to watch him spar with Colombo and to see his mounting irritation as Columbo keeps turning up as the proverbial bad penny ("uh, just one more thing, sir..."). The cameos by the murderer's poker buddies are a nice treat. Columbo's solution is equally fun and ingenious.

This sequel to Touching Evil was a disappointment. It was good seeing the actors reprising their roles. All did a fine job with what they'd been given--and all the characters seemed to have meaty personal conflicts to deal with--but the basic plot line was as poor as the initial series had been excellent. The plot felt hastily thrown together and contrived, as if the goal was simply to create crises and personal trauma. What made it frustrating for me was in order to get the characters in the conflicts, they had to behave illogically or stupidly. They couldn't follow basic police procedure, because then there would be no conflict. It was as if the whole series had been dumbed down. It felt like it had been transformed into a typical American tv detective series, where the main character is built up--every week he undergoes some challenge (physical or emotional), so that he can overcome it and show himself to be a heroic figure. This was shame because the first series had been so exceptional. In the original, the characters followed procedure, they made intelligent choices, but still ran into conflicts.

Touching Evil is a remarkable mystery mini series. One of the best I've seen. It is gripping and compelling. The main character, Kreegan, is complex, enigmatic and sympathetic. The mini series is composed of 5 seemingly disparate episodes that somehow come together at the end in a way that is unique and satisfying.

It made me eager to see the next installment: Touching Evil 2, which was a disappointment.