Exercice fatal

*****This contains Spoilers*****

Overall, I really enjoy watching this episode. Both Falk and Conrad play well off one another. But this comment concerns the shoe evidence that trips up (no pun intended) the murderer's alibi. Columbo explains in detail how someone else had tied the victim's shoe laces on his gym shoes. He explains how when right handed people tie their shoes the big loop of the lace ends up over the same toe every time. However, the victim's gym shoe laces show the big loop over the opposite toe; which conflicts with the way his work shoes were tied. Proving that someone killed the victim and then dressed him in his gym clothes and tied the gym shoes from the opposite direction; and by the killer's sworn statement he said the victim told him he had already changed his clothes. This leads Columbo to the conclusion that the killer couldn't have known the victim was in his gym clothes unless he was the one that changed the clothes. Now, as logic goes, that's not a bad supposition. However, in one of the earlier scenes the victim is seen writing with his left hand; which by Columbo's reasoning would conclude that the victim tied his own gym shoes. Seems like all the killer would've had to do was to tell Columbo that bit of news.

I think the thing that makes Columbo such a compelling series is that as the audience you see the murder. Then what makes Columbo so fascinating is that while you see the murder you do not see the mistakes that the murderer makes so you can actually be surprised as the murderer is when mistake after mistake is unravelled by Columbo. In this episode what was extra compelling was that the murderer really tried to take Columbo on. He was not trying to solve the case with him, he was indulging Columbo instead he was making it very clear that Columbo was an irritant. Then finally when confronted he still tried to front it out (The can you prove it scenario) until at the very last Columbo provided that proof. I liked this episode a lot and I only wish I had it on DVD so I could replay the moment the murderer got his. Excellent stuff.

Robert Conrad gives a coldly effective performance as Milo Janus, an owner of a chain of health spas who is conning the franchisees by getting them to purchase over-priced items from companies he actually owns. When one franchisee latches onto Janus's scheme and threatens to expose him, Janus murders him...

The script gets a little immersed in various secondary characters around the half-way mark and the episode could easily have been condensed. Nevertheless, the murder/made-to-look-like an accident scenario is excellent, the increasingly bitter relationship between Columbo and Janus (the hospital scene where Columbo chastises Janus is unique) is well-portrayed and there is some really good conversational waffle from Columbo.

The ending has provoked much debate for years; for me the actual reasoning is fine, but the script-writer stretches credibility in the way it is triggered in Columbo's mind.

My #1 all time favorite Columbo episode . Conrad is perfect as creep crook murderer who sells health gyms and then soaks owners for supplies with over inflated prices. One of the few episodes where Columbo actually despises his suspect and lets him know it in a rare scene where Columbo angrily chews him out. Also rare for a conclusion that doesn't require Columbo to set up a trap to trip up his suspect.

Milo Janus (Robert Conrad) owns a chain of health clubs, but one of his franchisees (Philip Bruns) discovers the man is cheating him—and he can prove it to the authorities. Janus responds with a carefully planned murder. He finds his snooping business partner alone in the club and—after an unexpected struggle—crushes the man's windpipe. He puts the corpse in gym clothes, sets it on a bench, places a 180-pound barbell over its neck—and there you go. It looks as if the guy killed himself trying to lift a barbell that was too heavy for him. Janus creates a would-be perfect alibi for himself involving a tape recording of his victim's voice, a phone that doesn't light up, a sexy secretary (Gretchen Corbett), a party for friends at his house and a pornographic horror movie. But no alibi is perfect when our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) is on the case.

This is a good episode with only one bad scene: the one where Columbo waits for a snippy secretary—or rather the supercomputer she operates—to provide him with a simple bit of information. His endless wait is the point of the gag, but it's not funny and seems to exist only to pad the running time. Otherwise we have a good villain in Conrad, a man in his late 30s playing a man in his early 50s who looks like a man in his late 30s. The supporting cast is typically good. I especially liked Corbett as the sexy secretary (not the snippy one) who is amused then bemused by our crafty lieutenant; and Collin Wilcox as the inebriated wife of the victim. Both give performances that are rich and varied beyond the call of duty.

The best moment: Columbo drops the pretense and loses his temper with his suspect. Before this point in the series, he had done this only in "Prescription: Murder" and "A Stitch in Crime." Its rarity makes it all the more delicious.

I don't know if I really buy Columbo's damning bit of evidence at the end; but it's so amusing that I can't criticize it. I especially like how a brief moment between a mother and her small child inspires him to look for it. In any case, few "Columbo" fans will find this entry wanting.