Word: columbo
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Falk plays a CIA agent who is apparently off his nut. He wanders unconcerned into streams of gunfire, shouts about his supposedly secret work in the middle of a crowded luncheonette, and prattles about huge insects he fought in the South American jungle. He's not that different from Columbo-the same bravado, but fewer blue-collar airs and more of a glint of lunacy in his eyes...
...guides to such serious TV productions as Eleanor and Franklin, Masterpiece Theater and Between the Wars, set out two years ago to transmute even the most mindless network shows into learning aids. The first piece of alchemy was making cops-and-robbers shows the cornerstone of a curriculum package. Columbo episodes serve as lessons on literary elements: dramatic character, plot development, conflict and resolution. Students taking law and criminal-justice courses use a "constitutional-awareness chart" to determine whether Baretta has illegally roughed up a suspect. Armed with their study guides, students quickly become sensitive to the way television...
...rest of the evening, the Crimson peppened Eagle netminder Peter Columbo with 49 shots, as what can only be described as a porous Eagle defense continually allowed the Crimson attenders to get in close for easy shots...
Maury Leiter as "Ozzie" the magician is too cute for his own good, not quite capturing the look-at-me-and-laugh-at-a-real-moron role he is given. But George Melrod--easily the star of the show--as "Nick, Sam Nick", the detective, is the quintessential Columbo parody, from that cultivated unshaven look to his rapid-fire delivery. Nicks' exchange with Natalie in the interrogation room is really the funniest scene in the show; it makes you forget that he can't sing. Jay Bacal as the broker is aggressively mediocre, weighed down by an insecure voice...
...liners and weak puns) which may or may not appeal to you. The show can't juggle all of its problems--for example, the script--but the charming performances by female leads Andrea Eisenberg and Amy Acquino may keep you interested. George Melrod as the detective is the quintessential Columbo parody. Unfortunately these individual talents are spoiled by generally weak voices and hidden by a director and choreographer who have conspired to squeeze as much on to the tiny Agassiz theater stage as possible. Fred Barton's music, while repetitive, often sparkles--watch especially for Acquino's solo...