Season 2 got off to a great start on September 17th, 1972 with Etude in Black, starring Peter Falk's good friend John Cassavetes as the murdering conductor Alex Benedict.
📺You can watch it for free on Tubi.
What to watch for...
Things I found interesting in this episode.
The briefcase
In the opening scene Alex is getting his murder gear together and putting it in his briefcase. The briefcase has his initials, A.B., on it. I wonder if they had the character's name and found a briefcase with those initials on it...or if they had the briefcase and decided the character would be "Alex Benedict" so the initials matched.
Ghosts in the mansion?
When Alex goes upstairs at the beginning to his office to get stuff together and listen to music, the curtains at the top of the stairs are open. When he comes back out after he's got the gloves and had his drink, the curtains are closed.
"Frank, let me have that socket wrench would you please?"
Those are the first words spoken in the episode, more than 3 minutes in, when Alex goes to drop off his car at Mike's. Most interesting is not who spoke them or where...but to whom. Recognize Frank?
Yep, it's the legendary Michael Lally.
The porcupine
Benedict is deliberately being irritable and unpleasant during the sound check at the Hollywood Bowl to ensure that nobody will want to come chat with him in his dressing room while he's off doing the deed.
Later in season 2 Robert Culp uses a similar tactic as General Manager Paul Hanlon in The Most Crucial Game.
Special guest star: Gwyneth Paltrow
Actress Blythe Danner is the real-life mom of Gwyneth Paltrow and she was pregnant with Paltrow at the time. Keen-eyed viewers will observe that Danner spends most of the episode seated, or standing with something strategically covering her belly.
But in the tennis scene you can glimpse what appears to be a small baby bump.
The episode aired on September 17th, and Paltrow was born just 10 days later, on September 27th. It was filmed in May/June, though, when Danner would have been about 5 months pregnant.
The Debut of Dog
Before Season 2 NBC thought Columbo should have a partner. Falk, and the writers, didn't want to give him a partner so they decided to give him a dog. But not a police dog...in fact almost the furthest thing from a police dog they could: A Basset Hound. This was a deliberate snub to the studio.
Word is that Peter Falk was strongly opposed to giving Columbo a partner or a dog, but when he met the basset he fell in love immediately.
Word is that in Bochco's original screenplay that Columbo was supposed to name the dog "Maestro" at the end of the episode, but that got scratched.
While we're looking at this picture by the way...
Just a J
Michael Fox plays Dr. Benson, the veteranarian. His second-biggest claim to fame is probably that he's the reason Michael J. Fox has a "J" in his name. The Screen Actors Guild won't allow two members with the same name, so the younger Michael Fox had to gain an initial for the screen.
Michael J. Fox's real middle name is Andrew, by the way, but he felt uncomfortable being "Michael A. Fox" because it sounded a little like he was saying he was "a fox" (an especially attractive person). So he chose "J." for his stage name.
Before Hill Street Blues...
Steven Bochco wrote the screenplay for Etude in Black. He also was a writer on 6 other Columbo episodes including Murder by the Book, Lady in Waiting, and Blueprint for Murder. He was on his way to a successful career in Hollywood where he wrote or created dozens of shows - mostly cop shows.
Where everybody knows your name
This episode was directed by Nicholas Colasanto, better known to most TV viewers as the bartender "Coach" on Cheers.
He almost won the bet
At the scene when Columbo and the police have found Jenifer's body there's a detective named "Sergeant Meyer" played by former boxer Lou Nova. Somebody must have bet him that he couldn't do the entire scene without taking the cigar out of his mouth because he delivers almost a dozen lines of dialog trying to talk thru the cigar.
Only for his final line does he relent and take the cigar out. D'oh! Almost won the bet.
There is one continuity issue with the cigar though. At one point he takes it out of his mouth while Benedict is talking, but then the camera cuts to a shot behind the Sgt and the cigar is back in his mouth as Bendict continues to speak.
The future's so bright he's gotta wear shades
Speaking of oddities in the crime scene scene, even though it's nighttime Benedict shows up wearing sunglasses. In fact, he never takes the sunglasses off, even though he's indoors for nearly the whole scene.
A new car?
Season 2 is not only the debut of Dog, but it's also looks like the debut of the second Peugeot. Though it's not intended to be a different car in the story, it looks like it is. In season 1 The Car has a black top.
In the Season 2 opener, however, it looks like he's driving the Peugeot with the grey top (which he drives through most of the series).
Clues on. Clues off.
Pat Morita makes a brief appearance as Benedict's housekeeper. He's far better known as "Mr. Miyagi", the wise sensei from the Karate Kid movies. He plays it a bit goofy, unfortunately.
Been a busy morning
Apparently Alex has had a busy morning; when he greets Columbo in the foyer his hair is trimmed much shorter than it was the night before.
That's my specialty
Among my top 10 lines in the series is when Benedict finds Columbo playing chopsticks on-stage at the Bowl and they have the conversation about Jennifer's typewriter. Columbo says at the end of the conversation:
"I know you don't believe it, but at least I've managed to convince my superiors that there was foul play. That's my specialty you know. Homicide."
In a raincoat, at dance class...
Awkward moment...Columbo goes to the dance studio to ask Audrey some questions about the man Jenifer was having an affair with. He tries to flatter her by saying that he's "very impressed with her." She replies "Oh really? Is it my body or my mind?" which is a pretty saucy response for a girl who looks to be about 12 years old.
With friends like that...
After Audrey surprisingly identifies Paul at the rehearsal, the next scene is the symphony board. Alex arrives to offer a defense of Paul, but really he's just being opportunistic. He sees the chance to make it clear that Paul has a criminal record for violence against women, and to cast even more suspicion in Paul's direction.
Speaking of changing hair
In the conclusion Columbo arrives at the Hollywood Bowl where the orchestra is rehearsing. Janice is sitting in the front row, and has her hair up.
Columbo convinces Janice and Alex to go back into the media room to clear things up. And as they prepare to watch the gotcha you can see that now Janice has her hair down in a long ponytail.
Just a few more things...
- George Gaynes has a small part as a newspaper publisher. In Season 3 he returns as the wine shop expert who teaches Columbo about wines in Any Port in a Storm.
- The acting in this episode is excellent. Falk is always good, but Cassavetes is predictably good, Blythe Danner is excellent, and I felt like James Olson (Paul Rifken), Michael Fox (Dr. Benson), and even Don Knight (Mike the mechanic) are all very nice in their supporting roles. Only Pat Morita and Lou Nova seem to let down the side, but fortunately they're each in only one scene.
- It's a very nice moment at the end, when Columbo has him caught, and Cassavetes shakes his hand and says "Goodbye genius."
Plot holes
Just a little thing but...Columbo tells Benedict that it was only a 3-1/2 minute walk from the Bowl to Mike's garage. I've been to the Hollywood Bowl, it's probably more than 3-1/2 minutes to the other side of the parking lot.
But let's pretend in Columbo-land that Mike's is only a 3-1/2 minute walk away...why would Janice have needed to pick him up when he dropped off the car then? Couldn't he have walked the 3-1/2 minutes to the Bowl from Mike's then too?
I really liked Etude in Black. What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!
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