"Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo" is a strange episode, as the format and style of the show is quite different from earlier shows. First, it's non-linear in format...bouncing back and forth in time. Second, you can hear the inner workings of some characters' minds as they attend a funeral...quite unique.
Vivian (Helen Shaver) is a screwball who harbors a grudge against Columbo. Apparently, some time ago, her husband committed a murder and Columbo was the man who brought the man to justice. After going to jail, Pete had a heart attack and Vivian puts all the blame on Columbo for her husband's death. To further emphasize that Vivian is mentally imbalanced, you hear a message on her voice mail from her psychiatrist* at the beginning of the show..
In order to get back at Columbo, Vivian concocts a complicated plot requiring her to kill a co-worker. At the same time, she creates a seemingly air-tight alibi for her actions at that time. Where exactly all this is going and why she felt a need to kill this innocent guy, you'll just have to see when you watch the show.
One thing my wife and I both noticed in the film is that there was a lot of filler and the thing could have been an hour...like the earlier "Columbo" episodes. The worst filler was the scene that made my skin crawl--when Vivian was dancing and writhing about as she projected a slide of her dead husband on the wall! Embarrassing and it went on way too long. We get it...she loved him! It also was VERY obvious that the lady wanted to meet Mrs. Columbo...and she mentioned this too often to Columbo and acted like she wanted to be friends with them...even after Columbo told her he knew who her husband had been. Strange, that's for sure and lacking subtlety.
So is it any good? Yes....just not compared to other episodes of "Columbo". The writing could have been better and subtlety was lacking. Perhaps I disliked it more because the mental illness issue could have been handled better. But I certainly did NOT think the show merited all the 9s and 10s it received in other reviews. In particular, the funeral scene was shot poorly..making such high scores . In early flashbacks, it's pouring rain on everyone...absolutely pouring. Yet, later they show the end of the service and although it's a bit wet and had apparently rained, the sky is blue and it's very sunny. Surely the funeral didn't last several hours and the sunny sky made no sense! Nor did they have giant blow dryers there to dry off all the folks there. Sloppy....though I really, really liked how Columbo traps the woman at the end...that was pretty cool.
*Obviously the person who wrote this show never consulted with a psychiatrist or psychologist. Had they done so, they NEVER would have had the phone message you hear on the show. The therapist (Roscoe Lee Browne) tells Vivian that she can call him at his office....or HOME. No therapist would ever give out their private home number to a patient and therapists actually do a lot to conceal their home address and phone number. As an ex-therapist, I can attest to this and I never, ever was inclined to give this information to any client. The only way he MIGHT give her the number is if they are having an affair....and there's no indication of this in the show.
Vivian (Helen Shaver) is a screwball who harbors a grudge against Columbo. Apparently, some time ago, her husband committed a murder and Columbo was the man who brought the man to justice. After going to jail, Pete had a heart attack and Vivian puts all the blame on Columbo for her husband's death. To further emphasize that Vivian is mentally imbalanced, you hear a message on her voice mail from her psychiatrist* at the beginning of the show..
In order to get back at Columbo, Vivian concocts a complicated plot requiring her to kill a co-worker. At the same time, she creates a seemingly air-tight alibi for her actions at that time. Where exactly all this is going and why she felt a need to kill this innocent guy, you'll just have to see when you watch the show.
One thing my wife and I both noticed in the film is that there was a lot of filler and the thing could have been an hour...like the earlier "Columbo" episodes. The worst filler was the scene that made my skin crawl--when Vivian was dancing and writhing about as she projected a slide of her dead husband on the wall! Embarrassing and it went on way too long. We get it...she loved him! It also was VERY obvious that the lady wanted to meet Mrs. Columbo...and she mentioned this too often to Columbo and acted like she wanted to be friends with them...even after Columbo told her he knew who her husband had been. Strange, that's for sure and lacking subtlety.
So is it any good? Yes....just not compared to other episodes of "Columbo". The writing could have been better and subtlety was lacking. Perhaps I disliked it more because the mental illness issue could have been handled better. But I certainly did NOT think the show merited all the 9s and 10s it received in other reviews. In particular, the funeral scene was shot poorly..making such high scores . In early flashbacks, it's pouring rain on everyone...absolutely pouring. Yet, later they show the end of the service and although it's a bit wet and had apparently rained, the sky is blue and it's very sunny. Surely the funeral didn't last several hours and the sunny sky made no sense! Nor did they have giant blow dryers there to dry off all the folks there. Sloppy....though I really, really liked how Columbo traps the woman at the end...that was pretty cool.
*Obviously the person who wrote this show never consulted with a psychiatrist or psychologist. Had they done so, they NEVER would have had the phone message you hear on the show. The therapist (Roscoe Lee Browne) tells Vivian that she can call him at his office....or HOME. No therapist would ever give out their private home number to a patient and therapists actually do a lot to conceal their home address and phone number. As an ex-therapist, I can attest to this and I never, ever was inclined to give this information to any client. The only way he MIGHT give her the number is if they are having an affair....and there's no indication of this in the show.