Columbo - The Complete Sixth & Seventh Seasons DVD    Columbo DVDs

Buy Columbo - The Complete Sixth and Seventh Seasons

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Universal
EAN: 0025193205421
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Item Dimensions: 60
Label: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Languages: EnglishOriginal LanguageDolby Digital 2.0 MonoEnglishSubtitled
Manufacturer: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
MPN: MCAD32054D
Number Of Discs: 3
Number Of Items: 3
Publisher: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: November 21, 2006
Running Time: 636 minutes
Studio: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Theatrical Release Date: November 21, 1977

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Product Description:
Release Date: 11/14/2006

Amazon.com:
Before returning to the television fold in the '80s with a string of successful TV movies, Peter Falk's Lt. Columbo concluded his network sleuthing with eight episodes that aired between 1976-1978; these final two seasons of the original Columbo series are packaged in this no-frills boxed set that should be a welcome addition to any armchair detective's collection. Quality-wise, the performances, writing, and direction in these eight episodes are as top notch as any that preceded it, with a host of terrific guest stars doing their best to match wits with the lieutenant in a string of complex mysteries. William Shatner gives a typically juicy turn as a demanding TV actor facing blackmail in the sixth season opener "Fade in to Murder"; Theodore Bikel and Sorrell Booke (The Dukes of Hazzard) are friends, business partners, and bitter rivals in "The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case" (and watch for Jamie Lee Curtis in a bit role as a waitress); the great Ruth Gordon (Harold and Maude) shines as a wily mystery writer in the seventh season's "Try and Catch Me," while a host of fine character actors (including the late Mako, Richard Dysart and Michael V. Gazzo) have reasons for wanting food critic Louis Jourdan dead in "Murder Under Glass," and a very young Kim Cattrall helps Columbo unravel a mystery involving mind control and trained dogs in "How to Dial a Murder." The talent behind the camera in these episodes is equally impressive: Jonathan Demme helms "Murder Under Glass," while Leo Penn takes the final episode, "The Conspirators." As with all of the original Columbo shows (and many of the subsequent TV movies), the episodes presented here are smartly written, crisply acted by a quality cast, and anchored with sly charm and deceptive strength by Falk's Emmy-winning performance. Previous Columbo box sets have included an episode of the spin-off series Mrs. Columbo as an extra, but no such supplement is included here. --Paul Gaita

Season 6 Episode Guide
(1976–1977, 3 episodes)
"Fade in to Murder" (10/10/76)
William Shatner portrays egocentric actor Ward Fowler, who ironically portrays Det. Lucerne on a weekly TV show. Ward has a secret from his past. His producer and ex-paramour, Claire Daley (Lola Albright) knows it and has been blackmailing Ward for years. Now that he has finally made it big, he doesn't want to pay any more, but there is only one way to "convince" Claire to stop. He then steps in and out of character to assist Lt. Columbo with the investigation. "Hi, I'm not a detective, but I play one on TV..." A young actress, Shera Danese, plays the part of Mr. Daley's secretary. Peter Falk was so taken with the young lady that they started dating and married just a year later. Walter Koenig also stars as a police sergeant.

"Old Fashioned Murder" (11/28/76)
Joyce Van Patten is Ruth Lytton, Tim O'Connor is her older brother Edward. Celeste Holm is the older sister. Together they run the family business, the Lytton Museum. When Edward decides to sell the museum to which Ruth has devoted her life, she decides to remove her brother from the chain of command. She is assisted by an ex-con whom Ruth kills as soon as he has killed her brother. Her plan is to make it look like the two men killed each other in the middle of an attempted robbery. Columbo sees through the plot and digs to the bottom of the case.

"The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case" (5/22/77)
Theodore Bikel is Oliver Brandt, a genius senior partner in an accountancy firm. Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard) is his lifelong friend Bertie Hastings, partner and fellow genius. Samantha Eggar is Oliver's very beautiful, very expensive wife Vivian. To support her in the lifestyle to which she has become accustomed, Oliver must embezzle from his clients. When Bertie discovers this and promises to blow the whistle, Oliver must "write off" his old friend. He chooses to do so right at the Sigma Society clubhouse. This is a club (modeled on MENSA) of the very brightest people in the area. With a house full of geniuses as witnesses, Columbo should have no trouble cracking the case. A very young Jamie Lee Curtis has a cameo role as a coffee shop waitress who sells Columbo his own doughnut. Actor Sam Wanamaker has the director's credit for this episode.

Season 7 Episode Guide (1977–1978, 5 episodes)
"Try and Catch Me" (11/21/77)
Ruth Gordon is award winning mystery author Abigail Mitchell. Charles Frank is her nephew-in-law Edmund Galvin. Abigail is convinced that Edmund murdered his wife 4 months ago in a boating "accident" in which his wife goes overboard, and has apparently gotten away with it. So she decides to take matters into her own hands. She tricks Edmund into retrieving something from inside her airtight walk-in safe, which she then closes and locks before flying off to New York. Many minor errors leave her vulnerable. Mariette Hartley is Veronica, her trusted assistant, who becomes embroiled in the crime herself. Abigail acknowledges Columbo's cleverness by remarking to him as he is arresting her, "Just think Lieutenant, if only you had been the one to investigate the death of my niece, then all this need never have happened."

"Murder Under Glass" (1/30/78)
Louis Jourdan is Paul Gerard, a restaurant critic with a lucrative extortion scheme that falls apart when one of the restaurant owners decides he's through paying and convinces the others to rebel as well. To avoid exposure, the critic "cooks" up a way to murder the restaurateur Vittorio Rossi (Michael V. Gazzo) and Columbo has to figure out how. Richard Dysart and France Nuyen also guest star on this episode. Falk's now real-life wife Shera Danese is back as Gerard's loyal secretary/treasurer. Jonathan Demme directed this episode.
For this episode, writer Robert Van Scoyk received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his teleplay.

"Make Me a Perfect Murder" (2/28/78)
Trish Van Devere is Kay Freestone, a high-powered TV programmer with a talent for picking hits. Laurence Luckinbill is her lover and West Coast Network boss Mark McAndrews. When he is promoted to a high level position in New York, he gives Kay a Mercedes instead of his job. So before he can name his replacement, she executes a hostile takeover by "cancelling" him in his office. The pressure of leadership proves too much and her job and her alibi begin to crumble under the pressure. Columbo, even with an injured neck, unravels her plan with all the practiced ease of an expert screenwriter.

"How to Dial a Murder" (4/15/78)
Nicol Williamson is Dr. Eric Mason, a mind-control seminar guru. Mason knows that his friend was having an affair with his recently-deceased wife. He decides to take control and extract his revenge via his two trained Doberman Pinschers, Laurel and Hardy, who maul the man to death in Mason's kitchen. Mason, an avid film buff, has a house full of priceless Hollywood memorabilia, which Columbo enjoys to the hilt as he wastes no time in unraveling Mason's story. Columbo tells him, "You know doctor, I'm very disappointed. For someone so smart, you made a lot of dumb mistakes." A young Kim Cattrall lives in Mason's guest house and discovers the body. A young Ed Begley, Jr. co-stars in a minor role as an animal control officer.

"The Conspirators" (5/13/78)
Clive Revill is Joe Devlin, famous Irish poet/author who is secretly a fund-raiser and gun-runner for the IRA. When his latest gun supplier tries to double-cross him, he kills the man before he can supply the goods. Now with Columbo hot on his trail, Devlin must find his guns and arrange their purchase and shipment out of the country. In order to prove his case, Columbo must also find the guns. Just when all seems lost, Columbo gets the final piece of the puzzle and moves in for the arrest. This is the last episode of the original Columbo TV series after its seven year run. Leo Penn directed this episode.