This is an extraordinary Columbo episode quite unlike any other. Although not 100% successful, the ambition of this final episode from the 70s marks it out as a great ending to the series. This far, and no farther...until 1989! It's quite something to see a show as quintessentially Californian as Columbo tackle the Northern Ireland troubles. What's more, the producers, writers and actors do a pretty good job of examining some of the characters involved in terrorism, whilst simultaneously adhering to the usual Columbo formula.
Joe Devlin is a notable comic poet who regales his audiences with blarney, banter and bogus pacifism. The adoring crowds happily dig into their pockets to contribute something towards keeping the peace, unaware that their hard-earned cash is secretly being used to purchase weapons for the IRA.
All in all Devlin is a first-rate Columbo villain, although I really wish a few stupid errors had been spotted before broadcasting. Joe Devlin has a broad Southern Ireland accent as opposed to a Northern Ireland one, and no Republican would ever refer to Derry as Londonderry. Bearing in mind that the research and accuracy on this show was generally pretty good, these goofs really shouldn't have slipped through the net.
Another small gripe is that once again, like many of the late 70s episodes, the murderer never really gets annoyed by Columbo, well not to his face anyway. Plus, if Devlin is callous and violent enough to kill an arms dealer and trade in huge quantities of weaponry, would he or his gangster associates not try to bump off Columbo? Unarmed and wandering around alone, he would make a very easy target. Instead, Devlin always seems remarkably pleased to see Columbo whenever he shows up on the scene, relishing their verbal sparring and swapping limericks and wisecracks like old buddies. Although I do like to see banter between Columbo and the villains, it's always best when there is an undercurrent of antagonism between the two. Otherwise it seems a bit too cosy.
But these glitches are a minor issue, because I can't think of any other American drama show that even attempted to use the Northern Ireland issues as a backdrop for a storyline. To do so with such a controversial, divisive topic, without falling flat on its face or alienating half the population makes this Columbo worthy of great praise.
Joe Devlin is a notable comic poet who regales his audiences with blarney, banter and bogus pacifism. The adoring crowds happily dig into their pockets to contribute something towards keeping the peace, unaware that their hard-earned cash is secretly being used to purchase weapons for the IRA.
All in all Devlin is a first-rate Columbo villain, although I really wish a few stupid errors had been spotted before broadcasting. Joe Devlin has a broad Southern Ireland accent as opposed to a Northern Ireland one, and no Republican would ever refer to Derry as Londonderry. Bearing in mind that the research and accuracy on this show was generally pretty good, these goofs really shouldn't have slipped through the net.
Another small gripe is that once again, like many of the late 70s episodes, the murderer never really gets annoyed by Columbo, well not to his face anyway. Plus, if Devlin is callous and violent enough to kill an arms dealer and trade in huge quantities of weaponry, would he or his gangster associates not try to bump off Columbo? Unarmed and wandering around alone, he would make a very easy target. Instead, Devlin always seems remarkably pleased to see Columbo whenever he shows up on the scene, relishing their verbal sparring and swapping limericks and wisecracks like old buddies. Although I do like to see banter between Columbo and the villains, it's always best when there is an undercurrent of antagonism between the two. Otherwise it seems a bit too cosy.
But these glitches are a minor issue, because I can't think of any other American drama show that even attempted to use the Northern Ireland issues as a backdrop for a storyline. To do so with such a controversial, divisive topic, without falling flat on its face or alienating half the population makes this Columbo worthy of great praise.