Columbo: To a psychologist, sir? Eric Mason: You pass yourself off as a puppy in a raincoat happily running around the yard digging holes all up in the garden, only you’re laying a mine field and wagging your tail.Īs an ex-Professor of Gambling Studies, another aspect that I have noticed is how many episodes of Columbo feature gamblers and gambling that are often integral to the storyline. In one episode ("How To Dial A Murder"), Columbo and the psychologist Eric Mason have an interesting exchange:Įric Mason: You’re a fascinating man, Lieutenant. This included the episodes " Prescription Murder" (1968-the first-ever episode Ray Flemming who uses his high intelligence rather than his psychiatric expertise to murder his wife), " Double Exposure" (1973 Bart Kepple, a consumer psychologist who uses subliminal advertising to lure his victim to be killed), "A Deadly State Of Mind" (1975 Marcus Collier, a psychiatrist who uses hypnosis to make his victim jump from a high rise apartment), " How To Dial A Murder" (1978 Eric Mason, a behavioural psychologist who uses classical conditioning to train his dogs to kill his victim), and " Sex And The Married Detective" (1998 Joan Allenby, a sex therapist who uses her knowledge of psychosexual roleplay to ensnare and kill her lover). The process is simple: (1) hold back a critical piece of information and reserve it for the end of the meeting, (2) right before you part company, share the information or ask a question, and (3) enjoy the response you receive."Īnother reason I love Columbo because a number of episodes featured psychologists and/or psychiatrists as the killer, most of who used their psychological expertise to carry out an ingenious murder. The goal is simply to make a strong, memorable point, not to manipulate someone. Like every form of good communication, sincerity is critical. At the conclusion of every interview, he did something unique: he’d thank the suspect profusely, step toward the door, stop, and then turn back, and say, “Oh, just one more thing.” Then he’d ask one last question, a particularly damning question that let the suspect know that Lieutenant Columbo was onto him. Yet his seemingly random line of questioning was the process by which he built an airtight case against the suspect. “One way in which you can leave someone with a powerful last impression is to use…“the Columbo Technique”…named after the lovable yet shrewd TV detective from the 1970s…He was unassuming and appeared almost absent-minded as he questioned a murder suspect. The article then goes on to explicitly describe specific MI interventions using the "Columbo approach." Another online article by Greg Lhamon (‘ A simple trick to make a powerful last impression’) describes the "Columbo Technique." Here is an abridged version: As an article about Columbo on the Cult TV Lounge rightly notes: As a psychologist, I find him fascinating. His disheveled clothing (the infamous beaten-up raincoat), his apparently bumbling absent-minded nature, and his habit of going off-topic in conversations, but knowing that he is actually one of the most astute and clever detectives that you are ever likely to meet (he would no-doubt fit the description of the stereotypical "absent-minded professor"). Another aspect I love is the inherent contradictions in Lt. (I say “almost all” because there are actually a few episodes that are more typical "whodunits" such as 1976’s " Last Salute To The Commodore," 1992’s " No Time To Die" and 1994’s "Undercover"). Columbo uncovers who the killer or killers are. One of the things I love about the show is that almost all the episodes are a ‘reverse whodunit’ (often referred to as an ‘open mystery’) in which the viewer knows the identity of the murderer(s) and we watch to see how Lt. I have asked myself many times why I love the iconic show so much and it’s hard to put my finger on any single reason.
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