PLOT: A genius inventor (Oskar Werner) murders his mother-in-law when she pressures his resignation from her electronics company, making it appear like he was at an art gallery during the crime via surveillance wizardry. Gena Rowlands plays his paraplegic wife while Trisha Noble is on hand as a secretary at the art house.
COMMENTARY: "Playback" is a rather obscure episode with a not-too-famous actor playing the antagonist (it was Werner's penultimate role). It's decent, but sorta forgettable because it came after six outstanding, longer Columbo flicks in a row, which represented the series at its apex. Here the series returns to the shorter 73 minutes and it just comes across as an overall downgrade. But, like I said, it's still a worthwhile installment.
Gena still looks great at 44, but the beautiful Trisha Noble steals the show on the female front. She was 30 during shooting and went on to appear as a wild-haired villainess in the Buck Rogers episode "Cruise Ship to the Stars" (1979).
GRADE: B-
COMMENTARY: "Playback" is a rather obscure episode with a not-too-famous actor playing the antagonist (it was Werner's penultimate role). It's decent, but sorta forgettable because it came after six outstanding, longer Columbo flicks in a row, which represented the series at its apex. Here the series returns to the shorter 73 minutes and it just comes across as an overall downgrade. But, like I said, it's still a worthwhile installment.
Gena still looks great at 44, but the beautiful Trisha Noble steals the show on the female front. She was 30 during shooting and went on to appear as a wild-haired villainess in the Buck Rogers episode "Cruise Ship to the Stars" (1979).
GRADE: B-