Mondays With Columbo: A STITCH IN CRIME

(Revised 11/29/2024)

With Leonard Nimoy's passing earlier this year, it should not be surprising that much of his non-Star Trek work would be reexamined. (Nimoy tended to dismiss his work on Mission: Impossible soon after Trek was canceled).

Part of that work includes Nimoy's turn on Columbo's second season as Dr. Barry Mayfield, a heart surgeon who decides to murder his partner Edward Heidemann (Will Geer). It's an episode that both Columbo podcasts - The Columbo Podcast and Just One More Thing - have discussed, and having caught it myself, I can only say one thing:

Leonard Nimoy makes one terrific villain.

See. Mayfield and Heidemann are working on a drug that helps transplant patients with rejection. Mayfield wants the money and the recognition, and Heidemann is concerned with trivial things like drug safety, etc. So when Heidemann has a health crisis, Mayfield finds an opportunity to take action and rid himself of a potential obstacle...

...and that's where the fun begins. Nimoy balances charm and malice - Mayfield is not as overtly contemptuous of Columbo as other leads, but he maintains a righteous veneer when performing despicable acts. (And this is one of the few Columbo episodes where you could argue the villain is an incipient serial killer).

The cat-and-mouse game between Nimoy and Falk's Columbo has a nice, almost cordial feel, and Hy Averback's direction manages to ratchet up the tension. Nimoy and Falk's interplay becomes rather frustrating, but in a good way - we know what happened, and we have faith that Columbo will figure things out...

...but when Columbo snaps, we understand. Perfectly.

Even the end has a twist that we probably should have seen coming...but don't. And it makes perfect sense.

This has always been more of a fan-favorite Columbo....but in retrospect, it's a hidden classic worth watching.

And you can watch for free via Tubi.