Mrs. Columbo

Last updated
Mrs. Columbo
MrsColumbo.jpg
Title card for earliest episodes
Also known asKate Columbo
Kate the Detective
Kate Loves a Mystery
Genre Crime drama
Created by Richard Alan Simmons
Starring Kate Mulgrew
Lili Haydn
Henry Jones
Don Stroud
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes13
Production
Producers Fred Silverman
Richard Alan Simmons
Running time60 minutes
Production companies Universal Television
Gambit Productions
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseFebruary 26, 1979 (1979-02-26) 
March 19, 1980 (1980-03-19)
Related
Columbo
(1968–2003)

Mrs. Columbo (later called Kate Columbo, Kate the Detective, and Kate Loves a Mystery) is an American crime drama television series, initially based on the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the television series Columbo . It was created and produced by Richard Alan Simmons and Universal Television for NBC, and stars Kate Mulgrew as a news reporter helping to solve crimes while raising her daughter.[ citation needed ]

Contents

The series debuted in February 1979 as a spin-off to the mystery crime drama series Columbo, focusing on Lieutenant Columbo's wife, who is never given a first name in the original Columbo series but was named Kate in this series. After poor ratings and reception from both audiences and the original producers of Columbo, both the series and the eponymous character herself were renamed in an attempt to change direction, but this did not help ratings and the series ended with a run of just 13 episodes. Neither Peter Falk nor the character of Lieutenant Columbo ever appeared on the show.

Series overview

Kate Columbo (later renamed Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce) is the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the television series Columbo . Kate is a news reporter who solves crimes while raising her daughter.

Cast

Production

Development

Shortly after the Columbo series ended its original run on NBC in 1978, despite objections from Columbo producers Richard Levinson and William Link, NBC executive Fred Silverman went forward in producing Mrs. Columbo as a spin-off to the original series. [1] Levinson and Link further objected to Silverman's insistence on casting someone young to play the part; Kate Mulgrew was only 24 years old when the show made its debut. [2] The information NBC released about the show was unambiguous that Mrs. Columbo in the new series was the previously unseen wife frequently mentioned on Columbo.

Retooling

The show received poor ratings, [1] and as part of efforts to revamp it, the linkage between this Kate Columbo and the Mrs. Columbo of the original television series was reduced. The name of the character was changed to Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce, and the series was renamed Kate the Detective at the beginning of the second season, followed by Kate Loves a Mystery. There was evidently some confusion over what the new title would be, since the first episode of season 2, "Ladies of the Afternoon", was listed in guides as an episode of Kate the Detective while ads called the show Kate Loves a Mystery. [3] The revamped series also introduced the character Sergeant Mike Varrick of the Valley Municipal Police Department, played by Don Stroud. [4]

In this final incarnation, the producers completed their retreat from the show's original premise, and Kate Callahan was then regarded as being a completely different character from Mrs. Columbo of Columbo, Kate's ex-husband now named Philip. [4] Lt. Columbo was previously shown to have the first name Frank in the 1971 Columbo episode "Dead Weight". None of the changes aided the show's ratings, however, and it was cancelled in December 1979. [1] One last new episode, the thirteenth, aired in March 1980.

Episodes

Season 1: 1979

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Word Games" Boris Sagal Richard Alan SimmonsFebruary 26, 1979 (1979-02-26)
Kate stumbles into a crime-fighting career of her own when she overhears an attorney's plan to murder his wife. Two-hour pilot film.
22"Murder Is a Parlor Game" Don Medford Story by: Sheldon Willens
Teleplay by: Sheldon Willens & Al Reynolds & Howard Berk
March 1, 1979 (1979-03-01)
Kate suspects a former Scotland Yard inspector of murdering a waiter.
33"A Riddle for Puppets" Edward Abroms Gregory S. DinalloMarch 15, 1979 (1979-03-15)
Kate goes after a psychotic ventriloquist who murdered the craftsman who made his dummy.
44"Caviar with Everything"Don MedfordAl Reynolds & Howard BerkMarch 22, 1979 (1979-03-22)
Kate suspects the death of a chic Beverly Hills caterer was not as accidental as it appeared.
55"A Puzzle for Prophets" Sam Wanamaker Al ReynoldsMarch 29, 1979 (1979-03-29)
Kate is skeptical when the business manager of a clairvoyant is scared to death of a TV show.

Season 2: 1979–80

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
61"Ladies of the Afternoon"Don MedfordStory by: Larry Alexander
Teleplay by: Lawrence Hertzog
October 18, 1979 (1979-10-18)
72"It Goes with the Territory" Leo Penn Merwin GerardOctober 25, 1979 (1979-10-25)
83"Off the Record" Reza Badiyi Story by: Chris Bunch & Alan Cole
Teleplay by: Simon Muntner
November 1, 1979 (1979-11-01)
94"The Valley Strangler" Sigmund Neufeld Jr. Story by: Will Lorin
Teleplay by: Lawrence Hertzog
November 8, 1979 (1979-11-08)
105"A Chilling Surprise" Philip Leacock E. Arthur KeanNovember 22, 1979 (1979-11-22)
116"Falling Star"Sam WanamakerStory by: Robert McKee & Robert Misiorowski
Teleplay by: Lawrence Hertzog & Merwin Gerard and Robert McKee & Robert Misiorowski
November 29, 1979 (1979-11-29)
127"Feelings Can Be Murder" Seymour Robbie Mary Anne Kasica & Michael ScheffDecember 6, 1979 (1979-12-06)
138"Love, on Instant Replay" Alan Smithee
(E. Arthur Kean)
Joe Gores March 19, 1980 (1980-03-19)

Reception

Peter Falk expressed his disapproval of the spin-off, calling it a "bad idea" and "disgraceful". [2] Richard Levinson later joked that if they made another episode of Coloumbo they would have Columbo say "There's a woman running around pretending to be my wife. She's changing things. She's a young girl. I wish my wife was like that. She's an impostor." [1]

Home media

The Mrs. Columbo episode "A Riddle for Puppets" was included as a bonus feature in the Region 1 DVD release of the fourth season of Columbo, released in August 2005. The episode "Murder Is a Parlor Game" was included in the third season of Columbo. The episode "Caviar with Everything" was included in the fifth season of Columbo. Both seasons of Mrs. Columbo were released as a 5-disc set called Madame Columbo - Saisons 1 & 2 in France on October 22, 2014, by Universal and Elephant Films.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Falk</span> American actor (1927–2011)

Peter Michael Falk was an American film and television actor, comedian, singer and television director and producer. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/ABC series Columbo, for which he won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award (1973). In 1996, TV Guide ranked Falk No. 21 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list. He received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Mulgrew</span> American actress (born 1955)

Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager and Red in Orange Is the New Black. She first came to attention in the role of Mary Ryan in the daytime soap opera Ryan's Hope.

<i>Columbo</i> American crime drama television film series

Columbo is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 as one of the rotating programs of The NBC Mystery Movie. Columbo then aired less frequently on ABC from 1989 to 2003.

Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police drama television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit. Created by Paul Attanasio, it ran for seven seasons and 122 episodes on NBC from January 31, 1993, to May 21, 1999, and was succeeded by Homicide: The Movie (2000), which served as the series finale. The series was created by Paul Attanasio and based on David Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets (1991). Many of the characters and stories used throughout the show were based on events depicted in the book.

<i>McCloud</i> (TV series) American television series (1970–1977)

McCloud is an American police drama television series created by Herman Miller, that aired on NBC from September 16, 1970, to April 17, 1977. The series starred Dennis Weaver, and for six of its seven years as part of the NBC Mystery Movie rotating wheel series that was produced for the network by Universal Television. The show was centered on Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud of the small western town of Taos, New Mexico, who was on loan to the metropolitan New York City Police Department (NYPD) as a special investigator.

The NBC Mystery Movie is an American television anthology series produced by Universal Pictures, that NBC broadcast from 1971 to 1977. Devoted to a rotating series of mystery episodes, it was sometimes split into two subsets broadcast on different nights of the week: The NBC Sunday Mystery Movie and The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie.

A wheel series, wheel show, wheel format or umbrella series is a television series in which two or more regular programs are rotated in the same time slot. Sometimes the wheel series is given its own umbrella title and promoted as a single unit instead of promoting its separate components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Culp</span> American actor (1930–2010)

Robert Martin Culp was an American actor and screenwriter widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy (1965–1968), the espionage television series in which co-star Bill Cosby and he played secret agents. Before this, he starred in the CBS/Four Star Western series Trackdown as Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman in 71 episodes from 1957 to 1959. The 1980s brought him back to television as FBI Agent Bill Maxwell on The Greatest American Hero. Later, he had a recurring role as Warren Whelan on Everybody Loves Raymond, and was a voice actor for various computer games, including Half-Life 2. Culp gave hundreds of performances in a career spanning more than 50 years.

<i>Ellery Queen</i> (TV series) American mystery television series

Ellery Queen is an American TV drama series, developed by Richard Levinson and William Link, who based it on the fictional character of the same name. The series ran for a single season on NBC from September 11, 1975, to April 4, 1976. Jim Hutton stars as the eponymous sleuth, along with David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanette Nolan</span> American actress (1911–1998)

Jeanette Nolan was an American actress. Nominated for four Emmy Awards, she had roles in the television series The Virginian (1962–1971) and Dirty Sally (1974), and in films such as Macbeth (1948).

<i>Homicide: Life on the Street</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of Homicide: Life on the Street, an American police procedural drama television series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between January 31 and March 31, 1993. The show was created by Paul Attanasio, with film director Barry Levinson and television writer and producer Tom Fontana serving as executive producers. Adapted from David Simon's 1991 non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, the season followed the fictional detectives of Baltimore Police Department homicide unit and the murder cases they investigate. The show was broadcast on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST, with the exception of the series premiere, which aired immediately after Super Bowl XXVII.

Tenafly is a crime-drama series starring James McEachin that was part of The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie wheel for the 1973-74 season. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, the creators of popular mystery television shows such as Columbo and Murder, She Wrote. It was one of the first television series that season to feature an African-American character as the protagonist. Due to low ratings, NBC removed Tenafly from the wheel when it moved the mid-week Mystery Movie block to Tuesdays in January 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert Freed</span> American actor (1919-1994)

Bert Freed was an American character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo.

Richard Leighton Levinson was an American screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link.

An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and whose absence enhances their effect on the plot.

Here is a list of episodes from the first season of the American television detective series Columbo.

Columbo is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Season 2 aired on NBC from September 1972 to March 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbo (character)</span> Fictitious character in eponymous American TV detective crime drama series

Lieutenant Columbo is the main character in the American detective crime drama television series Columbo created by Richard Levinson and William Link. Columbo is a shrewd and exceptionally observant homicide detective who often disguises his aptitude with his inelegant, shambling manner; trademarks of his blue-collar ethos include his rumpled beige raincoat, cigar and relentless investigative approach.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Brunsdale, Mitzi M. (26 July 2010). Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection: From Sleuths to Superheroes. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 218. ISBN   978-0-313-34531-9.
  2. 1 2 "Mrs. Columbo Revealed!" . Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  3. "Kate Loves a Mystery Episode Guide". Totally Kate: The Official Fansite of Kate Mulgrew. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Kate Loves a Mystery". Totally Kate: The Official Fansite of Kate Mulgrew. Retrieved May 14, 2016.