The Shabby Detective: Yet Another Columbo Podcast

Weirding Way Media
  • 4.6 (29)
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Podcasters Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast) and Mike White (The Projection Booth) look at the enduring character of Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) and his creators. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

  1. Murder Under Glass

    2D AGO

    Murder Under Glass

    As Mike and Chris continue to traipse through the controversial official final season of Columbo with the Shabby Detective returning to the kitchen to face off against Louis Jourdan as a snotty TV chef and food critic who uses blowfish poison to take out a victim of blackmail who was going to go public. Is the all-star cast and steady directing from Jonathan Demme enough to save the episode? Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

    42 min
  2. Try and Catch Me

    JAN 16

    Try and Catch Me

    Mike White and Chris Stachiw kick off season seven of Columbo with a close look at “Try and Catch Me,” where literary titan Abigail Mitchell (Ruth Gordon) believes she’s engineered the perfect murder—cool, elegant, and legally, uh, airtight—only to underestimate a rumpled detective who thrives on patience and psychological pressure. The conversation delves into Columbo's new show-runner, giving the Lieutenant's catchphrases to others, and how a skilled mystery writer can bungle a crime so badly. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

    45 min
  3. The Storyteller (1977)

    12/26/2025

    The Storyteller (1977)

    Mike and Chris dig into the uneasy moral terrain of The Storyteller, a 1977 NBC movie that turns television itself into the accused. Starring Martin Balsam as a celebrated writer blamed when a child’s death echoes the plot of his work, the film wrestles with guilt, responsibility, and the limits of artistic intent. Written by Richard Levinson and William Link, this forgotten TV drama fits squarely in The Shabby Detective’s wheelhouse: smart, talky, ethically thorny, and very much of its era—when network television wasn’t afraid to put itself on trial. Watch the movie on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go0Yesa9m0Q Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

    1h 5m
  4. Rollercoaster (1977)

    12/01/2025 · BONUS

    Rollercoaster (1977)

    Mike and Chris keep their arms in the car at all times with writer-producer and Rollercoaster superfan Richard Hatem for a wild ride through James Goldstone’s 1977 star-studded disaster-thriller that pits George Segal’s weary safety inspector against Timothy Bottoms’s soft-spoken, delightfully unhinged bomber.  They dig into the film’s oddball mix of procedural beats, theme-park mayhem, and Sensurround feeling, tracing how Rollercoaster fits alongside Link & Levinson's energy and why its cat-and-mouse structure still works. Expect talk of Segal’s hangdog charm, Richard Widmark’s righteous scowling, and the many ways a bomber with a walkie-talkie can make a grown man sweat. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

    1h 29m
  5. The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case

    10/31/2025

    The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case

    The Shabby Detective closes out Season Six with “The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case,” a murder most cerebral — and a little bit silly. When genius accountant Oliver Brandt (Theodore Bikel) kills his embezzling partner at an exclusive Mensa-like club for the gifted, Columbo wanders into a den of self-proclaimed intellectuals armed only with a cigar and a rumpled raincoat. The result? A battle of wits where the lieutenant’s “low” IQ proves a lot more useful than anyone expects. Mike and Chris puzzle through the episode’s uneven tone, bizarre musical choices, and one of the show’s strangest final acts. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

    43 min
  6. Old Fashioned Murder

    09/21/2025

    Old Fashioned Murder

    The Shabby Detective returns to Season Six with “Old Fashioned Murder,” where genteel larceny meets genteel homicide. Joyce Van Patten takes center stage as Ruth Lytton, a spinster running her family’s failing museum. When her ambitious brother threatens to sell off the artifacts, Ruth turns to murder and possibly taking revenge for things that happened off-screen twenty years prior. This episode went over-budget and over-schedule thanks to some behind-the-scenes meddling from Peter Falk's pals, leaving a messy and uninspired episode where it's tough to care about anything apart from Lt. Columbo's bizarre hairstyle. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

    27 min
  7. Fade in to Murder

    08/18/2025

    Fade in to Murder

    The sixth season of Columbo kicks off with “Fade in to Murder,” and we’re right there with it. Yes, we had to scrap our planned chat on Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky (Mike just couldn’t stomach it), but that means we get to dive straight into William Shatner swaggering his way through one of the great villain roles of the NBC years. Chris can’t help but heap praise on Shatner’s performance as ego-fueled actor Ward Fowler, while Mike wrestles with the episode’s meta conceit, its TV-within-TV layers, and Peter Falk’s always-dependable rumpled brilliance. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

    47 min
  8. Griffin & Phoenix (1976)

    07/28/2025 · BONUS

    Griffin & Phoenix (1976)

    Not every Peter Falk performance comes with a rumpled coat and a homicide to solve. In this episode, we take a look at Griffin & Phoenix, a 1976 made-for-TV gem that finds Falk in rare romantic form. As Geoffrey Griffin, a terminally ill professor, Falk trades sharp wit for quiet heartbreak opposite Jill Clayburgh’s Phoenix, a fellow traveler on a limited timeline. What might sound like a recipe for melodrama turns into something far more poignant and disarming, with Falk giving one of his most restrained and vulnerable performances.  We dig into the film’s TV-movie roots, its place in the 1970s “disease-of-the-week” wave, and how its frank, unvarnished take on death—and love—holds up nearly fifty years later. It’s Peter Falk without the trench coat, but not without charm, soul, and a monologue or two. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

    32 min
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4.6
out of 5
29 Ratings

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Podcasters Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast) and Mike White (The Projection Booth) look at the enduring character of Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) and his creators. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-shabby-detective-yet-another-columbo-podcast--5084441/support.

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