It's All in the Game is the seventh episode of the tenth season of Columbo and the sixty-second episode overall. It first aired on October 31, 1993 and was directed by Vincent McEveety. In addition to Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, the episode stars Faye Dunaway, Claudia Christian and Armando Pucci, as well John Finnegan in his largest Columbo role.
This episode is unique in that it's the only one to have actually been written by Peter Falk himself.
Summary[]
Wealthy socialite Lauren Staton (Faye Dunaway) and her daughter Lisa Martin (Claudia Christian) conspire to murder their abusive, two-timing lover Nick Franco (Armando Pucci). Lauren commits the actual murder, going to Franco's apartment and shooting him. Lisa then stays in the apartment, keeping the body warm for several hours with an electric blanket until Lauren returns with the building manager (Bill Macy). While they're knocking on the door, Lisa fires a shot into the air, then flees through the patio. Lauren takes all the heat from Columbo in order to protect Lisa, even going so far as to romance him; after he (along with the viewer) finally learns that Lisa is Lauren's daughter, he buys Lauren's confession by allowing Lisa to flee to Europe.
Trivia[]
This episode is unusual in that Columbo arrests only one of the two perpetrators of a murder.
It is also unusual because Columbo seems to show no moral qualms about cheating on his wife but it is ultimately all part of his attempts to catch the killer
| Columbo (season 10) |
|---|
| 1."Columbo Goes to College" 2."Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health" 3."Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star" 4."Death Hits the Jackpot" 5."No Time to Die" 6."A Bird in the Hand..." 7."It's All in the Game" 8."Butterfly in Shades of Grey" 9."Undercover" 10."Strange Bedfellows" 11."A Trace of Murder" 12."Ashes to Ashes" 13."Murder with Too Many Notes" 14."Columbo Likes the Nightlife" |