Mrs. Columbo
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Mrs. Columbo (Season 1) Kate Loves a Mystery (Season 2) |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | 1979-1980 |
| length | 60 minutes |
| Episodes | 13 in 2 seasons ( list ) |
| genre | Thriller |
| idea | Richard Alan Simmons |
| First broadcast | February 26, 1979 (USA) on NBC |
| occupation | |
| |
Mrs. Columbo (renamed Kate Loves a Mystery for season two ) is an American crime series originally based on the wife of Inspector Columbo, the title character of the television series Columbo . The series was created and produced by Richard Alan Simmons and Universal Television for NBC . On the series, Kate Mulgrew plays a reporter who helps solve crimes while she is raising her daughter.
production
Shortly after the end of the Columbo series at NBC in 1978 , Fred Silverman, then CEO of the station, had the idea of producing a series about Columbo's never-shown woman. The producers of the mother series, Richard Levinson and William Link , initially declined to participate. But after it became clear that Silverman would continue with the production without their involvement, they finally agreed. The main character should be around the same age as Inspector Columbo, between 45 and 50 years.
With this in mind, Peter Fischer wrote his first screenplay, which Silverman initially liked. During the casting process , Silverman's opinion changed when he believed he had found his first choice in Carol Wayne . After this had been canceled and the then 23-year-old Kate Mulgrew was introduced as the new actress, Levinson and Link finally withdrew from the project. As a new producer, Silverman was able to recruit Richard Alan Simmons , who had already produced the mother series. Simmons also rewrote the script for the first episode. While Inspector Columbo's wife was mentioned namelessly in the mother series, but never made an appearance, she was given the first name Kate for the offshoot series. Two other parallels to the Columbo series are that she also drives an identical and equally antiquated 1959 Peugeot 403 Cabriolet and she also has a basset named "Dog" at her side.
The production company struggled to stay on schedule from the start. The shooting of the second episode was not yet finished on February 16, 1979, 13 days before the scheduled broadcast. The third episode was even shown on television a week late. Due to the time pressure, this resulted in a working day of up to 18 hours and this seven days a week.
The series finally premiered on February 26, 1979 on NBC. Despite production problems and falling audience numbers, NBC announced the production of a second season and the rebranding of Kate Columbo in May 1979 . With the premiere of the second season on October 18, 1979, the series concept was revised, the title was renamed Kate Loves a Mystery and the title character Kate Callahan. The name change of the main character was justified with a divorce not shown in the series. The idea of producing a series about Inspector Columbo's wife was buried with it. But since these changes did not lead to the desired success, the series was finally discontinued in March 1980 after broadcasting only 13 episodes.
When Columbo returned to ABC on US television in 1989 , Inspector Columbo and his wife were still happily married. This practically ignored the entire existence of the Mrs. Columbo series .
Episode list
| Season / episode | title | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1/01 | "Word Games" | February 26, 1979 |
| 1/02 | "Murder Is a Parlor Game" | March 1, 1979 |
| 1/03 | "A Riddle for Puppets" | March 15, 1979 |
| 1/04 | "Caviar with Everything" | March 22, 1979 |
| 1/05 | "A Puzzle for Prophets" | March 29, 1979 |
| 2/01 | "Ladies of the Afternoon" | October 18, 1979 |
| 2/02 | "It Goes with the Territory" | October 25, 1979 |
| 2/03 | "Off the Record" | November 1, 1979 |
| 2/04 | "The Valley Strangler" | November 8, 1979 |
| 2/05 | "A Chilling Surprise" | November 22, 1979 |
| 2/06 | "Falling Star" | November 29, 1979 |
| 2/07 | "Feelings Can Be Murder" | 6th December 1979 |
| 2/08 | "Love, on Instant Replay" | March 19, 1980 |
DVD release
The series has so far only been released on DVD in English and French. A German synchronization of the series is not yet available, which is why a German-language publication is currently missing.
Web links
- Mrs. Columbo in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Mrs. Columbo at Fernsehserien.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Rex McGee: The Short Harried Life of Mrs. Columbo . In: American Film . Retrieved December 28, 2018.