The main reason I go for a decent rating here is that Falk, Robert Conrad & Pat Harrington head up a pretty strong cast. Milo Janus (Conrad) is feathering a nest with money to skip the US & retire overseas. He is doing this with a string of health clubs which he is using to milk unsuspecting franchise owners out of massive profits.
One of the franchise owners gets wise & is going to blow the whistle until Janus (this was the name of Conrads Twin in a Dr Loveless episode on Wild Wild West during season 1) chokes him, crushing his wind pipe & then clumsily tries to make it look like an accident. Columbo is not amused.
This is not one of the most clever episodes as Janus leaves extremely obvious clues to what he did. There is a major flaw- when the murder occurs the victim & Janus go screeching onto a freshly waxed gym floor. For some reason, even though both men are on the floor wearing shoes, only the victims brown scuffs are there to Colombo to puzzle about. It is strange the murderer didn't leave any as he has shoes on too.
What really isn't too bright is Janus trying to choke a victim with a pot of hot coffee in his hand. Colombo catches those burns real quick. Still, Falk going through the motions here is better because of Conrad playing his role well.
One of the franchise owners gets wise & is going to blow the whistle until Janus (this was the name of Conrads Twin in a Dr Loveless episode on Wild Wild West during season 1) chokes him, crushing his wind pipe & then clumsily tries to make it look like an accident. Columbo is not amused.
This is not one of the most clever episodes as Janus leaves extremely obvious clues to what he did. There is a major flaw- when the murder occurs the victim & Janus go screeching onto a freshly waxed gym floor. For some reason, even though both men are on the floor wearing shoes, only the victims brown scuffs are there to Colombo to puzzle about. It is strange the murderer didn't leave any as he has shoes on too.
What really isn't too bright is Janus trying to choke a victim with a pot of hot coffee in his hand. Colombo catches those burns real quick. Still, Falk going through the motions here is better because of Conrad playing his role well.