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Title: It's All in the Game (31 Oct 1993)
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| Episode cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Peter Falk | ... | Columbo | |
| Faye Dunaway | ... | Lauren Staton | |
| Claudia Christian | ... | Lisa Martin | |
| Armando Pucci | ... | Nick Franco | |
| Bill Macy | ... | Ruddick | |
| John Finnegan | ... | Barney | |
| Doug Sheehan | ... | Riley | |
| Shelley Morrison | ... | Nick's Maid | |
 |
Tom Henschel | ... | Fingerprint Man |
| Jack Shearer | ... | Investigator #1 | |
| Shashawnee Hall | ... | Investigator #2 | |
| Stewart J. Zully | ... | Investigator #3 | |
| Bruce Ed Morrow | ... | Medical Examiner (as Bruce E. Morrow) | |
|
|
Heath Kizzier | ... | Photo Clerk |
|
|
Daniel Trent | ... | Detective #1 (as Daniel T. Trent) |
Lauren Staton and Lisa Martin kill their two-timing lover Nick Franco. Lauren's the one who pulled the trigger and they've made it look like Franco was killed by a burglar in his apartment. They've prepared well with both having solid alibis. Lt. Columbo is in charge of the case and is very much attracted to the beautiful Lauren. She uses that to her advantage and is soon buying him gifts and giving him the odd kiss. Columbo is flattered but begins to see anomalies in some of the physical evidence. He becomes certain that Lauren is involved in Franco's death but realizes he will only be able to make an arrest if he gets a confession. He manages to get that but even he is surprised when learns of her true relationship to Lisa. Written by garykmcd
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"It's All In The Game" is another superior modern Columbo that easily ranks alongside the best 70s episodes. This is a timeless episode. All the elements of vintage Columbo are in place, with a few added twists.
The main attraction of this episode is the undercurrent between Columbo and murderess, played brilliantly by Faye Dunaway. As she says, you're never quite sure what Columbo is thinking. So you have conversations that work on different levels - superficially both Columbo and Dunawaye's character Lauren are flirting with each other and looking halfway to getting romantically involved, but under the surface they are basically just playing each other. That doesn't mean there isn't a genuine spark between the two, it's just a complicated mixture of head and heart. And with Columbo, his head always rules his heart - no matter how much he likes a murderer, he will never fail in his job to put them behind bars.
In this case the murderess has an accomplice, and Columbo goes so far as to spare her from arrest in return for Lauren's confession. The murder is a straightforward shooting, no trained dogs or magic markers balanced on record players. The relative simplicity of the case means that the episode can focus more on the dialogue and characterisation than an elaborate plot.
All in all this is a real classy episode that manages to be sophisticated and upmarket without ever becoming dreary in the process. The whole show was virtually single-handedly created by Peter Falk (well maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration) but it seems the more involvement he had in an episode, the better. He of all people knew how to get the best from Columbo.
Finally, no I don't think Columbo was ever remotely tempted to take his relationship with Lauren any further. The title explains everything: the flirting, the gentle frissons of romance are ultimately nothing more than Columbo's way of playing the game...