It is not surprising that “Columbo” is loved as a detective. The holder of Peter Falk travels through the most difficult cases with relentless precision, using its perceived nonsense to disarm theiest criminals. When these criminals underestimate him and confuse his insight with incompetence, it is incredibly satisfactory to watch an intelligent and friendly guy like Columbo has the last laugh. In addition, it is a detective issue like no other, adopting an unconventional approach to the way in which the mystery takes place. Instead of operating as a whodunit, “Columbo” reveals the aggressor in the first act and depends on his suspense on how Columbo arrives at the heart of a case that seems insoluble at first glance. “Just one more thing,” thinks about Columbo, while pushing all aspects of a case until the truth is revealed as simple as the day.

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The ABC series, published in 1968 on NBC, begins by establishing an incredibly high level. The first in the series, entitled “Murder by the book”, was made by none other than Steven Spielbergwhich inadvertently launched a cultural phenomenon by engraving “Columbo” as a series of uncontrollable and cool detective like-Heck. This feeling has persisted with attribute over the years, because “Columbo” is still widely loved for its timeless treatment of gender tropes, which can be examined and reinvented through the evolutionary objective of our time. Aside from the general excellence of the show, it should be noted that Spielberg was not the only director of big blows to have tried to direct one of his episodes. Jonathan Demme and Patrick McGoohan also made episodes of the series, while Vincent McEveety (“The Untouchables”, “Gunsmoke”) often carried the director’s hat to direct the story in intriguing directions.

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Given the prestige associated with a series known for his incredibly dynamic narration, Brian de Palma was involved in writing an episodic script for “Columbo” at a given time. Unfortunately, the script of De Palma has never seen the light of day, and we have never witnessed this episodic premise unfold in any capacity whatsoever. What’s wrong with here?

The year was in 1973. De Palma had just switched to full features after having produced two notable documentaries (which used the use of the perspective and the shared screen), and had moved to Hollywood to make more films. The Orson Welles star “Get to Know Your Rabbit” was published a year ago, receiving mixed criticism for its wacky and unequal approach to its comic premise. After having directed a series of independent films (Including ultra-violent and voyeuristic “sisters” of 1972), De Palma decided to write for television, which led to a specification script for “Columbo”, which he wrote with a certain JP Gillis (a pseudonym of the criticism of Time Jay Cocks magazine).

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Entitled “Script Shoting”, the episode was supposed to turn around Quentin Lee, a crime documentary whose obsession to capture the perfect murder is taken to the extreme. Quentin explains that the concept of a perfect crime is without motivation, which in itself is a contradiction, because even the most arbitrary speeds are motivated by a selfish desire. In his search for nuance, Quentin is fascinated by the subtlety of the motif, and he decides to take on him to create such a scenario from zero. The inevitable twist (for Quentin, not us) is that he underestimates Columbo like all other criminals, and inadvertently involves it in the documentary without anticipating the extent of this error.

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Now, such a story could have really flourished in the hands capable of De Palma, but we were deprived of an exciting episode due to factors independent of the will of anyone. According to ColumbophileA writer’s strike has maintained the production of season 3 of the show, leading to delayed schedules and re-allocated budgets, which caused a sudden rush when things became at the base after a while. Although it is difficult to determine the exact reason, it is possible that the de Palma script was refused during this tax period, when only two episodes were complete before the expected broadcast of the third season on network television.

It is interesting to note that De Palma has expressed discontent of television as medium over the years, finding an interference / microgestion of the incredibly frustrating studio. It was perhaps the innate preference of De Palma for the film which led fate to jump his “Columbo” script. Or maybe doing art is a process with a high intensity of workforce but arbitrary which often depends on luck, where you just have to be there in the right place, and at the right time.