Just One More Thing: Playback

May 25, 2026

Just One More Thing: Playback

Notes and screenshots for Playback: Originally broadcast on March 2, 1975, starring Oskar Werner as gadget-happy murderer Harold van Wick, long-suffering Gena Rowlands as his devoted wife, Martha Scott as the vulnerable victim and, of course, Peter Falk as Columbo.

"An inventor enthralled with gadgets uses his expertise in surveillance systems to craft the perfect alibi after he murders his mother-in-law for threatening to fire him as CEO of her electronics company. Columbo must unravel the alibi."

-IMDB Summary

"It’s our final 70s Columbo of the podcast! We’re saying farewell to the Lieutenant’s original decade with “Playback,” an episode featuring dazzling futuristic gadgetry, bowl haircuts and Gena Rowlands. Electronics executive Oskar Werner is on the verge of being fired by his mother-in-law. He kills dear old mom, then rigs his home’s elaborate security video setup so no one even discovers the murder, until he’s safely in alibi city, miles away. The gadget-happy killer’s plan even has Columbo stumped for what seems to be longer than usual, in an episode that also feels longer than usual. Dylan Meconis (The Long Con) is here to look through this one, which seemed to stay at a flat level of “just fine,” as well as speculate how a Columbo comic book series might work. In all, a nice edition of the podcast."

-RJ's episode summary

Listen to the original podcast episode here:

Episode 69: Esprit D’un Chien Mort with our guest Dylan Meconis.

Playback

Season 4, Episode #5

Director: Bernard Kowalski

Writers: Booker Bradshaw, David P. Lewis

I think we all went a little loopy with this one. The main cast represented a powerhouse amount of talent -- Gena Rowlands, Oskar Werner and Peter Falk -- but the execution didn’t do much more than to allow them rare little moments to work together in scenes drawn out a little too long.

We neglected to make any mention of this story’s co-author, writer/performer/musician/and so much more Booker Bradshaw, probably most familiar to television viewers for a pair of appearances on the original Star Trek as the Enterprise’s other medical officer, Doctor Joseph M’Benge. Bradshaw had a great career that took him to both sides of the camera, and those have always been my favorite type of television creative. The intimacy of the small screen experience always benefits the people who’ve approached the media holistically, or that’s been my feeling -- it’s why I have some tremendous affection for Blueprint for Murder, if only because Falk got a real trial by fire in terms of shooting an exceptionally difficult location.

Playback is rough, though. I know that I’d hoped that it would end up as a Bottle Episode, taking place entirely within the house, and that the electronics throughout the house would end up interacting with the plot to such a degree that they became a character all their own. I had ambitious ideas about this, our last episode from the 1970s. Perhaps that raised my hopes.

It’s still pretty good for all of that, just ... misguided at times. I made an effort to really appreciate it on its own merits, and it did all right for all of that. Still, probably in the bottom half of episodes, even with the excellent chemistry happening on the set ...