Just One More Thing: A Case of Immunity

Notes and screenshots for A Case of Immunity: Originally broadcast on October 12, 1975, starring Hector Elizando as a duplicitous diplomat, Sal Mineo as his unfortunate assistant, a teensy taste of Jeff Goldblum, and, of course, Peter Falk as Columbo.

"The first secretary to the Suarian king may have immunity from the consequences of committing murder, but Lt. Columbo is wilier than any foreign diplomat."

-IMDB Summary

"What’s this? A high-ranking delegate from a Middle Eastern nation has committed murder to cover up the the theft of $600,000? Yes, it’s “A Case of Immunity”! Thanks to a mistaken assignment, Columbo just happens to be around when Hector Elizondo starts killing off his embassy staff in order to cover up a sloppy embezzlement. In the end, Columbo gets him, sure, but- well, it’s an episode with a few good moments and some drawbacks. Professor Emily Houh is on the show to talk about the good, the not-so-good and hot dogs. Lots of hot dogs. And The Kinks. And critical race theory. And Die Hard. Plus: Viewer Mail!"

-RJ's episode summary

Listen to the original podcast episode here:

Episode 57: I’m Fuzz with our guest Emily Houh.

A Case of Immunity

Season 5, Episode #2

Director: Ted Post

Writers: James Menzies and Lou Shaw

An episode which straddles the line between absurd and, well, not excellence exactly. A combination of absurdity and passibility.

It’s one of those cases where an episode was never truly bad, but it was certainly also by no means particularly good. If there are any great things to say about A Case of Immunity, it was that it was largely inoffensive. That might have something to do with its relatively unbiased depiction of Arabic peoples (despite having almost none on the cast), but mostly it’s that the entire affair seems fairly toothless.

That probably was intentional. America and the Middle East have had, at best, a complicated relationship dating back to the earliest days of the United States as a world power (there’s an elucidating graphic novel on the matter, Best of Enemies, written by Jean-Pierre Filieu and illustrated by David B, which I’d recommend), and depicting powerful Arab political figures in either too flattering or too critical a light is rife with potential disaster.

This episode straddles that line to its cost, I’m afraid. A commitment to moderation resulted in a murder that lacked passion, prominent characters which lacked sympathy, and an environment that lacked context. I wish I’d thought to say all of this during the podcast, but I got distracted by hot dog talk. 

Some additonal screenshots -- Here's Columbo just rudely shoving his hand right in assorted Suarian embassy personnel like it’s no thing:

The many wonders of Suaria, as portrayed in A Case of Immunity, including: scribbles, some shit from a yard sale, and potted plants you can buy outside a supermarket:

Here’s a few shots featuring the US Intelligence Agent who looks like Ray Davies in the Come Dancing video. I didn’t want to neglect to provide photographic proof of his superbly neat mustache:

Jeff Goldblum getting roughed up by the pigs:

In which we discover that Sal Mineo was almost sixty years old at the filming of A Case of Immunity (he was not):

Another “lost scene” from A Case of Immunity featuring Hobo Columbo, my favorite version of Columbo from the Infinite Columboverse:

Lastly, As promised, Sal Mineo dressed as The Gong Show’s Chuck Barris, for some reason:

 

Next episode: Identity Crisis