Just One More Thing: Sex and the Married Detective

A retrospective by Brooks Rich

Sex therapist Dr. Joan Allenby, a mesmerizing Lindsay Crouse, finds her lover and business partner in bed with her secretary. She decides to murder him by role playing in a dark wig as a woman called Lisa and luring him back to their office where she kills him. She uses her attendance at an event for a music school as an alibi. Things point to this mysterious Lisa initially until Columbo realizes they can't find the victims keys which begs the question, how did the victim and this Lisa get into the office?

Sex and the Married Detective is the third episode of the eighth season, which is the first season of the show's return after what was supposed to be the last episode in 1978. I prefer the original run of the show as there are some moments in the second run that just don't work for me. Whether it's a stupid non-sequitur comedy scene or even a sixty second musical or dance number, it sometimes feels like the writers and producers are trying too hard to do something new. But they also highlight how fantastic Falk is in the role. Some of these moments work thanks to his performance. We buy it. And any that don't work, there's a stupid scene where Columbo plays a tuba in this episode, Falk's buying into it prevents the moment from ruining the episode.

Besides the tuba non-sequitur there is a lot working in this episode. As I said Crouse is mesmerizing as the killer and her Dr. Allenby is one of the more sympathetic killers of the show. In fact I'd argue she might be the most sympathetic killer in the entire series run. She's legitimately hurt by the betrayal and unlike some other sympathetic killers doesn't killer her victim in a horrific way.

This episode has one of my favorite soundtracks of the series, especially the sultry and mysterious main track, which perfectly fits the tone of the episode. This is very much a sexual thriller of the '80s and the music and cinematography fits that genre. Columbo the show endured for as long as it did not just because of the brilliance of Falk but because each episode had it's own identity, especially the second run.

The best thing about this episode is the scenes with Falk and Crouse and its touching how much Columbo seems to like her and vice versa. By the end she considers him a friend and her question of if Columbo thinks less of her hurts. Columbo is genuinely sorry for her at the end but he's a professional and he can't let her go. Their final scene together is fantastic and Falk's final words to her are sweet. There of course are better chess matches with killers in the series but this is one of my favorite due to the fact Crouse never seems annoyed with Columbo, which works for this episode. Their game ends with them still being friends.

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