Mrs. Columbo
Title card for earliest episodes
Also known asKate Columbo
Kate the Detective
Kate Loves a Mystery
GenreCrime drama
Created byRichard Alan Simmons
StarringKate Mulgrew
Lili Haydn
Henry Jones
Don Stroud
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes13
Production
ProducersFred Silverman
Richard Alan Simmons
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesUniversal Television
Gambit Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseFebruary 26, 1979 (1979-02-26) –
March 19, 1980 (1980-03-19)
Related
Columbo
(1968–2003)

Mrs. Columbo (1979–1980), later called Kate Columbo, Kate the Detective, and Kate Loves a Mystery, is an American crime drama television series, initially based on the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the television series Columbo. It was created and produced by Richard Alan Simmons and Universal Television for NBC, and stars Kate Mulgrew as a news reporter helping to solve crimes while raising her daughter.

The series debuted in February 1979 as a spin-off to the mystery crime drama series Columbo, focusing on Lieutenant Columbo's wife, who is never given a first name in the original Columbo series but was named Kate in this series. After poor ratings and reception from both audiences and the original producers of Columbo, both the series and the eponymous character herself were renamed in an attempt to change direction, but this did not help ratings and the series was ultimately canceled in March 1980 after 13 episodes had aired.[1][2] Neither Peter Falk nor the character of Lieutenant Columbo ever appeared on the show; moreover, Falk never endorsed the show.

Series overview

Kate Columbo (later renamed Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce) is the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the television series Columbo. Kate is a news reporter who solves crimes while raising her daughter.

Cast

Production

Development

Shortly after the Columbo series ended its original run on NBC in 1978, despite objections from Columbo producers Richard Levinson and William Link, NBC executive Fred Silverman went forward in producing Mrs. Columbo as a spin-off to the original series. Levinson and Link further objected to Silverman's insistence on casting someone young to play the part; Kate Mulgrew was only 24 years old when the show made its debut.[2] The information NBC released about the show was unambiguous about the fact that Mrs. Columbo in the new series was in fact the previously unseen wife frequently mentioned on Columbo.

Adding to the chronological problems, actress Lili Haydn who portrayed Kate's daughter Jenny was 8 years old. Kate would have had to have married Columbo and had their daughter when she was underage, while Peter Falk would have been in his early 40s.

Retooling

The show received poor ratings, however, and as part of efforts to revamp it, the linkage between this Kate Columbo and the Mrs. Columbo of the original television series was reduced. The name of the character was changed to Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce, and the series was renamed Kate the Detective at the beginning of the second season, followed by Kate Loves a Mystery.[3]

In this ultimate incarnation, the producers completed their retreat from the show's original premise, and Kate Callahan was then regarded as being a completely different character from Mrs. Columbo of Columbo, Kate's ex-husband now named Philip;[1] Lt. Columbo was previously shown to have the first name be Frank in the 1971 Columbo episode "Dead Weight." None of the changes aided the new show's ratings, however, and it was pulled from the air in 1980, after 13 episodes.

Episodes

Season 1: 1979

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Word Games"Boris SagalRichard Alan SimmonsFebruary 26, 1979 (1979-02-26)
Kate stumbles into a crime-fighting career of her own when she overhears an attorney's plan to murder his wife. Two-hour pilot film.
22"Murder Is a Parlor Game"Don MedfordStory by : Sheldon Willens
Teleplay by : Sheldon Willens & Al Reynolds & Howard Berk		March 1, 1979 (1979-03-01)
Kate suspects a former Scotland Yard inspector of murdering a waiter.
33"A Riddle for Puppets"Edward AbromsGregory S. DinalloMarch 15, 1979 (1979-03-15)
Kate goes after a psychotic ventriloquist who murdered the craftsman who made his dummy.
44"Caviar with Everything"Don MedfordAl Reynolds & Howard BerkMarch 22, 1979 (1979-03-22)
Kate suspects the death of a chic Beverly Hills caterer was not as accidental as it appeared.
55"A Puzzle for Prophets"Sam WanamakerAl ReynoldsMarch 29, 1979 (1979-03-29)
Kate is skeptical when the business manager of a clairvoyant is scared to death of a TV show.

Season 2: 1979–80

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
61"Ladies of the Afternoon"Don MedfordStory by : Larry Alexander
Teleplay by : Lawrence Hertzog		October 18, 1979 (1979-10-18)
72"It Goes with the Territory"Leo PennMerwin GerardOctober 25, 1979 (1979-10-25)
83"Off the Record"Reza BadiyiStory by : Chris Bunch & Alan Cole
Teleplay by : Simon Muntner		November 1, 1979 (1979-11-01)
94"The Valley Strangler"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Story by : Will Lorin
Teleplay by : Lawrence Hertzog		November 8, 1979 (1979-11-08)
105"A Chilling Surprise"Philip LeacockE. Arthur KeanNovember 22, 1979 (1979-11-22)
116"Falling Star"Sam WanamakerStory by : Robert McKee & Robert Misiorowski
Teleplay by : Lawrence Hertzog & Merwin Gerard and Robert McKee & Robert Misiorowski		November 29, 1979 (1979-11-29)
127"Feelings Can Be Murder"Seymour RobbieMary Anne Kasica & Michael ScheffDecember 6, 1979 (1979-12-06)
138"Love, on Instant Replay"Alan Smithee
(E. Arthur Kean)		Joe GoresMarch 19, 1980 (1980-03-19)

Reception

Peter Falk expressed his disapproval of the spin-off, calling it a "bad idea" and "disgraceful".[2] When Columbo returned to the air in 1989 on ABC, it was further established that Lt. Columbo and his wife were still happily married, and the existence of the series Mrs. Columbo was effectively ignored.

Home media

The Mrs. Columbo episode "A Riddle for Puppets" was included as a bonus feature in the Region 1 DVD release of the fourth season of Columbo, released in August 2005. The episode "Murder Is a Parlor Game" was included in the third season of Columbo. The episode "Caviar with Everything" was included in the fifth season of Columbo. Both seasons of Mrs. Columbo were released as a 5-disc set called Madame Columbo - Saisons 1 & 2 in France on October 22, 2014, by Universal and Elephant Films.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kate Loves a Mystery". Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mrs. Columbo Revealed!". Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  3. ↑ Brunsdale, Mitzi (26 July 2010). Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection: From Sleuths to Superheroes. p. 218. ISBN 9780313345319.
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