Double Shock story
Flamboyant television chef Dexter Paris and his identical twin brother, conservative banker Norman, are supposedly not talking to one another. But both disapprove that their uncle Clifford Paris has become engaged to young, beautiful Lisa Chambers. One of the brothers kills uncle Clifford by dropping an electric mixer into the bathtub while he is bathing, electrocuting him. The body is moved to the gym to make it seem like he had a heart attack while using an exercise bike. Clifford's lawyer, Michael Hathaway reveals to the twins that a new will exists, one which he is willing to "lose" for a price. However, Chambers, who became fearful when Columbo questioned her, also has a copy of the will, and thus she is murdered too. Unlike most Columbo episodes, this has a whodunit element which is not resolved until the end of the episode. Dabney Coleman plays Columbo's colleague, Detective Murray. Jeanette Nolan plays Mrs. Peck, a sharp-tongued, fastidious, loyal housekeeper who is appalled by the "terrible mess" Columbo makes in the house. Final clue/twist: The audience has seen one of the twin brothers commit the murder, but does not know which one. During much of the episode both twins try to convince Columbo the other is the killer. Columbo eventually establishes that two persons must have been involved in the actual murder. Due to the short time frame between the short circuit caused by the electrocution and the re-powering of the house, and due to the physical exertion required to drag the dead body out of the bathtub and prop it up on a stationary bike, he realizes the brothers must have worked together. When confronted, Norman admits to what they did, while Dexter screams at him to shut up. Directed by: Robert Butler. Story by: Jackson Gillis, Richard Levinson, William Link, Steven Bochco.
23 total · 2 choice · 11 major · 10 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| greedy heir | choice | The two twins were after their rich uncle's estate, unawares that he had already bequeathed it in a will to his young fiancée. By contrast, the fiancée Lisa Chambers was remarkably uninterested in money. |
| how to murder someone and get away with it | choice | Identical twins Dexter and Norman came up with the following foolproof-seeming scheme to murder their rich uncle before he got married and left his nephews without inheritance: One of them would electrocute him in his bath so it would look like heart attack and the other would stand by to immediately replace the fuse that would invariable blow. Furthermore, one of them provided the other with an alibi by leaving in the other's guise beforehand. They might have gotten away with it had it not been for the ever-pesky Lt. Columbo. |
| appearances can be deceiving | major | Columbo acted as an uncouth dumb-klutz getting cigar ashes all over the floor and breaking a prized pitcher in the beginning. Later he broke a television set and was thrown out on his ear for being cloddish. He therefore caught the snickering twins somewhat unawares when he used his laser-focused mind to piece together their nefarious plot, and got the better of them. |
| cooking | major | The story's villain Norman hosted a television cooking program, in which Columbo was invited to partake. |
| coping with a problematic person | major | The housekeeper Mrs. Peck was driven to her wit's end by Columbo and his antics. |
| coping with the death of a lover | major | Lisa Chambers was shocked to discover the freshly deceased body of her aged fiancé Mr. Clifford on an exercise bike. |
| engaged couple | major | Mr. Clifford, a wealthy old man who was young at heat, was engaged to a woman, Lisa Chambers, who was young enough to be his granddaughter, according to his longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Peck. |
| identical twins | major | Identical twins Dexter and Norman hated each other and hadn't spoken for 20 years until they saw fit to commit murder together. |
| law enforcement | major | The bumbling but sharp-witted homicide detective Lt. Columbo was tasked with solving the following alleged murder mystery: Did a wealthy old man in fine physical condition for his age die of natural causes or was he done in by a greedy heir or two? |
| parricide | major | Identical twins Dexter and Norman knocked off their rich uncle before he got married and left his nephews without inheritance. |