Double Exposure story
Dr. Bart Keppel is a "motivation research specialist" at Impulse Research Labs who has become an expert practitioner of subliminal advertising (which involves inserting frames of an advertised product into the reels of a film, so viewers' subconscious minds react to what is pictured). Keppel's more lucrative sideline is blackmail: he takes pictures of married clients with attractive women he hired to get them in compromising positions. When his latest victim, Vic Norris, refuses to be blackmailed and threatens to expose him, Keppel plots to kill him. Keppel serves salty caviar at a reception he is hosting for his clients prior to showing them his latest promotional film. Subliminal photos of a refreshing drink are inserted into the film, which, when it is shown, lure Norris out of the screening room. Keppel is supposedly narrating the film as it is playing, but in reality the clients are hearing Keppel's voice playing from a tape recorder. When Norris is lured out, Keppel shoots him in the building lobby. Keppel has already set in motion a scheme to make it seem that the crime was committed by Norris's wife. Keppel's projectionist, Roger White, then discovers the cuts in the film and pieces together Keppel's scheme, forcing Keppel to murder him as well when Roger tries to blackmail him. Final clue/twist: Columbo uses Keppel’s technique against him. He arranges to splice into a film, which Keppel will soon view, many subliminal cuts of images of Columbo closely searching areas where the murder weapon must be. On seeing the cuts, an alarmed Keppel rushes to his office to make sure the weapon is still where he left it. Columbo is waiting there, hidden, and when Keppel retrieves the evidence, Columbo is there to seize it. This episode received the Emmy Award in the category for Outstanding Limited Series. Directed by: Richard Quine. Story by: Stephen J. Cannell.
16 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 8 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| breaking the law to cover up another crime | choice | Dr. Bart Keppel resorted to murder to cover up his history of blackmailing wealthy clients. |
| how to murder someone and get away with it | choice | The high-profile marketing specialist Dr. Bart Keppel drew on his expertise in subliminal advertising to cleverly murder a client who was intent on outing him for the unscrupulous blackmailer that he was. Dr. Keppel later shot dead his own prospective blackmailer. One gathers he would have gotten away with his crimes had it not been for the meddlesome Lt. Columbo. |
| blackmail | major | Vic was murdered for threatening to expose the story's villain, Dr. Keppel, as the unscrupulous blackmailer that he was. Dr. Keppel killed his own prospective blackmailer rather than leave him around as a potential liability. |
| framing someone for a crime | major | Dr. Keppel went to elaborate lengths to pin Vic Norris' murder on his loving wife, Mrs. Norris. |
| law enforcement | major | The bumbling but sharp-witted homicide detective Lt. Columbo was tasked with solved the following murder mystery: Who shot the businessman, Vic Norris, dead at a water cooler, and why was he so thirsty in the first place? |
| pride goes before a fall | major | Dr. Bart Keppel was exceedingly confident in his ability to outwit Lt. Columbo, but the experienced investigator came up with a clever ruse and tricked Keppel into revealing himself the murderer. |
| speculative subliminal stimuli | major | The idea of shaping peoples desires by inserting subconsciously perceived messages into films was a main novelty of the story. Dr. Keppel surgically inserted a "subliminal cut" of an iced tea in his client's promotional video to manipulate the client into going to the water fountain for a drink, where Dr. Keppel summarily shot him dead. Later, Columbo marveled as a film technician showed him a "subliminal cut" of a hamburger in a car racing film. The story culminated with Columbo using "subliminal cuts" in a video to manipulate Dr. Keppel into leading him to the murder weapon. |
| the business world | major | The story's villain Dr. Bart Keppel ran a cutting-edge, marketing research company that specialized in shaping peoples subconscious desires with subliminal advertising messages. |
| coping with having a lousy dead-end job | minor | The projectionist Roger White was studying about real-estate as a means to better his lot in life. Desperate to get out of his lousy current job, he tried to blackmail his employer for $50,000 in starting capital. |
| extramarital affair | minor | Dr. Keppel perpetrated the false allegation that Vic had been carrying on with a swimsuit model behind his wife's back. This was to shift attention away from himself in connection with Vic's murder, and onto Vic's wife. |