Episodes included  - Lovely but Lethal, Any Old Port in a Storm, Candidate for Crime, Double Exposure, Publish or Perish, Mind over Mayhem, Swan Song and A Friend in Deed - are perfect examples of Columbo from the early-seventies, being richly plotted crime dramas, the plots of which take devilish twists in their average seventy-minute running time. Larry Cohen\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Any Old Port in a Storm, for example, features a murder within a rich, wine-producing family with the victim having been threatening to sell his share of the vineyards to pay off the debts incurred through his playboy lifestyle. Donald Pleasance as Adrian Carsini, the brother of the murdered Enrico, may be an obvious suspect given his eerily wide-eyed approach to acting but Columbo\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s uncovering of the twists in the tale - a murder in a wine vault, it being disguised with the body being brought out to the ocean and a clue in the bottles of ruined wine - is a joy to watch.

 And who couldn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t fail to be impressed by the guest stars, writers and directors who make Columbo a certain stop on their adventures through television land. This season alone has Jeannot Szwarc, Martin Sheen, Vincent Price, Larry Cohen, Donald Pleasence, Jackie Cooper, Stephen J. Cannell, Mickey Spillane, Steven Bochco, John Cassavetes, Johnny Cash and Ben Gazzara in various roles in front of and behind the camera.