Double Shock

Season 2, Episode 8, Aired

Episode Summary

EDIT
go
Netflix
Subscription
8.6
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Great
59 votes
  • Your Rating: 10
    "Perfect"
  • Your Rating: 9.5
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 9
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 8.5
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 8
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 7.5
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 7
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 6.5
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 6
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 5.5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 4.5
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 4
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 3.5
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 3
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 2.5
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 2
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 1.5
    "Abysmal"
  • Your Rating: 1
    "Abysmal"
Rate Now!
A wealthy man is murdered; his twin nephews stand to inherit, but which one committed the crime?
WRITE A REVIEW

Cast & Crew

See All EDIT

Watch Online

Netflix
Subscription

Fan Episode Reviews (3)

See All

  • Classic episode (Spoilers!)

    8.5
    "Great"
    By kuratowski, Oct 11, 2011
    This episode is one of my favorites, even though the plot is actually a bit weak - it relies too much on the unlikelihood of the warring twins co-operating. But in Columbo, it's all about the dialog; those conversations where Columbo toys, catlike, with his suspect. In Double Shock the twin angle adds a twist to the usual dialog, as the twins are constantly pointing the finger at each other. Martin Landau is an excellent guest star, and he manages to differentiate the twin brothers quite well, especially in the scene where Dexter imitates Norman.
    The supporting cast is rather strong: Tim O'Connor as the lawyer was a bit of a surprise, in his rather unethical conduct being prepared to cover up Clifford's will. Jeanette Nolan is quite fun, she unwittingly provides the crucial evidence in the case (due to the interruption of her TV program), and her animosity towards Columbo allows him to show a different side to his character, as he tries to patch up their relationship and shows a more sensitive side.
    Just one more thing... How does Columbo ever get a conviction? Seriously, at the end of this episode, what evidence does he actually have against the brothers? Admittedly he proved they could have done it, but where is the evidence that they actually did? Of course, the mystery plot is not quite the point in Columbo, but still the weakness of the resolution detracts from this epsiode, when compared to other season 2 epsiodes like Requiem for a Falling Star and The Greenhouse Jungle.moreless

  • Martin Landau plays feuding twin brothers who kill their uncle to gain access to his inheritance. Julie Newmar puts in a rather sexy performance as the dead-man's bride to be. Dabney Coleman plays the straight man detective to Columbo.moreless

    7.0
    "Good"
    By columbofiend, May 13, 2011
    "You must belong in some pig stye," says Mrs. Peck, the housekeeper in the Paris home, when Columbo drops cigar ashes on her precious floor. Columbo's spats with Mrs. Peck (Jeanette Nolan) are hilarious and jarring. Her outbursts show more anger than you'll see out of any murderer or from Columbo himself in the whole series.

    Columbo does some excellent sleuthing here, but the comedy in this show is what makes it special. Scenes with Julie Newmar are also very funny. The show is from the second season. The story was written by the Columbo master, Jackson Gillis. Comedy has always been central to Columbo and the older episodes did it so well.

    Landau as the twins is sufficiently evil and confusing.moreless

  • (Spoilers) This is another good Columbo-episode

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By LAntichristo, May 13, 2011
    This is another good Columbo-episode.
    Double Shock is one of the many good Columbo episodes which reaches the level of a good movie.

    It has all the elements we like in the Columbo episodes. We get the laugh when Columbo makes something clumsy, and it happens more than once in Double Shock. I can almost guarantee that you will laugh several times if you decide to watch this episode.

    We also get the riddle as usual with an almost perfect murder, but something about the murder troubles Columbo. The end is the usual, we get the story about how Columbo solved the mystery.moreless
WRITE A REVIEW
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

See All

FILTER BY TYPE

  • TRIVIA (0)

    ADD TRIVIA

  • QUOTES (6)

    ADD QUOTES

    • Dexter Paris: When I talked to my brother Norman, I did tell him that Hathaway and Lisa Chambers were going to meet at 5:00. Columbo: (eyeing him knowingly) You did? Paris: Yeah. Well, well, good ol' Norman, my banker brother. I'm sure he won't admit that I told him. Columbo: I would tend to agree with that, yes.

    • (Walking through a casino) Columbo: How long has this been going on? Dexter Paris: First time in Vegas, huh? Columbo: Uh, we were supposed to come down two years ago but my wife switched sides and voted with my in-laws. We ended up in Animal Land. It was nothing like this.

    • Columbo: Yep, it is. It's a shame that two brothers don't get along like that. Hathaway: Which one of them do you suspect? Columbo: I beg your pardon? Hathaway: (laughs) Come now, Lieutenant. Columbo: Well, sir, the trouble there is it seems to me they both have pretty good motives. I'm very big on motive.

    • Columbo: I'm sorry, Mrs. Peck, but I think this time they needed each other so much that they both did something very bad.

    • Mrs Peck: Bum! You are a bum! Putting your stinking cigar butt in this silver antique dish! (showing dish to lawyer) You see this! Columbo: I thought it was an ashtray. I have one at home that looks exactly like that.

    • Columbo: Mrs. Peck? Mrs. Peck, I made a very poor introduction of myself to you. I know that. I'm a stranger in your house that you love and I'm here to do something that's not very pleasant so I don't expect you to like me. But I have feelings too, Mrs. Peck. Now I'm sorry about being untidy. That's something that I can't control. That's a fault of mine that I, I, I don't know, I just can't correct that. I've tried many years. I'm just very untidy, that's my nature. But I've never been un-, I've never been rude to you, Mrs. Peck. And, and if you keep on treating me like an enemy just because I'm here trying to find who killed the man you worked for for 33 years, well, then, well then I think you're a very unfair person. (leaves) Mrs. Peck: Lt. Columbo! (Columbo returns) I know that you're a very hard-working officer and I would like to offer you a plate of Mr. Paris's favorite health cookies and a glass of milk. Columbo: Thank you. I'm extremely fond of health cookies.

  • NOTES (2)

    ADD NOTES

  • ALLUSIONS (1)

    ADD ALLUSIONS

    • Martin Landau plays characters named Paris. He, of course played Rollin Hand in Mission Impossible (1966-1969) and was replaced by Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame, who played a character named Paris on Mission Impossible. Nimoy did however manage to beat Landau to it in the Columbo series, since he starred in "A Stitch in Crime," which was aired two episodes before "Double Shock" in 1973.

Columbo Forums


Add a Topic See All
Last Activity
Replies

Watch Columbo Full Episodes

See All

Related Shows

Season 2 Episodes

See All
Ep 8
Double Shock
Ep 7
The Most Dangerous Match
Ep 6
A Stitch in Crime
Ep 5
Requiem for a Falling Star
Ep 4
Dagger of the Mind
Ep 3
The Most Crucial Game
Ep 2
The Greenhouse Jungle
Ep 1
tude in Black

Contributors

Become a contributor
More
Less

TV Listings

Full Listings
TV.com Properties | Shows | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | TV.com Blog

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use