The Best Episodes of Columbo Season 5

#1 Fan Favorite
8.2/10(3577 votes)
#1 - Now You See Him
S5:E52/29/1976
Master magician the great Santini is amazing audiences at the Cabaret of Magic. What they don’t know is that Santini hopes to pull of the grandest illusion of his career - making club owner Jesse T. Jerome disappear. The crude Jerome is the only person who knows that Santini was a Nazi death camp guard named Stefan Mueller, He has been blackmailing the magician since learning his dark secret.
Director:Harvey Hart
Writer:Michael Sloan
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Director:Harvey Hart
Writer:Michael Sloan
8.0/10(3842 votes)
#2 - Forgotten Lady
S5:E19/14/1975
A fading actress kills her husband when he refuses to back her comeback show.
Director:Harvey Hart
Writer:William Driskill
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Director:Harvey Hart
Writer:William Driskill
7.5/10(3149 votes)
#3 - Identity Crisis
S5:E311/2/1975
A spy is killed on a lonely beach by his contact, but the killer has been photographed beforehand walking with the victim.
Director:Patrick McGoohan
Writer:William Driskill
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Director:Patrick McGoohan
Writer:William Driskill
7.2/10(2816 votes)
#4 - A Case of Immunity
S5:E210/12/1975
An ambassador from Suari and his code clerk kill the chief of security in an attempt to make it look like the chief was a traitor, who blew up the legation safe and stole £600.000 on behalf of a dissident group. But Columbo gets suspicious. He just has one problem crushing the ambassador's alibi and then, when the code clerk turns up dead, the ambassador has an alibi again. But even if Colombo could rock the two alibis, there is always the immunity problem.
Director:Ted Post
Writers:Lou Shaw, James Menzies
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Director:Ted Post
Writers:Lou Shaw, James Menzies
6.7/10(2695 votes)
#5 - A Matter of Honor
S5:E42/1/1976
The owner of a bull ranch in Mexico gives his workers the day off, and then talks his number one man into fighting the bull who nearly killed his son. But instead he shoots him with a tranquilizer gun, and lets the bull kill him. Colombo, who is on vacation in Mexico, gets dragged into this case by an admiring colleague, but he has trouble convincing the Mexicans that the accident is really homicide. And how do you prove that the bull is a murder weapon?
Director:Ted Post
Writer:Brad Radnitz
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Director:Ted Post
Writer:Brad Radnitz
6.2/10(3301 votes)
#6 - Last Salute to the Commodore
S5:E65/2/1976
The family and friends of brilliant naval architect Commodore Otis Swanson have gathered for the company’s annual party. The commodore, however, has become increasingly discontented with the way his son-in-law, Charles Clay, has developed the shipbuilding firm into a vast, impersonal corporation. He is tired of being surrounded by freeloaders like his alcoholic daughter, Joanna, his irresponsible nephew, Swanny, and of course, Charles. The only man he respects is Wayne Taylor, the head of the boatyard. In fact, the Commodore intends to sell the company. That night, Charles is wiping clean the belaying pin used to bash the Commodore’s skull.
Director:Patrick McGoohan
Writer:Jackson Gillis
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Director:Patrick McGoohan
Writer:Jackson Gillis