Great list. I would add Johnny Cash too. I was reading this same topic on reddit, and people kept saying Janet Leigh. I mean, yeah, it was a shame she had the brain tumor, but we have to consider the CRIME, don't we? She actually had one of the least sympathetic motives. She killed her loving husband because, as far as she knew, he simply wouldn't bankroll her comeback. That's maybe grounds for marriage counseling, maybe divorce, but it certainly doesn't justify murder. (Then again, Cash also killing the younger girl was pretty heinous. He statutory'd her, then killed her. But he was such a charmer, haha.)
Ruth Gordon as Abigail Mitchell was definitely the most sympathetic, with the most justified motive. And one of the best performances! So many great moments in that episode. Like when Falk, discussing the shady death of her niece, goes, "That must've been very hard, ma'am." And when she says at the end how if he'd been assigned to her niece's death, none of this would've had to have happened.
Donald Pleasance as Adrian Carsini was great too. And it features one of my top two moments. When Adrian tells him he's learned very well and he says that's the nicest thing anyone's said to him. So central to his character. To Columbo, that really WAS the highest compliment. (My favorite-favorite Columbo moment though, even though the killer was a jerk, was in the MENSA one. Columbo's soliloquy about "smart people." I love that so much.)
It's always best when Columbo has really strong feelings for the killer one way or the other. It's great when he clearly dislikes them, like Spock as the surgeon, or pretty much every Robert Stack one, haha. And it's great when he clearly likes them, like Cash and all the characters you listed. And then there's times, like with McGooghan as the CIA dude, where he's just amused by them.
I absolutely love his friendship with Johnny Cash in that episode! They have great chemistry together. In fact, if I had one more spot on the list, I would have added him.
Great list. I would add Johnny Cash too. I was reading this same topic on reddit, and people kept saying Janet Leigh. I mean, yeah, it was a shame she had the brain tumor, but we have to consider the CRIME, don't we? She actually had one of the least sympathetic motives. She killed her loving husband because, as far as she knew, he simply wouldn't bankroll her comeback. That's maybe grounds for marriage counseling, maybe divorce, but it certainly doesn't justify murder. (Then again, Cash also killing the younger girl was pretty heinous. He statutory'd her, then killed her. But he was such a charmer, haha.)
Ruth Gordon as Abigail Mitchell was definitely the most sympathetic, with the most justified motive. And one of the best performances! So many great moments in that episode. Like when Falk, discussing the shady death of her niece, goes, "That must've been very hard, ma'am." And when she says at the end how if he'd been assigned to her niece's death, none of this would've had to have happened.
Donald Pleasance as Adrian Carsini was great too. And it features one of my top two moments. When Adrian tells him he's learned very well and he says that's the nicest thing anyone's said to him. So central to his character. To Columbo, that really WAS the highest compliment. (My favorite-favorite Columbo moment though, even though the killer was a jerk, was in the MENSA one. Columbo's soliloquy about "smart people." I love that so much.)
It's always best when Columbo has really strong feelings for the killer one way or the other. It's great when he clearly dislikes them, like Spock as the surgeon, or pretty much every Robert Stack one, haha. And it's great when he clearly likes them, like Cash and all the characters you listed. And then there's times, like with McGooghan as the CIA dude, where he's just amused by them.
I absolutely love his friendship with Johnny Cash in that episode! They have great chemistry together. In fact, if I had one more spot on the list, I would have added him.