COLUMBO: MIND OVER MAYHEM (TV)

Summary

One in this series of police dramas in which Los Angeles homicide detective Lt. Columbo's unassuming manner masks his keen intelligence and sharp investigative abilities.

Dr. Marshall Cahill, head of the military computer research branch of a government think tank, receives word from Dr. Howard Nicholson that his son Neil is being denied an award, since he has apparently plagiarized his atomic physics thesis. Dr. Cahill suspects ulterior motives on Dr. Nicholson’s part, since Neil attends therapy with his wife, but Dr. Nicholson reveals that he has in his possession the notes Neil plagiarized, originating from a now-dead physicist Neil served as a research assistant, and notes that Neil was able to publish the notes because he was able to analyze them in the facility’s computer. Dr. Nicholson notes that Neil will have to be exposed somehow, although Dr. Cahill argues with him; Dr. Nicholson believes that Dr. Cahill is a “tyrant” to his son and pushed him to steal the notes in order to appease him. Neil, for his part, seems to harbor guilt for accepting the award, but Dr. Cahill convinces him not to reveal the truth.

Dr. Cahill convinces Murph, one of the lab’s mechanics to take Steve Spelberg, a boy genius working in the lab’s robotics department, to a drive-in movie, thus leaving the lab unoccupied. He takes the car keys of Ross, one of his research assistants, instead of his own, and begins another round of computer simulations in the situation room. Using Steve’s robot, Dr. Cahill is able to have data inputted for the scenario while he goes off on his own, and meanwhile Dr. Nicholson’s wife Margaret prepares for a long late-night group therapy session, leaving Dr. Nicholson alone at home. Dr. Cahill lures Dr. Nicholson outside and runs him over with Ross’s company car, killing him. He then carries Dr. Nicholson’s body into his house, where he takes his watch and upends some of his furniture. He also steals the notes Neil plagiarized out of Dr. Nicholson’s filing cabinet and drops it, as well as a few other items such as Dr. Nicholson’s wallet, into a bucket of highly corrosive acid. He returns to the lab before anyone notices he is missing and sends the robot back into Steve’s lab, announcing that he is ending the simulation. He successfully replaces the stolen car keys and backs up into Ross’s car after he notices the dent left from the impact with Dr. Nicholson, making it seem as though he caused the dent in a fender-bender.

Columbo is called upon to help investigate Dr. Nicholson’s home after his body is found there. He is surprised to learn that, in addition to his watch and wallet, Dr. Nicholson is also missing a can of heroin from his garage laboratory, which he later learns was for government drug research. Columbo looks around the house and questions Margaret about the previous night. Dr. Cahill arrives to offer his condolences to Margaret and Columbo questions him as well, asking him about the facility where he works. Columbo tries to piece together what happened to Dr. Nicholson, particularly since he was found in his living room despite working in the garage; evidence suggests that Dr. Nicholson was having drinks with the killer before the murder took place, but Columbo points out many inconsistencies with the evidence. He finds other out-of-place elements, such as a burned match and shoe polish on the wall, a remnant of Dr. Cahill carrying Dr. Nicholson’s body through the house. Columbo searches for Dr. Nicholson’s missing pipe in his garage lab and asks Dr. Cahill for permission to look around the institute; he believes that the killer was familiar with Dr. Nicholson and may have worked alongside him. Columbo finds the pieces of Dr. Nicholson’s missing pipe in his driveway.

Next, Columbo questions Murph about the cars utilized by employees of the institute and the “accident” Dr. Cahill caused the previous night. He asks to see Murph’s notes recording the usage and mileage of the vehicles and discovers a discrepancy between Murph’s notes and the mileage of Ross’s car. He visits Dr. Cahill in his office and informs him that he found the missing pipe and asks him about it, noting that its presence in the driveway does not fit into the chronology of his murder; he deduces that Dr. Nicholson was killed by a car and that his body was subsequently moved. This reinforces Columbo’s belief that someone at the institute is the murderer, and he wants to question the members of the think tank thoroughly. He begins with Ross, asking about his whereabouts, which Ross cannot substantiate since he was alone the previous night. However, Columbo confides in Dr. Cahill that he has already discounted Ross as a suspect; he is too short to have carried Dr. Nicholson’s body and made the scuff mark he noticed on the wall. Dr. Cahill attempts to explain his own whereabouts by showing Columbo the institute’s highly advanced computer and explains that he had to have been in the remote control center in order to input the scenario during that night’s simulation exercises.

When Columbo questions Murph about his whereabouts he explains he was at the movie with Steve, and directs him to Steve’s lab. Columbo questions Steve and is surprised to learn that the lab belongs to him. Steve shows Columbo his robot, startling Coulumbo somewhat, and Steve explains some of the robot’s functions to him. He discovers that it was Dr. Cahill’s idea to send Steve to the movies, piquing his interest. Later he talks to Margaret about his progress in the case as he looks through Dr. Nicholson’s files, curious about the drawers which have already been opened. The conversation turns to the dead scientist Neil plagiarized and Columbo asks Margaret about him. Columbo deduces that Margaret came there to do something to the files, but she still has no ideas as to who killed her husband. After that, Columbo visits Neil and gets him to admit that he used a company car to see Margaret the previous night, although he will not say why. Margaret arrives and speaks to Neil after Columbo leaves: Neil’s guilt about the plagiarism is greater than ever, and he is worried that Columbo suspects that he killed Dr. Nicholson. They argue and she orders him to reveal his wrongdoing and talks to Dr. Cahill about it, who tells him to calm down and keep his secret, as he believes that the knowledge of his plagiarism would implicate him in Dr. Nicholson’s murder.

Columbo discovers from Steve that his robot can be programmed to operate the computer, giving him a vital piece of evidence. Steve demonstrates how the robot can operate the simulation computer in the war room, and Dr. Cahill confronts Columbo and Steve when they activate the program. Dr. Cahill shuts the computer down and intuits that Columbo believes that Dr. Cahill programmed the robot to operate the computer to create an alibi, although he says Columbo cannot prove such a claim and asks him to look elsewhere for the culprit of the murder before leaving. Columbo calls Neil and says he wants to ask him about the scientist he plagiarized, but Dr. Cahill gets on the phone and tells Columbo off before hanging up. Dr. Cahill travels to Portland, Oregon for a conference and upon getting off the plane learns that Neil revealed his plagiarism to the press.

He immediately returns and confronts Neil and Margaret, incensed at this development. Neil announces he is resigning from the institute in order to preserve its reputation. Columbo enters with some policemen and announces he is there to arrest Neil for Dr. Nicholson’s murder. However, Columbo believes that Neil’s motive was unrelated to the plagiarism, and that he was actually having an affair with Margaret, citing various pieces of evidence to support his claim, including a motel manager who claims he admitted Neil and Margaret into a room together on numerous occasions. Before Neil can be taken away, Dr. Cahill catches Columbo and admits that he killed Dr. Nicholson. Columbo reveals that he suspected Dr. Cahill almost immediately and takes out the match he found in Dr. Nicholson’s living room; given the timeframe in which Dr. Nicholson’s house was cleaned, it is impossible for anyone other than Dr. Cahill to have placed that match there. Columbo notes that the only thing he had difficulty figuring out was the motive, which he now realizes was Dr. Cahill’s attempt to protect his son; he staged Neil’s arrest specifically to get Dr. Cahill to confess. Commercials deleted.

Details

• NETWORK: NBC
• DATE: May 5, 1974 8:30 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:13:00
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: B:60797
• GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective
• SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1968-1978; ABC - 1989-2003
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Roland Kibbee … Executive Producer, Writer
• Dean Hargrove … Executive Producer, Writer
• Edward K. Dodds … Associate Producer
• Alf Kjellin … Director
• Richard Levinson … Created by
• William Link … Created by
• Steven Bochco … Writer
• Robert Sprecht … Writer
• Dick de Benedictis … Music by
• Henry Mancini … Theme Music by
• Peter Falk … Cast, Columbo
• Jose Ferrer … Cast, Dr. Marshall Cahill
• Lew Ayres … Cast, Dr. Howard Nicholson
• Robert Walker … Cast, Neil Cahill
• Lee H. Montgomery … Cast, Steve Spelberg
• Jessica Walter … Cast, Margaret Nicholson
• Lou Wagner … Cast, Ross
• Art Batanides … Cast, Murph
• Darrell Zwerling … Cast, Motel Manager
• Charles MacAulay … Cast, Farnsworth
• John Zaremba … Cast, Coroner
• William Bryant … Cast, Fields
• Bert Holland … Cast, Whitehead
• Ed Fury … Cast, Plainclothesman
• Jefferson Kibbee … Cast, Jeff
• Dianne Turley … Cast, Lady Scientist
• William Christopher … Cast, Male Scientist
• Deidre Hall … Cast, Receptionist
• Dennis Robertson … Cast, 1st Reporter
• Luis Moreno … Cast, Officer