The tenthepisode ofColumbo was titledThe Most Crucial Gameand was the thirdepisode of the show’s secondseason. The owner of a professional football franchise is killed by a frustrated employee andColumbo once more has to prove that a seeming accident was murder.In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at the motivations and machinations of the episode. There were echoes of Season One’sLady in Waiting,Short Fuse,Blueprint for Murderand the Season Two openerÈtude in Black in this episode, as a significant portion of Columbo’s task was to establish that there had been a murder committed at all. The lieutenant only has one suspect in mind and it is the returning Robert Culp who faces that suspicion, in his role as Paul Hanlon – a trusted aide of Dean Stockwell‘s victim, Eric Wagner. Supporting roles inThe Most Crucial Game were played by Dean Jagger as Private Investigator Walter Cunnell, James Gregory as LA Rockets Head Coach Rizzo, Valerie Harper as the mysterious Eve Babcock (or Mis...