Christyne Berzsenyi - Columbo: A Rhetoric of Inquiry with Resistant Responders

Columbo

Nelson Brenner/Steinmetz: I think that I should warn you that Im not an unworldly man. I have powerful and important friends, even in the police department. I respectfully request that you do not harass me.

Columbo: Why, sir, I would never do that.

Columbo

A Rhetoric of Inquiry with Resistant Responders

Christyne Berzsenyi

First published in the UK in 2021 by

Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK

First published in the USA in 2021 by

Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,

Chicago, IL 60637, USA

Copyright 2021 Intellect Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Copy editor: MPS Technologies

Cover designer: Aleksandra Szumlas

Cover photos:

1. Publicity photo of Peter Falk in the television

program Columbo. 1974. NBC Television.

2. Publicity photo of Peter Falk at an awards dinner in Chicago. 1973. Margie Korshak Associates publicity agency.

3. Publicity photo of Peter Falk as TV character Columbo. 1973. NBC Television.

4. Photo of Peter Falk from the episode Double Shock. 1973. NBC Television.

Production manager: Aime Bates and Naomi Curston

Typesetting: Newgen KnowledgeWorks

Hardback ISBN 978-1-78320-985-9

Paperback ISBN 978-1-78938-325-6

ePDF ISBN 978-1-78938-319-5

ePUB ISBN 978-1-78938-320-1

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For My Precious Beaus

Contents

I wasnt always a fan of Lieutenant Columbo, but I was always a fan of the show Columbo. I was drawn into the dark, dramatic, stately gothic sets of the old-money mansions, though not all of the episodes had such grand sets. Being able to witness the murderers plans, motives, and execution of the serious transgression of murder and almost get away with it was intriguing. I wondered why the suspects didnt go somewhere to avoid the annoying detective, but now I realize that they were playing cool, normal, and innocent. Their arrogant certitude convinced them that their faade of innocence would ensure their escape from punishment for their murderous deeds. The double edge of this sword is that their position as innocent and committed to finding the real killer is what enables Columbo to smother them with questions.

When I was a young viewer during the mid-1970s and early 1980s, I principally watched Columbo because my mother watched the show, along with many other crime and mystery shows: FBI (196574), Adam-12 (196875), Hawaii Five-O (196880), McMillan and Wife (197177), Police Story (197377), Police Woman (197478), Kojak (197378, 198590), The Streets of San Francisco (197277), Barnaby Jones,(197380), Rockford Files (197480), Ellery Queen (196576), Baretta (197578), Starsky and Hutch (197579), Charlies Angels (197681), Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries (197779), Cagney and Lacey (198188), etc. Perhaps some of those were my viewing picks.

With Columbo, I mistakenly conflated two discrete characters: the Lieutenant of the Los Angeles Police Department and the less impressive detective that engages with the suspects. Unable to perceive this complex duality, I have to admit that I rooted for the villain to get away from the pesky, irritating, relentless detective who appeared simple, unpolished, and weird in contrast with the exciting, successful, and glamorous murderers. While most of the villains are characteristically irritating in their arrogance, dismissiveness, and murderous deeds, several victims are unsympathetic as they blackmail and betray others trust, threatening personal or social losses for financial gain and other forms of compliance. Furthermore, some villains are sympathetic, having killed someone unintentionally or solely because the victims gave them no foreseeable alternatives. In many cases, the killers commit what could be argued as justifiable homicide or a crime of passion, making Columbo less sympathetic as he doggedly and dispassionately pursues evidence for arrestjust doing his job. Coupled with Columbos vague character and ever-present claustrophobic investigative methods, I identified more with the celebrity guest villains than with the detective-hero. Perhaps as much as the guilty suspects, I didnt want to hear just one more thing. I wanted many of the suspects to get away with the murder/manslaughter, though not all.

Certainly, I was not of the conviction that, in real-life, self-important murderers ought to get away with homicide. Instead, it was the fantasy of the villains wealthy, privileged refinement that was so captivating, by design, no doubt. Of course, eventually, each killer goes too far, choosing desperate acts of violence to maintain innocence and self-preservation, blaming innocent, likeable people, or acting with insatiable greed. In response, I could not help but react with what the narrative demands of its spectators: desire for each villains capture by the herodetective.

As I got older, I continued to watch the show, reacting with a combination of intrigue and irritation until my doctoral education in rhetoric changed my point of view, as all education can and should do. Identifying communication tactics used by the Lieutenant in rhetorical action with the suspects became an intellectual pleasure. The uniqueness of his investigation, which relies on a folksy and nonthreatening persona and on the use of well-designed questions, uttered at the right times to get to the truth about each case, emerged as a rhetorical act of inquiry. Such inquiries relate to inconsistencies in narrative about a suspects feelings for and relationship with the victim, crumbling or unprovable alibis, and knowledge or abilities relevant to the crime that were previously downplayed or denied. Through his method of disarming the hubris-engorged villains and strategically asking indirect inquiries, not direct interrogations, Columbo brings to light what the audience already knowswho committed the crime, how, and, to some extent, why. Certainly, the investigation and arrest of particularly unsavory charactersthose who bribe in greed, power and lust, threaten others ruin, and refuse to support others reasonablyis always deserved. Further, my previous fascination and identification with the clever and dazzling killers shifted to the strategically annoying Lieutenant of many rhetorically crafted questions and intrusions.

Over time, I realized differences of character between the duplicitous, persistent, polite, strategic Lieutenant and the unsophisticated, badgering, falsely self-effacing persona of the detective who investigates the homicide with the suspects aid. Releasing my stubborn resistance to the detective, I realized the sophistication of Columbos humble and unauthoritative approach with carefully phrased questions, enabling him to project the inferior social status, intellect, and efficacy that subsequently elicits his underestimation by the conceited villains.