Columbo: Seasons One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six & Seven [DVD]

Well, plenty has already been said about the packaging of this set and the lack of features on disk, all of which is correct, but that aside, this collection is good value. `Columbo' was of course the late Peter Falk's best known role and it gave him the opportunity to showcase his considerable talent. This collection of series 1 - 7 presents him from the very beginning of his most memorable role. In the first pilot `Prescription: Murder' he had not quite pinned the character, but by the second pilot `Ransom For A Dead Man', the Columbo we came to love is fully formed.Among the extras is an episode of `Mrs Columbo' which began life in 1979 and starred Kate Mulgrew, who would later become Captain in Star Trek: Voyager, perhaps in an attempt to put a few light years between herself and the jaw-dropping awfulness of her role as Columbo's unfeasibly cheerful spouse.This set probably represents the best of Falk's long-running series. Each episode is redolent with charm, laced with humour and embraces the viewer in a fictional world of well-heeled bad-guys, where the shrewdness and honesty of a decent cop put the world to rights.

If you love Columbo - and you should, for it is one of the bset TV series ever made - you'll want this set. What's more, it comes at a bargain basement price... but unfortunately also with bargain basement packaging. Well, the packaging is unimportant, you may think, with content which is quite so superb. Well, yes, but this packaging is way beyond minimalist. The cardboard box which holds the set is very flimsy and will obviously not last long - which is especially bad, since it contains the ONLY imformation in the set on which episodes / series are contained on which disc. The series folders are thin black cardboard and contain NO information whatsoever, not even a number or series title. Therefore, with the folders in the box, and jumbled about [remember they're NOT numbered] you have no option but to sort through all the discs to find the episode you want.Oh! Just one more thing - There are no scene selections and the DVD menus are also minmalist.BUT... Even so, you'll want this set - and maybe label or repackage them yourself, as I certainly shall? My wife, well, she's just crazy about this box set.

Peter Falk's Columbo was one of the most memorable TV characters of the 70's 80's and 90's. You just can't help loving the shabby Italian American as he lures his posh, rich and often condescending suspects into a false sense of security before nailing then with the smallest of details that only he spots.This box set covers the episodes from the NBC years (45 in total) that were screened form 1968-78, plus the 2 pilot episodes over 23 DVDs packaged in 6 book style slip cases. Because the episodes screened less frequently later on, the organisation of them into one box set is a little difficult.Season 1 + Pilots - 6 discs (2 episodes per disc, with the longer pilots each on a seperate disc)Season 2 - 4 discsSeason 3 - 4 discsSeason 4 - 3 discsSeason 5 - 3 discsSeason 6&7 - 3 discsThe only problem i found was that their is no indication on the spine of the slip cases as to which series is which, plus the discs for season 2 have no indication of which series they belong to. Also, the pilot episodes are on discs 5 & 6 (rather than logically 1& 2) are not differentiated from the others in season 1.These are only minor complaints, but it does come across as a bit slapdash.The other irritation for myself was that when i purchased this set, the full complete series set (including the ABC years) was £89, which i felt was too high price. AFTER i got this set, the complete set reduced to £55! I found this pretty annoying since there was no other way of getting the ABC episodes other than individual purchases. Thus i ended up paying close to £70.As such, if you want ALL the columbo episodes I highly recommend going for the 'Cigar case' style set now that the price has come down.Live and learn...

As mentioned in the other reviews, this box set is great value for money when compared with buying each series separately. But, unfortunately for the serious Columbo fan, its another case of you get what you pay for... The outside box gives a brief description of the show and an episode listing. But thats it!When you delve inside, you find the disks grouped by series in black packaging with no labeling to identify each series. You have to open up the partitions and look at the actual disks to tell which series you are holding.There is no booklet to accompany the box set or any pictures/artwork anywhere in the collection. What you have is 23 disks in a box (thats probably why its so cheap).So to summarize my rant, you pay your money and get the disks. But if what you are looking for is an attractive collection with detailed graphics and the professional touch, you are better off paying more money and buy each series separately.

Some of the CDs will not play.

Great vintage viewing

The service and product met and exceeded my expectations.

This item was rated as good yet was held together with a wing and a prayer when it arrived..... Not good.... A more honest listing would have been..... Acceptable... As it barley is.....

Die komplette Serie für so einen günstigen Preis ist ein Top Angebot. Wer des englischen mächtig ist, wird viel Spaß mit dieser Kollektion haben. Woran man sich aber erst gewöhnen muß, ist die Originalstimme von Peter Falk.