As good as The Mind of Mr. J. G. Reeder was, there is one TV Detective series that was even better. It is of course Columbo, the TV Detective we all need, and one of the greatest American TV series of all time.
Candidate For Crime is an episode from the third season in 1973, so 45 years ago, but relevant right now since it is set on the eve of an election, and here the murderer is a candidate for the US Senate - although it seems to me that the days are now long gone when a would-be Senator had to keep his affair a secret for fear of its public exposure finishing his career.
1973 saw the American Vice President resign due to corruption charges, and the President investigated over Watergategate, so they were no strangers to the concept of a criminal politician, but I bet nobody living in those long gone, innocent times could even begin to imagine the sorts of things that those seeking election to high office get away with nowadays!
Jackie "Perry White" Cooper plays an almost archetypal Columbo murderer who does a highly enjoyable turn as he gets increasingly exasperated by the trolling from Columbo, most particularly when he changes his expression in a moment, switching from the mask he wears in public - and when being forced to tolerate Columbo's presence - to show what he is really feeling as soon as he's alone.
As always for the murderers who consider themselves superior to the police lieutenant, he underestimates Columbo until it is too late and this, combined with his unsympathetic two-faced demeanour, makes his eventual comeuppance all the more satisfying for us watching.
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