History Recap / ColumboS03E01

* CureForCancer: Karl has the secret formula to a cream that removes wrinkles in his head, and Viveca acquires the last existing jar of it from the murder site. Before she can take a sample to Murchison to analyze and try to reverse-engineer it, she sees the police coming to search her home. Knowing that it will incriminate her and not sure if it actually contains the miracle cure or is instead the source of the poison ivy she and Columbo have suffered from, she throws it out her window where it shatters on rocks in the ocean. Columbo reveals shortly afterwards that the poison ivy was contracted from a shattered microscope slide at the murder site, not from the jar. Meaning the jar ''did'' contain the miracle cure, and it's now lost forever.
* DartboardOfHate: Karl, who it seems was one of Viveca's old conqests, has her picture affixed to a dartboard at his apartment. This seems to be the clue that sets Columbo after her.

* ImpairmentShot: For Shirley, as the poison takes effect.

* UndisclosedFunds: Viveca writes an offer to Karl on the back of a magazine and hands it to him. He laughs at it, so she writes a second offer on the magazine. The magazine later becomes an important clue (it arrived that day, so the figures must have been written not long before he died).

* PublicExposure: Viveca is able to temporarily stop Columbo from bothering her by going out into a group of nude sunbathers at Viveca's fat farm.

* RevealingInjury: Viveca is constantly scratching her hands--she has poison ivy. So does Columbo. And while poison ivy is not native to Southern California, Karl had some on the slide he was working with, on the microscope that Viveca bashed in his head with.
* TaintedTobacco: Shirley implies that she knows that Viveca is responsible for Karl's death and [[BlackmailBackfire tries to blackmail her for silence]]; Viveca invites her out to her complex that afternoon to talk things over. At her complex, which serves as a spa and home to a weight loss program, Viveca poisons a cigarette. When Viveca and Shirley meet, Viveca throws away the cigarettes from Shirley's bag without her noticing and when Shirley starts looking for a smoke gives her the poisoned cigarette. Shirley smokes the poisoned cigarette and succumbs to the toxin while driving away: crashing her car and killing her.

* BullyingADragon: Shirley rather stupidly threatens to tell what she knows unless Viveca makes her an executive. Viveca kills her (very deliberately this time, not like her spur-of-the-moment murder of Karl.
* ChalkOutline: Relatively rare for ''Columbo'', but in this episode we do see a tape outline on the carpet showing where Karl fell.

* CureForCancer: Karl has the secret formula to a cream that removes wrinkles in his head, and Viveca acquires the last existing jar of it from the murder site. Before she can take a sample to Murchison to analyze and try to reverse-engineer it, she sees the police coming to search her home. Knowing that it will incriminate her and not sure if it actually contains the miracle cure or is instead the source of the poison ivy she and Columbo have suffered from, she throws it out the window where it shatters on rocks in the ocean. Columbo reveals shortly afterwards that the poison ivy was contracted from a shattered microscope slide at the murder site, not from the jar. Meaning the jar ''did'' contain the miracle cure, and it's now lost forever.

* CureForCancer: Karl has the secret formula to a cream that removes wrinkles in his head, and Viveca acquires the last existing jar of it from the murder site. Before she can take a sample to Murchison to analyze and try to reverse-engineer it, she sees the police coming to search her home. Knowing that it will incriminate her and not sure if it actually contains the miracle cure or is instead the source of the poison ivy she and Columbo have suffered from, she throws it out the window where it shatters on rocks in the ocean. Columbo reveals shortly afterwards that the poison ivy was contracted from the microscope slide at the murder, not from the jar. Meaning the jar ''did'' contain the miracle cure, and it's now lost forever.

* AccidentalMurder: Viveca doesn't set out to kill Karl, but does so in a rage when he plans to sell his formula to her rival.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Hints of an attraction Shirley has for Viveca, like when they meet in secret and Shirley takes Viveca's hand and says "We haven't been seen together."

* BlackmailBackfire: Shirley attempts to blackmail Viveca with her suspicions over Karl's murder, but it just leads to Viveca killing her as well.

* BullyingADragon: Shirley rather stupidly threatens to tell what she knows unless Viveca makes her an executive. Instead, Viveca kills her.
* ChalkOutline: Relatively rare for ''Columbo'', but in this episode we do see a chalk outline showing where Karl used to be.

* DartboardOfHate: Karl, who it seems was one of Viveca's old conqests, has her picture affixed to a dartboard at his apartment.

* PublicExposure: Lt. Columbo is embarrassed when he and Viveca wander into a group of nude sunbathers at Viveca's fat farm.

* TaintedTobacco: Shirley implies that she knows that Viveca is responsible for Karl's death and [[BlackmailBackfire tries to blackmail her for silence]]; Viveca invites her out to her complex that afternoon to talk things over. At her complex, which serves as a spa and home to a weight loss program, Viveca poisons a cigarette. When Viveca and Shirley meet, Viveca steals the cigarettes from Shirley's bag without her noticing and later gives her the poisoned cigarette. Shirley smokes the poisoned cigarette and succumbs to the toxin while driving away: crashing her car and killing her instantly.

* BullyingADragon[=/=]BlackmailBackfire: Shirley rather stupidly threatens to tell what she knows unless Viveca makes her an executive. Instead, Viveca kills her.

* WorstNewsJudgmentEver: "Girl Dies In Automobile Crash" is pushing it.

* TaintedTobacco: Shirley implies that she knows that Viveca is responsible for Karl's death and [[BlackmailBackfire tries to blackmail her for silence]]; Viveca invites her out to her complex that afternoon to talk things over. At her complex, which serves as a spa and home to a weight loss program, Viveca poisons a number of cigarettes. When Viveca and Shirley meet, Viveca slips the poisoned cigarettes into Shirley's bag without her noticing. Shirley smokes one of the poisoned cigarettes and succumbs to the toxin while driving away: crashing her car and killing her instantly.

* BullyingADragon: Shirley rather stupidly threatens to tell what she knows unless Viveca makes her an executive. Instead, Viveca kills her.

* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Viveca gives Shirley a cigarette laced with poison, which causes Shirley to pass out at the wheel while driving.
* TechnicolorScience: The typical flasks and beakers filled with colored liquids at Karl's house.

Guest Starring: Creator/VeraMiles, Creator/VincentPrice, Creator/MartinSheen]

* ParentheticalSwearing: Columbo reveals that his brother-in-law inspired home to come up with the solution which Viveca in Karl's murder. As the police are taking her away, she [[TranquilFury coldly asks him]] to send his in-law a message: "Something ''appropriate''".

* PartentheticalSwearing: Columbo reveals that his brother-in-law inspired home to come up with the solution which Viveca in Karl's murder. As the police are taking her away, she [[TranquilFury coldly asks him]] to send his in-law a message: "Something appropriate".

Viveca Scott (Creator/VeraMiles) is the owner of Beauty Mark, a high-end cosmetics company. Beauty Mark has been struggling; sales are down, and Viveca is trying to fend off a takeover from corporate rival David Lang (Creator/VincentPrice). Viveca is pinning her hopes on a new wrinkle removal cream that her company has developed. But when she finds out that her chemist, Karl Lessing (Creator/MartinSheen), is going to betray her and sell the compound to Lang, she murders him in a fit of rage. Viveca attempts to throw suspicion on Lang, but certain clues, like a scribbled note written in eyebrow pencil, point Lt. Columbo her way. There's also the matter of Shirley, Viveca's spy inside Lang's company, who knows a lot of secrets and also guesses what really happened to Karl.

* ChekhovsGun: Columbo and Viveca can both be seen scratching their hands repeatedly. This is how Columbo gets her--they both were exposed to poison ivy at Karl's house.

* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Viveca gives Shirley a cigarette laced with some sort of poison, which causes Shirley to have a fatal car crash.

* TechnicolorScience: The typical flasks and beakers filled with colored liquids at Karl's house.
* UndisclosedFunds: Viveca writes an offer to Karl on the back of a magazine and hands it to him. He laughs at it, so she writes a second offer on the magazine. The magazine later becomes an important clue (it arrived that day, so the figures must have been written not long before he died).

Viveca Scott (Creator/VeraMiles) is the owner of Beauty Mark, a high-end cosmetics company. Beauty Mark has been struggling; sales are down, and Viveca is trying to fend off a takeover from corporate rival David Lang (Creator/VincentPrice). Viveca is pinning her hopes on a new wrinkle removal cream that her company has developed. But when she finds out that her chemist, Karl Lessing (Creator/MartinSheen), is going to betray her and sell the compound to Lang, she murders him in a fit of rage. Viveca attempts to throw suspicion on Lang, but certain clues, like a scribbled note written in eyebrow pencil, point Lt. Columbo her way.