Unshot Columbo: Cracking the Cases That Never Got Filmed

Koenig follows up his outstanding Shooting “Columbo”—which detailed the making of the long-running TV series Columbo—with another behind-the-scenes book on the numerous scripts pitched, ultimately rejected, and never shot. The ruffled TV detective appeared in 69 mysteries—spread out over 35 years. The most episodes filmed in one season was eight. That was back when most TV series filmed more than 20 episodes per season, and good scripts were difficult to come by. Koenig focuses on 19 murder mysteries that were submitted and often moved down the pipeline of rewrites but were ultimately rejected. These synopses usually run over a dozen pages, giving the book a feeling of reading a clever and brand-new collection of Columbo short stories. These highly detailed stories are followed by explanations of why the scripts were rejected. The reasons range from plot holes and inconsistencies to scripts using elements from previous episodes. Among the authors of some of these unshot scripts are film director/screenwriter Brian De Palma, former Time magazine film critic Jay Cocks, and cult film auteur Larry Cohen.