18 December 2011

Curious coincidences . . .

. . . created by my chance viewing of TV on DVD:

In “A Matter of Honor” from season 5 of Columbo (original airdate: 1 Feb 1976), Ricardo Montalban plays a famous (retired) bullfighter in Mexico. And at the opening of “The Addams Family Splurges” (original airdate: 29 Jan 1965), Gomez wears rather bullish headdress and plays el toro while Morticia stands serenely with cape, tiring the “bull.”

Of itself, no huge deal.

But then, in the very next episode of Columbo, “Now You See Him...” (original airdate: 29 Feb 1976), whose perp is an illusionist, the detective does some research at a magic shop, whose proprietor demonstrates a tabletop guillotine.

That same prop (the tabletop guillotine) appears in “Cousin Itt Visits the Addams Family” (original airdate: 5 Feb 1965). So we have the same thematic sequence (bullfight :: magic show prop) in directly consecutive shows of two separate series, which I just happened to view in tandem.

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