There is no separating the character of Lieutenant Columbo from the man who portrayed him on "Columbo," Peter Falk (even if he wasn't the first choice to play the unconventional detective). The actor really made the character his own through his performance, but shockingly, he only directed one episode of the long-running series. It's likely that he wanted to focus on simply acting and wasn't interested in trying to pull double-duty, although he did also write an episode of the series later in its run. In the end, though, fans got only a single magical episode both starring and directed by Falk: season 1, episode 7, "Blueprint for Murder."

"Blueprint for Murder" features "Silent Night, Bloody Night" star Patrick O'Neal as the murderer of the week, Elliot Markham, an architect who kills the extremely wealthy Texan Bo Williamson (Forrest Tucker in a 10-gallon hat) with the help of his lover, Williamson's beautiful trophy wife,...