#Columbo
I always find portrayals of stage magic in films/TV fascinating, because it always falls into one of two categories. First; it was written by, or in consultation with, an actual stage magician (or perhaps just ripping off a routine the writer saw), maybe even withy tricks performed by an actual magician, and it's... fine, completely OK.
Or, second; no actual magician was ever involved in the writing, and the result is a routine that is either completely or interesting, or suggests the magician has actual magical powers. Usually both.
S05E05 is a case (pun intended) of the latter.
The magician in this episode has exactly two kinds of trick. First; apparition. He lifts up his cloak or puts a cover on something, and then reveals something there that wasn't there before. It's the first kind of trick you think of when you think of stereotypical stage magic, and it's all he does. And in real life, it would mostly be unconvincing and not terribly interesting, partly because of the sheer repetition, and partly because it's so obvious. "Oh, he stood on at the back of the stage, right in front of where the stage curtains meet, and raised his cloak for a bit, and then when he put the cloak down a woman was there. How did he do it?!?"
(Shows that didn't consult with an actual magician tend to favour this kind of trick, because it's easy to understand, and easy to set up; just use a camera cut to hide where you brought the object into the scene, or have an assistant under a table to slide the object up onto it while the cover is in the way, that sort of thing.)
His second trick is the second type of trick you think of when you think of stage magic, which is being locked in a water tank and escaping without drowning.
But I want to go back to that first trick, because at some points in the episode he's performing it in a crowded restaurant, with patrons looking at all sides. And that gives rise to situations like his standing between a couple, raising his cloak up at the edge of the table, and then lowering it to reveal a vase of flowers, to everyone's astonishment.
Now, as viewers, we know probably they had some assistant hiding under the table, like I mentioned above, OK. But in universe, there's a problem; nearly half of the patrons were in positions where the cloak wouldn't block the view, including the couple next to him. They could see whatever was going on back there, and they were astonished.
Only one explanation seems likely; he literally summoned a vase of flowers in front of them, in full view. It phases in like it had been teleported by the Enterprise. This episode of Columbo includes an actual magician with actual magical powers, hiding them behind a veneer of stage magic. It's the one secret of a suspect Columbo never uncovers, or even becomes aware of. (Presumably, I haven't finished the ep yet.)
...Or the writers messed up because they didn't consult a stage magician, one or the other.
