You can calm down, George. None of us had anything to do with this murder. And if someone you or I know has anything to do with Vincent Powley, the police can't tie it to the arms shipments. Nothing to worry about.
- Um, there's a policeman in the living room.
- ...
The series is remarkable for a variety of reasons, not least because it drew a line and allowed the brave L.A.P.D. lieutenant to go on vacation for eleven years. Naturally, you expect a lot from this series and that’s what’s nice, expectations are met in full, and the Conspirators occupy an honorable place among the best and most controversial cases that Colombo had to investigate. And this time, the hero of Peter Falk managed to cross the road not one person, but a whole criminal organization and let Colombo interact for the most part with only one person, but the feeling that the main character stuck his hand in a hive with bees does not leave until the very end of the film. But this is true, but the story lies ahead.
Let me introduce the characters of this undeniably tragic play. The first person to get acquainted with the viewer is Joe Devlin - a poet, publicist, standardist and part-time Irishman who is able to talk to anyone and very quickly gain the trust of others, and the fact that he spends all his energy on maintaining a charitable organization that helps Irish orphans and widows affected by the actions of terrorists, and does make the hero Clive Reville a good guy. You'd think so, but no. The fact is that Joe Devlin, like the organization he is a member of, under the pretext of raising charitable funds, is engaged in the purchase and supply of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland, thereby multiplying the pain and tears of ordinary people. Naturally, people like Devlin have blood on their elbows and it costs them nothing to kill a few more people, justifying such a high purpose, well, or banal greed, here is how lucky. This time, Joe Devlin and Mr. Powley got together. The latter is an intermediary in cases of arms sales and, like any person dealing with big money, Mr. Pauley decides to be a little greedy and asks Joe for money for additional expenses, in fact intending to hide in an unknown direction, taking with him the entire amount. Naturally, Joe is aware of this, and therefore kills the dishonest Mr. Powley, without even trying to portray everything as an accident, and why. There's not a single piece of evidence that the killer and the deceased knew each other, so let the police conduct their investigation, and he'll be looking for another arms dealer, because the deadlines are tight.
Perhaps I will say a terrible banalism, but in “Conspirators” there is not a single unnecessary scene and not a single unnecessary character. Yes, some characters were not fully revealed, like Joe’s young assistant, Kerry Melone, a young man with an enthusiastic eye, ready to follow his idol through fire and water, even though he does not like Davelyn’s methods. Each of the characters will be in their place and play a small but important role in the plot of the film. The script does not lag behind this case, repeatedly throwing bright and flashy scenes into memory. Like Colombo and Devlin playing darts and then drinking together. Oh, yes, this series gives you a rare opportunity to see the hero Peter Falk intoxicated, practising in composing poetry. There will be scenes that are not so important for the plot, but are able to entertain the viewer, like the one in which the hero of Peter Falk enters the bookstore, forgets why he came and looks at the erotic magazine with interest. Nothing human is alien to Lieutenant Colombo, that's for sure. But the most important thing here is the theme of terrorists and charities, that behind those who have smiles hide black thoughts as night. Each of these topics could be awarded a separate story, but here they are intertwined so bizarrely and so competently that you follow the plot with interest and expect that the writers will throw up the next second.
Outcome? Actually, it's been said. A great series without any buts, plus "Colombo Educational" replenished my vocabulary with the phrase "Xin Fein", which translates as: "Rely only on yourself." In the case of “important” negotiations, it is useful, yes.
9 out of 10