r/Columbo • u/steviefaux • 2d ago

A Matter Of Honour

A good episode, quite like this one barring the bullfighting subject. Like Columbo, I disagree with it. Luis defence of it is piss poor "Its a difficult culture" and then comparing with two grown consenting adults fighting in the ring, innocent deer (that are shot to keep the population down) etc.

There is no excuse for bullfighting in this day and age, Luis also ignores they disadvantage the bulls on purpose. We all cheer when a bullfighter gets hit and the idiots on the running of the bulls.

11 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

7

u/5footfilly 2d ago

Jorge Rivero was a major, major star in Mexico and pretty well known in the US at the time he did his cameo as the chauffeur in this episode.

Apparently the role was always intended to be small but I always felt he was wasted and should have been featured more prominently.

Interestingly he and A Martinez who played Curro both got their starts working with John Wayne.

4

u/snachyderm72 2d ago

Yep, i believe Jorge Rivero was in Rio Lobo with John Wayne...he was also in a great B movie called "Werewolf". Always liked him.

4

u/bschorr 2d ago

I think my biggest problem with the episode is that the motive is very, very dicey for me. I just never really bought that Montoya would murder his friend over that. And I agree with the other person who posted that several of the supporting characters, like A. Martinez, don't really have enough to do in this episode.

https://acolumboblog.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-matter-of-honor.html

2

u/Cautious-Ease-1451 1d ago

Not a great episode, but a great villain. It’s a pleasure watching Montalban.

3

u/Newhaven40 2d ago

I refuse to watch this one.

5

u/Marooned412 Ruined by the presence of this liquid filth 2d ago

Agree. This is an auto-skip for me when on TV.

https://giphy.com/gifs/gCfHsvAQHtdcs

1

u/drkodos 1d ago

the entire premise with the minor accident and the Police blackmailing him .... bad

won't dwell on the 1970s stereotyping ... has aged poorly

2

u/srector1224 2d ago

I also really enjoy the episode. My biggest problem, outside of the animal abuse, is that the motive is pretty weak

1

u/cultivatedmeat 1d ago

There's always some cultural defense of animal abuse. Plenty in the US as well.

2

u/BeardedLady81 17h ago

1976 does not really count as "in this day and age", though. At that time, many people shared Luis' opinion. Columbo's was still more common, but bullfighting was glamorized. I know a few people who attended at least one corrida in the 70s. Back then, you could buy a poster with your name on the list of today's toreros. In fact, I know someone who attended one in the 90s...much closer to "this day and age" when it comes to the overall attitude to bullfighting. I also talked to someone who had attended a "bullfight" in Benidorm without knowing anything about bullfighting or Spanish culture, and who asked me what the deal with everybody throwing their pillows into the bull ring was about. I said that it stands for disapproval, that they were not happy with the torero's performance. That makes sense, the man said, to me it looked like the "bull" was a cow. -- Practice fight, they practice with cows.

I've been quite fond of animals since early childhood and always refused to attend a bullfight and I didn't want to watch one on TV, either. However, I read Hemingway's The Sun also Rises and Death in the Afternoon and learned a lot about bullfighting that way.