Other mistake: In the home of a murder victim, Columbo presses the telephone's "redial" button to see who was called most recently. A seven-digit number is displayed but only six beeps are heard as the number is redialed. Later, attorney Oscar Finch places a call by dialing only five numbers.
Continuity mistake: At the end, when Columbo is demonstrating on the mannequin, his cigar changes position between shots.
Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health - S10-E2
Continuity mistake: When Sheba the dog scratches Anders' car her claws are on the glass and the top of the metal part of the door, above the character line. In the photo that Columbo shows, the scratches go much further down the door.
Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star - S10-E3
Factual error: They talk about Wednesday as day of the murder. On the other hand, we see a speeding ticket with 3-11-91. In 1991, March 11 was a Monday and November 3 was a Sunday, so whichever way the date is written the day is wrong. (01:17:53)
Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star - S10-E3
Factual error: Champagne corks have a metal cap between the cork and the wire cage. (They can be seen when both Creighton and Columbo open bottles.) When Creighton injects the chloral hydrate into the champagne, he does not have the difficulty he should have getting through the metal. The needle does not come out damaged as it should, and it did not go far enough into the cork to put the liquid into the champagne-it would get lost in the cork itself.
Death Hits the Jackpot - S11-E1
Continuity mistake: After Lamarr takes off Freddy's undershirt we see the level of the water in the bathtub. Then he drags Freddy over to the tub and breaks his watch. At that time the water level is lower than it was before, even though the water was still running.
Continuity mistake: Columbo wears a tuxedo the entire episode. Hours after his nephew's wedding ceremony, when Columbo's at the police station investigating the bride's abduction, his bow tie is hanging loosely around his neck. Shortly after, as he and the other detectives rush to the photography studio, the bow is now properly tied. This situation was too dire to bother redoing it, nor does Columbo ever worry about his appearance.
Other mistake: When Melissa sends Andy to have a shower we see that there are several sets of clothing in the closet. We see them again in her flashback when she awakes after being kidnapped. They have just arrived in the Bridal (Empire) Suite, and are leaving very early the next morning for their honeymoon. Why would those clothes be in the closet?
A Bird in the Hand... - S11-E3
Continuity mistake: At 8:15 AM, Harold McCain telephones his Aunt Dolores but when she answers the call, the clock on her mantel shows the time as 10:20.
A Bird in the Hand... - S11-E3
Factual error: The license plate on the automobile of Stallions football team owner Fred McBain reads STALLION1, but personalized California license plates can not have more than seven characters ( http://www.vanityplatebystate.com/alphabetical-listing-of-states/california/).
A Bird in the Hand... - S11-E3
Factual error: They are watching a football game on TV with The Stallions playing some other team. The game they are watching is actually a Canadian Football League game between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Factual error: Despite the fact that other officers are doing so, Columbo does not wear gloves while examining the crime scene. He also eats and drinks in the room - both absolutely forbidden - leaving eggshells scattered about the place. The crime scene is now totally compromised and nothing found can be used as evidence.
Butterfly in Shades of Grey - S12-E2
Other mistake: Fielding Chase and Lieutenant Columbo are on a road in the mountains above Malibu and Chase's car will not start. He tries unsuccessfully to call the Automobile Club on his mobile phone. He tells Columbo the phone number is "555-4411" but each time he tries to call, he presses nine digits.
Butterfly in Shades of Grey - S12-E2
Continuity mistake: From his estate, Fielding Chase looks toward his front gate and sees smoke coming from the engine of Columbo's car. When we see Columbo standing atop the car and yelling for Chase to open the gate, there is no smoke.
Butterfly in Shades of Grey - S12-E2
Other mistake: Jerry Winters' mantel clock chimes four times but the clock shows the time as 3:59.
Undercover - S12-E3
Factual error: At the crime scene, the landlady of the dead man is brought into the room in order to identify one of the dead men. This is never, ever done - she could contaminate the crime scene in a dozen different ways. She would be asked to identify the corpse at the morgue after the scene had been cleared by forensic examiners.
Undercover - S12-E3
Continuity mistake: Columbo ushers Krutch and Susan into an office for questioning. When he closes the door, the venetian blinds on it change from straight to misaligned and back again between shots.
Undercover - S12-E3
Continuity mistake: When Krutch speaks to Columbo on the phone about 40 minutes into the show, his voice sounds like he has a cold. Earlier and later in the show, his voice doesn't sound like that.
Factual error: In common with many other episodes neither Columbo, the attending police officers or forensic investigators wear gloves or other sterile gear while examining the murder victim's body or the crime scene. Columbo hands out bananas to other people on the scene which they happily eat. The senior crime scene forensics officer, Kingsley, hands out coffee and doughnuts! Eating and drinking are absolutely forbidden on a sterile crime scene, which has been hopelessly contaminated with fingerprints anyway.
Answer: In the show, he was already a Lieutenant. A promotion would put him in the next rank up, which for the L.A.P.D. would be Captain. However, some of a Captain's duties would be overseeing other officers and ensuring they're compliant with policies, regulations, and standards. It would also most likely take him out of the field. This is something Columbo has no desire for as he rarely goes to police HQ's. Nor does he show interest in compliance and standards (for example, not going to his semi-annual evaluation at the firing range). However, he could still be assigned to a higher pay grade based on expertise, which is a form of promotion that does not include rank advancement. This would be going from Lieutenant I to Lieutenant II. I don't believe in the show it's ever started what his pay grade is. Although, in s02e01 (I believe) he mentions making $11K a year. Whether or not this was a true statement on his part, if you could find pay scale information for an LAPD Lieutenant in the 70's, it could give you an idea of his pay grade.
Bishop73