 While the first episode of the new series that aired on ABC, this is  the second episode in the Columbo series to feature the world of  magicians, mentalists, and magic guillotines; the first being  Columbo: Now You See Him (1976) TV. There is even a similar scene  with Columbo in a magic shop being given a demonstration of a  guillotine trick where his finger (in the original episode, the  trick was large enough to include his whole hand) appears to be in  danger of being cut off.