Continuity mistake: When Raymond brings the doctor his milk and pill, the tray with the milk and pill are already on the bedside table.
Factual error: All LAPD officers must re-qualify with their weapons multiple times a year. If indeed Columbo could not "hit the target," as he says to another detective, he would never have made it through the police academy, much less have become a detective and have been promoted to sergeant and eventually to lieutenant.
Factual error: Columbo gives another detective $5 to go to the gun range for him. Technically, that is a bribe and it would cost both Columbo and the other detective their badges.
Factual error: Rakman Habib's driver's license shows that he lives in "Beverly Hills CA 91605." That is the ZIP code for North Hollywood, not Beverly Hills.
Character mistake: A valet tells Columbo that automobiles belonging to Sauri embassy personnel are repaired at a service station two blocks away. Later, when Columbo is speaking with Hassan Salah, he says, "I know your cars are taken to a service station three blocks away."
Factual error: Columbo asks for a red wine. His host orders a Beaujolais but the butler brings a Bordeaux. Beaujolais is from Burgundy, not Bordeaux. (01:18:40)
Character mistake: Twice, Brenner refers to the T-33 aircraft as the Silver Star. The name of the T-33 was the Shooting Star.
Continuity mistake: At the cafe when Columbo talks with the police officer his cigar is in his hand in the back shots but disappears in the front shots.
Visible crew/equipment: The Great Santini makes a vase of flowers appear on a table. Before he holds up a cloth to conceal the vase as it appears, the tips of the flowers can be seen beyond the far edge of the table. As he pulls the cloth away, there is a quick glimpse of the hand of the crew member who put the flowers on the table. (00:11:00)
Factual error: Santini murders Jerome using a revolver with a silencer. Although this is one of the oldest Hollywood tropes, a silencer (properly called a suppressor) does not reduce a gunshot to a whisper; it only cuts the noise to about 110 dB, which is still very loud. In addition, suppressors do not work at all on revolvers, because most of the noise is generated in the gap between the cylinder and the barrel.
Last Salute to the Commodore - S5-E6
Character mistake: After Commodore Otis Swanson is murdered, Columbo goes to the Swanson Shipyard to speak with the Commodore's nephew, Swanny Swanson. Columbo calls him "Mr. Swenson."
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