When you first saw him, Lt. Columbo, looked like a bum that just came off the street. He had a bumbling demeanor, was overly polite and seemed to chomp on the same short cigar on a daily basis. However, beneath all that comical exterior was probably the most dogged investigator on the Los Angeles Police Department. Columbo was often called on to investigate high profile murders that involved the rich and famous. The culprits were often amused by him and just as they thought they were going to get away with murder, Columbo would find a way trap them or find enough evidence to make them confess. Written by Brian Washington <Sargebri@att.net>
Columbo is an acquired taste.
I never watched the shows when they originally aired and started watching it with a co-worker who would put it on TV in the mornings in a group home I worked at.
After 3 episodes, I was hooked.
Years later, when I finally figured out how to order stuff on Amazon I own all the seasons on DVD and watch them regularly.
Things I love about it.. The 70s are in full evidence here.
All the phones are rotary phones like the ones I grew up using, smoking is allowed almost everywhere, people drink early in the day from lavish home bars, mansions and houses with fantastic artful decorations and period furniture everywhere and of course a lovable main character who can appear aloof but is actually a thinking and murder solving machine.
Columbo threw the conventional murder mystery structure on its head, showing the murder and the murderer in the opening scenes then following the murderer and Columbo through the process of investigation and ultimately climaxing with the murderer getting arrested (usually to the surprise and dismay of the murderer who generally has underestimated Columbo to their pearl).
Of course some episodes are stronger than others, but even the weakest is better than most of the drivel that passes for a hit show these days.