Columbo - Why You Should Watch It

You should really watch Columbo, it is Christmas.

Columbo (Pilot 1968, Series 1971-2003)

[AegisAuras]

I like to think columbo is actually a really gentle, innocent, and spacey person naturally, alongside being an absolute genius. He came to realize his default personality was nearly perfect for throwing criminals off their game and getting close to them without making them withdraw, so he just acts like himself for the most part when entrapping them.

Sometimes when he finally proves they murdered someone, he’ll sit with them at the end of the episode and have a drink with them, or help them clean up some personal hobby of theirs laying around their house before driving them to the police station. He’ll turn off the lights in their house as they leave, all the while continually being respectful and kind to them. This suggests that this is really his default personality showing at all times because if it was just an act, he wouldn’t need to keep up the act after the criminal was proven guilty.

[iannordin]

Falk and the writers have said that the secret sauce to Columbo is that he IS genuinely a spacy dork, but also a world class detective who knows how to play it up. He is an a lovable oaf by nature with a sharp intellect, and his ability to blend his authentic self with misdirection and mindgames makes him very potent to the kinds of arrogant marks he usually has to deal with.

[ethancampbell]

Columbo perfectly demonstrates that it's not the novelty or our ignorance of the "plot" that creates enjoyment, but how well it is written and executed. It's the ideal counterpoint to the spoiler-free hysteria going on lately.
It doesn't matter that we know who committed the crime, how, and that Columbo will get his man and roughly how he will do it; We are happy to be on the ride to see the guy do his shtick. Columbo is a force of nature, relentless, unavoidable, we just have to relax and enjoy the spectacle.

[darrylwynwilliams]

Columbo is the greatest tv detective of all time.

[kaykutcher]

Never wanted to know whether Columbo's behavior and stories were an act he put on or not. Modern crime shows are all too busy with showing us the characters' private lives that it feels like a lousy soap after a couple of episodes. Falk did a fantastic job in portraying a character with this crutch of having no backstory which kept audiences coming back for more and also the writing was terrific so that couldn't have hurt.

[THX]

I remember Columbo as a kid back in the 70's and thought it was the most boring show imaginable. However, just recently I began watching old reruns of it late at night. I was quite shocked at how well written the show was, and consequently quickly became a fan. The odd thing about it is that there is no "whodunit" aspect to the show. Everything is laid out in the first quarter of the episode (the shows run and hour). Consequently the whole point of the show is to see how Columbo can ensnare the villain (who's in inventively a self confident clever crook) with his wits. It's really a refreshing take on a detective series despite the fact that the show's over 40 years old.

[doctorhandsome]

One unique aspect of the show that hardly ever gets mentioned is that it subverts the cliche of the detective who's always in hot water with his superiors for bending the rules. Columbo certainly does use unorthodox methods - him never carrying a gun, for example, is against regulations - but he has the absolute faith of the department behind him, always. On more than one occasion, a well-connected antagonist has tried to get him thrown off the case through political pressure, but nothing doing - Columbo's bosses know that once he's got the scent, it's a sure thing. Hell, in one episode the killer was the police commissioner, and he insisted Columbo be assigned to investigate his wife's murder, reasoning that no one could possibly question his innocence if he put the best man on the force on the case (a fatal mistake, of course).

[askhollib]

Thank you for giving Columbo the shine that he deserves. I have loved him since I was a young girl and I still watch his episodes today. He is and shall always be amazing and a pioneer to the crime genre.

[WestMichiganTransformers]

Colombo as antagonist is a really nice way of putting it. I often feel nervous for the characters he’s bringing to justice. Not, of course, that Colombo is in the wrong—murder is murder. But because the show takes so much time to show how the killers work to cover their tracks, there’s a chance of seeing the story through their eyes, and you feel their fear over the possibility of being discovered.

[haydens.]

God bless my grandparents for showing me Columbo. I love this show so much.

[WolfeSpeider]

This has been a great advent series, Georg. Happy Columbus.

[Badgers]

I grew up on a healthy diet of Columbo and it annoys me when no one gets my referencing to him.

I'm happy to see him getting recognition he deserves

[permeusnd]

It’s such a shame peter ended up not been able to remember playing Columbo, he knew that he had played him as people would tell him but not what it was like.

May you rest in peace peter Michael Falk you where a great actor.

[kyphus]

He was so good Sri Lanka named their capital city after him.

[davyheijlands]

I am only 35 years old but I watched all episodes when I was young. Loved them. I will start again this week. Thanks for this tip

[vlexi]

My girlfriend and I love Columbo. I ordered the full DVD set a couple of months ago, and Columbo and SpongeBob are now pretty much the only things we watch for fun, since everything else is for action movie reviews. Glad to see YouTubers giving the show some well-deserved respect.

[GeesebreathLive]

Got the complete series for Christmas. My family truly understands me.

[jonathancampbell]

Eh. Even early Columbo could be genuinely bumbling on occasion (for instance, there is one where he nearly drives himself off the road because he dropped something in his car), and later episodes still had him as a genuinely good detective. 

Columbo is really the definition of a ditzy genius- he's genuinely weird and eccentric, but he's also genuinely brilliant, and he is aware of how he comes across to others so he plays it up at times in order to get others to lower their guards. but that doesn't mean it is totally made up either. I can be the samw way myself to be honest xD 

Otherwise, I agree with your assessment....just don't sh*t on the later episodes.

[joelikespotatoes]

I love how Columbo acts humble and silly sometimes but underneath he’s a genius.

[tomlion]

I still love the 80's and 90's seasons! ;)