- Status
- Ended
- Network
- ABC
- Premiered
- 20 Feb 1968
- Ended
- 30 Jan 2003
- Episodes
- 69 in 39 seasons
Overview
See production notesColumbo is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 as one of the rotating programs of The NBC Mystery Movie. Columbo then aired on ABC as a rotating program on The ABC Mystery Movie from 1989 to 1990, and on a less frequent basis from 1990 to 2003. During its run, the series received 68 award nominations and won 22; Falk won four Primetime Emmy Awards (1972, 1975, 1976, 1990) and a Golden Globe Award (1973). Columbo is a shrewd and exceptionally observant homicide detective whose trademarks include a rumpled beige raincoat, an unassuming demeanor, a cigar, a battered Peugeot 403, love of chili, and a frequently mentioned but unseen wife. He often leaves a room only to return with the catchphrase "Just one more thing" to ask a critical question. The character and show, created by Richard Levinson and William Link, popularized the inverted detective story format (sometimes referred to as a "howcatchem"). This genre begins by showing the commission of the crime and its perpetrator; the plot, therefore, usually has no "whodunit" element of determining which of several suspects committed the crime. It instead revolves around how a perpetrator known to the audience will finally be caught and exposed. The clues Columbo finds to help him solve the case are sometimes revealed to the audience beforehand, but often not until the episode's end. According to Alex Clayton and Sarah Moore, the "essential features of the Columbo villain" are "highness and mightiness. He needs to have some combination of wealth, power, prestige and influence." The casting of well known performers, such as Donald Pleasence and Dick Van Dyke, as villains ensures this connection. As the series' homicide suspects are often affluent members of high society, this has led some critics to see class conflict as an element of each story. Suspects carefully cover their tracks and are initially dismissive of Columbo's circumstantial speech and apparent ineptitude. They become increasingly unsettled as his superficially pestering behavior teases out incriminating evidence. His relentless approach often leads to self-incrimination or outright confession. Episodes of Columbo are between 70 and 98 minutes long, and they have been broadcast in 44 countries. The show has been described by the BBC as "timeless" and remains popular today.
Plot from ColumboCC BY-SA 4.0
- Original language
- English
Seasons
Cast
See all credits
Gallery
Quotes
See all quotesFlemming: Oh, Doctor, I'm the patient's husband. Is she, is she alright? Doctor: I'm sorry. She passed away. Flemming: Did she...did she say anything? Doctor: If it's any consolation, the one thing she said was your name.
Columbo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lt. Columbo: I was wondering, Doctor. Would you take me on as a patient? Flemming: Take you on as a what?!? Lt. Columbo: No, I mean it. Maybe you can help me. I don't know that-- There must something wrong with me. I seem to bother people. I seem to make them nervous and maybe you could tell me why.
Columbo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Flemming: You never stop, do you? Lt. Columbo: What? Flemming: The insinuations, the change of pace. You're a bag of tricks, Columbo, right down to that prop cigar you use. Lt. Columbo: Oh, come on, Doc. Flemming: I'm going to tell you something about yourself. You think you need a psychologist. Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but you are a textbook example of compensation. Lt. Columbo: Oh, what, Doc? Flemming: Compensation. Adaptability. You're an intelligent man, Columbo, but you hide it. You pretend you're something you're not. Why, because of your appearance you think you can't get by on looks or polish, so you turn a defect into a virtue. You take people by surprise. They underestimate you. And that's where you trip them up.
Columbo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Flemming: You know, sometimes I get the impression you think I killed my wife. Lt. Columbo: You? Oh no, Doc. How could you? You were out of town. Flemming: I'm glad you remembered that. Unless you think I hired someone to kill her. The boy who confessed, maybe I paid him to do it. Lt. Columbo: No, Doc. You didn't do that. Flemming: How do you know? Lt. Columbo: I already asked him.
Columbo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lt. Columbo: Uh, I'm sorry. I was, uh, I was just thinking about something. Gordon: What was that? Lt. Columbo: No, it's nothing important. It's, uh, Dr. Flemming, he didn't call to his wife when he came back to his apartment. Gordon: I don't follow you. Lt. Columbo: Oh, well, I was in the bedroom. I was checking some things and I heard him open the front door and he didn't say anything. Gee, it's funny how people are different, isn't it? Now you take myself. When I come home from a trip, uh, first thing I do is I say, "Honey, you here?" Gordon: [annoyed] Exactly what is your point, Lieutenant? Lt. Columbo: Point? Well, I wasn't making a point.
Columbo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Mrs. Williams, you have no conscience and that's your weakness. Did it ever occur to you that there are very few people who would take money to forget about a murder? It didn't, did it? I knew it wouldn't.
Columbo, CC BY-SA 4.0
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