The 1970’s gave us some of the best cop drama’s ever to hit television. As crime continued to rise and the late 60’s counterculture seemed to go off the rails, America turned to cop shows to make them feel that there was a fighting chance against the forces of crime and disorder. Some of the cop characters of the 70’s were competent tough guys, like Lieutenant Theophilus Kojak, who solved serious crimes in the mean streets of New York City. Some were lovable comedians, like NYPD Captain Barney Miller, who rarely was seen outside the squad room and solved crimes from the ridiculous to the deadly serious.

One of the most iconic cop characters from this era didn’t quite fit either mold. Lieutenant Frank Columbo was unique. Catching 187s in Los Angeles, Columbo brought intellect and eccentricity to the LAPD. Peter Falk was so masterful in his portrayal of the Lieutenant that the show managed to last for from the late 60’s to the early 2000’s.

After two somewhat failed pilot episodes in 1968, Falk rejiggered his character from a more typical detective to the one we know today. Columbo got picked up for a season in 1971 and managed a remarkable string of successes. Initially running 7 seasons, the show was picked up again in the late 1980s and had several episodes that were released sporadically through 2003.

Falk’s performance is the engine that drives the entire series. His Columbo is rumpled, absent-minded, and seemingly unimpressive. He drives a battered old Peugeot 403, wears the same wrinkled raincoat, and has a habit of almost leaving a room before continuing his rambling and seemingly aimless conversation. Yet beneath that disarming exterior is a razor-sharp investigator who never forgets a detail and never lets go of a thread once he starts pulling.

What made Columbo revolutionary for its time was the inverted mystery format. In most detective shows the audience spends the episode trying to figure out the killer. In Columbo, the audience sees the crime committed at the beginning. Columbo doesn’t make an appearance until the crime scene is established. The suspense comes from watching him patiently unravel the killer’s alibi.

This structure turns the show into a psychological duel between detective and criminal.

Season one introduces a parade of killers who are not hardened criminals but rather sophisticated professionals like lawyers, psychiatrists, authors, and business executives who commit murder to protect their reputations or fortunes. No narco-related shootings or robbery-gone-bad in this panoply of murders. These criminals believe they are smarter than the police. They view Columbo as a nuisance, a working-class cop who couldn’t possibly understand their world.

That arrogance is their fatal mistake. Columbo always manages to outsmart his perp. And it is great to watch them squirm.

As far as reality goes, Columbo is not exactly how most murder investigations go down. Theories, circumstantial evidence, and spontaneous confessions rarely are the route to a homicide prosecution. But buying in to Lieutenant Columbo’s methods is a lot of fun and intellectually stimulating. Watching him work his magic of observation and entrap perps with disarming conversation makes for great television. You know he will get his man, but watching the investigation come together is fantastic.

Columbo is unusual in its timing. Each episode is closer to a made for tv movie that a syndicated show. They run between an hour and 15 minutes and an hour and 45 minutes. No doubt that kind of time allotment could never happen today and it’s a shame. These Columbo episodes give the story the time it needs to develop without shortcuts or unnecessary plot twists. You can catch all seasons of Columbo on Amazon Prime for free. I checked out the first season which was great.

The nice thing about Columbo is that each episode stands alone and you can cherry pick the highest rated ones. Enjoy a few Columbo episodes this weekend. And one more thing… Thanks for reading The Ops Desk and Stay Safe!