Lieutenant Columbo, played with average Joe charm and unshowy, easy-to-miss dexterity by Peter Falk, is more than meets the eye — to the bad guys, not us, because we know how things will turn out.

While not the first to do it, Columbo is the best-known example of the "howcatchem" mystery series, inspiring series like Elsbeth or Poker Face, where an eccentric character pieces together the clues ...

When it comes to concepts, style, and format, one man’s fingerprints are all over today’s entertainment landscape: Peter Falk’s Lieutenant Columbo. The blue-collar homicide detective from the ...