Season 8, Episode 2: Murder, Smoke and Shadows Season 8, Episode 1: Columbo Goes to the Guillotine Season 7, Episode 4: How to Dial a Murder Season 7, Episode 3: Make Me a Perfect Murder Season 6, Episode 3: The Bye-bye Sky High I.Q. Season 6, Episode 2: Old Fashioned Murder Season 5, Episode 6: Last Salute to the Commodore Season 4, Episode 6: A Deadly State of Mind Season 4, Episode 3: By Dawn's Early Light Season 4, Episode 1: An Exercise in Fatality Season 3, Episode 2: Any Old Port in a Storm Season 2, Episode 7: The Most Dangerous Match Season 2, Episode 5: Requiem for a Falling Star Season 2, Episode 3: The Most Crucial Game Season 2, Episode 2: The Greenhouse Jungle Season 1, Episode 6: Suitable for Framing Season 1, Episode 0: Ransom for a Dead Man It’s also one of the very few times where we see the lieutenant producing his gun - a tool that, thanks to his brains, he barely needed at all. Some of the later episodes feature variations of the regular formula, such as the one where the crime is not a murder, but a kidnapping. Since Columbo was never a regular weekly series (only about 70 episodes were produced in more than 30 years), it managed to remain interesting and varied enough, also thanks to the appearance of some well-known supporting stars. With his permanent smile and friendly attitude (he even develops a friendship of shorts with some of the criminals), Peter Falk’s character certainly allows the viewer to watch a crime show relaxedly. The loud noise made by his run-down car and the references to his wife, who is never seen, are other recurring gags. His signature phrase “just one more thing”, which he invariable utters when he seems to have finished with his questions, rarely fails to bring a smile to the viewer, nor to test the criminal’s patience. Columbo is definitely a funny guy, not only in his looks but in his behaviour too. One of the merits of the show is that it introduces an element of humor in crime stories. Little they suspect they face an extremely bright mind, that gathers every little piece of information to ultimately get to the truth. But this plays to his advantage, since the criminals invariably try to outsmart him, pretending to collaborate in the investigation and giving him false leads. The lieutenant is a peculiar person - with his unkempt looks, crummy car and bewildered demeanour, he doesn’t seem at all like someone able to solve complicated cases. The originality of Columbo is that the viewer always knows exactly who commited the crime (which usually happens in the first few scenes of each episode), and the thrill lies in seeing how Lieutenant Columbo manages to catch the culprit. How has the show managed to remain so enjoyable through the years? It probably comes down to its premise and its main character. Staggeringly good TV.You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t like Columbo. Lancashire’s performance is nothing short of awe-inspiring, but it’s the emotionally real, character-driving writing that brings these characters to life so beautifully, whether in humanising a monster as he reaches out to his son, or completely subverting established finale norms with a simple, heartfelt conversation held over a kitchen table. Arriving seven years after the previous series - Wainwright smartly delaying the show’s return until Ryan (Rhys Connah) was old enough to carry more of the dramatic weight - this not only saw Sergeant Cathering Cawood on the verge of retirement, but also brought her long-running conflict with criminal Tommy Lee Royce (a brilliant James Norton) to a head once and for all -prying open the cracks in her relationships with both Ryan and sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran) along the way. Sally Wainwright’s blisteringly good story of on-the-beat policing in Halifax was already top-tier television by the end of its first two series, but this third and final chapter proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that her show is an undisputed masterpiece.
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