I've been on a mystery kick for the last few weeks, watching Columbo and Murder She Wrote reruns on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel. I'm freaking out at Columbo's deceptive brilliance and Jessica Fletcher's classy detective work.
Columbo aired from 1971 to 2003.
Murder She Wrote aired from 1984 to 1996.
Columbo's glass eye is super cool. He wears a raggedy trench coat, smokes a cigar and drives a French Peugeot. He has dog named "Dog" and he's always talking with affection about his wife, who never appears on the show. (Reminds me of Fraiser - no one ever saw Maris).
As a homicide detective for the Los Angeles Police Department, Columbo doesn't appear on the scene until after the murder has taken place. This first half hour shows the murder, the motive and how the murderer covers up the crime. When Columbo arrives on the scene, the audience already knows who the killer is, but the fun is seeing Columbo put the clues together and outsmart the murderer, who totally underestimates the unassuming detective.
As for Jessica, an amateur detective who also writes mystery novels, she always happens to be in the right place when a murder is committed. She hails from a small sea coast town in Maine called Cabot Cove. A murder usually happens when Jessica is visiting her nephew, Grady, or one of her many friends. She discovers clues along the way that lead to the murderer's identity and the motive.
Watching these old TV shows, I get a kick out of seeing well-known actors is guest roles. George Clooney, Bryan Cranston, Linda Hamilton, Wayne Rogers, John Astin, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Robert Vauhgn, Anne Francis, Tyne Daly, Vera Miles, Lee Grant, Faye Dunaway, Ruth Gordon, just to name a few.
I've become a fan of detective shows and I'm glad these classic TV shows are still around. Do you have any favorite TV detective shows? (And don't even get me started on "Sherlock"! I'm a Superfan!)
