In the Columbo series, one of the better elements is the underestimating of the Lieutenant. The smarter the crook, the more likely he or she is to see Columbo as a boob. This is a fatal mistake for these people because all they see is that awful Peugeot and that ragged topcoat and twisted tie. Another thing they like to do is go into a detailed explanation of things Columbo didn't notice. Columbo's response is routinely a self deprecating "I never thought of that." Of course, at that point he files that away as a part of his barrel of possible inconsistencies. He will eventually throw some of these things in the face of his prime suspect. Jack Cassidy, the handsome man with the great dimples, and the husband of Shirley Jones, sees himself as so clever and so on top of things, that he drops right into the trap. The two things I enjoyed the most in this series was the construction of the crime and Columbo's unraveling of it. A third would be his relentlessness after he was convinced of the perpetrator: "Oh, there's one thing more." Good early episode.
Review of Murder by the Book
