1. Lt. Columbo (Columbo)
Bumbling, unassuming, the man in the mac, Columbo is the most underestimated detective on the beat, but that doesn't stop him from being a genius powerhouse who ALWAYS get his man. Created by William Link and Richard Levinson and first broadcast in the 1970s, Columbo was unusual in that the whole crime is played out in front the audience before the good Lieutenant even appears on the scene, allowing us to watch as the murderer unravels at the hand of the politely relentless detective constantly asking just one more thing.
The man we see as Lieutenant Columbo isnt even real, writes Sherlock creator Steven Moffat in an article penned exclusively for Crime Scene magazine. Hes a trap. A conscious construct ofhomely anecdotes, loveable vagueness, and tales of a never-seen wife all camouflage for a genius predator, circling the guilty, his teeth at their throat before they even know hes there.
