A “Columbo” A Day Keeps Insomnia Away!

I have to admit that I am absolutely addicted to “Columbo”! For those who are wondering what the heck I am talking about, “Columbo” is this great American detective series featuring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo from the Homicide dept LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department). The series was created by Richard Levinson and William Link and aired on US television through the 1960s and 1970s and more recently in 2003.

 I have a collection of all the episodes of the serial for the 10 seasons and watch them on weekends and also on some week days when I am plagued by insomnia. I have discovered that watching the antics of Lt. Columbo and the way he tricks the murderers into giving themselves away is a more potent tranquilizer than most sedatives available in the pharmacies. At the end of the almost 100 minute films I feel exhausted because you see I have been assisting Lt. Columbo in solving the crime all along!

And sometimes I get so involved that I am almost impatient with Columbo for his slow, plodding and meticulous methods. Lt. Columbo, the Italian-American policeman looks disheveled and absent-minded all the time. His shabby coat and trademark cigar shows up at the most unlikely times and places to thwart the murderers’ celebrations. His clumsy mannerisms are singular and the murderer is usually lulled into a false sense of security at his fumbling and irrelevant chattering. His humble manner and shabby appearance, not to mention his dilapidated French motorcar, makes him rather a ridiculous figure, and does not inspire respect at first glance. One particular ploy that the criminals invariably fall for is the way Columbo befriends them and they walk into the trap and eventually incriminate themselves.

Episode after episode Columbo keeps me glued to the monitor and inspires me to be observant and thorough. The real significance lies in the fact that there is no mystery. The murderer commits the crime at the beginning of the episode and the exciting part is the way Lt. Columbo uses deductive reasoning to uncover the truth. He almost reverse engineers the crime and relying largely on circumstantial evidence pins the culprit down in the end.


Some years back, in the 1980s I think, a detective serial in Hindi used to be aired on Door Darshan called “Karamchand” with Pankaj Kapur playing the role of detective Karamchand. It was reminiscent of the Columbo style and was quite popular in India. But for all those who have an appetite for murder mysteries, start downloading these episodes from µ Torrent and watch them before you go to bed for a sound night’s sleep!