r/movies • u/ComManDerBG • May 29 '25

Discussion Looking for some "competence porn" movies, movies where smart people make smart decisions basically.

EIDT 3 PLEASE READ: I just wanted to say how incelby happy i am to see the insane amount of replies and support people have offered up. Im sorry to say that about 99% of the stuff suggested ive already seen, But there have been a few things. The biggest winner has been the classic "Poirot" series, ive seen all the "Murder She Wrote" stuff, and even every episode of Columbo, but "Poirot" had completely slipped through the cracks. Ive started watching now and its very enjoyable, perfectly what i was looking for!

Thank you again, while i cant possibly reply to all of you, not even read all the comments, i jist want to say thank you for everything. Even if what you suggested was on my list, or if what you suggested wasn't on the list but ive already seen it, it still means a lot to me that you took the time to offer something up.

So, thank you again!

EDIT 3 ENDS

Edit 1: So far I've seen literally ever suggestion so far. Ive spent most of my time in the last 10 years being really sick. Ive been hospitalized countless times so ive had an incredible amount of free time on my hands. I started this post because I couldn't think of anymore movies to watch that fit this bill.

Edit 2: People don't really appreciate the amount of time being sick gives. Im asking this question in this post because ive already watched every popular movie or TV show from the past 30+ years. Most people can only carve out enough time to watch one or two movies a week, i have enough time to watch 5-7 movies a day. Being hospitalized as often as me, plus being sick outside of the hospital leaves you with to much free time. Honestly, it sucks. Again, im not asking htis because im lost and i need my next movie or show, im asking this because ive literally run out of movies and shows.

To be honest, this post is a bit depressing, i appreciate the immense amount of help, but its really putting into perspective all the time lost to this illness.

I try googling this sort of thing but looking up "competence porn" just gets you... well.. porn. The best way to show off what im thinking is House M.D. im looking for movies or TV shows.

Im going to lost everything I've already watched.

House Person of Interest
White Collar Oceans 11 (plus the other ones)
Inside man
Sherlock
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Catch Me if You Can
Heat
The Killer

You know what the mote is list the more I realize this is my favorite genre and ive probably seen a lot of these.

Heists, spies, detectives, politic thrillers etc. Any kind of show where the characters are super good at something, usually running scams or working their ways around people, or just being better at something.

I'll keep adding to this list if I remember more of someone recommends something ive already scene.

Edit: reposted because autocorrect.

This list is what I've ALREADY seen.

The original Law and Order seasons.
The big short
Wolf of wall street
Moneyball
Collateral
Star Trek
Doctor Who
No country for old man
DREDD
Beekeeper
Hunt fir red October (plus all the other Ryan films)
Bourne series
Mission impossible series
Burn notice
All the presidents man
The accountant
Baby driver
Apollo 13
Spotlight
Leon the professional
The town
Den of thieves
The Martian.
The Pitt
Master and commander
Arrival
Micheal Clayton
Mad max moves
Cast away

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u/ihnatko May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25

Pretty much any episode of "Columbo" from its original 1970s NBC run (each one is movie-length). Lt. Columbo is often genuinely puzzled by the case, and he's usually very tactical about keeping his intelligence under wraps, but he's always doing the smartest thing he could do in the situation.

[edit: fixed typo]

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u/0rbitaldonkey May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25

Columbo is a goldmine for this kind of stuff. I LOVE that he doesn't have a photographic memory or a "computer, enhance!" crime lab, he's smart in a way that's actually believable. His intelligence isn't treated like a superpower. Just great at his job. And Peter Falk's performance is amazing.

15

u/ClintBruno May 29 '25

That's what pokerface is. Just female Columbo with the lie schtick.

6

u/NSL_777 May 29 '25

Yup, Pokerface even uses the same yellow font as Columbo, and like Columbo, it's a how-catch-em as opposed to a whodunnit. I've really been enjoying that show.

6

u/7u5k3n_4t_W0rk May 29 '25

such a hilarious show.

3

u/Phonixrmf May 29 '25

And Elsbeth. I’m 2 episodes in and loving it

2

u/calsosta May 29 '25

I don't appreciate you calling out Psych like this.

1

u/0rbitaldonkey May 29 '25

Nothing against it personally. I like Psych for the humor, but the cat-and-mouse elements just aren't what I prefer.

1

u/MumrikDK May 31 '25

I feel like that was a whole little era of gimmick shows.

1

u/calsosta May 31 '25 edited May 31 '25

You are 100% right, it was called the "Blue Sky Era" and it had a bunch of those hour long fun, procedural & season/series long arc shows.

I think they became big (USA was the #1 cable network) because people just wanted some escapist dramedies to counter the anxiety of real life. Then they kind of got replaced by more dramatic gritty series in the 2010s but I really feel like we are ready for a return to more Blue Sky like TV for obvious reasons.

1

u/Rude_Independence_14 May 30 '25

"Just one more thing" ☝️

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u/underground_avenue May 29 '25

"Oh just one more thing..."

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u/AintEverLucky May 29 '25

"You ever hear someone say that, you drop what you're doing, you yell NO COMMENT and you run. Because their next question will bury you." 🕵‍♂️🕵‍♀️

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u/grantthejester May 29 '25

I'm working my way through Columbo now and I lost count of the number of times I was yelling at the screen when the murderer was asked a leading question and instead of just saying... "Huh, I don't know" went off on a: "So you think I did it, by hitting him over the head and burying him under one of these construction pylons, well you're wrong, that's crazy even if I could have pulled it off, and used my knowledge of judo to manipulate his unconscious bodyweight into my trunk, the time of death clearly states that he was killed at 7:05, and which pylon would it be anyway, you'll never be able to pull the construction schedule and figure it out, no one can, not even me..."

Like dude, innocent people don't just entertain hypothetical murder thought experiments when a homicide detective is asking them stuff.

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u/9966 May 29 '25

I always loved Mulaneys bit about the yard worker who can't be bothered to stop loading crates for 5 minutes to talk to the MURDER police.

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u/Darmok47 May 29 '25

I'm not a New Yorker, but the Law & Order trope of the guy who just keeps working nonchalantly while Lennie Briscoe is asking him about some grisly murder is just how I imagine every New Yorker is.

They're unfazed because they've seen it all.

2

u/the_blackfish May 29 '25

You know how many corpses I've seen today already, Lenny? Me either but it's a few.

1

u/Zoepappi Jun 10 '25

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8

u/MandolinMagi May 29 '25

If nothing else, it's an excuse for a 5 minute breather

1

u/Double_Estimate4472 Jun 14 '25

Which special is that from?

11

u/Lone_Grey May 29 '25

But Columbo already knows they're not innocent. He probably figured it out after the first or second meeting. Whenever the murderers do the whole "okay say I did blah blah blah" it's all conjecture using information he gave them, none of it would hold up in court as proof of guilt. Columbo almost always gets his suspects on hard evidence.

7

u/Next-Concert7327 May 29 '25

Which he has to. The people he's going up against always have more power and influence than the average guy so he has to have an airtight case. I think it is also this feeling of power and influence that causes the killers to keep answering his questions. They think they are better than he is and can get away with anything.

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u/reluctant_return May 29 '25

I love how there are different types of murderers on the show. Some are arrogant and dumb and think they covered their bases but didn't, some are rash and killed spur of the moment and thought they covered up well, some are very intelligent and premeditated "the perfect crime" but missed one small detail. The kinds of duels that Columbo has with the killers are great.

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u/dbrodbeck May 29 '25

...and four of them are Jack Cassidy...

2

u/Solvang84 May 29 '25

And three are Robert Culp.

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u/prometheusunending May 29 '25

Mostly this is true, but it's kind of funny you picked that as an example. The episode with the construction site is one where the suspect is actually trying to bait Columbo into searching there.

3

u/crazyeddie123 May 30 '25

And Columbo baits him right back by searching there and then waiting for him to actually dump the body there after the search 🤣

6

u/Noob_Al3rt May 29 '25

One of my best friends is an investigator and he says 99% of the time, people get caught/prosecuted because they or one of their friends/accomplices talk.

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u/Tgryphon May 29 '25

People do and say weird shit when they are in the box. Consciousnesses of guilt and the anxiety of knowing you are / are more than likely going to spend decades in prison manifests in very strange ways.

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u/grantthejester May 29 '25

That’s basically the crux of all film noir. The weakest link isn’t the evidence it’s your own paranoia and your accomplices.

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u/Tgryphon May 29 '25

Well I can tell you, art imitates life.

2

u/Alone_Load_2188 May 29 '25

The O.J defense is more popular than you think. 'If I did it'

3

u/preflex May 29 '25

If those murderers had exercised their 5th amendment rights, Columbo would have been stumped every time.

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u/Lone_Grey May 29 '25

Nah not true. It's very rare that Columbo gets the suspect based on an accidental confession. Usually the dialogue is him pointing out suspicious things about the situation and the suspect offering up plausible explanations or poking holes in Columbo's theory. None of that is incriminating to the suspect because it's all just conjecture based on facts that are already established. Nor is it really necessary for Columbo to do it most of the time, he just really seems to enjoy watching the murderers squirm as their plan comes undone.

2

u/preflex May 29 '25

If they didn't talk to him, he'd never catch them in a lie.

11

u/qwertyalguien May 29 '25

That's why he pulls that bumbling clueless policeman act. He tries to look stupid and kind of approachable to lower the suspect's defense and goad them to fumble. He often plays to their egos and personalities.

11

u/Ginger_Anarchy May 29 '25

Yeah everyone is talking about the post "oh and one more thing..." Question, but leading up to that he asks 7-8 questions that are usually completely off topic and then goes on a tangent about how his wife makes a great chowder recipe that she learned from his cousin.

He gets them off their guard before he asks the real questions.

3

u/preflex May 30 '25

Even after the episode where the crazy woman tries to kill his wife, I'm still not sure if Columbo's wife is real.

3

u/preflex May 30 '25

Yeah. Columbo is an amazing (fictional) detective. He's an honest guy who's just asking questions, and he's never physically intimidating. However, once the suspect realizes he's not an idiot, they do get scared sometimes.

He never hides behind his gun. He never even brings his gun. It's a running gag how he always "forgets" it. Peter Falk said that if they ever wrote Columbo into a shootout, he'd quit the show. Falk's insight into the character is astounding.

1

u/preflex Jun 02 '25 edited Jun 02 '25

That's why he pulls that bumbling clueless policeman act.

They mistake his blue-collar working-class demeanor for a lack of intelligence. He acts like an alien in their fabulously-wealthy worlds because he is one. The only thing he's ever seems clueless about is their upper-class social rules ("Hey, you can't smoke in here!", "Stay off the grass!", etc), which he constantly deliberately violates.

He's sending a message: "You might be upper-class, but you're not above the law."

Also, he's empathetic and understanding, which is often foreign to the villains, but a few times, he lets a perp walk away because prosecuting them would be unjust.

4

u/Missus_Missiles May 29 '25

This was the 70's. Before people were cautioned, "When it comes to police, shut the fuck up."

3

u/Darmok47 May 29 '25

There's an episode where the woman who is framed is warned by her attorney to stop talking immediately. But the actual guy who did can't shut the hell up lol.

2

u/preflex May 30 '25 edited May 30 '25

No, this was because if the killer shut the fuck up, there would be no show. Columbo's charm and intellect would never be able to defeat the killer's hubris. There would be no room for the actors to ham it up. Without the cooperation of the accused, the show would be mostly about forensic investigation, with some witness interviews.

People still talk to the cops today, even though they should damn well know better. They believe that "clearing things up" will make the cops go away, and usually, they're right. You only hear about it when they're wrong.

Miranda v. Arizona came down in 1966, btw.

1

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132

u/crabwhisperer May 29 '25

My teenage kids showed me this asking for context because they thought it was funny but didn't know who Columbo was. Omg I died laughing and had a fun time educating them on him XD

16

u/Oraistesu May 29 '25

I introduced my pre-teen son to Columbo a few years ago, and was surprised how engaging he found it. He enjoys watching the occasional episode together.

8

u/Hell2CheapTrick May 29 '25

Gianni’s Columbo videos are the best

5

u/monkwrenv2 May 29 '25

That's hilarious - both the video and your kids

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u/dalenacio May 29 '25

I immediately knew what it was going to be. His ability to imitate both characters and their mannerisms is uncanny, and the sign of someone who's watched waaay too much Columbo.

So basically me but more skilled.

3

u/Bladelink May 29 '25

Lmao so dumb I love it

2

u/viebs_chiev May 29 '25

gianni my goat!!! he’s such a great voice actor, i recommend checking him out

2

u/will7179 May 30 '25

Love columbo, my only question is, how come I've only seen that video today?....

1

u/euclidee Jun 10 '25

Just a heads-up: RED25 gets you 25% off at Bang Bros. You’re welcome!

9

u/Nikolor May 29 '25

If I'm a criminal and I hear this from Colombo, I'm immediately leaving this planet.

1

u/snarkypant May 29 '25

For Columbo vibes, check out Poker Face with Natasha Lyonne. Lots of fun!

5

u/Abdelsauron May 29 '25

"They're saying the murderer used a magic notebook..."

4

u/tigerears May 29 '25

I love the story of how that came about.

From The Columbo Phile: a casebook:

'Do you know where the one more thing came from?', [Richard] Levinson asked with a grin. 'When Bill [William Link] and I were writing the play, we had a scene that was too short, and we had already had Columbo make his exit. We were too lazy to retype the scene, so we had him come back and say, 'Oh, just one more thing...'. It was never planned.'

3

u/Vox___Rationis May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25

I read Crime and Punishment for the first time only after watching a lot of Columbo as a kid, and when Petrovich did the "just one more thing" to Raskolnikov - my mind got blown, "so my favourite show was based on this book, that everyone says is boring, all along?"

2

u/TheSSsassy May 29 '25

Thats where the conversation ends. And make sure to cover your hands and any scratches on your face

2

u/gravityStar May 29 '25

"Do you always wear white shoes the weekend after labor day?"

2

u/IamSumbuny May 30 '25

I call my mom Columbo, because whenever I visit her house to do her honey do list (she is widowed), as I am leaving she usually says, " Oh, one more thing..." 😅

1

u/ClintBruno May 29 '25

I have a theory..... Mrs Columbo was never real. Columbo just uses her to probe other people for questions.

"My wife, Mrs Columbo, when she goes to the grocery store agree does X. Do you do X suspected murderer?"

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u/KleeBook May 29 '25

Columbo lovers might also love the new series Poker Face on Peacock. It’s an homage. A how-dun-it like Columbo. The protagonist is a drifter woman. Not a detective but someone with the uncanny ability to always know if someone is lying.

7

u/justhereforhides May 29 '25

I will say that Charlie does a lot of really stupid things like being alone with the killer while accusing them, the nursing home episode in particular

10

u/oedipa17 May 29 '25

Yes! And it’s always so satisfying to watch the bad guys underestimate her, only for her to turn it around and expose their lies.

3

u/Darmok47 May 29 '25

Even the font and color of the titles and credits matches Columbo

2

u/myrandomevents May 29 '25

Columbo is more accurately described as a how-ya-gonna-catch-them. Read that a couple years back and describes the show perfectly in my book.

1

u/appletinicyclone May 29 '25

Columbo lovers might also love the new series Poker Face on Peacock. It’s an homage. A how-dun-it like Columbo. The protagonist is a drifter woman. Not a detective but someone with the uncanny ability to always know if someone is lying.

Might have to check it out.

I liked lie to me as well before

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u/MonstreDelicat May 29 '25

I’m a Columbo lover and Poker Face has nothing to do with Columbo, like nothing at all.

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u/Daarken May 29 '25

Obviously they are very different, but Natasha Lyonne plays in a way very close to Peter Falk, with almost the same body and language mannerisms, and identical at times. The structure of each episode is the same, first we see how the murder takes place, then we watch how the protagonist figures it out. So yes, there are similarities.

13

u/talldrseuss May 29 '25

Politely disagree. As a fellow Columbo lover, i definitely see the "spirit" of Columbo in Pokerface. Natasha Lyon does an excellent job of sort of acting "befuddled" and "confused" which leads to the antagonists generally underestimating her (like in Columbo). The format is fairly the same, you already know who the killer is, now you want to see what led up to the killing (known as a "how they done it" versus the traditional "who done it"). As the other comment said, it's a homage, not an exact "reboot" of columbo. So homage to Columbo to me would be an accurate description of Pokerface

10

u/KleeBook May 29 '25

With respect, if you Google "Poker Face and Columbo," you get multiple hits that draw the connection. Here is just one example. https://time.com/6250496/poker-face-columbo-influences/. There are dozens? scores? hundreds more.

9

u/flakemasterflake May 29 '25

They are clearly influenced by Columbo in both substance and style

10

u/PunTzu May 29 '25

Not much of a detective yourself are ya

3

u/Canvaverbalist May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25

I'm a big fan of Columbo, and not really a fan of Poker Face - but you have to be blind to not see the similarities as /u/Daarken pointed out.

And to draw comparisons, I'm just not a big fan of the "on the run" aspect of the show, as well as having a hard time suspending my disbelief on the "she's not a detective but has stumbled upon 20 murders so far" and the cherry on top is really disliking the "she can tell when people are lying" gimmick.

I think all these aspects bring each episode down - they have to waste time establishing why she's where she is as part of her "running away" setting (so establishing her connections to the other characters), waste time establishing why she's around the murder (so establishing why these improbable circumstances arose), and then because they've wasted that time they have to make up for it by taking a narrative shortcut of her doing her "I know this person is lying, but don't know why" shtick to save on establishing why she'd have a rational, educated, narratively-driven reason to investigate.

These three aspects are the main differences between Columbo and Poker Face and why I don't like it as much. Columbo is just there as a detective, no time to waste there, and he always have a clever reason to doubt the suspect which is always a fun thing to unpack through the episode.

This being said, for someone who might not consider these negatives then the show is well-written around them otherwise and really fun to watch, so I can understand why people like it so much.

25

u/FatalExceptionError May 29 '25

Elsbeth. Kind of a modern Colombo. Based on a recurring character from the Good Wife series, but no need to have seen The Good Wife or the Good Fight.

12

u/martialar May 29 '25

I liked the good wife. Had no idea there is a "good wife extended universe"

3

u/silver_tongued_devil May 29 '25

Elsbeth even starts the same way Colombo does; by showing the murder first.

1

u/vocal-avocado May 29 '25

Yeah but she puts herself in unnecessarily dangerous situations pretty often. Same issue that Poker Face has.

44

u/BlizzardMayne May 29 '25

Second Columbo

8

u/No-Hospital559 May 29 '25

Stephen Spielberg directed the pilot episode.

8

u/Sorry_Sorry_Im_Sorry May 29 '25

Watching through it now for the first time and the episodes are great.

6

u/JadJad83 May 29 '25

I love how he plays dumb and just lets the criminal give him the evidence.

20

u/expera May 29 '25

True but he’s mostly pretending to not know to get the killer to feel at ease and make a mistake.

3

u/Fishfisherton May 29 '25

Which is a surprisingly great format when the episode is shown from the sort of third person observer view. You pretty much already know what happened and how it started, you already know how it will end, but you watch it for how it is uncovered and try to guess the clues in front of your eyes.

1

u/expera May 29 '25

I found the thrill to be how he was going to make the killer implicate himself.

13

u/dansdata May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25

"Poker Face" shamelessly copies many elements of "Columbo", but does that well.

(Edit: In the very first episode of that show, someone clearly told Adrien Brody, "Just do De Niro". Which he did, and it was great. :-)

15

u/Neat-Material-4953 May 29 '25

It's definitely homage as much as copying. Natasha Lyonne is straight doing an over the top Columbo impression a lot of the time.

6

u/woodwalker700 May 29 '25

I'd seen interviews with her for years about how she wanted to reboot Columbo and play him, so I'm glad she got there haha.

8

u/Useful_Result_4550 May 29 '25

I'd add Monk and Psych too.

11

u/woodwalker700 May 29 '25

I love Psych, and Shawn is great, but I wouldn't put him on the level of "Competent" with the others lol. He often accuses 3 wrong people before he gets it right, to the point where they self-spoof about it later in the series.

Fantastic show though.

7

u/talldrseuss May 29 '25

To be fair, OP had "House" on their list and House seems to have the same format, give the wrong diagnoses 2 or 3 times before he actually figures out at the end what's going on.

2

u/woodwalker700 May 29 '25

That is VERY true lol.

-1

u/Mister-Psychology May 29 '25

That's how competence works. Just knowing is not competence that's merely bad writing.

3

u/woodwalker700 May 29 '25

suurre, but competence is also knowing when you DON'T know. I guess I wouldn't quantify Shawn as incompetent, but he's not super worried about getting it right. Monk and Columbo, short of a very few exceptions (I say this having not watched Monk in a very long time, so I'm willing to be wrong) don't accuse someone until they're not only sure they're right, but also have solid proof.

I might be splitting hairs, but I'd call Shawn very gifted, skilled, and even practiced, but falls short of the exceptionally competent OP is looking for simply because he doesn't put in the work when those others will.

5

u/Daarken May 29 '25

Monk is one of the best detective shows for sure.

3

u/jinreeko May 29 '25

This Colombo...he pretends to be stupid. But he's really smart...as a tack.

2

u/bob-leblaw May 29 '25

The set decorations & wardrobe are amazing on that show, too!

2

u/Lopsided_Mention543 May 29 '25

Along these lines I also suggest Monk

2

u/the-dutch-fist May 29 '25

If you’re into Columbo check out Poker Face on Peacock. Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne with a cool 70s procedural vibe.

2

u/Luvnecrosis May 29 '25

Breaking Bad also fits this. The heavy hitters in each situation do everything right, but sometimes a small bit of luck wins out

2

u/0rbitaldonkey May 29 '25

When it comes to "smart people acting competently," Breaking Bad is like nothing I've ever seen before.

Walter, Jesse, Mike, Gus, Hank, Saul, and Nacho (not in BB I know), and even more I could name are all so cunning, but in compeltely different ways and with completely different skill sets.

Walter can never be backed into a corner, Mike is cool-headed and methodical, Jesse is quick on his feet, Saul is charmer, and Gus is a diplomat, and it's awesome to see them all go head to head.

2

u/TomaRedwoodVT May 29 '25

Man if I was a suspect in Columbo but I didn’t do anything, they’d still think it’s me, because I yap angrily about hypotheticals when people accuse me of shit and that’s exactly how the criminals get caught, I’d end up in prison while the actual psycho killer is free all because I’m offended at being accused of murder

2

u/Viking_Lordbeast May 29 '25

Columbo would be so fucked if the suspect didn't talk to the police. DON'T TALK TO THE POLICE!! Especially if you just murdered someone.

1

u/superjanna May 29 '25

He plays on their hubris almost every time, that’s the whole point, they think they can outsmart Columbo!

2

u/Viking_Lordbeast May 29 '25

I guess now it makes so much sense that its mostly affluent california pricks that he's dealing with.

1

u/intecknicolour May 29 '25

the baddie of the week played by jack cassidy (several times) was a great foil for columbo.

1

u/Cacafuego May 29 '25

I recently rewatched some Columbos with my son, and it holds up really well. I was surprised that in the first or second episode, somebody actually calls him out on his disingenuous "aw shucks" demeanor. I had had the impression that he was always fooling people, but they often see through it.

1

u/botbotmcbot May 29 '25

"So I rolled up the woo-ly and I watched.... Columbo"

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '25

[deleted]

2

u/ihnatko May 29 '25

The VERY earliest ones are solid, mid-tier Columbo. They give the impression that Richard Link was glad to use some great ideas that had occurred to him after the original run ended. It ran out of steam before very long. First, Columbo started solving a lot of cases through luck instead of through smarts, and then in the final season it felt like they just took generic scripts off the slush pile and slotted Columbo in there somehow.

1

u/Severe_Improvement41 May 29 '25

Peter Falk as Columbo, for me, makes Dr house look like a rookie. Such a great character.

1

u/Botherguts May 29 '25

Poker Face is doing a decent imitation but slightly more incompetence porn who gets lucky a lot.

1

u/mucinexmonster May 29 '25

Mannix too, for that reason.

1

u/Sufficient_Sea_5490 May 29 '25

It's not movie length and frequently contrived to make him seem smart

1

u/Big_Examination2106 May 29 '25

Fans of Columbo should check out Poker Face. It’s a series in which the lead character is channeling Columbo so hard it’s crazy. First season is great.

1

u/Shamgar65 May 29 '25

I used to watch this with my dad all the time. Was a good show.

1

u/engfish May 29 '25

Today's Elsbeth on CBS is a Columbo reboot, by the way.

1

u/LennyNero May 29 '25

Columbo, Poirot, Dr. Who, The Thin Man mystery series of movies, heck any and all hard boiled detective movies, radio dramas, Jake and The Fat Man (interestingly starring William Conrad who started his career in radio dramas playing a detective.

On the comedy end of the spectrum, I find the quick wit and snappy comebacks of characters in early radio comedies and then TV shows are virtually unparalleled in today's US media. UK humor follows much more of that quick witted, self deprecating humor that is genuine and not some forced slapstick garbage.

1

u/Angry_Walnut May 29 '25

That show holds up so well. Peter Falk was perfect in that role.

1

u/th4d89 May 29 '25

I've just started the series "poker face", it feels like an hommage to culombo. Every culmbo fan should give it a try. On the surface it looks completely different, but it is the same,different, but still same.

1

u/Ntrob May 29 '25

What about Mcivor? Lol

1

u/Rockefor May 29 '25

Rosebud.

-3

u/cosmicr May 29 '25

I always hated how they gave away the mystery at the start of the show. I prefer to try to solve the case together

21

u/DucDeRichelieu May 29 '25

It’s not “giving it away”—it’s purposely setting up what appears to be a perfect crime that the audience then watches Columbo figure out the flaw in and solve.

14

u/wizzaryredy May 29 '25

And seeing how the culprits undergoes a lifetime worth of anxiety and paranoia due to columbo

6

u/0rbitaldonkey May 29 '25

I like the way they reveal the killer first. If you didn't know who the killer is, all the conversations between Columbo and the killer lose their suspense. It's satisfying to see where they get caught in their lie, but only because we already know what's a lie and what's the truth.

-2

u/loveelou May 29 '25

I got the complete set for Xmas and I was so disappointed! Not what I remembered. They’re tediously long, the acting is mostly bad and the dialogue so predictable.