Lieutenant Columbo, played with average Joe charm and unshowy, easy-to-miss dexterity by Peter Falk, is more than meets the eye — to the bad guys, not us, because we know how things will turn out.
The character of police detective Columbo first appeared in a long-forgotten episode of 1950s television. But its scripters, William Link and Richard L. Levinson, sensed potential and retooled their ...