mat said..."strange how you can say Dick's surname...." very funny mat!!

You see if you type it like this Dick VanDyke...you can get away with it.

And the Columbo format is tried and true. I really detest detective shows that go through the whole thing and leave stuff unrevealed to the viewer, and then at the end they have the detective ramble on about the whole plot and how they solved it....there is a name for this type of format but I don't know what it is. I think Murder She Wrote is a lot like this.

um......I meant "CAN'T say Dick's surname...."

Yeah, I think Columbo is so popular because he's so authentic . . . authentic in the sense that like every ordinary person, he is superior to everyone else in just one way: He can solve murders. Some of us can repair cars better than anyone in the neighborhood or grow tomatoes better than anyone else in town. So many detectives are depicted as geniuses in every respect--not our man Columbo. But the guy can observe clues and piece it all together!

Though came to my mind. When Columbo needs a pencil for evidence (ie A friend in deed) he has one close by but never when he is questioning a suspect.

Yeah its nice to see that Columbo is regular guy who can solve murders and doesnt have the regular weak spot for woman than most have.

God bless,

Matthew