Would there have been a Monk, if there wasn't first a Columbo?

Yes Monk is a great show. I don't watch it on a regular basis but I catch the repeats sometimes on the weekends. It is terrifically written, produced, and directed. Tony Shaloub is great. Loved him in Big Night.
But I will have to agree with Mrs. Peck....I don't believe there would have ever been a Monk without there first being a Columbo.

Yes, I truly agree with both of you. But there wouldn't be a Columbo without Sherlock Holmes and Philo Farnsworth. Just like science -- standing on the shoulders of giants usually yields something good.

Love Sherlock Holmes...and you are right.
And yes, James, those giants' shoulders are a great place to be....you can see the whole world from up there!

Thank you Cassie. Yes, you can see the whole world. But it's incumbent upon you to give somebody else a leg up to see even more -- at least give them the chance.

I haven't watched a whole lot of episodes of "Monk". I would have to say that that is because a number of the episodes that I have watched were quite bad. But I'll also say right here immediately that some of the episodes of "Monk" that I've watched have been very good. But to say that "Monk" is better than the worst episodes of the first 45 "Columbos" is humerous. To say that "Monk" is better than the best 46-69 episodes of "Columbo" is downright HYSTERICAL! A-HAH HAH HAH HAH-HAH!!!

The most recent episode of "Monk" that I watched was the episdoe in which a dump truck dumps a volkswagen beetle on a highway and causes a massive traffic jam in which Monk and friends find themselves trapped. The episode was filled with stereotypical characters (including Monk himself at this point in the series - at least Columbo has gotten "old and feeble" according to some on this board!)

Most "typical" of the characters in this episode of "Monk" was the officer in charge of the accident scene who (of course) wouldn't listen to Monk when he repeatedly told him that there was "something more going on here".

The concluding car chase had me laughing my head off as Monk's assistant held on with all her might to the tip of the dump truck as the bad guy set it into "dump" motion while heading on down the highway. I kept hoping that she wouldn't be able to hold on and go sliding down out of the dump onto the roadway where Monk in the police car would roll right over her! (Didn't happen - too bad.)

Certainly no one on this board could ever believe an episode of "Columbo" wrapping up in such a manner? I've decided that I won't mention the "guest rock group" present in this bad episode. Oops, I just did.

Thankfully the episode didn't feature the regular police captain who always thinks that Monk doesn't know what he's talking about until the end of the episode when he begins to think that Monk may be really smart - Oh, but then in the next episode the same police captain thinks that Monk doesn't know what he's talking about until the end of the episode when he begins to think that Monk may be really smart - Oh, but then in the next episode the same police captain thinks that Monk doesn't know what he's talking about until the end of the episode when...

So this was a lousy, rotten, horrible episode of "Monk". But I realize that other episodes have been very good. Excellent even. However, none of the absolute best of the "Monk" episodes - that I've seen - come anywhere near the quality of "Columbo" episodes such as "Columbo Cries Wolf", "Death Hits The Jackpot", "Rest In Peace Mrs. Columbo". or the other highest quality episodes of the 46-69ers.

Just my opinions, kids. So there! NYAH!

James said..."Thank you Cassie."

Yay!!! Yet another nickname!! I love it!

Headache...what can I say??? Maybe all I'll say is thanks for the Sunday Chuckle!!

While there were a whole slew of detectives before Columbo, both in print, films and TV, I believe that Columbo was the first that had the persona of your every day man, rather then the sophisticated "know it all"

I really like Monk, too. But I don't think its as good as Columbo. Actually, I feel that the worst of the Columbo's is better than the best of Monk (with 1 or 2 exceptions). The problem with Monk is that the storys aren't as good as Columbo. They have a wonderful, entertaining character, but don't put as much thought into the plots. Most of the "mysteries" are transparent and not nearly as clever as Columbo.
As for all those detectives that have come before, I guess they all owe a debt to the first & original: C. Auguste Dupin created by Edgar Allan Poe.

I think Poe is usually given the honor of being the the creator of the modern (Dupin) detective story; however, there are elements going as far back as the Book of Daniel and even Oedipus Rex.

Love Poe. I try to read his stuff whenever there is a thunderstorm. I do that with King Lear too. It just seems to go together.
Just as with Columbo...I like watching certain episodes during certain seasons and dates. Troubled Waters in the summer. Bye-Bye (etc.) in the fall, because of the scene in the rain. The Conspirators on St. Patrick's day. The Most Crucial Game during football season. A Matter of Honor on Cinco de Mayo.

Don't look now....but I think I have lost my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trying to remember if there's a Columbo episode in which either Thanksgiving or Christmas is in the background or mentioned?