I know that these "newer" shows are extremely popular and get tremendous ratings etc.
Many people I know RAVE about them.

I have tried to give these shows the old college try but frankly I simply can't watch....

Now, I know they are not the same as Columbo in premise but they are in the same realm...and are murder mystery shows.


I find them way too slick, too coincidental and devoid of character.
Perhaps their clues are more iron-clad than Columbo's but I just don't see the appeal.

Do any members of this forum watch these, or all we are the same...opting to rewatch Mr Falk for the umpteenth time instead.

I know my family laughs at my love of Columbo....and they all seem to enjoy the CSIs etc...am I simply just an old man now...lol

I try to watch these modern detective shows but my attention usually wanders. The clues aren't particularly interesting and the cases are often resolved not in an intellectual manner as with Columbo, but because the protagonist is Superman and somehow just knew everything. Shows like The Mentalist and Lie To Me were like that anyway.

I don't think that those modern shows are terrible, they just look bad compared to Columbo. It was a virtual miracle in the first place for a television production to be produced at a high level like Columbo. I think it was the "wheel" format that we have to thank. The masses were placated with MacMillan and Wife and McCloud and people like us could get Columbo once a month. The stories and productions were too complex to be made on a weekly basis. And I don't think that a national audience wouldn't have gone for it every week either.

The good thing about today's niche tv markets is that we do get a lot of choice. You might like Mystery Woman or McBride on the Hallmark Channel. And of course there are the classic Poirot and Miss Marple series available on Netflix. If anyone else has a favorite please share it.

You're not alone with that. I consider myself young (27) but never really enjoyed any of the CSI or other. I love Columbo and Touch of Frost.

I can't watch watch those shows either, especially the NCIS shows. To me, they are just a tad to unrealistic, not in the sciencey aspect of the show, but in the fact that real CSI people don't do anything resembling what goes on on those shows and neither do the NCSI people....especially the Los Angeles show. The only show I can really get into is Elementary, mostly because of the acting of Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu is pretty good and they feed off of each other really well.