"Columbo" was a TV show about a cop, Lt. Columbo, played by Peter Falk.
It ran from Feb 20, 1968, until Jan 30, 2003, with an 11-year gap from ’78 to ’89. In the show, Columbo was a great but unassuming detective.
That unassuming, almost bumbling approach caused his suspects to let their guards down and answer his apparently harmless, rambling questions, which were actually quite poignant and insightful.
There are two key points here: