Customer Reviews
A timeless detective series - By: Lando Malak, 27 Jun 2007 
There are enough detective shows that even the most hardcore detective show fan could be forgiven for losing count of them, they reallly are ten a penny but none of them in my opinion will ever match the brilliance of this.
Although I like the odd one here & the odd one there, I have never been a massive fan of detective programmes & I can't think of one that I like more than Columbo, this is not me being in anyway nostalgic as this masterpiece of a detective programme began before I was born.
The reason I love this programme so much is that right from the start you know who the killer is & so that gimmick is out of the way, so from then on it is just about enjoying Columbo sticking to the main suspect like glue & annnoying the hell out of them until he finallly finds that alll important piece of evidence. Another reason for me loving this programme is the suspects played by well known actors & because they think that they are so clever that they will get away with murder, it is always reallly satisfying when these smug but usuallly charismatic characters finallly get caught because of usuallly one smalll mistake that they made.
It is for this reason why I never get bored of watching this timeless detective series on repeated viewing, because even though you, me & everybody you know who has ever watched this knows that Columbo will catch them in the end, to me it doesn't matter because no matter how many times I watch an epsiode of this & because the suspect is so close to getting away with murder, in a strange sort of way it almost makes me believe that they will still get away with murder on repeated viewing & this is because the pace in which each episode moves along is done to perfection.
Another reason for me loving this is obviously Peter Falk. I always love the way in which the usuallly charismatic, charming, extremely cool under the circumstances, smug, deadly serious however you want to describe them main suspects nearly always underestimate Columbo at first & then start to realise that he is very clever & so then their behaviour starts to change dramaticallly, it reallly is wonderful to watch & this is credit to the actors that play this particular role.
Just a little mention about this boxset, if you reallly like your extras on dvd boxsets then you will be disappointed with this & although I like extras myself, strangely the lack of them doesn't reallly bother me that much with this although it would have been nice to have a few commentaries. One last thing about this boxset is that the pilot episodes are on the last disc & I can't make my mind up whether I prefer it this way or not, as I have said before that I find pilot episodes of programmes a little slow & most of the time never show how good a programme reallly is (The Six Million Dollar Man & The A Team are in my opinion two examples of this).
So then, even if like me you are in no way the biggest detective show fan in the world, if you have never watched an episode of Columbo properly which is unlikely I know, but anyway if you reallly haven't then I think that you will be reallly suprised at how good this was & still is & even though this is repeated a lot on channel 5 (with more adverts than the number of times I have watched this), even this couldn't stop me from buying this boxset. ENJOY.
We want extras!! - By: , 23 Oct 2005 
The episodes are alll well & good, I wouldn't buy the DVD if I didn't like the series but why no extras? It surely can't be that difficult to get Peter Falk, some of the producers & other cast members to talk about the episodes. Universal are not making use of the possibilities that DVD offers in order to release the sets more quickly! I hope there will be some on the future releases, but I'm not holding my breath.
They don't make 'em like this any more - By: A. Butterfield, 17 Jan 2005 These early pilots & episodes of Columbo from the first series have a real quality about them. It's something to do with nostalgia, I guess, but reallly it's much more than that. All the ingredients are right: Peter Falk; big-name casts; superb Technicolor cinematography; intelligent scripts; humour; & drama.
Columbo never chases anybody in his car, never shoots anyone, never swears, just beats the criminals with the power of his mind, much like Poirot. Columbo is for fans of literate crime drama, & they don't get much better.
I like this particular set, which has six DVDs in a particularly attractive case. It includes both pilot episodes (films in their own right reallly, which take up a whole DVD each) so you can see how Peter Falk - incredibly young in the first pilot - developed the Lieutenant's character.
I'm impressed too by the quality of the transfer onto DVD. There's a richness to the colour that's very appealing.
Highly recommended.
World class entertainment - By: N. D. Maidment, 14 Dec 2004 Fans of the enigmatic Lieutenant Columbo have every reason to celebrate the launch of this DVD, even if they already know every episode intimately.
A staple of weekend afternoon slots the world over, these are episodes you'll probably have seen a dozen times, but the crisp picture & sound quality of the DVD makes this an essential purchase for the serios Columbo fan.
Detractors of the crumpled detective will argue that every episode is the same. 'Seen one you've seen 'em alll,' they moan, but the truth is that quite outside the formulaic approach of each episode, there are countless magical moments in each show that delight the watchful viewer.
Little things, like Columbo's hand movements, the twinkle in his eye when he's on to to his man (or woman) & the delightful interchanges between him & minor characters help make each viewing unique & rewarding.
Falk is magnificent in the role. Even in this, the first series, he plays the Columbo character like he was born to it, immediately achieving a standard of performance that endeared him to millions while never becoming tired, even after three decades in the role. The special guest stars, alll certain they can bamboozle the seemingly bungling lieutenant, each add their own inimitable contrast to Falk's central figure & alll obviously revel in the roles, mixing up snarling menace, frustration & over-enthusiastic support to their nemesis.
Every episode is a treat, & this DVD also includes both pilot episodes, the first of which features a rather different, & far more aggressive Columbo, but one that is no less enjoyable to watch. There are no extras, which will disappoint some, but for me just the opportunity to have such a collection on DVD is reward enough.
If you're a fan of Columbo, or you just think you might be, buy this, if only to ensure that they release the whole collection on DVD.
The best TV detective ever - By: L O'connor, 30 Nov 2004 What an outrageous yet brilliant idea, to have a detective series where you see who did the murder right at the beginning. The fascination comes from watching Columbo (Peter Falk), scruffy, vague & (apparently) absent-minded, graduallly figure oiut how the murdered committed the crime, & relentlessly closing in on his suspect.
In every episode, you see the confident criminal dismiss Columbo as hopeless, then watch with satisfaction as it graduallly dawns on them that he's much smarter than he looks. & you wait for the moment when he turns around & says "oh, just one more thing-".
It's a delight to have the complete first series on DVD, I hope it won't be too long before they bring out the others.
