Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.
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The peak run. Top 40% of seasons by average rating — consecutive, with an average of 7.72.
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Peter Falk
Lt. Columbo
All 67 episodes plotted by IMDb rating
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7 episodes • 1971Avg: 7.4
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murder by the Book | Sep 15, 1971 | 7.7 |
| 2 | Death Lends a Hand | Oct 6, 1971 | 7.8 |
| 3 | Dead Weight | Oct 27, 1971 | 6.9 |
| 4 | Suitable for Framing | Nov 17, 1971 | 7.7 |
| 5 | Lady in Waiting | Dec 15, 1971 | 7.2 |
| 6 | Short Fuse | Jan 19, 1972 | 7.1 |
| 7 | Blueprint for Murder | Feb 9, 1972 | 7.6 |
8 episodes • 1972Avg: 7.5
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Étude in Black | Sep 17, 1972 | 7.7 |
| 2 | The Greenhouse Jungle | Oct 15, 1972 | 7.3 |
| 3 | The Most Crucial Game | Nov 5, 1972 | 7.5 |
| 4 | Dagger of the Mind | Nov 26, 1972 | 7.0 |
| 5 | Requiem for a Falling Star | Jan 21, 1973 | 7.3 |
| 6 | A Stitch in Crime | Feb 11, 1973 | 8.0 |
| 7 | The Most Dangerous Match | Mar 4, 1973 | 7.4 |
| 8 | Double Shock | Mar 25, 1973 | 7.7 |
8 episodes • 1973Avg: 7.7Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lovely But Lethal | Sep 23, 1973 | 7.2 |
| 2 | Any Old Port in a Storm | Oct 7, 1973 | 8.3 |
| 3 | Candidate for Crime | Nov 4, 1973 | 7.7 |
| 4 | Double Exposure | Dec 16, 1973 | 7.8 |
| 5 | Publish or Perish | Jan 18, 1974 | 7.6 |
| 6 | Mind Over Mayhem | Feb 18, 1974 | 7.0 |
| 7 | Swan Song | Mar 3, 1974 | 8.1 |
| 8 | A Friend in Deed | May 5, 1974 | 8.2 |
6 episodes • 1974Avg: 7.7Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | An Exercise in Fatality | Sep 15, 1974 | 7.6 |
| 2 | Negative Reaction | Oct 15, 1974 | 8.0 |
| 3 | By Dawn's Early Light | Oct 27, 1974 | 7.8 |
| 4 | Troubled Waters | Feb 9, 1975 | 7.8 |
| 5 | Playback | Mar 2, 1975 | 7.6 |
| 6 | A Deadly State of Mind | Apr 27, 1975 | 7.4 |
6 episodes • 1975Avg: 7.3
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forgotten Lady | Sep 14, 1975 | 8.0 |
| 2 | A Case of Immunity | Oct 12, 1975 | 7.2 |
| 3 | Identity Crisis | Nov 2, 1975 | 7.5 |
| 4 | A Matter of Honor | Feb 1, 1976 | 6.7 |
| 5 | Now You See Him | Feb 29, 1976 | 8.2 |
| 6 | Last Salute to the Commodore | May 2, 1976 | 6.2 |
3 episodes • 1976Avg: 7.4
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fade in to Murder | Oct 10, 1976 | 7.4 |
| 2 | Old Fashioned Murder | Nov 28, 1976 | 7.1 |
| 3 | The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case | May 22, 1977 | 7.7 |
5 episodes • 1977Avg: 7.7
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Try and Catch Me | Nov 21, 1977 | 8.3 |
| 2 | Murder Under Glass | Jan 30, 1978 | 7.7 |
| 3 | Make Me a Perfect Murder | Feb 25, 1978 | 7.5 |
| 4 | How to Dial a Murder | Apr 15, 1978 | 7.9 |
| 5 | The Conspirators | May 13, 1978 | 7.3 |
4 episodes • 1989Avg: 7.3
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbo Goes to the Guillotine | Feb 6, 1989 | 7.3 |
| 2 | Murder, Smoke and Shadows | Feb 27, 1989 | 7.2 |
| 3 | Sex and the Married Detective | Apr 3, 1989 | 7.4 |
| 4 | Grand Deceptions | May 1, 1989 | 7.1 |
6 episodes • 1989Avg: 7.6
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murder, a Self Portrait | Nov 25, 1989 | 7.5 |
| 2 | Columbo Cries Wolf | Jan 20, 1990 | 8.1 |
| 3 | Agenda for Murder | Feb 10, 1990 | 7.9 |
| 4 | Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo | Mar 31, 1990 | 7.6 |
| 5 | Uneasy Lies the Crown | Apr 28, 1990 | 7.5 |
| 6 | Murder in Malibu | May 14, 1990 | 6.8 |
14 episodes • 1990Avg: 7.4
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbo Goes to College | Dec 9, 1990 | 8.0 |
| 2 | Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health | Feb 20, 1991 | 7.4 |
| 3 | Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star | Apr 29, 1991 | 7.5 |
| 4 | Death Hits the Jackpot | Dec 15, 1991 | 7.6 |
| 5 | No Time to Die | Mar 15, 1992 | 5.9 |
| 6 | A Bird in the Hand... | Nov 22, 1992 | 7.6 |
| 7 | It's All in the Game | Oct 31, 1993 | 7.7 |
| 8 | Butterfly in Shades of Grey | Jan 10, 1994 | 7.6 |
| 9 | Undercover | May 2, 1994 | 6.9 |
| 10 | Strange Bedfellows | May 8, 1995 | 7.9 |
| 11 | A Trace of Murder | May 15, 1997 | 7.5 |
| 12 | Ashes to Ashes | Aug 10, 1998 | 7.8 |
| 13 | Murder With Too Many Notes | Mar 12, 2001 | 7.0 |
| 14 | Columbo Likes the Nightlife | Jan 30, 2003 | 7.6 |
