Columbo

The Peter Falk-led detective series Columbo had a remarkable, though irregular, television run. Both a 1968 and a 1971 pilot were broadcast. You're correct if you believe you only recall Columbo from the 1990s and not much earlier. The majority of the 1970s saw its run, and then it returned from 1989 until 2003. They only produced 69 episodes over a period of about 35 years that weren't consecutive.

Although the show had a sizable following in North America, it was so well-liked there that the authorities there was really alarmed. This goes back to 1974 when Columbo was first shown to Romanians, and man, did they enjoy it. After the season was done, the populace expressed their displeasure and laid the responsibility for it on the Romanian government.

Romania had quotas for entertainment at the time. Only a specific amount of US content was permitted on TV. They therefore feared that the authorities would shut it down after the season. The Romanian administration contacted the US State Department to prevent possible civic upheaval. In response, they arranged for Peter Falk to record a message especially for his Romanian followers, in which he gave them the assurance that Columbo would return.

Genre: Crime drama, Detective fiction, Neo-noir
Created by:Richard LevinsonWilliam Link
Starring:Peter Falk
Country of origin:United States
Original language:English
No. of seasons:10
No. of episodes: 69