The Greatest American TV Detective of all time?

[sampsonblk]

I say Columbo!

[enigmatic]

1. Monk! n/m

[soothsayer]

4. yes! n/t

[flamingyouth]

15. Emphatic agreement!

"It's a gift. And a curse."

[fishwax]

20. I agree

n/t

[unblock]

2. ellery queen

[No2W2004]

3. Two of the best......

at letting other people do the work!

[DemWitch]

5. Columbo...

he looked like a train wreck, acted as if he didn't have a dollar to buy a clue, had that Jessica Fletcher tenacity, and always, always outsmarted the bad guy... or girl...

[Zomby Woof]

6. Rockford

I love Columbo, so I will say Rockford is the best PRIVATE detective.

You can't get any cooler than James Garner.

[sampsonblk]

12. I watched him too

Are we old? I watched him when he was fairly new!

[Zomby Woof]

14. I was a kid

But watched them new just the same. :-)

[UdoKier]

17. Rockford was WAAAY better.

Sexy, cool, funny, and most of all - a person. Columbo never came across as much more than a caricature. Props to Falk for doing it well for so long, but I'll take Rockford.

And I love the opening and opening music.

[Rhiannon12866]

26. I still love James Garner, though he's far older than my Dad

That was a great show and I also loved the relationship that he had with his Dad, Rocky. It has become a family joke, one of the many infamous lines on "Rockford." I really don't like croutons in my salad. And I am constantly reminded that Rocky said to his son, Jimmy, when at a salad bar, to avoid the croutons. "Don't take them, Jimmy, they're stale," LOL!:D

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

35. The guy who played Angel, always running a scam on Rockford,

was classic too.

[Rhiannon12866]

36. Oh, yes! I certainly remember him!

He was the guy you loved to hate! My mother loved that show and whenever Angel pulled one of his scams, she'd always laugh and exclaim, "What a slimeball!" LOL!:D

[bobthedrummer]

7. I concur-Columbo!

:7

[The Great Escape]

8. Mannix!

how could I ever forget the PI that came on after Petticoat Junction

[jpgray]

9. I nominate Kojak, in honor of the Olympic hosts

Who loves ya, baby?

[sampsonblk]

11. Kojak is high on my list too

Forgot about him. Great show. I just watched Telly Savalas in "Battle of the Bulge" a few hours ago.

[SoCalDem]

10. Banacek

RIP..George Peppard
http://www.crazyabouttv.com/banacek.html

[maveric]

13. Frank Pembleton

Not watered down or exaggerated like most TV dicks.

[Princess Turandot]

22. Homicide was a great show..

it always surprises me how many people never saw it..the acting/plots/characters/music was always perfectly put together.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

38. Homoicide was one of my favorites

when it was on tv.

[7th_Sephiroth]

16. Conan Etogawa.

HAH!

[Spirochete]

18. Peter Gunn

He was a schmuck, but the theme music was cool.

[Chomskyite]

19. Did you know

. . . David Chase, creator of The Sopranos, used to write a lot for The Rockford Files?

I'd have to say my current favorite is Monk but the best of all time is Jim Rockford.

[Princess Turandot]

21. Favorite Character? Kojak...

he was one of the originals..I wish the show would be in reruns on some station these days..


Best Acted: Dennis Franz as Andy Sipowicz/NYPD Blue

[sampsonblk]

34. Kojak is on Hallmark Channel @ 5 eastern today

Every Sunday, as far as I know.

[DemOverseas]

23. One of the first....

Sgt Friday........Just the facts, ma'am!

[sampsonblk]

24. No Charlie Chan??

Wonders never cease!

[alphafemale]

25. I really like the original CSI guy. In a younger/thinner incarnation ...

He played in a role as the one who had busted Hannibel Lecter...a few years prior to "Silence of the Lambs."


But as "old school" goes.
Columbo rocked. Playing dumb was never so effective. "Umm...just one more thing."

Loved Kojak. "Who loves ya Baby?"

Oh...and the James Garner one. In the camper on the beach. Gotta love anything that man does.

Cop/Detective shows were pretty much where it was at for a few years there.

What was the name of the blind cop?

[andino]

27. Ummm Quincy

Jack Klugman Rocks

[stevielizard]

28. agreed... followed by RFiles...then huge tie for third

[Deja Q]

29. Maxwell Smart?

:shrug:

Missed it by that much?

[DS1]

30. Scrappy Doo

:eyes:

[lil-petunia]

31. Nero Wolf

bar none.

[Magrittes Pipe]

32. Do investigative reporters count?

If so, the correct answer is quite obviously Carl Kolchak.

[lil-petunia]

33. that would be my second choice.

Monk is rising, though.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

37. Magnum PI

I used to love that show when I was a kid and it has a catchy theme song.

[ariesgem]

39. Columbo

HANDS DOWN!