Columbo: The Complete Series

There are already many good reviews on this Box Set so I won’t go too much into what the series is like or about. My review is more about the actual product as a whole. Columbo was a TV detective series that was produced and transmitted during the 1970s. Each story was movie length. Each episode showed us a murderer commit a murder and cover their tracks or create an alibi so as to make the perfect murder and evade detection. Then detective Columbo unpicks alibi’s and works out who the murderer is and how the murder was commited. For me, Columbo is the greatest TV detective series of all time. The writing, production, acting and style are outstanding. Peter Falk who played Columbo created a brilliant character, The first movie was in 1968 and then turned into a series every year until 1978. The series was brought back for new episodes in 1989 to 1990 and 2003. The box set is well designed as a cigar box. Inside there are slim line DVD cases containing two discs each. The set covers all episodes for season one to nine. Then all the episodes that were produced at various times after series nine form Series 10. If you look at other DVD releases before this you will find those episodes after series nine as forming series 10, 11, and 12. But I believe that this box set has got it right to bring all those episodes recorded and released at odd times and across years into one set and making it season 10. I got my box set via Amazon and a third party seller that stated it was Like New but booklet missing. As long as all the discs were there I wasn’t bothered and was glad to get a box set for nearly half the price of the ones on Amazon direct. When I got the item it was as described. Like New. And there is a space in the box. But having looked on line I am not sure that there was actually supposed to be a book. I can find no mention of a booklet on product description on the internet. So I cannot comment on the book, if there is supposed to be one. The episodes all have Subtitles for the hard of hearing. This is a good selling point for many people. I can tell you that if you need subtitles this is the best set to get. The Blu Ray editions of season one and two have NO SUBTITLES. The picture quality is better on the Blu Ray version of season one, but this DVD set is still good enough and the complete package is a great way to collect Columbo. Also there a couple of episodes from the short lived spin off series Mrs Columbo that are added as bonus episodes about half way through the set. If you ever wanted that series I believe it is only available in Region 1 DVD so to get a few episodes here on this Region 2 set makes a nice addition.

This box set is a fantastic tribute to the legendary TV detective Columbo. It features every episode and a couple of episodes of 'Mrs Columbo' which is a nice bonus although the series wasn't that great to be honest. It goes without saying that it is the brilliant portrayal of Columbo by Peter Falk that made this series such a success. He is simply perfect as the shabby but very intelligent detective and it ranks as one of the greatest TV performances ever. Obviously some of the episodes are better than others, indeed some are MUCH better but Peter Falk is always at the top of his game and never less than watchable. Several of the episodes are excellent, especially the earlier ones such as 'Any Old Port In A Storm', 'By Dawns Early Light', and 'A Friend In Deed'. They are a just a handful of fine stories but much later ones are also very good especially the very clever 'Columbo Goes To College'. This is a terrific box set with many many hours of entertainment. Some people have been critical of the cigar type box that the DVDs come in but I think that it is great and quite sturdy. There is also a handy booklet included which adds to the overall value of this set.

Just what my wife wanted!

I've read most of the reviews and can't understand why people have complained about the "box" My box is in great shape and quite sturdy and it arrived as it is shown in the picture i.e spine outwards. Also some have commented an the covers all being the same, which they are, but what does that matter? Some of them you do need to turn up the volume but as long as you have volume control that's no problem The most important thing to me is the "DVD's" themselves, they play fantastic, picture is very clear, sound quality is great but as i have mentioned the volume control might need adjusting. If I were given this as a present and the case was a bit bashed or whatever I wouldn't bother as the main thing is the performance of the dvd's and these are GREAT! If you have problems keeping place of where you are on watching them you could use the booklet that comes with it as a marker (as I do)lol For £50 it's the best collection and GREAT value for money and if you get a case that's a bit bashed what does it matter as I'd rather have the set in a bashed case than miss out on a great oppotunity of owning these classics at such a brilliant price :)

Ovviamente la serie è ben conosciuta e probabilmente abbiamo visto in TV tutti gli episodi prodotti. In ogni caso questo cofanetto contiene veramente tutte le stagioni prodotte e onestamente, in lingua originale ColUmbo a me piace di più. Sottotitoli mancanti nella terza stagione, come già riportato in altre recensioni. Prezzo conveniente e cofanetto poco ingombrante, grazie alle custodie slim. Se qualche volta la TV non propone nulla di gradito è un'ottima alternativa. Buona visione

I'll be the first to admit that I am greatly biased toward Columbo. I absolutely adore the late, great Peter Falk and have been a fan of his most famous character since childhood. There really isn't much one can say negative about this series except that with just 69, there were too few episodes/movies! Peter Falk was always brilliant in everything he was in. He was equally as comfortable in a flat-out comedy role as he was drama. He brought all of his characters to life and you cared about them because they had that something special that a truly good character always does. Lt. Frank Columbo was no exception to that. The good Lt. always had an idea from the start who the murderer was. The joy of each episode was watching him expertly lead the killer into giving him/herself away. It didn't matter how carefully they thought they had planned out the crime, once Columbo was on the case, he would exploit their greatest weaknesses and end up letting the bad guy catch himself. Along the way, there was a lot of humor to lighten the atmosphere, but the shows never turned into a comedy. Let's face it, murder isn't exactly a light-hearted thing so it can always be welcome when our hero can bring a smile into an otherwise dark situation. Whether it was always commenting on what he and Mrs. Columbo enjoyed or liked (Mrs. Columbo has to have had some of the most eclectic interests and tastes of any human being as she was a fan of everyone and everything!), Columbo whistling "This Old Man" or even bringing Dog along on the investigation, he could always make you smile. Rarely did he lose his temper and even when he did, you couldn't fault him for it. The "Columbo" series can also boast something that so precious few series of today can: superior writing. A good mystery is nothing if the writing is poor and doesn't have the characters to back it up. The crimes in "Columbo" were unique for their time and kept you on your toes looking for that one thing that told Lt. Columbo that his prime suspect was guilty. The supporting characters were just as well-written as the regular series characters. None of them were there just for the sake of bringing in a big name guest star. They had background and could be pretty complex. And about those guest stars. Some of the biggest and best names in Hollywood were on the receiving end of Lt. Columbo's razor-sharp wit or were the victim he fought so hard to find justice for. Leonard Nemoy, George Hamilton, Patrick McGoohan (he also directed five episodes), Robert Culp, Robert Vaughn, William Shatner, Jeanette Nolan, Ray Milland, Jack Cassidy, Ida Lupino, John Dehner, Leslie Neilson, Dean Stockwell, Dabney Coleman and dozens of others. To say "Columbo" was 'star-studded' would be an understatement. We even get to see Peter Falk's real-life wife, Shera Danese in six episodes. Along with well-known actors and actresses, some of the cream of the Hollywood crop worked behind the scenes. Steven Speilberg, Steven Bochco and Johnathan Demme served in roles of directors and writers. Two of the episodes were based upon two of Ed McBain's "87th Precinct" novels. Even Peter Falk himself served a double role as actor and director for the last episode of the first season. Henry Mancini and Mike Post were two of the many, and very talented, composers who worked on the show. Over the course of its run, Columbo won thirteen Emmys and two each of Edgar Awards and Golden Globes. Well deserved recognition for such a fine show! There is a reason why "Columbo" ran from 1968 to 2003. The quality of the acting and writing was top-notch, The story lines were unique and compelling. It was a pleasure to learn a new Columbo movie was on the network schedule because you knew that the two hours you would spend watching the show meant a great way to spend an evening with good entertainment that challenged your mind. Oh, and just one more thing...you'll really regret it if you don't add this brilliant complete series to your DVD collection. Anyone who is a fan of well-written, brilliantly acted drama would be proud to own this collection!

Je suis un COLOMBOPHILE de la première heure !!! Ma seconde fille est tout aussi accroc ... J'avais déjà la collection intégrale en français, mais j'ai voulu acheter cette collection en anglais, pour perfectionner mon anglais-parlé !!! TOTALEMENT SATISFAIT. On devrait visionner Colombo en cours d'anglais au collège.

I love Columbo not so much for the plots which are often a bit "too much", too complex. But I love it for the character of Columbo. He does not change much but you learn more and more about him and his ways. It is not about action but about scenes and characters. I love that sometimes something is shown for minutes which is not relevant for the plot itself, e.g. when he talks to an officer about the officer's child. Or when he explains to someone is dog "gets frisky" when he sees the ocean. Also, I think it is great that sometimes Columbos first appearance is after more than 15 mins which allows to introduce all other characters properly. I also think it is great that Columbo shows glances of the decades' characteristics, e.g. fashion, perception of women, changes in science. Quality is ok, box is beautiful.

The disks do not work in Europe, they are only for US and Canada; this was not mentioned at all in the description. The seller is from USA, so the return is going to be complicated and expensive. Buy somewhere else