My Top 5 70s American TV Detectives

When British TV Was Awash With American Dicks! <Smirk!>

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Who Loves You, Baby?

These days we are used to 'Narrowcasting' (of sorts) - where 24hour streaming services are plentiful enough to provide exactly what you want when you want it - and this is a far cry from 1970 British television. With just 4 channels and just 12 hour scheduling you had to be a lot more flexible in your tastes and put up with a lot more 'off the shelf' programming from America...

Not that all American shows were poorer quality - British production companies made their fair share of dross - and at least our channels tried to cherry pick 'the best' of American shows. And a lot of the time they succeeded, particularly in the area of detective shows.

So, here's my list of my favourite imported crime dramas - which is probably a more accurate description as not all of the main characters in these shows were detectives...

5. Streets of San Francisco

- ABC between 1972 and 1977, Karl Malden and Michael Douglas.

I include this less well remembered show as it was my Dad's favourite, he seemed to prefer the main character's cardigan wearing and Curmudgeon-ish persona over flashier and brash 'Yank detectives' (his words). Karl Malden was the squishy faced half of the detective duo in this show, the other being a very fresh faced Michael Douglas!

To be honest, I don't remember much about this show except for the excellent opening theme music and the 'Quin Martin Production' ident (which was a kind of seal of quality for these shows I guess and cropped up on several of my favourites). 

These were the days, need I remind you, when you were a prisoner of whomever was in charge of changing the channels - in this case my Dad - you couldn't just go off to your room to watch your own telly (a rare luxury) much less watch your own mini screen (no mobile phones)! So, you had to make the best of it and 'like' what your Dad liked...Or leave the room.

4. McCloud

- NBC from September 16, 1970, to April 17, 1977. Dennis Weaver.

One of those little TV cliches was that a detective had to have a unique foible or characteristic to set him/her aside from all the other detectives. This something the carries on to today's TV detectives, but in the case of McCloud it was that he was 'a cowboy policeman in the big city'! (And by cowboy, I don't mean a bad cop with dodgy morals, I mean a proper Wild West 'cowboy')!

As a young lad, what could be better than combining a TV detective with a non-nonsense 'sheriff' (he wasn't a sheriff, but you get the idea) in this 'fish out of water' detective show.

But what really excited me about this show was it was based on one of my favourite Clint Eastwood movies - 'Coogan's Bluff'. Even though they changed the character's name and Dennis Weaver was a lot more of a laid back cowpoke I loved the clash of cultures premise of the show as he solved crimes the 'Western' way, showing up his 'more sophisticated' city counterparts as he did so.

The sight of McCloud on horseback riding down the middle of a busy traffic choked city street flanked by tall skyscrapers (taken from an early episode) became one of the series' most famous images.

3. Ironside

- NBC over eight seasons from 1967 to 1975. Raymond Burr.

It might come as a bit of a shock to the Woke Gen Z generation, but even in the 'bad old days' of the 1970s we recognised diversity and inclusion - er, sometimes - and one of our top crime dramas featured a 'differently abled', wheelchair bound cop!

Of course, as mentioned above, this may have just be another of those novelty character motives, but that the show was so popular at least highlighted disability as a thing that existed. (I always wondered how much the - then - still ongoing American involvement in the Vietnam War and the visible increase in the number of wheelchair veterans effected the choice of this character?)

Anyway, this adult Scooby Doo - the 'gang' literally had their own van - had 'Chief Ironside' coordinate his team to take on crime in the San Fransico (again - how many TV detectives did this city have?). Although, he was an 'consultant' to the police force having been a policeman before a sniper's bullet put him his wheelchair.

Interestingly, and again highlighting diversity, Ironside was accompanied by his sergeant who was played by the African-American actor Don Michael Mitchell. This not only introduced a Black American into a mainstream role on US TV but - and again I theorise - may have been the subtle recognition of the importance of African-Americans in Vietnam conflict. (My own opinion.)

It was a terrific show, and despite the obvious issues of basing a 'action drama' on a character who was disabled, the whole thing just kinda worked. And it also produced a terrific and memorable opening credit sequence and theme tune - something the 1970s had in abundance and which put modern TV shows to shame.

2. Kojak

- CBS from 1973 to 1978. Telly Savalas

Kojak was a 70s phenomenon and was a joy to our other British 1970s entertainment fad - impressionists! Everyone thought they could do a good Kojak and his catchphrase of 'who loves you baby' was unescapable in the school playground at the time. (...And were probably single headedly responsible for a ginormous boom in lollypop sales!)

Above: Are you as cool as Savalas with a lolly?

Telly Savalas was also responsible for 1970s middle aged men declaring that 'bald was sexy' decades before bald actually became sexy. Bless them. But there is no doubt that Savalas definitely had a large amount of ladies suddenly interested in detective shows, an area which traditionally had been mainly an genre of male fandom.

Aside from the lovable personalities of the show - and who could forget the long suffering Detective Stavros, played by Telly's real-life brother George Savalas, - this was another series which kinda regurgitated themes already done in other cop shows, but it highlighted that the story line was not the main inducement to watch these pot boilers. People just liked big characters with even bigger attitudes... We liked non-nonsense cops who 'told it like it is' and didn't put up with anyone's' crap!

Seriously though, below the cliches it was nice to see an ethnic character on screen - Kojak was supposed to be of Greek origin (like Savalas himself) even though Kojak is a Polish name. And Savalas had a refreshingly door character that set him aside from the starched shirted 'G men' type of detective that were prevalent from the 1950s and 60s TV.

Above: Such was the popularity of the show that Corgi produced
this wonderful diecast toy of Kojak's car from the series. It was a
huge hit and much sought after by us kids at the time!

Of course, the late 1960s saw the advent of the anti-hero archetype which trickled from the movies into the TV of the 1970s and Kojak - while no 'Serpico' (1973, starring Al Pacino) - did introduce the atmosphere of a time when New York police department had a very poor reptation for institutional racism and corruption. Though this was more of a backdrop to the show rather than issues that were directly tackled in any real way... America wasn't quite ready for that yet.

1. Columbo

- Peter Falk, who appeared in the role from 1968 through 2003. NBC & ABC

Above: My drawing of Columbo's infamous ride. A choice of automobile that
complimented the character's idiosyncrasies perfectly. A 1959 Peugeot Model 403.

Somewhat predictably, Falk's brilliant portrayal of a shabby and idiosyncratic detective stand head and shoulders above the cookie cutter characterisations that we got used to from the conveyor belt TV  production companies at the time. 

It's easy to look at Columbo as simply another light hearted time filler, unserious and low brow, but this belies it unpresented longevity and popularity. While other detective shows have come and gone, Columbo has reigned supreme for about a third of a century!

This cannot be put down - simply - to the comical character that Falk's Columbo presents us with. Columbo - the character - is not a one trick pony.

What I find engaging about Falk's characterisation is the near deceitfulness of the detective's persona. Columbo goes to incredible lengths to persuade everyone he comes into contact with that he is a shambling, rambling buffoon. But in every way he is - to my mind - a mirror image of the great Poirot's persona.

Where Agatha Christie's Poirot disarms his suspects by playing into their bias against 'foreigners' - believing them to be inherently inferior and so opening themselves up to his scrutiny - Columbo plays the absent-minded but affable flat-foot, always letting the suspect believe that they are in no danger of being able to pull the wool easily over his eyes... Until he springs his trap.

It's famously one of the greatest and most fun aspects of Columbo that the show isn't a 'whodunnit' where you might usually be entertained by the cleverness of the perpetrators ingenious plot. But, instead, you always know right from the start who did it - but the fun is the witty sword play between Columbo and his adversary leading up to the Falk's reveal of what gave them away. And at that moment Columbo unmasks himself from his mask of bumblingness and becomes a razor sharp crusader of truth...

Above: Our full DVD collection of the complete Columbo!
This sits next to our bedroom TV as it is a perennial 'go to'
when we want to watch some classic detective shows at bedtime.

Columbo is very much a costumed crime fighter as Batman or the Punisher. He just happens to wear a dirty Macintosh.

What made Columbo a firm favourite - though - of the afternoon mystery show viewer - I think - was his relatableness for the working class audience. Columbo's suspects were - for the most part - the rich and the famous, people who - by nature - felt superior to the working 'Joe' and so there was always a deliciousness to them being knocked off their pedestal by the shabby little man with the cheap cigar, worn suit, clapped out car and unending stories of his mundane relationship to his long suffering wife!!!

Every episode was- in some small way - pay back for his audience who had ever had a bad run in with an officious official, or pompous bank manager or over bearing boss! It's no wonder that ordinary Americans tuned in in their droves to the show. Columbo was every man's champion.

Above: Patrick McGoohan was superb at encapsulating just the 
sort of high-handed arrogance that Columbo fans loved to see
crashing down to earth in the final reveal.

Just one more thing... Another aspect of the show I particularly enjoyed was the guest star. Amazingly - and completely in the face of all imperative to preserve a sense of reality and believability - Columbo had several 'return' guests playing different suspects in different cases!

Above: The wonderful Jack Cassidy, one of my favourite
killers that Columbo brings to justice (three times)!

Most notably Robert Culp (3 episodes), Jack Cassidy (3 episodes), and Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan took the prize for most returns as he guested in four episodes of the show, playing some wickedly nasty baddies.

Above: Sadly, one of the most memorably awful guest
appearances on Columbo was Billy Connolly!!!

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Honourable mentions:

The following didn't make my top five, but since I don't have enough to do a Top 10 I'll simply list these shows which I fond memories of...

Quincy - NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman 

Petrochelli - NBC from September 11, 1974, to March 31, 1976. Barry Newman

Canon - 1971 to 1976 on CBS. William Conrad - 'A Quin Martin Production'.