As said in the title, the format of this show is inspired by Columbo (which I do not really care for), but with important variants. The most important difference is that, while Columbo is serious detective drama, this show is intended as light-hearted dramedy, and great care is taken to showcase the talents and inidividualities of the stars of the day who, of course, featured as the criminal. That it is made as Columbo-style show meant the audiences know the crimes and criminals from the start, and are guaranteed maximum screen time of the intellectual battle between the detective and the criminal.
Most of the methods are not ingenious, and some of the motives are insignificant, thus a truly lighted-hearted show. The main challenge, however, is to compete with the detective to identify as many, and as quickly as possible, clues that lead to the final conviction. In a way, it's the intellectual race between the audience and the sleuth. However, where Columbo often spot the most-minute-bordering-on-absurdity clues (e.g."not greeting your wife when coming home" equals "knowledge of the murder"), this show usually has the criminal commit one or two humorous slips and is not ruined by the ambition to create a superhuman braniac. On top of it all, the scripts are well-written and humorous, and the acting superb. You always feel refreshingly entertained (never burdened which is surprising for sleuth shows).
