Five Of The Best - Columbo

The Minging Detective's greatest ever cases.

i) Any Old Port In A Storm (Series Three, Episode Two) - A tale of two perfectionists, in which Columbo's admiration for Donald Pleasence's wine connoisseur is matched only by his sympathy with the murderer's predicament come the final reveal.

ii) Swan Song (Season Three, Episode Eight) - Another sympathetic murderer and a rare case of our man bringing a working class killer to book. And while playing a country legend mightn't have been a stretch for Johnny Cash, ‘The Man In Black’ barely hits a bum note.

iii) By Dawn's Early Light (Season Four, Episode Three) - Perhaps the closest the series came to a traditional whodunnit, there's much fun to be had watching Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan's encountering an inquisitor who might even have broken Number Six.

iv) Try And Catch Me (Season Seven, Episode One) - Ruth Gordon's novelist is among Columbo's most formidable opponents. As such, it shouldn't come as a surprise that this episode features some of the series' finest exchanges - "Lieutenant. I think you're a very kind man." "Don't count on that."

v) How To Dial A Murder (Season Seven, Episode Four) - The penultimate case boasts fine work from Scottish great Nicol Williamson as a film-obsessed psychologist, a fun supporting turn from a young Kim Cattrall, plus sufficient in-jokes to satisfy dedicated movie-buffs for eons.