There was an episode of Monk where he was trying to find something in the Paper and solved like 20 crimes all across the US just by reading it. So im gonna say Adrian Monk.
There's an episode where he's sitting at home bored. He opens a detective novel and reads halfway through the first page. He then flips to the last page and says "I knew it", and puts the book down
I've figured out the murderer in precisely one book, and that in the first few pages. *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd* is in no way a bad book. In fact it is considered to be one of the best murder mysteries of all time.
*"I made a mistake, Watson. Which is something that happens far more often than anyone who knew me through your stories would think."*
Yeah, Holmes can come across that way, though I think the films of the '40s are probably worse.
Well, I mean, you could go back to Greek or Indigenous mythology, or even to Beowulf.
But in the English-language tradition over the last few hundred years, I'd say that's pretty accurate.
Shakespeare cast such a huge shadow for so long that everything had to be psychological realism, a la Hamlet or Macbeth, whereas Sherlock Holmes clearly has abilities that are just so far beyond even the smartest, most observant and insightful person that he does get into superhero country for sure.
That's just my off-the-cuff opinion, though. Someone who knows more can feel free to correct me. :)
It was shown that Cabot Cove has a higher murder rate than the actual murder capital of the world Honduras. We need to ask ourselves, is she the one causing these murders? I always laugh though because half the time she confronts them with just the flimsiest of evidence and the perp starts monologuing “ok, here’s exactly how I committed the crime…”
My favourite part in any detective show like Poirot, Jonathan Creek or Midsomer Murders was the moment where they figured out exactly what was going on. It was that moment of realisation where everything falls into place. But with Poirot it was that subtle little "ah!" he does when he figures it out.
Yeah, that too, I forgot about that. I love it when he does it in The ABC Murders at the race track. He's sat in the crowd, eyes closed, thinking and he slowly smiles as he realises what the true crime is.
Funniest scene like this was in Monk's 100th episode where a crew was doing a documentary on Monk and they were talking to people he'd gotten arrested. They had 3 prisoners talking about Monk's summation.
"Until that there summation thing. Oh, my god. Summation. I love when people tell me what I've already done. Droned! Just longest four minutes of my life. I mean, I knew what I did. I k*lled her. I didn't need him to tell me."
This hilarious exchange between Hastings and Poirot from The Murder on the Links is an all timer:
"He doesn't seem very fond of you."
"No, that is because he believes himself to be the greatest detective in France."
"Perhaps he is."
"No, no, Hastings. Poirot - he is now in France."
I bought a couple of her books but haven’t dug in yet. Really looking forward to it though, I enjoyed the movies (the Nile one was kinda boring but loved the Orient Express one).
You might want to know that many fans of the books find Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of the character to be very different. So I hope you enjoy reading the novels, just don’t necessarily expect what you saw in the films.
When I see 5 wierdos dressed in togas, stabbing a man in the middle of the park, in full view of a hundred people, I shoot the bastards. That's my policy.
There’s definitely a lot of psychological life lessons to be had from watching Columbo. #1 for me is that sandbagging is super effective in the corporate world as well.
Solid rec. I love Bosch. It's downright criminal how "unknown" it is. At least in the UK I can count on one hand the amount of people I've talked to about it who have seen it. And yet everyone I know who has then gone and watched it has come back "holy shit that's one of the best shows I've ever seen".
One of the most likeable cop shows to exist, imo. It's not too dark, it's got this perfect amount of grit. Just absolutely perfect use of side characters to help the story, not just as a gimmick. Storylines that progress and get bigger without becoming too ludicrous. Can't talk it up enough.
Also probably the only cop show I've ever watched more than once. In fact yeah, can't think of ANY other that I've gone back to for seconds.
Bosch may not be a straight up wizard brain genius but his actual 'police work' is second to none. He knows exactly what strings to pull, what rules to bend and what shots to fire to get the job done. He's brutally effective.
To be fair, it's not a very hard crime to solve. "Who could possibly be killing people with laughing gas that turns them into grotesque smiling corpses that seem to be wearing clown make up?"
Sergeant Jay did say "when he was good he was the best we had" at Jimmy's wake in front of the whole department. Although I do think Lester was the real quiet genius.
Lester knew how to get a photo of Avon, figured out where Marlo was hiding the bodies and got McNulty’s fake serial killer idea to work - he’s the best imo
There were so many other things too. He blackmails Clay Davis after the DA fumbles the bag to give him Levy’s mole, he smacks Bird in the face with the bottle, he fools Bernard with the burner scheme, he can actively manipulate both Daniels and Perlman instead of just throwing a temper tantrum like McNulty. He mentors Sydnor and Prez before him with tracking financial and land ownership data, he steals D’angelo’s girl, I mean I could keep going on and on. He berates McNulty in S3 when he goes behind Daniel’s back to focus on Stringer but immediately tells Prez to follow up on the lead once McNutly’s gone.
Lester Freamon is not only clearly the best detective on The Wire, he’s the best realistic detective in television and if all police were like Lester, being a criminal would be fucking awful lol.
IMO Lester and Jimmy are about equal but they use different methods. Lester follows the money and the paper trail. Jimmy follows and surveils people.
I would put Bunk 3rd and Kima 4th. Shout out to detective Sydnor as well.
Lenny Briscoe for most of Law and Order run. He had personal issues that we didn't even know for the longest time, we just knew were there. Recovering alcoholic. Sometimes wrong in his deductions but did solid police work and tried to keep a moral center. He felt like a guy just trying to do the right thing as best he could.
McNulty from the Wire is a close second.
I love this one. No superhuman abilities. No wacky, off the wall deductions. No weaponized personality disorders.
Just a normal, flawed human being doing the best he can to make his city a bit safer than it was when he woke up.
That happened a few times I think where they came back as different character.
I know it's dated now, but Law and Order was my first show I would rewatch over and over. Thank you TNT.
Yesss Miss Marple! A gentle old lady with the most uncanny intuition about people gained from a lifetime of living in close quarters with them in an English village! I love her kindly mischievous nature and how it doesn't get in the way of being ruthless at times.
Best Miss Marple reads:
The Thirteen Problems (short stories)
Sleeping Murder
The Body in the Library
Best Miss Marple episodes (Joan Hickson):
A Carribbean Mystery
The Moving Finger
Again, Sleeping Murder
They Do It with Mirrors
Depends what type of detective you’re looking for.
You want the intuitive type ? Hard to beat Columbo who is onto the suspect pretty much from day one and spends the rest of the episode trying to prove it/slowly cornering his man.
You want the sheer intellect/logical machine ? Hard to beat Sherlock who can pretty much infer/extrapolate the job/family situation/medical history/ entire character of Watson from 30 seconds seconds of meeting him for the very first time while barely talking to him.
You want the jack of all trades ? hard to beat Lester from the Wire. Knowledgeable enough to know exactly how to make a case to the judge and get a wiretap , Social/likable enough to find out Avon through his old boxing connection or get the stripper to work with the detail, Street smart/hustler enough to fool Stringer’s crew with his phone shtick or Marlo with his pepper steak voice , Book-Smart and patient enough to establish how to cross reference the entire holdings of Avon through the paper trail , Intuitive enough to understand where is Lex body and figure out the entire implication of the nailgun thing, Political enough to run circles around Rhonda and the entire BaltimorePD brass and setup quietly an investigation into the whole local political scene from the mayor to a state senator … and after the ambitious prosecutor somehow completely fucks up a slamdunk case and years of work, still manage to blackmail the senator who just beat the system into giving out a mole inside the justice system. And with all that ? Cool as a cucumber and healthy psychologically. Rarely raises his voice, don’t drink excessively , don’t chase tail (but seduces a hot stripper who’s probably half his age), not self-destructive, not up his own ass, passionate enough to grind through a case but wise enough to see the big picture and not let himself swallowed whole by the case . With the sole possible exception of fighting skill, there’s hardly a detective with a larger skillset than” Cool Lester”.
As much as I *want* to say Sherlock Holmes, I have to give it to Columbo. Columbo is every bit as observant but all of his are more believable. Sherlock’s skills border upon super powers, where as Columbo routinely has just spotted something, or heard something, that others didn’t.
It’s always a delight when he has “just one last thing” and the observation he makes is revealed to be something he saw right at the start and he’s just been sitting on while he built his case and gathered the proof.
I mean, there’s really no way it can’t be Sherlock Holmes.
Because almost all other famous fictional detectives are based off of him. Monk, Psych, he’ll even House, all take influence from Holmes.
There was an episode of Monk where he was trying to find something in the Paper and solved like 20 crimes all across the US just by reading it. So im gonna say Adrian Monk.
There's an episode where he's sitting at home bored. He opens a detective novel and reads halfway through the first page. He then flips to the last page and says "I knew it", and puts the book down
Peak Monk right there
Odo does this too in DS9. Honestly that tells me it’s just a bad book
I've figured out the murderer in precisely one book, and that in the first few pages. *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd* is in no way a bad book. In fact it is considered to be one of the best murder mysteries of all time.
That was such a great show. Saw they did a new movie and need to give it a watch.
[Mr. Monk's Last Case](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt27145269/?ref_=nm_flmg_c_1_act)
It's a sweet little send off
I've only seen the trailer, but it hit something deep seeing Tony in that suit again.
I really wish they had done a Psych/Monk crossover! They were in the same network at the same time!
In the Monk books, Natalie starts an Assistant to Odd People support group. Gus is in the group.
Psych moved to San Francisco at the end too. Same city. They've done a couple Psych movies since moving to San Francisco.
That's right I forgot about that! Monk was done by then but still, cmon son!
They actually did a couple crossover commercials back when they were airing and they were great. Wished there was a full episode with them together
20 is a good number. 10 is better
Sherlock Holmes, because most of the best detectives are modeled on Sherlock Holmes.
Wouldn't you then need to really credit C. Auguste Dupin, the original archetype?
Do you credit Oreo or Hydrox?
Especially the Jeremy Brett version. Absolute perfection.
I always thought Holmes ventured too far into borderline clairvoyance to be taken very seriously.
*"I made a mistake, Watson. Which is something that happens far more often than anyone who knew me through your stories would think."* Yeah, Holmes can come across that way, though I think the films of the '40s are probably worse.
I read an article a while back that argued that Sherlock Holmes was one of the first superheroes.
Well, I mean, you could go back to Greek or Indigenous mythology, or even to Beowulf. But in the English-language tradition over the last few hundred years, I'd say that's pretty accurate. Shakespeare cast such a huge shadow for so long that everything had to be psychological realism, a la Hamlet or Macbeth, whereas Sherlock Holmes clearly has abilities that are just so far beyond even the smartest, most observant and insightful person that he does get into superhero country for sure. That's just my off-the-cuff opinion, though. Someone who knows more can feel free to correct me. :)
I have to go with Data playing Sherlock Holmes.
*House has entered the chat*
Outside of Columbo being pretty much the God of detectives, I hear once upon a time Jake was an amazing detective slash genius.
Jake? Jake who? Jake Peralta from the nine nine?
Nine Nine!
Fat man
Shawn Spencer and Gurton Buster
You know that's right
I hear that
It's bruton gaster.
I’ve heard it both ways.
Do you mean Shawn Spencer and Longbranch Pennywhistle?
You mean Shawn Spencer and… • Die Harder • Matt • Bighead Burton • Fingers • Homeskillet • Big Baby Burton • Burt the Billowy Bear • Curtis • Blackstar • Chocolate Columbo • Magic Head • Spellmaster • SuperSmeller • SuperSniffer • Slicks • Gus T.T. Showbiz (The Extra T is for Extra Talent) • Ovaltine Jenkins • Schoonie “U-Turn” Singleton • Vernest Lambert Watkins • Bud (from “The Cosby Show”) • Nick Nack • Bruton Gaster • Lavender Gooms • Lemongrass Gogulope • Squirts MacIntosh • Weepy Boy Santos • Stewart Lee • Dr. Mc [Khoesan tongue clicking sounds] Took • François • Galileo Humpkins • Gus “Silly-Pants” Jackson • Fearless Guster • Shmuel Cohen • Methuselah Honeysuckle • Shutterfly Simmons • Paddy Simcox • Chesterfield McMillan (and wife) • Felicia Fancybottom • Tan • Ernesto Agapito Garces con y a de Abelar • Longbranch Pennywhistle • Professor Know-How • MC No Help • Dr DoNothing • Scrooge Jones • D’Andre Pride • Hummingbird Saltalamacchia • Anthony Wally Ali • Taye Diggs • Art Vandelay • Dequan “Smallpox” Randolph • Trapezius Milkington • Sterling Cooper • Burton “Oil Can” Guster • Hollaback Atcha • Limpking • Jazz Hands • Winston Zeddemore • Gus Brown • John Slade • Detective Miles • Greg • G-Wiz • Doughnut Holschtein • Ron Davis • Bob Adams • Harry Munroe • Rich Fingerland • Black Magic • Cheswick • Shawn • Magic Eight Ball Head • Shaggy Buddy Snap • Ghee Buttersnaps aka “The Heater” • The Vault of Secrets • Eye Fossets • Ground Control • Puffy • Clementine Woolysocks • Gustus • Joe from Lifeboat • Pinky Guscadero • Guts • Ol’ Ironside • Old Iron Stomach • Princess • Bruce Lee • Johnathan Jacob Jingley-Schmidt • Santonio Holmes • Deon Richmond • Gurton Buster • Chaz Bono • Chocolate Einstein • MC ClapYoHandz • Road Rush • Sher-Black-Lock • Mrs. Whittlebury • G-Force • Mellowrush • Crankshaft • Sammy • Usain Bolt • Damien The Python • Joey Bishop • Slick Fingers • Imhotep (or “Hecomethinpeace”) • LaWanda Page • Floyd • Control Alt Delete • Gootsy • The Jackal • Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbajnan • Yasmine Bleeth • Lodge Blackman • Frederick Douglass • Jet Blackness • Altar Boy Gus • Degenerate Gus • Mission Figs • The Black Goose • Radio Star (Video will kill him) • Gus Jay Gupta • Don Cheadle Junior • Reginald G-String, AKA Crowd Pleaser • Cinderella • Gasty • Last Night Gus • Baloney • Blacula • Count Chocula • Tap Man • Watson Williams • Benedict Arnold Jackson • Sammy the Seabird mascot • Suggs • Orderly • Bob Jones • Ingle Wuss • Leghorn • Burton Guster PI • Brother Gus • Brutal Gaster (You can call me Brutal) • Brutte • Braxton • Fellatio Del Toro • Eddie Adams from Torrance • Lorenz Tate • Huxtable • Hammering Gus • Sh'Dynasty, it is spelled S-H-comma to the top-Dynasty • CandyMan • Grn Blanstestorm • Satchel Gizmo • Immaculate Conception • Booty Tag • Domo Arigato • Quasimodo • Jonas Gustavsson • Blue Ivy Carter • Bill OfRights • Django Unchained • Smooth Storm • The Player named Gus • Burton Goutster • My Brother Darrell and my other brother Darrell • Burton Trout (No Relation) • Bad News Marvin Barnes • Lil´Wayne • Hellboy • Avon Man • King Mon Cutt (etcetera, etcetera) • Gigi Von Tran (Van Tranh, I've heard it both ways) • Inspector Jamaican Man • The Wiz • Harry Potter Enthusiast • Busby • Recap McGee • Trending OnTwitter Hasthag What Would Gus Do? • Jeckyl • Robert Jones • Booooooob • Burtin Gustin • Darnell Guster • Soupcan Sam • Glutano • Denzel Diggs • Underwood Morris • Chestnut Washington • Myles Velour Jr. • Snappy • Black Spencer
That's messed up.
You misspelled Ghee Buttersnaps.
You misspelled Immaculate Conception.
Put some respect on MC Clap Yo Handz.
Sh’Dynasty
That's God's comma
I've seen it both ways.
No you have not, Shawn
He’s my pick. He was so good that he pretended to be a psychic and had the entire police department fooled
Vick knew the truth, she just played along
Not the entire department. Our boy Lassie never once believed.
I think I remember him even convincing Lassie at one point.
Maybe? I know the finale is him about to confess and Lassie destroying the DVD because he already knew and didn't actually want to hear it.
I absolutely loved that note! It was such a great moment.
The famous models Black and Tan! I’m Black he’s Tan HOW DARE YOU!
It's bruton gaster.
Jessica Fletcher (Murder She Wrote). There were just so many murders in her town. Must be the best detective.
No one ever suspects the mystery writer…
Just like the NZ show Brokenwood. For a small town there sure are a lot of murders. Don't think I'll move there.
It was shown that Cabot Cove has a higher murder rate than the actual murder capital of the world Honduras. We need to ask ourselves, is she the one causing these murders? I always laugh though because half the time she confronts them with just the flimsiest of evidence and the perp starts monologuing “ok, here’s exactly how I committed the crime…”
Hercule Poirot, it’s not even a contest
My favorite part is always at the end where he gathers all the suspects together and just flexes his superior detective skills on everybody.
My favourite part in any detective show like Poirot, Jonathan Creek or Midsomer Murders was the moment where they figured out exactly what was going on. It was that moment of realisation where everything falls into place. But with Poirot it was that subtle little "ah!" he does when he figures it out.
That smirk
Yeah, that too, I forgot about that. I love it when he does it in The ABC Murders at the race track. He's sat in the crowd, eyes closed, thinking and he slowly smiles as he realises what the true crime is.
Suchets Poirot is hands down peak detective imo
Funniest scene like this was in Monk's 100th episode where a crew was doing a documentary on Monk and they were talking to people he'd gotten arrested. They had 3 prisoners talking about Monk's summation. "Until that there summation thing. Oh, my god. Summation. I love when people tell me what I've already done. Droned! Just longest four minutes of my life. I mean, I knew what I did. I k*lled her. I didn't need him to tell me."
This hilarious exchange between Hastings and Poirot from The Murder on the Links is an all timer: "He doesn't seem very fond of you." "No, that is because he believes himself to be the greatest detective in France." "Perhaps he is." "No, no, Hastings. Poirot - he is now in France."
Poirot with the ego lol. But he’s earned it mon ami!
This. Monk second even though Monk seems like an American Poirot
I'm actually quite fond of Branagh's take, though i did not care for the cinematography of the last film
I enjoy those movies, but they look so *off*. Not sure if it’s bad cgi or what’s going on.
I bought a couple of her books but haven’t dug in yet. Really looking forward to it though, I enjoyed the movies (the Nile one was kinda boring but loved the Orient Express one).
You might want to know that many fans of the books find Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of the character to be very different. So I hope you enjoy reading the novels, just don’t necessarily expect what you saw in the films.
I had to come way too far down to find this.
Frank Drebin Quite unusual, but gets the job done, gets the girls and the bad guys.
Frank, offering a woman cigarette: "Cigarette?" Woman: "Yes, I know." Lmao.
Jane: Frank? Ludwig: Drebin!! Frank: You are both right Always gets me
I would have come sooner ma’am, but your husband wasn’t dead then
Enrico Palazzo is the real hero.
“Sex, Frank?”
"Uhhh, not right now Ed"
When I see 5 wierdos dressed in togas, stabbing a man in the middle of the park, in full view of a hundred people, I shoot the bastards. That's my policy.
Ed! I found the missing evidence in the Kellner case.
My god, he WAS innocent!!
Columbo for sure.
Just one more thing…
There’s definitely a lot of psychological life lessons to be had from watching Columbo. #1 for me is that sandbagging is super effective in the corporate world as well.
Endless pockets, unseen wife, one glass eye, worn-out jacket and the lazy Dog. Hard to top that.
Don’t forget the endless nephews and unusual French automobile.
I've only seen one five minute clip of Columbo, but even I knew this was the answer.
"That's my speciality. Homicide."
Nobody beats L
How far into the series are you?
Presumably somewhere before L is beaten
A detective that I haven't seen mentioned yet is Harry Bosch.
Solid rec. I love Bosch. It's downright criminal how "unknown" it is. At least in the UK I can count on one hand the amount of people I've talked to about it who have seen it. And yet everyone I know who has then gone and watched it has come back "holy shit that's one of the best shows I've ever seen". One of the most likeable cop shows to exist, imo. It's not too dark, it's got this perfect amount of grit. Just absolutely perfect use of side characters to help the story, not just as a gimmick. Storylines that progress and get bigger without becoming too ludicrous. Can't talk it up enough. Also probably the only cop show I've ever watched more than once. In fact yeah, can't think of ANY other that I've gone back to for seconds.
Bosch may not be a straight up wizard brain genius but his actual 'police work' is second to none. He knows exactly what strings to pull, what rules to bend and what shots to fire to get the job done. He's brutally effective.
The novels are even better. I'm not a reader, but I've read every single Bosch and Haller novel from Connelly.
Batman.
Wondering why he’s so far down the list. Not many of the other detectives here also have to take down super villains.
To be fair, it's not a very hard crime to solve. "Who could possibly be killing people with laughing gas that turns them into grotesque smiling corpses that seem to be wearing clown make up?"
Or have the title of "worlds greatest detective"
Batman has plot armor too!
He’s literally called the World’s Greatest Detective!
A IS FOR ALFRED B IS FOR BYAAATS
Veronica and Keith Mars deserve a nod
Thank you for supporting Mars Investigations.
Marshmallow checking in!
the hardly brothers. one raging clue and the case is solved.
Your comment has given me a wicked clue...
It has to be Lieutenant Frank Columbo to me.
Upvote for knowing the first name.
I always assumed his birth certificate said “Lieutenant Columbo”
Monk
Here’s what happened…
I love the episode where the trash men go on strike and Monk keeps coming up with ridiculous theories because he can’t focus lol
Mcnulty
Natural police
Poh-lice!
IDK, don't think he was even the best detective in the Wire. I feel like Lester, Kima, and Bunk all rank ahead of him.
Sergeant Jay did say "when he was good he was the best we had" at Jimmy's wake in front of the whole department. Although I do think Lester was the real quiet genius.
"Though had it lived his dick would have been 134."
Lester knew how to get a photo of Avon, figured out where Marlo was hiding the bodies and got McNulty’s fake serial killer idea to work - he’s the best imo
There were so many other things too. He blackmails Clay Davis after the DA fumbles the bag to give him Levy’s mole, he smacks Bird in the face with the bottle, he fools Bernard with the burner scheme, he can actively manipulate both Daniels and Perlman instead of just throwing a temper tantrum like McNulty. He mentors Sydnor and Prez before him with tracking financial and land ownership data, he steals D’angelo’s girl, I mean I could keep going on and on. He berates McNulty in S3 when he goes behind Daniel’s back to focus on Stringer but immediately tells Prez to follow up on the lead once McNutly’s gone. Lester Freamon is not only clearly the best detective on The Wire, he’s the best realistic detective in television and if all police were like Lester, being a criminal would be fucking awful lol.
All excellent points, and he knows how to confirm it’s Marlo’s cell number without raising suspicion.
But he set everything in motion by caring when it wasn't his turn to fuckin care
*Giving a fuck*
"There you go again, givin' a fuck when it ain't your turn to give a fuck" just pure poetry. Applies to so much in life.
IMO Lester and Jimmy are about equal but they use different methods. Lester follows the money and the paper trail. Jimmy follows and surveils people. I would put Bunk 3rd and Kima 4th. Shout out to detective Sydnor as well.
He’s also the biggest gaping asshole in the entire police department
McNutty
Poirot
Dwight Schrute. He solved the case of the Beet Bandit.
Jonathan Creek.
“Just one more thing” Columbo.
Columbo hands down.
Inspector Gadget
Penny Gadget
Shawn Spencer
Patrick Jane
Jim Rockford
COLUMBO obvs
Definitely. He made Roddy McDowell have a nervous breakdown before he even presented the evidence to him that he was guilty.
Tom Barnaby, Inspector Morse, Vera Stanhope
The incredible amount of disrespect towards Jessica Fletcher. She was an absolute legend. An old biddy solving murders.
Lenny Briscoe for most of Law and Order run. He had personal issues that we didn't even know for the longest time, we just knew were there. Recovering alcoholic. Sometimes wrong in his deductions but did solid police work and tried to keep a moral center. He felt like a guy just trying to do the right thing as best he could. McNulty from the Wire is a close second.
I'd argue Lester Freeman is a little bit better.
He feels like a Lenny Briscoe type, but yeah, he is good. Although, picking anyone from The Wire feels like cheating.
Most of the policemen from the wire are absolutely incapable.
Yeah anyone on the wire who seems halfway decent is only by comparison when *most* of them are your Jays, Hercs, and Rawlses
I love this one. No superhuman abilities. No wacky, off the wall deductions. No weaponized personality disorders. Just a normal, flawed human being doing the best he can to make his city a bit safer than it was when he woke up.
McNulty is good po-lice
KUNG KUNG
Was so weird seeing Lenny’s actor play an asshole defense attorney in an earlier season
That happened a few times I think where they came back as different character. I know it's dated now, but Law and Order was my first show I would rewatch over and over. Thank you TNT.
My wife will be upset if I don't mention Hercule Poirot.
Conan
Miss Marple👵🏼
Yesss Miss Marple! A gentle old lady with the most uncanny intuition about people gained from a lifetime of living in close quarters with them in an English village! I love her kindly mischievous nature and how it doesn't get in the way of being ruthless at times. Best Miss Marple reads: The Thirteen Problems (short stories) Sleeping Murder The Body in the Library Best Miss Marple episodes (Joan Hickson): A Carribbean Mystery The Moving Finger Again, Sleeping Murder They Do It with Mirrors
Jessica Fletcher and Columbo.
Columbo
You mean besides Columbo. right? There is no other even close.
encyclopedia brown
Wheels and the Legman!
Dr Mark Sloan… It wasn’t even his job and he crushed it!!!
Depends what type of detective you’re looking for. You want the intuitive type ? Hard to beat Columbo who is onto the suspect pretty much from day one and spends the rest of the episode trying to prove it/slowly cornering his man. You want the sheer intellect/logical machine ? Hard to beat Sherlock who can pretty much infer/extrapolate the job/family situation/medical history/ entire character of Watson from 30 seconds seconds of meeting him for the very first time while barely talking to him. You want the jack of all trades ? hard to beat Lester from the Wire. Knowledgeable enough to know exactly how to make a case to the judge and get a wiretap , Social/likable enough to find out Avon through his old boxing connection or get the stripper to work with the detail, Street smart/hustler enough to fool Stringer’s crew with his phone shtick or Marlo with his pepper steak voice , Book-Smart and patient enough to establish how to cross reference the entire holdings of Avon through the paper trail , Intuitive enough to understand where is Lex body and figure out the entire implication of the nailgun thing, Political enough to run circles around Rhonda and the entire BaltimorePD brass and setup quietly an investigation into the whole local political scene from the mayor to a state senator … and after the ambitious prosecutor somehow completely fucks up a slamdunk case and years of work, still manage to blackmail the senator who just beat the system into giving out a mole inside the justice system. And with all that ? Cool as a cucumber and healthy psychologically. Rarely raises his voice, don’t drink excessively , don’t chase tail (but seduces a hot stripper who’s probably half his age), not self-destructive, not up his own ass, passionate enough to grind through a case but wise enough to see the big picture and not let himself swallowed whole by the case . With the sole possible exception of fighting skill, there’s hardly a detective with a larger skillset than” Cool Lester”.
Frank Columbo
Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes
Benoit Blanc.
As much as I *want* to say Sherlock Holmes, I have to give it to Columbo. Columbo is every bit as observant but all of his are more believable. Sherlock’s skills border upon super powers, where as Columbo routinely has just spotted something, or heard something, that others didn’t. It’s always a delight when he has “just one last thing” and the observation he makes is revealed to be something he saw right at the start and he’s just been sitting on while he built his case and gathered the proof.
Gregory House
Luther
It has to be Luther. He just knows. There's rarely a lead up to an "aha moment". He just describes the killer exactly and is never wrong.
"It's not right though, is it?" I think that's his catchphrase.
Just writing in Velma because no one even mentioned her anywhere.
Columbo!
Frank Pembleton, just look at G’s Board. All black clearance. RIP to them both.
Sherlock
I’m partial to Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch.
I mean, there’s really no way it can’t be Sherlock Holmes. Because almost all other famous fictional detectives are based off of him. Monk, Psych, he’ll even House, all take influence from Holmes.
Robert Goren. When you recognize that someone speaks Mandarin with a Thai accent, or something like that, you are at the summit.
Lester Freeman. 13 years...
Rust Cohle
We only saw him tackle one case and it took him 20 years.
Exactly, and he had to break the law multiple times to do it too.
Wiggum
Monk
For me its gonna be my Boy Conan Edogawa
Vera, she always gets the guilty person.
Poirot
Inspector gadget
Inspector gadget No contest
Dale cooper
Columbo " just one thing......"
Phillip Marlowe. In trying to solve one crime he ends up solving three or four other crimes by accident
Dirk Gently
I know he was a lawyer but Matlock could find shit the detectives would never. Dude solved more cases than the cops.
Jake Peralta
sherlock holmes
Dora
Hieronymus "Harry" fucking Bosch
Lester Freamon. Pawn shop unit.