I agree. Back then they just stuck to the one case without getting distracted by love affairs.Yes, I liked it.
I like mystery shows, but in recent decades they all get into the detectives' home lives, personal problems, etc. Colombo had plenty of personality, and a wife (whom you never saw), but the show wasn't a soap opera.
Smoking wasn't a big deal in 1974.I always wondered why he didn't carry an ashtray- so he wouldn't get cigar ashes all over floors...