Overview

Columbo is 50 years old. A global smash in the 1970s, it is now a cult TV favourite. What is the reason for this enduring popularity? In this fascinating exploration of a television classic, David Martin-Jones argues that Columbo reveals how our current globalised world of 24/7 capital, invasive surveillance and online labour emerged in the late 20th century. Exploring everything from the influences on Peter Falk's iconic acting style to the show's depiction of Los Angeles, he illuminates how our attention is channelled, via technologies like television and computers, to influence how we perform, learn, police and locate ourselves in today's world. Columbo emerged alongside shows like Kojak and The Rockford Files, but re-viewing the series today reveals how contemporary television hits from Elementary to The Purge continue to shape how and why we pay attention 24/7.

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9781474479790

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Reviews

"David Martin-Jones' analysis of the Columbo character and narrative is original and rich in sociological and philosophical perspectives. Columbo comes out as a mythological modern hero. We are fascinated by him, also because he is a moral hero, and pays attention for us.--Ib Bondebjerg ""Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television"" Featuring commentary on how Columbo is able to remain fixated on his cases 24/7; how he is able to overcome unfamiliarity with cutting-edge gadgetry to ""upgrade"" his knowledge and pay attention even more effectively; and his role as an anti-establishment figure who is, atypically for the 70s' era in particular, in tune with the social tensions of the day, the book even features a foreword by Columbo superfan Stephen Fry! [...] if the reader takes a leaf from the Lieutenant's own book and pays full attention, there's much to stimulate their thinking.-- ""The Columbophile Blog"" Martin-Jones' book made me rethink my teenage love affair with Columbo as not some starry-eyed crush but rather a budding ""attention"" to the details of crime and social injustice during the dawn of the Reagan-Thatcher revolution.--Jane Shattuc, Emerson College The book is a valuable contribution that guides experts towards various areas of television studies and the philosophy of communication [...] the author's comparative analysis of different TV series and movies makes it a unique study in communication studies that historians of culture could also use.--Guldeniz Kibris ""The Journal of Popular Culture"" There's something for everyone, from the enthusiastic fan to the more scholarly inclined.--Nathalie Atkinson ""Everything Zoomer"" This is probably far more enjoyable an academic work than it has a right to be ... The positioning of the book is what is going to be of interest moving forward as it is potentially a crossover between academia and popular interests ... Fans of Columbo will be attracted to the idea of a solid addition to the lore surrounding the show ... Other readers familiar with Martin-Jones' previous outputs on film will know that he is a fine writer with an agile mind that questions and probes topics and subjects and manages to convey complex theoretical issues with aplomb and a clarity that can sometimes be lacking in such tomes.--John Ritchie ""Media Education Journal"" Columbo: Paying Attention 24/7 is peppered with insightful facts and original analyses. The aesthetic and ideological comparisons drawn between other Cop Dramas of the same era means anyone with a critical interest in the development of American detective series will need this book as an essential point of reference. Additionally, the regular comparisons made with contemporary popular series including shows as leftfield as Game of Thrones in what Martin-Jones terms ""flash forwards"" will prove a useful tool when demonstrating to undergraduates how Columbo continues to maintain a strong presence in popular culture. ... [It] offers something sufficiently original, significant and rigorous to all readers with varying levels of interest in the series. ""Oh, and one more thing"", Chapter One's analyses of Columbo's unique relationship with its fans is a hidden treat.--Ben Lamb ""Alphaville"" Any writer who understands that Columbo is a cultural phenomenon and creative achievement well worth investigating, celebrating, scrutinising, analysing and enlarging upon gets my vote. With Columbo there was always just one more question, and David Martin-Jones asks those questions and comes up with some revealing and fascinating answers. A wonderful contribution to Columbo lore and wider cultural history.--Stephen Fry Crime is ... as we learn from David Martin-Jones' fascinating and original work on Columbo, the signature role of Peter Falk, also a narrative of social change and critique. Behind Columbo's seemingly absent-minded, but in reality, constantly very attentive figure lies a deeper meaning. ... [T]he theory behind the analysis, the explanation for why this story, spanning three decades, has fascinated audiences, is that the way we are watched and have watched others, is reflected in the show. It spans a cold war era, a liberal era and an era of increased digital surveillance and communication. Columbo is a stand in for all the attentive laborers of the world. ... David Martin-Jones' analysis of the Columbo character and narrative is original and rich in sociological and philosophical perspectives.--Ib Bondebjerg ""Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television"" In this fascinating book on a widely popular detective series, David Martin-Jones explores television as an attention seeking medium. Focusing on Columbo's unique style of investigation, Martin-Jones shows how the program captivates viewers with murder stories that re-enact the crimes of class conflict, urban strife, policing, and technological surveillance in neoliberal times. A riveting read!--Lynn B Spigel, Northwestern University Martin-Jones ... uses a range of approaches to illuminate his take on Columbo and its significance for television history, both then and now. What he demonstrates, in the process, is just how much the attentive reading of a popular television crime drama can tell us about what matters to its producers and its audience at a particular moment in time - and indeed across the intervening years, as only a long running programme like Columbo can. In the end, this is a wide-ranging and exemplary study of a television series that well deserves another look for what it can tell us about television and history.--Sue Turnball ""Screen"""

Author Information

David Martin-Jones, Professor of Film Studies, University of Glasgow.

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