相比传统侦探剧机械搜证的套路，第五季最独特的地方在于把“反侦破”做到了极致。这部剧集非常适合喜欢细腻逻辑、厌恶强行降智，且享受“草蛇灰线”式推理的观众。帕特里克·麦高汉等演员的演绎极具层次，将完美的伪善刻画得入木三分。这种“高尚外表与卑劣罪行”的强烈反差，利用法尔克和利等演员精湛的精湛演技，构建出了极具张力的心理博弈。它几乎不依靠枪战或飙车，而是将舞台完全留给法尔克那身磨损的旧西装和像流浪汉一样的随性步态。然而正是这种对细节近乎病态的漫不经心，形成了一种极具欺骗性的“欺骗性迟钝”，反衬出真相的犀利。

Many criminals made the mistake of underestimating Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide investigator with a crumpled trench-coat and a beat-up car, who certainly acted as an incompetent bumbler.　　But he was so polite to every suspect, and he talked so much about his wife (who we never got to see on any episode, but who many believe later had her own show, starring Kate Mulgrew, later of Star Trek Voyager fame) that he lulled even the shrewdest murderer into a false sense of security.　　And although the audience had witnessed the murder in the beginning of each episode, it was still a surprise to see what mistakes the killers had made during the seemingly perfect murder.