The temptation, when adapting a really iconic detective, is to delve into his personal backstory. That’s the devil talking.
A proper detective should be like a force of nature; like an avenging angel conjured into existence in a puff of eccentricities to unravel the crime and right the wrong. Their backstory is irrelevant.
#columbo rose out of venice beach fully formed like aphrodite boiling out of seafoam#flanked by cherubs bearing a trench coat and cigar