One of my favorite TV shows is Columbo. You know, the one-eyed and absentminded policeman, played by
Peter Falk. And he always seems to forget to ask that last question, so he turns around at the door, with his hand on his temple (and a cigar in his hands) and says, "excuse me ma'am, but ..." and then some obscurely detailed question about something that seems trivial to the viewer.
There are two things about Columbo that many fans know but hardly ever think about: 1) he always talks about his wife, but you never see her. And 2) nobody knows Columbo's first name. Now, ask anybody who's not a hardcore fan, and he'll say Frank. But it's not.
Nobody knows Columbo's first name. He's just Columbo.
