Why is there a sudden concern that they'd be shunted aside?

Someone was saying that they thought the showrunners would want to get their money's worth out of Hotch, in particular, due to Gibson's new contract being so pricey. I thought it was a rather flimsy argument, but you know how TWOPers like to gossipmonger. Since MGG and Montegna's contracts aren't up until next year, that person apparently thought that their characters would be put on the bottom of the pile.

Because that's totally how writers operate. "Quick! We need to get Gibson's $ per spoken word rate down to within the metrics - give him an amusing aside. No, a full soliloquy!"

Sorry to jump in in the middle of the thread. I've been watching a lot of Columbo lately & I just noticed that the murder always happens in plain sight at the beginning of the episode. We all know who done it and as soon as Columbo gets within smelling ditance (I swear that's how he knows) so does he. The fun is in how Columbo traps the muderer into incriminating himself.

I wonder if younger viewers who aren't used to this style of detective story would find Columbo less intriguing than our modern procedurals.

Oh, yeah, every episode is a battle of wits between Columbo and an often likeable villain--or at least clever and intelligent. Such wonderful characters.

Did you see the one where the villain went after Columbo's wife?

Ooh I'm not sure. I watched it a lot when I was younger but most of the epsidoes I'm seeing jumping around Netflix instant mostly randomly seem new. He talks about 'Mrs. Columbo' a lot and I have a picture of her in my head but I was actually wondering this morning if she was like Norm's wife on Cheers. Now I have to look her up and see if I am remembering the right actress.

The Dick van Dyke episode is my favorite so far.

eta: wait, what?

The series Mrs. Columbo is probably unrelated to things that happen in Columbo. I never watched the Mrs., and we never see her in Columbo's series. She's heard as a voice on a phone once.

Oh duh. If you havn't seen "Rest in Peace Mrs. Columbo", don't be a dork like me and go look up the character in wikipedia thereby spoiling what sounds like one of the really good twists in the series.

Wikipedia also says that for the first couple seasons Peter Falk believed that Columbo lived alone in a furnished room, inventing wife stories when they fit with his line of questioning.

Wasn't Kate Mulgrew Mrs. Columbo?

That's what imdb says. Weirdly, I think it was Suzanne Pleshette I was picturing as Mrs Columbo and I just started an episode where she guest stars.

Eddie Albert is the murderer! This might be better than Dick van Dyke.

Wikipedia also points out that the show writers were fully aware that Columbo was an "inside-out" detective show.