In steps a former thief and con man. While trying to escape a couple of thugs, he overhears someone looking for Remington Steele and pretends to be him. By the end of the first episode he has decided to make the fake identity permanent. Since this helps Holt’s business, she goes along with it. His true identity never is revealed – in fact, he does not know it, and spends time in later episodes trying to learn it.

Romantic comedy meets film noir

Much of the show focused on the sexual tension between the leads. The final scene of the series hints they finally will consummate their relationship.

In the meantime, there were other detectives and detective shows to reference. Steele loved Humphrey Bogart and loved quoting lines from famous movies. Sometimes he used techniques from films to try to solve real crimes, with varying degrees of success. Some episodes were openly inspired by noir classics such as “The Maltese Falcon.” All of the episodes carried the word “Steele” in the title, from “Steele Waters Run Deep” to groaners such as “Steele of Approval.”

Part of the show’s appeal was its James Bond-like lead. That provided an interesting twist when NBC canceled the show and Pierce Brosnan, who played Steele, was offered the 007 part in The Living Daylights, the next film in the Bond franchise. A fan campaign to renew the show, however, succeeded and the film role was offered instead to Timothy Dalton. Brosnan later prevailed, becoming 007 in 1995’s GoldenEye.

Longtime friends Cody Allen and Nick Ryder served together in the Army in Vietnam and opened a private investigation agency based on The Riptide in King Harbour, Los Angeles. Originally the Pier 56 Detective Agency, the business later became the Riptide Detective Agency. Seeing how many cases involved computers and technology, the pair recruited another buddy from Vietnam, the nerdy Murray “Boz” Bozinsky. The show starred, respectively, Perry King, Joe Penny and Thom Bray.

An unusual bag of tricks

Cool cars are common in this genre, and the Riptide crew sported a classic red Corvette and a GMC Jimmy. In addition to the namesake boat, there was a speedboat, The Ebb Tide. More unusual were the helicopter and the robot. Nick had a pink Sikorsky S-58T helicopter named “The Screaming Mimi.” Murray brought The Roboz, an orange robot he developed that was buggy but sometimes effective. Like many shows of this era, Riptide sported a Mike Post theme song and an extended opening sequence.

The detectives were seen as troublemakers by local police, although they occasionally cooperated on cases. Initially their foil was Lt. Ted Quinlan, later succeeded by Lt. Joanna Parisi. Other regulars included Mama Jo, skipper of an all-female tourist boat crew; Max, a local comedienne; and Dooley, a dock boy. Many episodes revolved around local mobsters, but other topics included Army corruption and corporate covert activities.

Guest actors who made appearances included George Clooney, Geena Davis, Kelly Preston and Dennis Franz. The series is available on DVD.

Magnum lives in the guest house of Robin’s Nest, a beachfront estate owned by the never-seen author Robin Masters. Also present are two Doberman Pinschers, Apollo and Zeus, and the estate’s manager, Jonathan Quayle Higgins III, who holds access to the tennis courts, wine cellar and other amenities. In the last two years of the season, Magnum grows more suspicious that Higgins actually is Masters, and even the final episode leaves either possibility open.

Life of leisure?

Magnum seems to have it made. He works only when he wants, drives a Ferrari 308 GTS, wears a Rolex, stocks a mini fridge with an endless supply of beer and is surrounded by gorgeous women. He had a number of famously distinctive characteristics, including a thick mustache, numerous aloha shirts and a Detroit Tigers baseball cap.

Magnum is described as a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Navy SEAL commando and Vietnam veteran who took his naval intelligence skills into work as a private investigator – not a PI or private eye, he is quick to correct. Another veteran, former Marine Corps helicopter pilot Theodore “T.C” Calvin, operates a tourist charter business and often lends his combat flight skills to Magnum during investigations. Also making appearances is another veteran, Calvin’s door gunner Orville Wilbur Richard “Rick” Wright, who runs the members-only King Kamehameha Club. He is useful for his weapons knowledge and underworld contacts.

The idea is to replicate the movie viewing experience at home. This starts with basics such as a television, media player and stereo surround system. Some people take the experience even further with features such as plush seating and even popcorn machines.

The details

It is common to begin the planning with what is likely to be the largest investment, the television. Size of the room is important as it might impose limits on how far away viewers can be seated. Viewing angles also must be considered.

Once a size is chosen, there is an ever-expanding array of technologies from which to choose. In addition to plasma, LCD, DLP and other options, home viewers now must consider not only high definition but also 3D possibilities.

Playback devices for movies can have just one purpose or several. Certainly there are machines devoted to solely to playing DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. Video game console systems that have other functionality such as playing movies also are popular. People who choose a console as their playback device should factor in room to play games in their planning.

Great pictures deserve great sound. Sound systems with five or seven speakers are common, although up to 11 speakers plus subwoofers could be installed.

Containing sound also is important. Proper wall treatment will balance the sound inside the room, and soundproofing will keep it within the walls. Carpeting will absorb sound as well, preventing unpleasant echoing.

Finally, the home cinema experience can mimic the multiplex theater experience in comforts such as seating and concessions. Plush, adjustable chairs with cup holders add to the viewing pleasure. Home popcorn and beverage machines round out the amenities.

He was chief executive officer of global Hart Industries and a self-made millionaire; she was a freelance journalist. They cooed and snuggled, and were tended by Max, their butler/chauffeur/cook, and dog Freeway, named for where he was found.

A dangerous hobby

That wasn’t enough to keep the rich and glamorous couple busy, though. They also were amateur detectives, with cases ranging from murder and theft to smuggling and international espionage. The Harts were played by Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, old friends who were so convincing onscreen that some viewers suspected they were a couple in real life.

That relationship and threats to it played out in some episodes, such as when a Hart Industries employee became obsessed with Jonathan and decided Jennifer had to be eliminated. More often, though, the plots were an escapist window onto the world of the wealthy, as when Jonathan buys his wife an antique auto and a mysterious couple will stop at nothing to acquire it.

Various episodes take place in Monte Carlo, Vail, Hawaii, Acapulco, Napa Valley, London, the Bahamas, Macao, on an ocean liner and at the opera, a polo field, a fox hunt, and the Harts’ mountain cabin. At one point they are asked to buy a bankrupt ghost town.

Max is the focus of a number of episodes, whether he is being taken hostage or creating a rose hybrid named for Jennifer. Even Freeway gets in on the act, running away with a gun used in a neighbor’s murder and favoring a new dog food that turns out to be addictive.

When a soundtrack is made for Dolby Surround, the four channels of sound information – left, right, center and mono surround – are encoded onto two tracks. From there the audio is carried onto sources such as DVDs and television broadcasts. A processor is needed to decode the information and recreate the original four-channel sound, otherwise it plays back in standard stereo or mono.

The four tracks include the information in stream A and stream B, the information that is the same in streams A and B, and the difference between the information in streams A and B. The A stream feeds the left speaker and the B stream feeds the right. The center channel is recorded on both streams. Proper decoders use filters and noise-reduction elements to balance sound levels and reduce noise.

The solutions

The simplest setup has two channels, left and right. A subwoofer delivers only low-frequency information.

Seating position is the starting point for any setup. Distance should be measured from the TV to the viewer’s head, not the couch. Place the speakers about three feet away from the TV on each side, at ear height and angled inward directly at the viewer. The subwoofer can be put anywhere but in a corner, to keep from producing a “booming” effect. A five-speaker setup adds a center speaker and two surround speakers. The center speaker should be centered with the TV and the seating position, as close to ear level as possible. The surround speakers should be placed to the sides of the seating position, slightly above ear level for maximum ambience.

A seven-speaker system adds left and right back speakers. These are placed behind the seating position and act as partners to the surround speakers.

The show turned the traditional detective show format on its head. Unlike the usual “whodunit” in which the audience puzzles over the identity of the criminal, Columbo was what one of its creators called a “howcatchem.” Most episodes began with the crime and its perpetrator being clearly shown. The fun was in watching Columbo at work, slowly spinning his trap. At the same time, the criminal realizes the game and must step nimbly to avoid offering a confession.

The show’s popularity drew many stars. The long list of guest actors included Dabney Coleman and William Shatner as detectives, Tyne Daly, Dean Stockwell, Janet Leigh, Leslie Nielsen, Ed Begley Jr., Mariette Hartley, Robert Vaughn, Leonard Nimoy, Ray Milland, and a young Jamie Lee Curtis as a waitress.

Not what he seems

The show’s charm lay in its namesake lead. Lt. Columbo is an Italian American homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. He wears a disheveled trenchcoat, eats greasy chili, arrives late in a battered Peugeot and brandishes a smelly cigar.

Whether he was married was a puzzle for a while. It was suspected that references to “Mrs. Columbo” were just a ploy. Eventually, however, other characters say they have met and spoken with her, and Columbo occasionally is shown speaking with her on the phone.

Even with his coffee and cigar threatening to mess up the homes of his suspects, who usually are much better off financially than he is, he is unfailingly polite. His apologetic manner serves to disarm the suspect, even as other aspects of his personality grate, especially his habit of turning back to ask “just one more thing.”

The conceit from the beginning is that since some clients don’t want to hire a female detective, the fictitious Remington Steele heads the agency. This serves both the thief who steps into the identity and the detective who does the bulk of the work.

There are others involved, though. In the beginning, detective Laura Holt has another partner, Murphy Michaels, and a secretary, Bernice Fox. (Steele keeps calling her “Wolfe.”) However, Michaels pined for Holt and that got in the way of the desired romance between Holt and Steele, so he was sent off to head his own agency and Fox departed as well.

A new foil

Enter Mildred Krebs, the new secretary and a clever investigator to boot. While Michaels and Fox knew Steele to be a sham and gave him no respect, Krebs deferred to him as her boss, sometimes at Holt’s expense. Even when she is told the truth, she doesn’t believe it.

Other characters made recurring appearances. Daniel Chalmers came on as Steele’s mentor and surrogate father, eventually revealing himself to be his true father as well. Chalmers was played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr., in real life the father of the actress who played Holt, Stephanie Zimbalist.

An attempt to create a rival for Steele’s affections was not as well received. Anthony “Tony” Roselli appeared in the final season. Some of the unpopularity, though, also could be attributed to the awkward format of that season, which was made up of several made-for-TV movies spread out over several months.

3D at home

While 3D TV is making its way into homes, many people believe it won’t be popular until 3D sets can be used without special glasses. There are 3D options available on a smaller scale. The Nintendo 3DS handheld system has a glasses-free display, as do a number of mobile telephones coming onto the market. This is possible because the screens are small and being used by only one viewer at a time. Larger screens – TVs – are problematic because they have to support a wide viewing angle and more viewers. In 3D technology, different images are viewed by each eye. Multiply those eyes, and 3D glasses still are the only way to be sure a larger number of people all see the images in the same way.

There is technology available to show a 3D film to many people without glasses, but it requires 16 projectors so it is not feasible for home use. Consumers will have to wait a little while longer.

A hallmark of the show was its cartoonlike violence, in which the action was over the top but serious injury was rare. The characters also seemed able to fashion weapons and vehicles out of whatever old parts they found lying around.

The team

The four team members are former commandos turned mercenaries. They include a lieutenant colonel who does the planning, John “Hannibal” Smith; a lieutenant, con man and procurer, Templeton “Face” Peck; a captain and pilot, H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock, who spend the first four seasons in a mental institution because he has been declared insane; and a sergeant, mechanic and strong man, Bosco Albert “B.A” Baracus. They are aided at times by a reporter and, in the fifth season, a special effects expert.

The plots were known for being formulaic. Someone hopes to hire the team, which tests the client’s worthiness before agreeing to the job. For the most needy or deserving, they often return the fee or find another way to be paid.

During the Vietnam War, the team was ordered to rob a bank to bring the war to an end. They succeeded, but proof of their orders was destroyed. They were arrested and imprisoned, but escaped before trial. As such, they constantly face opposition from military police.

The concept was turned into a 2010 movie involving U.S. treasury plates, 10 years’ false imprisonment and the team’s subsequent conversion to soldiers of fortune. It received mixed reviews from both the viewing public and the TV cast. There also have been books and comics based on the show.