Is it because he's always nailing smug weirdo rich fuckbags? Is it the peter falk hard carry? Is it because despite being canonically a cop he does anything but act like a cop?
Is everything downstream of columbo an attempt to erase his legacy as the hound of wealthy sociopaths?
Is Columbo a demigod?
Apparently that's episode 72, "The Skateboard Murder Mystery" or "You're Sapphired!", and the kid's name is Bolonco also spelled Boronco. So I guess I still have 30 episodes left of Part 2 before it gets to the good* part!
*Lupin III is good throughout, this is just a joke.