Nice to see Republic of Doyle get some attention! I liked it but could never be sure if it because it was actually a good show or just because I'm from Nfld myself and enjoyed hearing the accents and recognising some of the St. John's locations.

Other Canadian crime shows I think might be of interest:

Intelligence - about female head of Vancouver branch of Canadian intelligence, Prime Suspect was cited as a direct influence and model
Da Vinci's Inquest - about Vancouver coroner Dominic Da Vinci, same show-creator as Intelligence, Chris Haddock
The Romeo Section - Haddock's current show, another espionage series, currently in its 2nd season; his series tend to be quite dark, but there's little on-screen violence
Seeing Things - Louis del Grande (guy whose head exploded in Cronenberg's Scanners) is a reporter who gets psychic visions of crimes and then helps solve them; strong comedy element

Also, not Canadian, but if you like crime/adventure mixed with humour, you have to give the 80s English series Minder a try if you haven't already. It's about ex-boxer, ex-con Terry McCann, who scrapes a living by doing body-guard and related work found for him by shady used-car dealer Arthur Daley, one of the greatest comedic characters of tv history, IMO.

This is the first I've heard of Psych, so no idea if RoD is in any way similar in terms of style, content, or quality. Glancing at the first bit of the wiki description, Psych sounds like it's based on a nice premise, so I'll probably check it out.

I think Canadian tv shows in general might feel a little slow and unexciting for anyone brought up exclusively on American tv, but I feel sure that after getting used to the different pace and style, there's a lot there that viewers from other parts of the world could enjoy, depending on their individual tastes.

Here is a couple of German theme tune compositions I always liked:

It's a really fun show. There's a trio of season finales that skew kinda dark (for Psych), but other than that it's pretty family-friendly (despite most mysteries revolving around murder). Also, and these are two HUGE pluses for me, other than a character who shows up for a few issues late in the run there all the characters are likable and the will they/won't they between Shawn and Juliet is done in such a way that actually feels organic and never really cruel to either character.

I'm very sorry to interrupt. I just have a few things to add. I won't take up very much of your time.

I absolutely love Columbo and it's delightful to meet another knowledgeable and unabashed fan. At the heart of it is Peter Falk's performance, which is so perfect and definitive (despite not being the first) that it would seem to preclude the possibility of the character ever being seen again. Unlike much of the weekly fodder we endured in the seventies, the Columbo episodes were very polished films with rich character and camera work, just as you describe.

The interplay between the relentless Columbo and his guest stars is delicious, and always there is the tacit understanding conveyed to the audience that the stammering, forgetfulness, and disorganization is little more than a clever ruse. We see flashes of the "real" Columbo when he dresses down a subordinate or interrogates a witness, or even during the "reveal" to a particularly rotten killer, but these are rare.

There is a bit of wisdom from Columbo that has stayed with me through the years and has offered a small insight into his methods. The Lieutenant explains: "The police can make mistakes, but the killer has to be perfect. And nobody's perfect."

Forgive me for intruding again, but now we come to my other favorite detective, the esteemed Mr. Holmes. Some years back, I undertook to read the entire Doyle canon, 50-odd short stories and four novels. I was not pleasant to be around at that time, obsessively questioning my family members about a bit of chalk dust on their sleeves or some candle wax on their shoes, and then making loud, grandiloquent, and unfailingly incorrect assumptions regarding their conduct. But no matter.

As a youngster, I would have said that Basil Rathbone was the definitive Holmes, but these days, I agree with Cody that Jeremy Brett in the Granada series best inhabits the character as Doyle presents him. The attention to detail and unflagging respect for the source material in that series is breathtaking.

That said, I do not mind many non-canonical approaches to the Great Detective. Nicholas Meyer's "The Seven-Per-cent Solution," Billy Wilder's "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes," Barry Levinson's "Young Sherlock Holmes," and even the recent "Sherlock" all have their amusements, though I can certainly understand their not having universal appeal.