Howcatchem
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Howcatchem is a term coined by TV Guide for a murder mystery plot structure in which the audience is made aware right away of the killer's identity, and the mystery becomes how they will eventually be caught. It was popularized by the series of TV movies featuring Detective Columbo, though few other mystery series attempted such a structure, the polar opposite of the more typical "whodunit." In the 1990s, some episodes of Diagnosis Murder were presented in the howcatchem format, usually when featuring a "big name" (or at least recognizable) guest star. Recently the USA series Monk has used the structure in several of its episodes, though the majority of them are still whodunits. Law & Order would be an example of a whodunit, whereas Law & Order: Criminal Intent would be an example of a howcatchem.
With relation to Columbo, a variation of this term is often used: howshegonnacatchem.
[edit] See Also
- Furuhata Ninzaburo, a Howcatchem detective series from Japan.
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