Although it has become increasingly, nigh on impossible, to find the program here in the U.S., John Nettles as Chief Inspector Barnaby with John Hopkins as Detective Sergeant Dan Scott (and the myriad of supporting cast) in Midsomer Murders[i is as good as it gets... especially in its perceived Britishness.
For a while, the only channel that carried it weekly actually had the temerity to schedule it at 0900 on Saturday mornings, but never-you-mind... there sat myself and Mrs. C, a surprisingly devoted fan, to watch, cup of coffee in hand!
Can't put my finger excatly what was so entertaining but I think it had to do with the overall perfection of story line, characters and surprises.
That's not to say we didn't also follow the intrepid [i]Columbo]... (Didn't learn until years of watching him that his decrepit old car was a Peugeot 403). A lot of his character, focusing on his facial anamolies where caused by the removal of his right eye as a small child due to cancer. The resulting squint was something no amount of good acting could add... He died after several years suffering from Alzheimers... which seems almost poetic considering his character's feigned forgetfullness.