The episodes are all movie-length, between 73 and 100 minutes long, and have been broadcast in forty-four countries. In 1997, "Murder by the Book", directed by Steven Spielberg, was ranked No. 16 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time[4] and in 1999, the magazine ranked Lt. Columbo No. 7 on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time list.[5][6] In 2012, the program was chosen as the third-best cop or legal show on Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time.[7] In 2013, TV Guide included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time[8] and ranked it at #33 on its list of the 60 Best Series.[9] Also in 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it No. 57 in the list of 101 Best Written TV Series.[10]