Tony Shalhoub appreciates comparisons between his new TV series, "Monk," and "Columbo" — but says it was never his intention to mimic the 1970s detective show starring Peter Falk.

Shalhoub won a Golden Globe Award this year for the USA Network series, in which he stars as a detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"I've heard that word 'Columbo' so many times, I refer to it now as the 'C word,' " the 49-year-old actor said, drawing laughs Monday from a crowd at the South by Southwest film festival.

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"I don't want 'Monk' to be 'Columbo.' I want 'Monk' to be 'Monk,' " he said. "I don't want to redo 'Columbo' — it was done so brilliantly. Why did they remake 'Psycho'? Why don't they repaint the Sistine Chapel while we're at it?"

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