Kojak

it is the role of Telly Savalas. this fact is so obvious than is very difficult to ignore it. because his Theo Kojak is always surprising and gives the right expected portrait of unconventional detective against the crime world. because it is the hero in his way, far by others recipes and formulas. the face, the gestures, the voice. Telly Savallas works each detail with huge and precise care and efficiency. and this is the basic virtue of a series who remains, decade by decade, spectacular.

Theo Kojak was and IS the epitome of cool. He was a top cop, he kicked major criminal ass, he sucked on lollipops to kick his smoking habit, and best of all, he maintained a crome-dome so cool and fashionable, Vin Diesel doesn't even come close! The late, great Telly Savalas brought to life Det. Kojak, and thus this creation was the precursor to all those hip "supercop" TV shows to come, with NASH BRIDGES bearing in mind. Who loves ya, baby? Kojak does.

Telly Savalas used his considerable charisma to breathe a little life into this look at a New York detective.Helped by some good location filming in the Big Apple and fairly realistic plots(not to mention that Noo Yawk attitude), Kojak stands as an above average 70's cop show.

This was definitely a groundbreaking show with such an indomitable lead in Telly Savalas, whose screen presence is all but unmatched. It was clear to me when they released this set that its purpose was to promote the new Kojak series with Ving Rhames (since canceled), but I still assumed the release of one season must lead to the release of the remaining three.

Apparently not so.

After contacting Universal Home Video on this issues, I have been informed that they have no intention at all of releasing the rest of Kojak on DVD, must to my chagrin and annoyance. What a lousy way to treat the loyal fans of the show and loyal customer base for these unreleased shows! I highly recommend everyone who wants to see more Kojak contact Universal Home Video at the address below and demand the release of seasons 2-4.

http://www.universalstudios.com/homepage/html/contact_us

I remember this show like the back of my hand going through the dimensions of time and space itself. "Kojak" was the brainchild of creator and executive producer Abby Mann that aired for 118 episodes from October 24,1973 until March 18, 1978 for CBS-TV where it was a ratings winner in prime-time for the five great seasons it was on the air. Telly Savalas was the undisputed king of detectives as N.Y. Lt. Theo Kojak who had a sense of style and grace,who had the lollipops,was a ladies man with a sense of family values and drove that great big gas- gussing Buick for a cop car around the slimy streets of Manhattan and all parts of the city. Kojak had a knack for solving crimes his own way and bringing in the baddies with his old Greek standards mixed in with the Noo Yawk(New York)attitude.

However,the stories that made that show were some of the best ever since some of the episodes dealt with racial issues,police corruption, women's rights,and the harrowing issue of alcoholism and drugs. However,several of the guest stars who appear on the show were just starting out but in turn had some grand performances including up and coming actors like Harvey Keitel and Paul Micheal Glaser(aka Starsky from Starsky and Hutch),to Christopher Walken, Janet DuBois, Sherman Hemsley, Esther Rolle, and Haywood Nelson(What's Happening!)to having special guest appearances by Danny Thomas and former NFL Great Rosey Grier. Other guest stars included Tina Louise, Dabney Coleman, John Ritter, former Bond-girl Maud Adams, Sylvester Stallone,Forrest Tucker,James Woods, Shelley Winters,and Sammy Davis, Jr. Great cop show while it lasted,and to this day I still have the original "Kojak" game from Milton Bradley for the heyday(circa,1975).

After the success of "Kojak's" five year-run on CBS from 1973-1978, and some 11 years after the series' finale, ABC picked it up for six made for television movies during the mid-1980's as part of the network's "Mystery Movie" line-up.