Siege of Terror

To a good series.

If I had been one of the criminals I'd have given up early due to the presence of Kojak's secret weapon, the screeching member of the Hari Krishna band. !!!

The first episode of Kojak and the casting director has a smirk on his face.

A young Harvey Keitel plays one of the armed robbers who end up taking hostages in a store which also has a seriously injured cop.

As the robbers make their demands, Kojak plays negotiator to make sure everyone gets out alive.

This is a more gritty and violent affair. The thin line between the members of the public and the bad guys.

There is not much humour here, over time Kojak's character reflected its more kid friendly audience. After all I used to buy Kojak lollipops as a kid. They were blackcurrant flavoured and rather good.

I noted the robbers could not pronounce Kojak's name properly. It was also nice to see some New York location shooting.

There is an element of Dog Day Afternoon here with the hostage standoff. However that film would be released two years later.

This is the premier episode of "Kojak"...a show I never watched back when it had its first run on television (I was 9....and not a huge fan of cop shows).

The story begins with, there is a robbery of an armored car. The cops learn about it quickly and give chase. However, instead of catching the gang, they end up barricaded inside a gun store...with hostages and, of course, tons of ammo and weapons. Lt. Kojak (Tell Savalas) arrives and takes charge of the hostage situation. But by now, the crooks have already shot two cops and have a history of VERY anti-social behaviors!

All in all, this is a very good opening episode for many reasons. First, it's tough and there's a lot of action. Second, it's a good showcase for Telly Savalas and does a lot to establish his character. Third, they were fortunate to get Harvey Keitel as one of the baddies. Well worth seeing....and I hope the rest of the episodes are just as good.

What an interesting cast. Jude Farese looks like the cartoon character from "Wreck It Ralph" and "Ralph Breaks the Internet." Farese was on some various TV shows of the 1970s/80s. He usually played a thug who was confused or wanted to do the right thing.

David Proval has a big role as the police officer who gets shot as he is warning everyone at the sporting goods store to get out. He gets to make observations about life, the world, the role of law enforcement, etc., as he is slowly bleeding out.

Proval was around for many years, but his most memorable role was on season five of "Everybody Loves Raymond." For six episodes he (as Marco) was the nemesis of Frank (Peter Boyle), because he was receiving the attention of Marie. His daughter Stefania (Alex Meneses) and Robert (Brad Garrett) were also dating.

Next up is Rick Hurst, whose bowl haircut and claim to fame were as Deputy Cletus Hogg on the "Dukes of Hazzard" tv series. To me, Hurst and Chuck McCann looked and acted alike.

James Sloyan was a good actor for many years. He played four different roles in the various Star Trek TV shows. Here he is pretty strident as Jack Murzie, who wants to kill the hostages and die in a blaze of gunfire with the police.

Harvey Keitel plays the pivotal role in the standoff, as Jerry Talaba. He and his brother, Frank (John Garwood) planned the armored truck heist. Kojak brings his brother in to talk to Keitel, but it just enrages him more.

Kojak (Telly Savalas) has to make a lot of tough decisions here. Two officers have been shot by the gang, one dies. While Kojak is negotiating, the police are drilling a tunnel under the store, and bringing a helicopter and another team to the roof as a distraction.

Some good gunfights, personal conflicts, drama, and suspense. It could go in any number of directions, and most of them were negative.

I watched this in less than a perfect condition, but, given there are no other reviews, I figure some input is better than none. :) I am 40 (this is 2007), and this is even before my time of what I could watch in 1973...though I believe I remember seeing it later in the Seventies.

Regardless, this episode is fun. Telly still "had it" and this wasn't terribly far removed from excellent film appearances (Kelly's Heroes was 1970).

Some of the elements in this will seem cliché to younger viewers, but I think the feel of it and the production values will help keep its flavor intact and the fun as well.

Beyond Telly, there is a young Harvey Keitel who precedes his Taxi Driver appearance by three years who is fun to watch. There are also a number of character actors whom you may remember from various 70's action shows.

One of the other crooks in this is very identifiable...but not to me right now, and can't catch his name in the show.

Regardless, this was a fun watch beyond memory lane and showed how little hostage/police confrontations have changed over the years, again, considering that this show was 1973.

Watching this early (second episode ever) Kojak has inspired me to get the DVD's and see it all...hopefully it's all this fun to watch.

Oh, and look for the moment Harvey calls Telly "Ko-Shick" in this early episode of "Ko-Jack". :)