With his trademark fedora, ever-present lollipop, and snappy catchphrase ("Who loves ya, baby?"), Telly Savalas made Kojak one of the small screen's most memorable cop shows. But it wasn't just Telly's oversized personality that distinguished this '70s favorite; the series, set in New York City, was tougher and grittier than its brethren. The cops and crooks seemed more believable, the locale more realistically depicted. The show also served as a proving ground for many young actors who later became stars in their own right. For example, the season opener, "Siege of Terror," features Harvey Keitel as the key figure in the botched heist of a Brinks truck. In "Web of Death," Hector Elizondo plays a cop who kills his wife's lover and tries to cover up the crime. James Woods plays a brilliant but unbalanced college student who matches wits with Kojak in "Death Is Not a Passing Grade." And a pre-Three's Company John Ritter is surprisingly convincing as a young, small-time thief in "Deliver Us Some Evil." Our choice for the best of Season 1's 22 episodes is the relentlessly suspenseful "Cop in a Cage," in which an ex-con with a vendetta targets Kojak's niece on her wedding day. Very nearly as good is "Girl in the River," which finds the lollipop-sucking detective in hot pursuit of a serial killer who strangles young women. Series regulars include Kevin Dobson as right-hand man Bobby Crocker, Dan Frazer as Captain Frank McNeil, and Telly's brother George (billed as "Demosthenes") as detective Stavros. Like many shows, Kojak lasted just long enough to become a parody of itself, but the first season is chock-full of gripping episodes. Ed Hulse

Product Details

• UPC: 025[zasłonięte]678226
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Pan & Scan
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Français, Espańol
• Editions: Mixed Media Set
• Time: 18:38:00
• Sales Rank: 16,804

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• Kojak: Season 01

Features:

Closed Caption; [None specified]