Its taken a long time to get seasons 2 and 3 of Kojak to DVD. Universal released Season 1 in 2005, but decided not to bring out the rest of the show. Now Mediumrare has stepped into the breach to bring more of Telly Savalas lollypop sucking detective to digital disc.
These two box sets (released separately, and featuring 24 episodes apiece) represent when Kojak was at the height of its popularity, with Savalas performances in these episodes winning him both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Its certainly not a bad show, with Kojak trying to clean up the streets of New York, whether hes trying to bring down drug dealers or having to deal with a mob boss putting a hit out on him.
Created by the legendary, Oscar-winning screenwriter Abby Mann, Kojak was a somewhat transitional series for American TV. It came at a time when police procedurals were moving from being quite polite and nice to being far more gritty and realistic. Like many transitional series, its not perfect, largely because were now so used to what its trying to do but done in a more modern, sophisticated way that it inevitably feels a bit outdated. Thats not really its fault, as its more a case of later shows, such as Law & Order, taking what Kojak did and running with it, rather than this show actually doing anything wrong.
Luckily the 70s series does have Telly Savalas and his Who love ya, baby? catchphrase. Hes a magnetic presence at the heart of the show, showing just enough grit and enthusiasm, mixed with a slightly world-weary attitude. The plots are also pretty good, with the only issue being that compared to modern shows it seems a bit slow and also retains the rather old-fashioned notion of being openly preachy at times, with most episodes having to have a moral thats often shoved down your throat to an annoying extent.
However while it has its problems, overall Kojak remains a good series with plenty to recommend it. If nothing else, it holds an important place in American TV history, on the cusp between shows that lived in a fantasy world and those that actually tried to exist in a realistic, gritty, urban environment. It must be doing something right, as they tried to remake Kojak in 2005 with Ving Rhames in the lead, but despite being made 30 years earlier without all the benefits of modern TV, the original remains the best.
Overall Verdict: It may seem a bit slow and old-fashioned, but with good acting and goof plot, Kojak is still worth watching.
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Reviewer: Tim Isaac