Kojak: Season One

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 Savalas' oversized personality that distinguished this ‘70s favorite; the series, set in New York City, was tougher and grittier than its brethren, and the cops and crooks just seemed more believable. The show also served as a proving ground for many young actors who later became stars in their own right. 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, smalltime thief in “Deliver Us Some Evil.” Our choice for the best of the first season'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. Nearly as good is “Girl in the River,” which finds Kojak in hot pursuit of a serial killer who strangles young women. Series regulars included 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 debut 1973-74 season is chockfull of gripping episodes. Presented with a decent transfer, this three-disc set is, unfortunately, absolutely extra-less (it would have been nice to have the 1973 TV-movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders, in which Theo Kojak made his first appearance). Recommended, especially given the new TV series Kojak, starring Ving Rhames in the title role. (E. Hulse)