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I should totally be a cop. Today's episode of Kojak had a young bloke dash down an alleyway in the middle of the night, and the police didn't get a proper look, so weren't sure who he was. He was clearly Erik Estrada. I kept telling them, but they wouldn't believe me. But then it was 1975, so presumably none of them had seen CHiPs yet. I am slightly concerned that I recognised him so easily, given that it was the briefest glimpse, and I haven't seen his show in thirty years, but I guess some things stay with you.
I'm having such fun with Kojak. The clothes are hilarious, the décor unsettling, the cars are all seven miles long, and look quite incapable of turning corners, and I keep recognising people, all looking much younger than they should be. Despite the frightening ties and waistcoats, the regular cast are all very good, and it manages to be admirably different from all the other cop shows on the telly. Or at least it does for the first few years. Kojak and Crocker are a particularly good double act, well suited to each other, and I especially appreciate the pacing. You get long, lingering shots of New York, and of Kojak arriving at the scenes of crimes, driving one-handed whilst drinking rubbish coffee from a plastic cup. The bad guys get nearly as much screen time as the good guys, so we know who everybody is, and their motives seem real. Sometimes chase scenes can go on for days. That's always good, as boy can Crocker run.
Sorry, I think this post was originally just going to be along the lines of "Kojak! Yay!" But I went on a bit. That's never happened before.
But still. Kojak! Yay! I do prefer Crocker and Stavros, if I'm honest, but that's not what the programme's called. Anyhow, if you have a spare hour, you could do worse than spend it in the company of the homicide department of Manhattan South. Just don't be expecting fabulous enlightenment in the gender equality stakes. Ouch.
I'm having such fun with Kojak. The clothes are hilarious, the décor unsettling, the cars are all seven miles long, and look quite incapable of turning corners, and I keep recognising people, all looking much younger than they should be. Despite the frightening ties and waistcoats, the regular cast are all very good, and it manages to be admirably different from all the other cop shows on the telly. Or at least it does for the first few years. Kojak and Crocker are a particularly good double act, well suited to each other, and I especially appreciate the pacing. You get long, lingering shots of New York, and of Kojak arriving at the scenes of crimes, driving one-handed whilst drinking rubbish coffee from a plastic cup. The bad guys get nearly as much screen time as the good guys, so we know who everybody is, and their motives seem real. Sometimes chase scenes can go on for days. That's always good, as boy can Crocker run.
Sorry, I think this post was originally just going to be along the lines of "Kojak! Yay!" But I went on a bit. That's never happened before.
But still. Kojak! Yay! I do prefer Crocker and Stavros, if I'm honest, but that's not what the programme's called. Anyhow, if you have a spare hour, you could do worse than spend it in the company of the homicide department of Manhattan South. Just don't be expecting fabulous enlightenment in the gender equality stakes. Ouch.
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