Roosevelt Grier. This one is a lot of fun. Particularly the final scene.
Right from the get-go this feels very different to your typical KOJAK. Crocker is on a date when he hears a gunshot. Unlike other tv shows, it’s rare for the KOJAK regulars to be on-the-scene when a crime takes place.
And it’s not even a crime! Turns out that somebody shot an empty bed! So Kojak and his team aren’t sure what they’re investigating, much to Capt. McNeil‘s annoyance.
So the tone is deliberately lighter than your typical episode.
There’s a real feeling here of an ensemble show. Kojak is central, yes, but Crocker, Weaver, Stavros and Saperstein get a lot of screentime. Even NcNeil does an important interrogation on his own! Theo is still larger-than-life but this is a story about a police unit. Needless to say, the cast chemistry is phenomenal.
The story is a fast-paced cat-and-mouse game. Two out-of-towners (a bounty hunter and a hitman) are chasing each other around town, while the police do their best to keep tabs on both. And find out exactly what’s happening.
There’s a lot of location filming out on the city streets, and it looks fantastic. Great production values like this elevate KOJAK above many similar shows.
The best character in the whole piece is the bounty hunter Salathiel Harms, played by Roosevelt Grier, who’s a mischievous badass good guy.
The final showdown between him and Kojak will leave you with a big grin on your face, as the wily private cop outwits the lieutenant so that he will be free to take quarry back to LA. And Kojak lets him do with it. There’s a lot of good-natured mutual respect in the room.