Kojak

Ving Rhames as Kojak? Seriously?

What kind of PC nonsense was that? Might as well cast Charlie Sheen as MLK. Or Samuel Jackson as Gandhi. Or some Swede as Geronimo.

Look, Kojak was an ethnic Greek in a way that was integral to his character. It's just not believable. And the acting was sub par.

This was yet another example of franchise poaching, whereby junk scripts are piled up until a time when the title and character names on one of them can be altered and it be pushed out there.

I watched the two hour pilot and the first two episodes and came away thinking that this could turn into a decent cop show. The story lines remind me of some episodes of "Police Story". But the show avoids the rawness you could find in "NYPD Blue". The only problem I have with the show is that it doesn't really have much in common with the original Kojack series besides the lolly pops. Telly Savalas gave us a smart, slick detective and because of that, he was cool. This new Kojak tries to be cool first and be smart and slick afterwards. It just doesn't have that old "Kojak" feel at all. They should have made this into it's own show instead of trying to capitalize on an old series.

I'm a huge fan of Telly Savalas' Kojak. Kojak was a sharp dressing cop who acted as a prince of the city. He didn't always go by the book, but he protected the innocent. He was slick, smart, and had a great heart. Now it's 2005 and there's a new version of Kojak starring Ving Rhames. It is superb. The character is still a sharp dressing prince of the city. He still doesn't do everything by the book and he still protects the innocent. Bobby Crocker is back. Frank MacNeil is back. The lollipops are back. The bald is back too. Most importantly, Kojak still has his heart of gold. I'm as happy watching Ving as I am watching Telly in the role on DVD. Both men bring their own individuality to the role, but the heart and soul of Kojak is there in both versions. The 2005 series truly maintains the integrity of the original character. Kojak is still one hell of a guy. This is how all remakes should be. It's excellent.

I watched the new Kojak premiere and the second episode, hoping that I would get a good feel for how the series was. Its a great show that follows most of the cop rules. Tough lead role, Check. Cohorts of fellow cops who admire the lead, check. Interesting but guessable plot, check. Iconic captain figure who provides little help, Check. Nevertheless, Its a really great show. Ving Rhames is one of the great actors of our time. The show also features Michael Kelly, who stared with Ving in Dawn of the Dead. It's Good to see them together again, as they had a great dynamic in the movie.

Sadly I think this series has a limited future. It just doesn't add enough new to the cop genre to keep it interesting and different. However, I hope most people are just like me. You watch it, Enjoy it for what it is, and hope to see more.

Did the 6 people who reviewed this see the same show as me? I think not, or they are Ving Rhames' lackeys or possibly family members. This was a real stinker and the 10 episode limit proves it. It also puts those 6 previous reviewers in the "duh" category. First, a black Greek detective. OK whatever. Ving is no actor, I don't know what he did before this but he needs to go back. In the year of the remakes where either every writer in Hollywood was brain dead, or completely devoid of ideas, this was the worst. The supporting cast could not save it. This had disaster written all over it from jump street. It was a lot of things, good or even watchable was not one of them. The first six reviewers were paid lackeys.