Rediscovering Kojak

[23skidoo]

So of course one of the first things I do after getting my 720 plasma and Blu-Ray player (see my long-winded thread on same) is take advantage of a Boxing Day special at HMV and buy season 1 of Kojak.

I haven't seen an episode of that in some 25 years and I'd forgotten how cool it was. Horatio Crane isn't fit to polish Telly's bald head!

Did anybody ever actually watch the Ving Rhames remake of 5 years ago? There's a trailer for it on the DVD. I thought it was insane 5 years ago and my opinion hasn't changed. There are just some characters you can't reinterpret or recast. You can't have someone else do Ralph Kramden (people have tried and failed), you can't have someone else do Archie Bunker, and you can't have someone else do Theo Kojak. It's folly to try.

There was a thread about the Kojak DVDs here a few months ago. It is a shame they never bothered to release more seasons to DVD - especially since it was around season 3 that the show started to pick up awards. If a company starts releasing a series to DVD (or BR) they should commit to releasing the whole thing. Especially something like Kojak because it's iconic and will sell, whether it's people looking for a classic crime show (hard to believe this thing is 37 years old!) or want to check it out for its perceived kitsch value, or people who couldn't give a damn about any of that and just want to see Telly Savalas suck the lollypop and say Who Loves Ya Baby.

It occurs to me I could have worded that last sentence a little differently. But it's too late in the day and I wanna go watch another episode of Kojak. (Which, further to my earlier comments re: HD, looks great on the big set.)

Alex

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I watched the original. Can't remember if it was during the first run or in reruns. Definitely one of the cooler TV cops of the era.

Recasting a character isn't always so bad. But what's the deal with "re-racing" a character? The Kingpin (no matter how good Michael Clarke Duncan is as an actor), Kojak and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Now I realize a lot of the movie goers in the case of the Marvel flicks probably never read comics, so they figured to put a big name in there regardless of race.

 

[Christopher]

You can't have someone else do Ralph Kramden (people have tried and failed)

Two words: Fred Flintstone.

Recasting a character isn't always so bad. But what's the deal with "re-racing" a character? The Kingpin (no matter how good Michael Clarke Duncan is as an actor), Kojak and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

They're still human, so they're the same race.

What difference does it make? Captain Kirk is being played by a guy with blue eyes now and McCoy's being played by a guy with brown eyes. Wolverine's being played by a guy a foot taller than the comics character. Charles Xavier was played by an Englishman. James Bond has been Scottish, English, Welsh, and Irish. If it's okay to change a character's eye color or height or nationality, why should skin color be given any more weight? You get the best actor for the role. You cast for talent first, physicality second. (Or maybe celebrity second, physicality third. Of all the big, bald, menacing guys in Hollywood to cast as Kingpin, Michael Clarke Duncan is by far the most prominent.)

 

[JoeZhang]

I watched the original. Can't remember if it was during the first run or in reruns. Definitely one of the cooler TV cops of the era.

Recasting a character isn't always so bad. But what's the deal with "re-racing" a character? The Kingpin (no matter how good Michael Clarke Duncan is as an actor), Kojak and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

It's a good thing that Nick Fury is a spit for Samuel L. Jackson* in the comics then!


* Yes I know.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

So of course one of the first things I do after getting my 720 plasma and Blu-Ray player (see my long-winded thread on same) is take advantage of a Boxing Day special at HMV and buy season 1 of Kojak.

Now I got a HD plasma and a Blu-Ray player, I need something to really show off the capabilities, how about um, Kojak!

 

[Captaindemotion]

There are just some characters you can't reinterpret or recast. You can't have someone else do Ralph Kramden (people have tried and failed), you can't have someone else do Archie Bunker, and you can't have someone else do Theo Kojak. It's folly to try.

You are aware that Archie Bunker was himself an American version of Alf Garnett from Till Death Us Do Part, aren't you?

But I agree that Telly Savalas' Kojak was pretty irreplacable. Ditto Phil Silvers' Ernie Bilko.

 

[Keith1701]

I watched the original. Can't remember if it was during the first run or in reruns. Definitely one of the cooler TV cops of the era.

Recasting a character isn't always so bad. But what's the deal with "re-racing" a character? The Kingpin (no matter how good Michael Clarke Duncan is as an actor), Kojak and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Now I realize a lot of the movie goers in the case of the Marvel flicks probably never read comics, so they figured to put a big name in there regardless of race.

I use to watch this all the time glad it is back on.

 

[Velocity]

Ah Kojak....who loves ya baby!