Kojak-ass

********SPOILER WARNING********

If you haven't watched the pilot episode of the new Kojak series on the USA Network and are still planning to, then you won't want to continue reading.

I really wanted to like the new version of Kojak; I really did. I remember the original with Telly Savalas only vaguely and had no preconceived notions or criticisms regarding the new show. I do like Ving Rhames and his presence gave me hope that it would be good.

In the first 5 minutes of the 2-hour pilot, Kojak interrogates a suspect to get information regarding a hitman and his target. Kojak enters the room and within seconds he has slammed the supects head to the table and starts playing Russian roulette with him to get the info he needs. Of course, the terrified scumbag give up the info; he was in fear of his life. We are supposed to admire Kojak's efficiency and the sly way that he tricked the suspect into thinking there was a bullet in the gun. I almost turned it off at that point.

Unfortunately, I stuck with it. In a nutshell, the dramatic reveal at the end is that a police detective has murdered a prostitute (most horribly) that he worked with to cover his ass (she was blackmailing him). She would pretend to be a witness/informer (in various guises) to get an arrest that, otherwise wouldn't have been possible, thus ensuring that a guilty murderer/rapist/molester wouldn't get away with their crimes. When Kojak confronts the detective, the detective tells him that he must give him a free pass on the murder, or all the other arrests that he and the hooker arranged would be thrown out and all those bad men would be free to commit more crimes. Kojak accepts this and doesn't turn the bastard in. Instead, he tells the grieving, estranged father who the guilty man is, and the father beats him to death. The body is dumped in Kojak's jurisdiction and we are left to believe that Kojak will make sure that the father gets away with it.

All of this illegal street justice is supposed to be forgiven by the audience because Kojak drinks and cries over the tough choices he made.... he's a hero with a burden.

Ving Rhames seems to be proud of this portrayal of Kojak's methods. This is what he had to say about the detectives actions.

I will not be watching another episode.

It reminds me of 24, Jack Bauer seems almost eager to torture people to expedite his investigation. This season, so far, 2 innocent people have been interrogated with electric shock (1 by Jack, the other by the head of CTU). I continue to watch it to ridicule (yes, I yell at the TV) the frequent moronic behavior of all of the cast in their efforts to catch the bad guys. I am continually astounded at all of the praise that is heaped on the show. Even with all of the inadvertent humor that it provides, this will be the last season that I watch the show.