[Jeff#]

Anyone know if and when Universal has plans to duplicate and release this set?

It's been almost a year since the first season came out, and there are 4 more years to go! Have home video sales been that poor for one of the most popular police drama series ever filmed?

I remember in one of the episodes when a witness that Kojak questions refers to him as a "Greek bowling ball"!

The 2nd season, by the way, introduced an improved version of the original theme music, and it's that new orchestration which this series is most famous for.

[Paul_Scott]

sorry, Jeff. hope i don't kill this thread the way i did the Night Gallery one - but i gotta say, a season 2 of Kojak is right up there with NG S2 for me.
i had a real blast witht he first set and am chomping at the bit for more Kojak. its a little disheartening to see how quickly things like A-Team and Magnum are coming out, and having ayear or more go by without an announcement or clue about these others.
i'm am surprised that Kojak doesn't seem to be as popular as even Columbo.

i do understand that the 80s properties are more popular because they make up the primary nostalgia period for the demographic that buys the most dvd product in general.
i think most of the 70s stuff (Columbo exceptd apparently) is just an unfortunate orphan to a point because the fans are just outside of the demographic pale (though still in a slightly better position than older fans for 60s and 50s material). and it is only going to get worse as the years advance and people start getting nostalgic for the 90s.

i'm really ticked at Universal for their quality control (i have to go to BB today to see about a replacement Rockford disc) which hurts because they have some of my most favorite properties.

[Jeff#]

I don't agree that this necessarily works in decades, Paul. It's a matter of who enjoys what and sometimes when the nostalgia factor holds.

Night Gallery never had that much of a following. Other than the presense and involvement of Rod Serling, it wasn't The Twilight Zone and although was sometimes very entertaining in its own right could never achieve the creative excellence of Twilight Zone. Serling himself was disappointed with his reduced role in the lster series.

Anthology series generally don't have the kind of respect of a show with continuing characters, although I can and do enjoy both.

Sometimes you can catch an interview with a rapper saying how when he grew up in the streets and getting arrested on a few occasions, that KOJAK was his isspiration for staying on the straight and narrow.

Lt. Theo Kojak was as much an 1970s inspirational (yet fictional) TV character) on today's culture as Al Pacino was in the 1980s playing Tony Montana in the movie Scarface. Granted that these men were on opposite sides of the law, they were always fascinating to watch.

Somebody at the USA Network had a fondless for Kojak, or else they wouldn't have revived the character over a year ago (played by Ving Rhames). It was a big mistake and even bigger failure, but at least that goes to show that everything old can be new again.

Even The Rockford Files coming out on DVD last month makes you wonder if Universal will put out any of the TV reunion movies from the 1990s.

[Paul_Scott]

i forgot that the Ving Rhames remake came out last year (duh! why else would the series have had a release). i thought for sure the series would still be popular and would sell well for what it was (a 30 year old show), but i never saw any figures to know.
but here it is a year later and we still haven't heard a peep about a follow up, so i can only speculate that sales were medicore or less so- otherwise Universal would have probably had a second set out by now.




you're right about Night Galley. its more than just the fact that its a '70s show' that is holding it back.

[Jeff#]

Don't forget that Telly Savalas returned to the role that he created with 2 Kojak TV movies in the mid 1980s.

Then in 1989-1990, he did 6 two hour episodes for the ABC Mystery Movie. So including the Rhames version, there hasn't been a decade without KOJAK!

So listen to Telly.....Call Player's Club today!

[David Lambert]

Kojak on DVD didn't sell as well as hoped, I've heard. I'm not holding my breath for more seasons of it from Universal. Toss it in the pile with Night Gallery and Airwolf.

[Jeff#]

I think maybe the classic KOJAK didn't sell because the USA Network series bombed. Not coincidentally, they both came out at the same time....a year ago this month.

[chrisBeckett]

According to Play (UK), Kojak Season 2 is going to be released for Region 2 on June 26.

[peggy]

So why would Kojak have done better in Region 2 than it did here? That is really disappointing because I was looking forward to Season 2 coming out here.

[Steve...O]

Quote:

I think maybe the classic KOJAK didn't sell because the USA Network series bombed. Not coincidentally, they both came out at the same time....a year ago this month.

That's one possible reason. I think Universal also hurt themselves a bit in two ways:

(1) they released a ton of 60s and 70s shows in 2005. Only well heeled consumers could afford to buy them all. For example, McCloud, McMillan, and Columbo all got released on the same day. Many of these shows appeal to the same fan base, but chances are consumers had to pick out a couple to buy leaving others on the shelf

(2) many DVD enthusiasts will not buy Universal product due to all the reported problems with their discs. I've passed on many of their releases (ones I'd normally buy) simply because I don't have time to check out 30 episodes for errors right after purchase nor do I have confidence in their product that it will work 6 months from now.

Steve

[Jeff#]

Well, as I've said many times I've purchased plenty of Universal TV collections (such as Alfred Hitckcock Presents, 3 sets of Columbo, Kojak, The Rockford Files) and I never had a technical problem with the discs themselves. So I will continue to buy my favorite series as they're released.