User Reviews

This crime is a tough one on "Theo Kojak." For a long time in this story, he keeps it to himself, driving the rest of the force crazy. They think he's lost his mind and he's disrupting the force. Finally, his longtime friend "Al" gets him to say what's bugging him.

Of course, we know all along what's happening. After a very rich dude - a guy Kojak has been trying to nab for eight years - gets caught with heroin at his place, it looks like curtains for him. However, one of sharp men he employs has a solution to keep to keep the boss out of jail. His plan is to kidnap "Captain McNeil's" wife and swap her for the evidence. Kojak is to get that evidence and keep his mouth shut, or "Lillian McNeil" will die.

The actor who plays the kidnapper is interesting. He kind of looked like a cross between Peter Fonda and Kevin Bacon. At any rate, he was an effective villain, more so than the big boss who hired him.

Mrs. McNeil makes her one and only appearance in the series (thank God) in this episode after she is kidnapped.

One thing I like about the show is that the personal lives of the principal characters are seldom used for stories.

This episode is an exception, but not a bad effort.

I like the way it started with Kojak investigating the kidnapping alone, then bringing in Sgt. Vine and finally McNeil and everyone else.

Liam Dunn has a stellar cameo as a reformed check kiter, now working in hand-writing analysis, who helps Kojak with the letter Mrs. McNeil wrote under duress.

I've seen Dunn in many roles, and this is my favorite performance.

My sole gripe is that McNeil's shotgun sounds like a small caliber pistol when the villain is shot. Standards and practices? Or a mistake? We may never know.