If you can't imagine anyone successfully following the charismatic Telly Savalas as the lollipop-sucking detective Kojak we all loved in the 1970s, think again.

For Ving Rhames does the job brilliantly: bringing a new depth to the cop who bends the rules, he involves us from the start.

This gritty pilot to a new series we have yet to discover in this country sees the kindly yet tough Kojak burning the midnight oil to catch a serial killer who is targeting prostitutes with children.

Chazz Palminteri plays his former partner-turned-boss Frank McNeil.

No Kojak fan will be disappointed.