I rarely watch anything made for American tv. What little I've watched always seems the same.
Far fetched and over sentimental. I watched one years ago with Angie Dickinson.
Always ended with her boss gushing "You okay" then angry she'd risked her life. Pap.

Thinking about it, Baretta was probably my favourite because the show was on at a time when I got to know my brother.
He was a lot older than me and when he got married for the first time we hardly knew each other at all.

When he came back home after his marriage failed, we then started building a very close relationship.
He went out every night, usually till the early hours, but whatever night Baretta was on he just used to go to the pub and be in for when it was on (approx 10:30pm - 11pm) and we both used to laugh at the many funny parts in it (I particularly remember one episode where one of his sidekicks kept on about the Sheriff of Nottingham!), sometimes while he'd toast bread on the open fire for him and me.

Many happy memories of me and my brother just spending time together and laughing rather than the show itself, I suppose.

Still, it was a very good 'unusual' cop show (at the time).
And the parrot was a bonus!

Akabula, it was one of those 'hidden gems' that few people remember as it was on late at night on ITV and not promoted at all and I don't think it lasted for many series.
I think the only way me and my brother came across it was quite by chance one night when we were channel hopping - then it became a 'must see' every week.

Cant believe Louis and Briggs not got a mention yet, the creme de la creme of the breed

"THE GYPSY QUEEN" Kojak episode is still brilliant to watch, btw - possibly the single best episode of any detective show in the 70s.

Just g00gled it - "Queen of the Gypsies" - Zohra Lampert won an Emmy for her role. They tried to make a sequel but she wouldn't do it as she was working in theatre.

Some of Kojak's hipster patter is rank and some of it is brilliant - probably down to the writers or how Telly Savalas was feeling on the day. Some great guest stars - like James Woods, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Gere etc. Although it's dated, some of the earlier shows are like forerunners of The Wire - police helped write the scripts too.

Columbo
Miss Marple(Margaret Rutherford...whose father was William Benn who spent time in a lunatic asylum and murdered his father...related to Tony Benn)
Holmes(Jeremy Brett)
Morse.

Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes just pips it for me. Atmospheric.

Hee hee - maybe that's why his patter was so hit and miss, Aka.