Continuity mistake: During the credits at the beginning of the episode, watch the camera car view of the street where the armoured van is parked ("Created by Abby Mann"). It's dawn and the van casts a very distinct shadow on the asphalt. Mere seconds later, the getaway car of the robbers gets in the intersection, and the lighting of the scene is flat, shot during a different part of the day. (00:01:35)
Continuity mistake: During the fake drug bust at the beginning of the episode, when Pinky is sobbing during the arrest, a man in a plaid ovdercoat makes his appearance at least thrice, once in the background of the close-up of each junkie, and then when in the wider shot, seconds apart. (00:02:20)
Revealing mistake: A citizen just reported the armed robbery. In an interior shot of the patrol car, supposedly fast driving down the streets of Manhattan, the pedals of the car are visible in the left part of The Frame; there's no foot on the accelerator. They filmed a close-up of the radio inside a still car. (00:02:35)
Visible crew/equipment: When we see the first patrol car reaching the crime scene, the robbers are startled and fight the cops. But if you look in the background when the patrol car pulls over, you can see there is already at least one policeman on foot. However, he's in the background - a real-life cop stopping traffic so the scene can be filmed. (00:03:40)
Other mistake: At the beginning of the episode, there are a few sequences with police cars going at notable speed down the streets of New York. In a few instances, you can see people gathered in street corners, looking at the filming. One egregious example is when the criminals loading the van are startled by the sirens. In the following shot, two bystanders look at the car, then turn towards the camera, and one even takes a few steps back to get out of frame. (00:03:40)
Continuity mistake: During the shootout with the criminals that just holed up inside the store, one policeman tries to make a forward run but is gunned down. In the closer angle, he performs a stunt on a uniformly dimly lit road, but in Harvey Keitel's POV, there is a clear divide between sunlight and shade. (00:08:20)
Continuity mistake: In the sequence, with the policeman getting shot outside the store, with all the other cops trying to get to him, he lies alternatively with his arm on the ground, unmoving, or rolled on the other side, pressing his wound. (00:08:30)
Revealing mistake: When Kojak drives to the store where the hostage situation takes place, the side mirror of the interior view does not match the car he arrives in. The footage is also noticeably sped up at the last turn, when he passes by a Delicatessen window and a Rent-a-car sign. (00:09:30)
Continuity mistake: Having just seized control of the store, Jerry Talaba asks the owner about other exits or access to the roof. He then asks, "What's that?" He and his accomplice move towards the position of two hostages (most notably the girl's). The man holding the assault rifle has his left hand on/off it at the cut. (00:11:20)
Continuity mistake: When Jerry Talaba watches Kojak walk forward for the first time and open his jacket, the gun is pointed at him, then pointed up in the close-up reverse shot. (00:13:05)
Audio problem: When Kojak is about to enter the store for the first time, Jerry yells at him, "Nice and slow," but the line is dubbed over. The quality of sound is different, and Harvey Keitel's jaw is not moving. (00:13:10)
Continuity mistake: In the first scene, where Kojak manages to get inside the store to parlay with the criminals, he asks to talk to the wounded officer. Harvey Keitel says, "Go ahead." In the next shot, Jerry Talaba and Jack Murzie hold their guns in a different way. (00:15:15)
Audio problem: When the cops are grilling the owner of the parking lot, Crocker shouts, "Come on, George, start making sense!" and the guy interjects, "No, honest, I..." His lips are not moving, and he can't be articulating those words. (00:27:50)
Continuity mistake: When the dying policeman delivers the line "We're the only line between the people and them," the old man comforting him has his right hand On the Edge of the stretcher, but in the next shot, it's on his neck. (00:39:40)
Audio problem: During the dramatic resolution of the conflict, Murzie follows Kojak, telling him, "I'm gonna blow you away," but his lips aren't moving. (00:46:40)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the episode, Kojak looks at Talaba and Murzie against the police car, then turns around. In the next shot, he walks away, but the people around him changed position. For instance, George Savalas moved around to give Telly his hat. (00:47:30)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the episode, the elderly hostage leans on Kojak's car window to thank him. His right hand is in a noticeably different spot depending on the camera angle. (00:48:40)
Factual error: The armed robbery is reported by the radio call as happening in "4014 Nostrand Avenue", which is a real street in Brooklyn. However, the first detectives to respond to the dispatch identify themselves as being from "Manhattan South" (makes sense, Kojak being a Lieutenant of the fictional 11th Manhattan South precinct), and the rest of the episode is set obviously in Manhattan. That's many miles away.
