The made-for-TV Toma was inspired by the real-life career of New Jersey plainclothes detective Dave Toma.
Tony Musante stars as the detective, whose penchant for impenetrable disguises makes him indispensable to the undercover division of the Newark police department. Toma's fierce independence gets him in hot water with his superiors, who are forced to say "no" when he expresses a desire to get the goods on a numbers racketeer. Defying orders, Toma dons another clever disguise and infiltrates the gang. Tony Musante,
Susan Strasberg (as Patty Toma) and
Simon Oakland (Inspector Spooner) were all retained for the subsequent Toma series, which ran from 1973 until 1974, then resurfaced in altered form as the
Robert Blake cop series
Baretta. As he would so often on the weekly Toma, the real David Toma plays a cameo role in this 74-minute pilot film. The original Toma was first telecast March 21, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide