Of the various detectives on NBC’s Mystery Movie anthology series, Banacek was the coolest. Columbo was scruffy. McCloud was hickish. Quincy was coarse. McMillan was nagged by the Wife. Banacek was well-manner, well-groomed, well paid and well laid. George Peppard didn’t play another cheap detective or a wealthy one who did pro bono work. His gig was recovering lost items for insurance companies for 10 percent of the value. He solved mysteries for the cash that allowed him to live royally in Boston.
He wasn’t a complete snob while enjoying the finer things in life. He never denied his working class roots and his Polish heritage. He often confused people with his old Polish proverbs. He quoted, “If you’re not sure that it’s potato borscht, there could be orphans working in the mines.” What exactly does that mean? Does it matter? Not really. While other detectives zip around town in muscle cars, Banacek was chauffeured in limos by Jay Drury (Ralph Manza). Since this was the pre-internet era, his “Google” was rare bookstore owner Felix Mulholland (Murray Matheson). One call to Felix and he got all the background on suspects and subjects. Banacek had an efficient set up for recovering lost treasures. It kept his overhead low.
The insurance companies weren’t happy when Banacek scooped their staff investigators in finding lost items. During the pilot film and second season, Carlie Kirkland (Christine Belford) was the company gal who slept with Banacek to see if he’d mumble his hunches while sleeping. Banacek didn’t mind seducing a female suspect if he thought it would loosen her lips. This was a sexually liberated show. He wasn’t chaste during the chases.
“Detour to Nowhere” is the 96 minute movie that introduced the character. An armored car filled with $1.6 million in gold bullion disappears while driving through the Texas desert. Not only does Banacek have to deal with the insurance company not wanting him poking around, but the local law enforcement doesn’t take nicely to him stepping on their toes. But it’s going to take more than good ol’ boys in dune buggies to scare Banacek back to Beantown. We know he’ll figure out how the truck was lifted because otherwise he wouldn’t have been given a series.
The theme of all of Banacek episodes had him deducing which suspect pulled the switcheroo. He basically exposed felony magic acts. “Let’s Hear It for a Living Legend” has a football player disappear during a gang tackle. “A Million Dollars the Hard Way” has a pile of cash whisked from a secured display case in a Las Vegas casino. Margot Kidder (Superman) gives Banacek a little in room entertainment. “The Two Million Clams of Cap’n Jack” has Jessica Walter (Arrested Development) trapped in a stock fiasco. It’s up to Banacek to discover how art, cars, rockets, race horses and super computers vaporize. He knows how to expose the criminal slight of hand like your uncle who explains all of Criss Angel’s illusions.
Banacekepisodes play like feature length films at 72 minutes long. The scams aren’t rushed. Sometimes the endings don’t make complete sense when Banacek exposes how it was done. We don’t get complete flashbacks as to how the culprits pulled off the heists. But ultimately it doesn’t matter since Banacek is so suave while deconstructing the plot. How can you doubt a man that knows how to pull off a turtleneck?
The series only lasted two seasons although it wasn’t canceled from bad ratings. Peppard was going through a nasty divorce and decided it was better to kill the show than give his ex-wife a piece of the action. Luckily Peppard’s TV career rebounded a decade later in the role of Col. Hannibal Smith on The A-Team. Banacek: The Complete Series revives one of the great ‘70s investigators.
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers are good with only a few specks on the screen.
The sound is Dolby Digital Mono. The levels are loud enough to hear Banacek’s mind click when he solves the switcheroo.
Photo Gallery (2:26) contains various promo pics for the show. The emphasis is on the ladies that Banacek seduced to uncover the caper.
TV Guide Crossword Puzzle has 13 puzzles from back issues of the magazine. The 14th puzzle is dedicated to Banacek. They are stored as PDF files so you’ll have to print them out.
Detour to Nowhere (1:36:40) is the pilot movie that was discussed earlier.
Banacek: The Complete Series boxes together the previously released two season sets. If you already bought those sets, you won’t be missing out on anything except a new cardboard slipcase. For those of you who haven’t;Banacek is a pure delight for fans of ‘70s mystery TV.
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Arts Alliance America presents Banacek: The Complete Series. Starring George Peppard, Jay Drury and Murray Matheson. Boxset Contents: 17 episodes on 5 DVDs. Released on DVD: September 30, 2008. Available at Amazon.
