I'd been curious to see Banacek again, not for any good reason, just remembering liking the series back in the 70s. It ran two seasons as part of the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie anthology series. It's often called a "wheel show" or "umbrella program" by people in the biz.
The first three series were McCloud, Columbo and McMillan & Wife. They did so well that they were moved to Sunday night and they added Hec Ramsey with Richard Boone. I have Columbo to watch someday and I have an interest in Hec Ramsey but there hasn't been a DVD.
In the newly restocked WMM Banacek appeared in rotation with Cool Million and Madigan. Banacek didn't get cut and it's second season aired with three new shows: Faraday & Company, Tenafly and The Snoop Sisters. I remember liking Tenafly. The anthology series was cancelled after Banacek's second season ended.
Netflix only had the f1st season of Banacek, not the Pilot, just the season's 8 episodes, crammed onto 2 discs. No sign of the 2nd season, that did have the Pilot and the 8 episodes of season 2, all crammed onto three discs. The British set puts the Pilot and 1st 8 episodes on 4 discs and the 2nd season gets 4 discs too.
The series had gone out of print, copies were pricey on Amazon and eBay. I opted to buy the whole series for $45 from the UK. It's about half the price of some of the cheaper season DVD sets here. They finally came the other day and I've watched the first season through.
The Pilot is a 93 minute movie and the puzzle is a good one. Banacek is in the restoration business. That's Banacek for recovering lost items for the insurance reward. The amounts seem quint, the missing armored car contains a fortune, of 1.6 million bucks. Still 10 percent of that buys a lot of cigars. Banacek has an expensive life style and he needs that cash. Boston is the city Banacek hangs his hat but we don't spend all the time there. He jets around, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the desert, anywhere the money is, he's there.
Ralph Manza is the comic relief machine and he's the poorest thing in the show. In the Pilot Banacek hires Ralph and his limo when he arrives in Las Vegas on the armored car robbery. When the series starts Ralph's the permanent chauffeur. He gets some of the worst lines and he's always the butt of his own actions. Murray Matheson plays a book store owner that supplies info for Banacek.
It's all pretty light hearted, Banacek quips with people, occasionally gets into a fight, pulls a bird most of the time, and always beats the insurance company guys to the missing loot. They repeat some themes in the scripts, like with Jay saying stupid stuff or the insurance investigators always seem to be hatin' on Banacek. Well, he does make them look bad. Women are always falling over themselves to give it up to Banacek, Penny Marshal was one. There are a few good guest stars, Broderick Crawford, Stephanie Powers, William Windom, Bert Convy, Margot Kidder, Kevin McCarthy, Brenda Vaccaro, Pernell Roberts, Andrew Duggan and Jessica Walters, along with all the other lesser known but hard working actors.
I enjoyed the show but wouldn't put it in my top ten favs. I'll be watching the second season soon.
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