Banacek: Season 1 [DVD]

George Peppard starring as Thomas Banacek, Boston's finest freelance Insurance investigator is called into action for a price when others can't seem to get the job done. George Peppard was the perfect choice for the role of the Polish-American detective Thomas Banacek. George Peppard had a very charming and charismatic approach to the way he conducted and solved an investigation and made it seem believable. Season one of This classic 70's show contains the first eight action-packed and intriguing episodes that feature guest appearances by Brenda Vaccaro, Penny Marshall, Mike Farrell, Curt Gowdy to name a few. Banacek is sometimes helped out by his wisecracking and street smart chauffeur Jay (Ralph Manza) and British bookstore owner Felix Mullholland (Murray Matheson) and fans will really enjoy these characters as well.Fans of "Banacek" will be upset to learn that the original pilot episode "Detour to Nowhere" is not included in this DVD release and that's a huge disappointment. Bonus features also include a Photo gallery, TV Guide Crossword puzzle and Exclusive access to a Banacek microsite. The video and sound transfer from Hart Sharp Video is decent and just about what I expected for a show of its age. The transfers seem to have been remastered for DVD but still suffer from some grain and age related artifacts.Overall I rate the season one DVD release of "Banacek" four stars because the original pilot episode wasn't included. I definitely rate this great show from the 1970's Five Stars all the way for pure entertainment value. I can't wait for the final release of the second season of "Banacek" because there's more Capers,Cigars and Commission to be had. Unfortunately they don't make TV shows like this anymore.DVD Specs:Number of Discs: 2Number of Episodes: 8Running Time: 576 minsEpisodes Included:Disc #1- Let's Hear it for a Living Legend- Project Phoenix- No Sign of the Cross- A Million the Hard WayDisc #2-To Steal a King-Ten Thousand Dollars a Page-The Greatest Collection of Them All-The Two Million Clams of Cap'n Jack

What an enjoyable detective series this is! If you loved Columbo ( I have the whole series on DVD), fans of the original "NBC Mystery Night Movie" will truly enjoy this first season of Banacek which was part of the alternate line-up featuring Columbo, McMillian & Wife, and McCloud.A complete opposite to Peter Falk's self-effacing Columbo and resident of Boston's Beacon Hill, American/Polish insurance investigator Banacek is smug, erudite, wealthy, and terribly competent always managing to get his 10% on every recovery while making other insurance investigators and detectives green with envy. Supporting cast is excellent with veteran and accomplished actor Murray Matheson as a rare book dealer and friend of Banacek who assists him in solving a number of capers. Other notable guest stars such as Bert Convy, William Windom, and Kevin McCarthy also appear in the series.Shot on location in Boston and other interesting locales, Banacek is an engaging whodunit with the protagonist explaining how the crime or, in most cases, the "heist" or "fraud" was completed. Unlike "Columbo" we don't really know who the criminal or the thief is until the last act of the 90 minute episode. (In one episode, Banacek explains how an entire railroad car with a top secret sports coupe prototype inside literally disappears while in transit and under armed guards!)Tranfers to DVD are decent but not remarkable; Universal's "Columbo" sets look much better, but we are fortunate to have this much talked about but rarely seen series featuring George Peppard in one of his finest television roles. A fine actor who was superb in starring roles in such films as "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "The Blue Max," but never really quite made it to Hollywood's A-list, Peppard was ideally cast in the role of Thomas Banacek. I am looking forward to the other eight episodes in Season 2!

Amazon is crap for not notifying in bold letters this will not play in USA. What a scam

If you can appreciate classy yet admittedly "dated" entertainment from the 60s and 70s you'll probably like this show.--- In it George Peppard plays "Banacek" (pronounced Banacheck) an independent Insurance investigator who is called in by the insurance companies to solve mystifying high profile thefts etc.--- Banacek gets huge paydays (10%) of multimillion dollar cases.--- He lives like a high roller having his own limo with chauffer. He's also got a 1930's classic big convertible which he sports about town in.---- He's intelligent, suave, sophisticated and a big lady's man yet he can mix it up and throw down in a parking lot with bad guys if necessary. The only bad thing is that this series only ran 2 seasons. It wasn't cancelled by the networks due to popularity problems. ---It was cancelled because George Peppard was getting a divorce at the time and thus dropped the series so he wouldn't get stuck paying his ex wife a bunch of extra money.--- That said it is us fans who have suffered more than she. --- When the series ended we were then relegated to decades of repeat viewings of only 2 seasons. ----It's been out of production (OOP) for years so its expensive but IMO well worth the expenditure.----So forget taking a vacation this year and instead save up to buy both seasons of "Banacek." You'll probably have more fun.

George Peppard plays a very intelligent insurance investigator. The other characters believe him arrogant. ( As is the case with smart people in real life) He figures out how things were stolen when others haven't got a clue. Considering that they didn't have the special effects in the 70s that are used today, it's great.

Retro. I saw this series when I was 10 years old and remembered very well.. The Series reminds me of a mystery movie, with the class of a james bond movie. Sadly, my girlfriend can not watch it with me, because it is only available in english.

Una serie de culto que merece la pena tener.

I've been waiting for this: to write one more review all about Mr. George Peppard. What about Banacek? I LOVE his clothes, I would like to wear the feminine version of his outfits. I love the scriptwriters because of the great job they did; they created a perfect showcase for Mr. George.The music, the location (Boston), the plots, the more than witty dialogues, the old school charm of the whole series, Banacek's lifestyle: I agree with everything.One of my favorite episodes is "Project Phoenix" with Joanna Pettet (who plays a woman engineer). They were very well paired, both handsome and stylish. (She ended up on George's lap on and off the set: who could blame her, being in love with George is a very nice disease...)It's a pity he did only two seasons of Banacek.Banacek as a character was not a chauvinist but rather an aesthete. Banacek loved women: I really enjoyed the 'sword-fighting' between him and the lead female character in EVERY episode. It's one of the great things in life to have the opportunity to tease an intelligent handsome man and he is staying in the game. I think what I see in Banacek and his women is a courtship ritual.Banacek and other TV series from the Golden Age of Television were sophisticated, classy, 'high end' and so well-written: great joy to watch and for me personally (though I appreciate the other actors) the endless delight of looking at George Peppard's body and face. My life is not the same since I 'discovered" him in Pendulum (1968 - wonderful scenes with Jean Seberg as the cheating wife).I'm going to buy Banacek Season 2. And other movies George Peppard was in. I want to find out everything he did apart from the A-Team.He's done so many good movies, has worked with great people like Orson Welles, Edward Dmytryk, James Mason, Lee Remick, Michael York, Jean Seberg, John Guillermin. Inger Stevens...I want to thank the person who signed him at MGM. What would have happened to him if he had not been let in... the quotation is not from me ... "he was born to be on the screen and was better than the best of the best".

Banacek is my fave of the 70s Mystery Movies series.

5 étoiles pour la série et sa ré-édition.A quand la reprise de Mannix (saison 3 et suivantes), la sortie d'Opération Vol (avec Robert Wagner), de "l'Immortel" (avec Christopher George), du "Magicien" (avec Bill Bixby) et bien sûr du "Fugitif" (avec David Janssen)?