Banacek (1972–1974)

The adventures of proud Polish-American detective Thomas Banacek.

Creator:

Anthony Wilson

Stars:

George Peppard, Ralph Manza, Murray Matheson

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
George Peppard	...	Thomas Banacek (17 episodes, 1972-1974)
Ralph Manza	...	Jay Drury (17 episodes, 1972-1974)
Murray Matheson	...	Felix Mulholland (16 episodes, 1972-1974)

Storyline

Thomas Banacek is a clever and well-to-do insurance investigator living in Boston. He makes good money by solving the most intricate and unusual mysteries, and is very proud of his Polish heritage. His contacts include his street-smart chauffeur Jay and British bookstore owner Felix.

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Plot Keywords:

detective

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1972 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Apartments, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 90 min (16 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peppard originally signed to star in a weekly hour series, but NBC instead chose to make "Banacek" a 90-minute show that would alternate with two other series on NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie. Peppard's contract was not modified, however, leaving him free to leave the series after two seasons to pursue other projects.

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Quotes

Thomas Banacek: If you're not sure that it's potato borscht, there could be orphans working in the mines.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gamera vs. Gaos (1991)

User Reviews

A wonderful but flawed show.

This was my favorite show growing up as a teenager in the 1970s. It doesn't hold up that well due to the embarrassingly sexist dialog in literally every episode, but if you can overlook that unfortunate aspect of the show, it's a lot of fun even now. It had great plots, a wonderful theme song, dry humor and wonderful stock characters.

Ralph Manza, who played Banacek's Chauffer, never failed to crack me up with his "theories" about how the thieves pulled off the job.

Murray Matheson played Felix Mulholland, the owner of Mulholland's Rare Books, who possessed a compendium of arcane knowledge that Banacek would draw upon to obtain important technical information needed for solving the crime.

Christine Belford played Carlie Kirkland, Banacek's competitor and sometimes love interest. She deserved better than those sexist scripts, but I think she did a fine job considering the two-dimensionality of her character.

Every episode had an "Old Polish Proverb" that Banacek would recite with great humor.