MovieChat Forums > Banacek (1972) Discussion > Episodes: Worst to First

Episodes: Worst to First

posted 12 years ago by cind5
8 replies | jump to latest

17) Detour to Nowhere
This was the movie that sold the series. They must have known it would get better.
16)Horse of a Slightly Different Color
Its hard to find an actress who doesn't have chemistry with Peppard, but this one they found two (Francis and Bradbury)
15)No Sign of the Cross
No sign of Felix, either.
14)Rocket To Oblivion
Great puns from Banacek.
13)Now you see me, Now you don't
Not a great swan song to a wonderful series, but Gretchen Corbett is always excellent.
12)Project Phoenix
I know its only 12th, but this is the turning point, now they're no more cringe moments like in the 1st five.
11) No Stone Unturned
Great guest stars.
10) The Greatest Collection of them all
The only down spot is Mike Farrell, what a no talent hack.
9) A million the hard way
A very interesting plot and a great ending.
8) If Max is so smart, why doesn't he tell us where he is
My favorite hammy actress, Anne Baxter. Plus they team her up with 2 of the greatest non-hammy actors, Paul Richards and Jim Davis.
7) The three nillion piracy
A very clever story. I do have a burning question, how did that butt ugly guy get 2 beautiful wives?
6)Fly me-If you can find me
Who's better than Sterling Hayden?
5) Lets hear it for the living legend
The 1st episode and its fun watching a lot of pro football players try to act.OK, you mite cringe at that, but in a good way.
4) The vanishing chalice
The guest stars what really make this episode work.
3)The two millions clams of cap'n Jack
Jessica Walter is the best acting actress to guest star and lots of chemistry with Peppard. Plus she was nice on the eyes.
2) To Steal a king
Another one were the guest stars make the episode run. The scenes with Logan Ramsey and Roger C. Carmel are probably the best in the series.
1) Ten Thousand dollars a page
To me the perfect episode, nothing went wrong with it
I welcome anybody else's opinions. I've been know to make a mistake or miss something.

[–] hotspurpagg 12 years ago

Nice list and comments. I really laughed out loud at what you said about "$3 Million Piracy." I'll have to think about what my episode rankings would be. I like them all almost equally, so it would be difficult to place them in order. Certainly "Project Phoenix" would rank much higher for me, whereas "The Vanishing Chalice" would be lower, and so on.

[–] nyctc7 12 years ago

>Mike Farrell, what a no talent hack.

LOL!

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[–] pmcguireumc 11 years ago

Overall, i agree with your list - always there's a certain subjectivity in these lists. the only change i would make is I would rank the pilot much higher, if not the highest. Felix is wonderful in the episode and Ralph Manza's growing friendship w/ banacek is nice to watch.

[–] cind5 11 years ago

I just re-read my own list and I'd change the episodes around.
DETOUR TO NOWHERE- probably jump into the top ten, and NO SIGN OF THE CROSS - is my least favorite have sat and re-watched them all again. On a positive note, if NSOTC is the worst you can do then this is a excellent show cause even that episode is very re-watchable. Over and over and over...

[–] PERRO315 10 years ago

I LIKED LANE BRADBURY in "Horse of a Slightly Different Color"---to me, she had more chemistry with Peppard than PAMELA HENSLEY---who played Banacek's girlfriend in the beginning of the episode---did! The episode itself, however, was disappointingly bland! I also liked "No Sign of the Cross"---an episode everyone in here seems to hate! Also, "To Steal a King"---even though it had major plot holes in its "solution", was nonetheless very well-written, and BRENDA VACCARO actually looked extremely sexy in it! "A Million the Hard Way", "The Vanishing Chalice", and "The Two Million Clams of Cap'n Jack" were all very good, as well (with a BIG SECONDING of your opinion of JESSICA WALTER!)"Ten Thousand Dollars a Page" and "Project Phoenix" were both decent---with STELLA STEVENS and JOANNA PETTET, respectively, even if I didn't get into the story, it was hard not to be riveted to the screen by the "Banacek" eye candy! I DID manage to catch quite a bit of "The Greatest Collection of Them All" and "If Max Is So Smart,...", but didn't really care for either! The rest of the episodes either I don't know as well, or have not yet seen!

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] spacekadet3 10 years ago

I like them all. But my least favorites because of holes are 1) Lets hear it for a living legend, Nobody noticed one player getting off the pile without a helmet and walking off the field? 2) Rocket to oblivion, no guards a night so a work crew can throw it in a dumpster and walk out with it? 3) Vanishing chalice, That was a big risk hoping everyones heads stayed turned away long enough to move the mirror. Favorite is Project Phoenix, never would have figured this one out. Some had holes but i still like the solution. for example If Max is so smart..., Remember when they tested Max in the beginning and he passed? If there was already a phone link to a computer elsewhere why did they even need Max in the first place?

[–] Dick24 10 years ago

The only down spot is Mike Farrell, what a no talent hack.

Absolutely! He was one of the biggest reasons M*A*S*H sucked the last few years it was on.

A very clever story. I do have a burning question, how did that butt ugly guy get 2 beautiful wives?

Great question and one that definitely occurred to me while watching.

Jessica Walter is the best acting actress to guest star and lots of chemistry with Peppard. Plus she was nice on the eyes.

Agreed. Jessica was a major hottie in her day. Check out her guest appearance on McMillan if you get the chance. She plays a tennis pro and her scenes in a tennis skirt are worth your time.

In Mexico senor, these are the years of sadness.