MovieChat Forums > Banacek (1972) Discussion > Which episodes are the best?

Which episodes are the best?

posted 16 years ago by Angelface354
8 replies | jump to latest

I remember watching Banacek with my parents as a kid but that is about all I remember. While watching McMillan and Wife the other night, my husband mentioned how much he loved Banacek. I just ordered the complete set for him as a Christmas gift. I have loved reading all these comments and can't wait to watch them. Are there some episodes that are exceptionally good? If so we will watch those first. I do love George Peppard so can't wait to spend some cold winter weekend nights with Banacek.

[–] nyctc7 16 years ago

Since there were only 17 episodes (actually 16 plus the pilot), I'd just watch them in order, though I can say now after watching the DVDs that with Banacek there really is no reason to watch them in order--the episodes stand independently on their own. But if you watch the best episodes first, the remainder will be a letdown. And tastes as to which are the best probably varies...

What I did was look at this episode guide (no spoilers) and first watched the ones I either never saw or had no memory of (5 episodes). Then I watched the others pretty much in order.

http://epguides.com/Banacek/guide.shtml

And remember that a wise man never tries to warm himself in front of a painting of a fire.

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[–] Orbtastic 12 years ago

I watched them out of sequence the first time I saw them (the DVDs were burnt that way) and the woman character who appears in about half the episodes - It's definitely out of sync if you don't watch them in order, but in terms of the episode plots, it makes no odds really.

[–] Pilgrim07 14 years ago

I like the whole series, although I personally like the first season more than the second. I just bought the Complete Series set myself and went through the first season. My ranking of the first season episodes (from best to worst):

1) "Detour to Nowhere" (pilot)
2) "Let's Hear it for a Living Legend"
3) "A Million the Hard Way"
4) "The Greatest Collection of Them All"
5) "Ten Thousand Dollars a Page"
6) "To Steal a King"
7) "The Two Million Clams of Cap'n Jack"
8) "Project Phoenix"
9) "No Sign of the Cross"

I don't think any of these episodes are bad - but the last two are definitely my least favorites of the first season.

[–] Pilgrim07 14 years ago

Having now gone through the second season on the DVD set, I think the second season was overall as good as the first season (and in some respects, even superior). However, I will say that the second half of the second season was stronger than the first half - IMO, the first four episodes of the second season suffer from too much emphasis on the Carlie Kirkland character.

My ranking of the second season episodes (from best to worst - although I think all of these episodes are quite good):

1) "Rocket to Oblivion"
2) "Now You See Me, Now You Don't"
3) "Horse of a Slightly Different Color"
4) "Fly Me if You Can Find Me"
5) "If Max is so Smart, Why doesn't he tell us where he is"
6) "The Vanishing Chalice"
7) "No Stone Unturned"
8) "The Three Million Dollar Piracy"

[–] The-Kurgan 14 years ago

I found them to be most enjoyable in order, by coincidence. I much prefer the pilot's premise, when he was a Restoration & Recovery man (or something like that). He'd keep tabs on posted losses, wait the requisite 60 days after something had gone missing, and then it was open to freelance investigators such as himself to stick their noses in and try to make a buck. They never officially dropped that, but it was never used again, since every case afterwards was one where a panicky insurance company would call Banacek in immediately after the loss occurred.

The pilot story itself wasn't stellar, but the ancillary elements in it were my favorite, which were glossed over and dumbed down a bit in subsequent stories.

As for which is best overall, I think the first season as a whole was better than the second. There was more of a serious tone to season 1, but things got more lighthearted, even silly, in season 2, especially with the addition of Christine Belford to the cast as his annoying half-sidekick, half-nemesis from the insurance agency.

[–] tim-rogers-2 13 years ago

This really is horses for courses. My opinion is almost exactly the opposite of some of the other responses here. For example, 'Rocket to Oblivion' is the one episode I don't think works at all, and my ranking of the episodes is nearly inverse of Pilgram07's ranking of the 2nd season (I agree with the first season ranking though). I also loved most episodes with Carly Kirkland. There was some nice repartee in these between her and Banacek; it wasn't Oscar Wilde or Noel Coward, but pretty good banter of the screwball comedy kind that betrayed Carly's conflicted feelings. I also didn't see too much difference in tone between the two seasons. I just wish TV made more room for shows like this where character could be more of a focus and the dialogue more carefully crafted. It also had a thoughtful theme of freedom vs ownership, with salaried work being the principal example of how people are owned. As Banacek says, "belonging to someone isn't good for people".

[–] AaronCapenBanner 12 years ago

My favorite was the pilot film, "Detour To Nowhere",a really clever plot,and fine setup for the premise of the series. Of the other 16 cases,all of them were good to varying degrees,with 'To Steal A King' and 'Rocket To Oblivion' being particulary clever,and I wish George Peppard had not quit this fine series,and wonderful character,so soon.

[–] mmidler 10 years ago

"Project Phoenix" is the best episode without a doubt.