Let's Hear It for a Living Legend

My summary is pure plagiarism quoting a lyric from a popular Huey Lewis song, but it fits. Banacek is a bad boy and he sure is cool. He lives the playboy life, but he's deadly serious about his craft. That craft would be solving insured criminal theft. For a meager 10-percent Banacek can live the high life. Yet he's grounded by Boston's "old-school" blue blood circles in which he moves. A wonderful juxtaposition! Banacek is George Peppard. An elegant yet approachable man. A pillar of both old world acceptance as well as garish 70's cool. He's perfect in the role. It was rumored that others such as James Coburn were considered, well all I can say is they snagged the perfect actor in Peppard.

Like Sherlock Holmes the crux of each week's complicated mystery isn't so much in the action but in the elimination. While Peppard can be physical it's his wily intuition that always rises to solve the case. Along the way we get some fantastic cinematography and some downright cool style via our protagonist. Dino and Frank can only remember when as George rewrites cool.

I'm a "Brother of the Leaf" ( a cigar lover) and I sincerely enjoy how much of Peppard's own signature style carries over into the series. The cocktails and the smokes, the cars, and the clothing (('ll forgive the SansaBelts) make for pure fashion forward style. Not to mention the signature gloves that carried over much later in "The A-Team".

So much for the overview, this episode, not unlike the pilot, is complicated. It, of course, skirts believability as it shoe horns relevance into everyday life...The NFL here. A player mysteriously disappears after a gang tackle. Insurance, as well as in this case ransom, money is on the line Banacek is on the case.

O.K., this episode isn't as earthy as the pilot. It stretches the imagination more, but it's still complicated and doesn't give up the finale too early. It keeps you invested. This is the fun, and entertainment, that is Banacek. It's great fun indeed. He's just too cool for words. We knew he'd solve it, but the ride was good. Sure, there tension isn't too great, but the journey is so enjoyable. The window dressing of Susan St. James is spot-on. The supporting characters add color. A solid start for a 70's cool Sherlock Holmes.

Thomas Banacek(George Peppard) is called in on a case involving a missing football player named Ives who somehow disappeared during the game on live television in full view of the audience. The team owner(played by Robert Webber) is of course concerned, as is Ives' ex-wife(played by Stefanie Powers) but Banacek suspects a clever kidnapping, which of course is confirmed, as will be the near-certainty that it was a least a partial inside job to collect 2 million dollars in ransom. Can Thomas find the missing man before it is too late? Intriguing story at the heart here will satisfy fans of both mystery and Football. Ralph Manza as Jay Drury and Murray Matheson as Felix Mulholland round out the familiar supporting cast.

"Let's Hear It for a Living Legend" is the first regular episode of "Banacek".....following a TV movie the previous Spring.

When the story begins, Banacek is in a pretty lady's apartment. But instead of paying attention to her, he wants to watch the football game on TV....indication that Banacek might just be crazy! Anyway, on the telecast Banacek and thousands of others see the seemingly impossible....a player disappears after he is tackled!! What makes this Banacek's business is that there is an insurance policy on the player who disappeared....and he STILL is missing. And unlike most private eye type TV characters, Banacek makes his fortune finding lost things for insurance companies.

I liked this premier episode. Banacek not only was an interesting character, but they were able to actually make this impossible crime seem possible. Well executed and worth seeing.

By the way, a tiny part of the show involves having an expert try to read the lips of some folks caught on film. Unlike some shows and movies where they make it look simple, here the expert is only able to get pieces of the conversation....a very realistic thing. My daughter happens to be deaf and folks assume, wrongly, that folks can learn to easily read lips (also called speech reading)....but this really is not possible and the results are far from perfect.

I was less than impressed with the general plot of Banacek's first broadcast episode. I have to say the idea was intriguing, but the solution offered involved way too many people being complete dupes. Granted that there is always that dumb jock stereotype, but a whole group of football players, no way.

For those who hate the Patriots the way some baseball fans hate the Yankees this will be satisfying. During a game that Banacek himself is watching the Boston running back is nailed by four tacklers. When they get up, the opposing player has vanished.

The first thought that everyone has is that it's a publicity stunt by the franchise owner Robert Webber who acts like Donald Trump without the political ambitions. The missing player's ex-wife Stefanie Powers has a modicum of concern, but is more interested in George Peppard as it turns out.

I wasn't crazy about the solution. Still I couldn't help wondering if millions of football fans around the country outside New England wouldn't wish this on Tom Brady.