Banacek
Thomas Banacek is a clever and well-to-do freelance 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.
- 1972-1974
- 2 seasons
- NBC
- Suspense, Drama
- TV-PG
Thomas Banacek is a clever and well-to-do freelance 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.
Season 2 Episode Guide
8 Episodes 1973 - 1974
Episode 1
No Stone Unturned
Wed, Oct 3, 1973 75 mins
"Man in Harmony," a 3-ton, 11-foot tall sculpture, is missing at its gala unveiling. The 5-foot pedestal to which it was attached is all that remains to mark the theft. A ransom demand, threatening to turn the large stone into gravel unless $500,000 is paid, further complicates the case. Working in competition with a Boston Insurance Company colleague, Banacek has only two days to find the statue and collect his fee.
Episode 2
If Max Is So Smart, Why Doesn't He Tell Us Where He Is?
Wed, Nov 7, 1973 75 mins
One morning Max - a huge, complex computer system - vanishes from the locked, alarmed and guarded building it filled just the night before. Banacek steps in to find out how tons of computer machinery could be sneaked out leaving only bare walls.
Episode 3
The Three Million Dollar Piracy
Wed, Nov 21, 1973 75 mins
A three-million dollar wedding coach, being sent overseas, disappears shortly after being placed into a shipping container and loaded aboard ship, under the watchful eyes of two Boston Insurance Company employees. Enter Banacek, who must figure out the puzzling theft and find the coach before the ship sails to collect his ten percent.
Episode 4
The Vanishing Chalice
Tue, Jan 15, 1974 75 mins
When a priceless Greek chalice vanishes at a special preview before a select crowd, Cavanaugh hires Banacek to retrieve it, but with one string attached: Carlie Kirkland becomes his aide.
Episode 5
Horse of a Slightly Different Color
Tue, Jan 22, 1974 75 mins
Thoroughbred-owner Katherine Wells finishes an interview at the track, then in confidence tells her horse trainer that she is quitting racing, having sold her prized thoroughbred for $5,000,000, and that, after its morning workout, the transfer would be official. Before his new owner and a camera crew, Oxford Don starts his quarter run, yet a different horse finishes - with no time to switch to a "Horse of a Slightly Different Color." It's another impossible puzzle for Banacek.
Episode 6
Rocket to Oblivion
Tue, Feb 12, 1974 74 mins
A small but powerful prototype engine sits sealed in a rotating display case in the middle of a crowded trade-show floor. A power failure cuts the lights for a few seconds, during which the 600-pound rocket engine vanishes. With tempers already burning between inventor and government reps over ownership rights, Banacek must beat his competitor (Carlie Kirkland) to the solution without getting burned in the firestorm.
Episode 7
Fly Me- If You Can Find Me
Tue, Feb 19, 1974 75 mins
A charter company jetliner makes an emergency landing at a small desert airstrip, blowing all of its tires and leaving a shaken flight crew. The next morning finds the pilot left guarding the plane dead and the airstrip empty of the immovable aircraft. Enter Banacek - in a chauffeur-driven jeep - to sort out the convolutions of pilots, stewardesses, old business partners and more to learn where the crippled plane has gone.
Episode 8
Now You See Me, Now You Don't
Tue, Mar 12, 1974 75 mins
Magician Bradley Merrick pulls off the greatest illusion of his career: disappearing right onstage before a packed theater surrounded by police ready to arrest him for embezzlement. Banacek is called in to find the missing man and the securities he allegedly stole and disappeared with. Keen to go on vacation, Banacek accepts the job after thinking it over and meets the one member of the magician's family who cares about him.
