Let's Hear It for a Living Legend
- Episode aired Sep 13, 1972
- 1h 13m
When a football player vanishes from the field in full view of network cameras and a live audience, it's up to Banacek to figure out how his kidnappers spirited him away without a trace.When a football player vanishes from the field in full view of network cameras and a live audience, it's up to Banacek to figure out how his kidnappers spirited him away without a trace.When a football player vanishes from the field in full view of network cameras and a live audience, it's up to Banacek to figure out how his kidnappers spirited him away without a trace.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is the only time in the series the character Banacek appears before the opening credits.
- GoofsOn the play that sets the mystery, QB Mulligan gives the ball to RB Ives, who runs to the side with the ball, is tackled, and vanishes. The cameras return to Mulligan getting up with his knee issue and the football is on the ground behind him, but it would have been over in the pile with Ives. They show the helmet, but not the ball, on the side after the pile clears. Just as big a mystery as how Ives vanished is how did the ball get back to the middle of the field to Mulligan!! No one ever comments on this, although the play is replayed numerous times later.
- Quotes
Thomas Banacek: There's an old Polish proverb that says, "If you're not sure that it's potato borscht, there could be orphans working in the mines."
Video Technician: Are you sure you got that straight?
Thomas Banacek: It means, "What you don't know could hurt you a lot."
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.
- AudioFileZ
- Aug 15, 2013
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Details
- Runtime1 hour 13 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1