Banacek - The Second Season

Fans of "Banacek" will be excited to learn that the mystery of the missing pilot episode has been solved. According to Arts Alliance America studios, the missing pilot episode "Detour to Nowhere" will be included in the second and final season of "Banacek" on DVD. Along with the missing pilot, the remaining eight season two episodes will be included for your viewing pleasure. My biggest complaint with the season one set was the lack of extras and the missing pilot episode that started it all.

The distributor of season one Hart Sharp Video was bought by Arts Alliance America and we have them to thank for the upcoming three disc release of "Banacek" season two. In my opinion the quality of the first season audio and video was better than I expected and I hope season two will be comparable in quality as well. Season two of "Banacek" had quite an array of guest stars such as Cesar Romero, John Saxon, Dick Van Patten, Linda Evans, Victoria Principal and many others. In Season two of "Banacek" there's more Capers, Cigars and Commission to be had.

DVD Episodes & Features Include:

Disc #1 - Episodes 1-3

Episode #1: No Stone Unturned
Episode #2: If Max Is So Smart, Why Doesn't He Tell Us Where He Is?
Episode #3: The Three Million Dollar Piracy

Disc #2 - Episodes 4-6

Episode #4: The Vanishing Chalice
Episode #5: Horse of a Slightly Different Color
Episode #6: Rocket to Oblivion

Disc #3 - Episodes 7-8

Episode #7: Fly Me - If You Can Find Me
Episode #8: Now You See Me, Now You Don't

(Bonus Feature)
Pilot Episode: "Detour To Nowhere"

An (update) on the second and final season of "Banacek". It should run approximately 576 minutes and will be presented in its 1.33:1 Full Screen format. The three discs are single sided and overall the DVD packaging and disc artwork are very well done. The video image does suffer from age related issues and the prints from Universal Studios contain some grain and debris. In my opinion the sound does crackle in certain episodes here and there, but I didn't let it ruin my viewing experience. As a long time fan of this show, I'm just happy to finally have all the complete episodes of "Banacek" in my DVD collection.

The only Bonus feature included in this set is the original pilot episode "Detour To Nowhere" found on disc three. The alleged bonus scripts that were supposed to be included as extras are nowhere to be found. Maybe Arts Alliance America could bring in "Ellery Queen" to solve that mystery. I hope this information was helpful to fans of the show.

It's great to finally have all the Banacek episodes avail. on DVD.
I am somewhat disappointed with the DVD quality on these.
The 2nd season box set - picture quality is very grainy with artifacting ( similar to a bad jpeg )and the picture is not too sharp either.
There are some sound problems where you can hear some scratchy noises like playing an old record on certain spots.
The second season has a more accurate color balance than season one, which had a very reddish overcast.
I admit I didn't expect pristine quality when they are cramming 230 - 250 minutes per disc - that's a lot of compression to fit that much time on to each disc. More compression = poorer quality.
The quality isn't much better than an old Vhs tape recorded from cable.
But I would still would rather have this than nothing.
It's too bad the quality is just slightly higher than you would expect from a bootleg copy. I would have gladly paid a little extra if the sets spanned a few more discs and had better quality.
The prints the 2nd season were transferred from aren't the cleanest either.
But hey it's Banacek - and it's great having them on DVD to watch.

The series has now come full circle. The pilot episode, "Detour To Nowhere" is included as a "Bonus" feature on the 3rd of a set of 3 decorative TV guide style discs in a nicely arranged product that brings us the final season of an exceptional program. The crowning light of the Wednesday Mystery Movie of the Week. Banacek is a true visit to the past as it was. A calmer, well civilized and interesting world of antiques, friends, short love affairs and puzzling cases that bring to life the 1970's in a special way.
The second season featured less eccentric insurance claimants and more participation by Insurance agent regulars with the Boston company that pays Banacek his 10% finders fee. Also, Banacek's friend and information supplier, Mr. Mulholland who has the best job in the world as an Antiquarian Book Dealer is seen several times with the same Asian lady studying various Chess positions and 70s style "communication" techniques that bring lighter moments to the plot.
As always, women are attracted to Banacek's cool style but as a field player he rarely is serious with anyone save for a few repeat romantic engagements with his fellow investigator for the Boston insurance firm, Karly, a repeat character drawn from the original pilot as was his valet and our bookseller Mulholland.
All of the plots are interesting, colorful, slow paced but never lapsing, well written and worth the price! Well recommended.

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