Banacek

Banacek is an American detective TV series starring George Peppard that aired on the NBC network from 1972 to 1974. The series was part of the rotating NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie anthology. It alternated in its time slot with several other shows, but was the only one of them to last beyond its first season. Premise Peppard played Thomas Banacek, a Polish-American freelance, Boston-based private investigator who solves seemingly impossible thefts. He collects from the insurance companies 10% of the insured value of the recovered property. One of Banacek's verbal signatures is the quotation of strangely worded yet curiously cogent "Polish proverbs" such as: "An old Polish proverb says, 'A wolf that takes a peasant to supper probably won't need any breakfast.'" "If you're not sure that it's potato borscht, there could be orphans working in the mines." "When an owl comes to a mouse picnic, it's not there for the sack races." "Though the hippopotamus has no sting in its tail, the wise man would prefer to be sat upon by the bee." "A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn." "When a wolf is chasing your sleigh, throw him a raisin cookie, but don't stop to bake a cake." "Just because the cat has her kittens in the oven doesn't make them biscuits." "You can read all the books in the library my son, but the cheese will still smell after four days." "No matter how warm the smile on the face of the Sun, the cat still has her kittens under the porch." "Even a one thousand zloty note cannot tap dance." "Only the centipede can hear all the hundred footsteps of his uncle." Part of the joke is that Ralph Manza, as Banacek's chauffeur Jay Drury, will often ask "What does it mean, Boss?" Banacek also has a running agreement with his chauffeur for a 10% share of Banacek's 10% if he solved the crime. Mr. Drury is never at a loss for a potential solution that Banacek always manages to shoot down with his very next line. Another recurring gag is for other characters—particularly his rivals— to mispronounce his name deliberately. The name "Banaczek" (as pronounced in the show) is actually quite rare in Poland. Murray Matheson plays seller of rare books and information source Felix Mulholland, a character always ready with a droll remark and who exhibits a passion for chess and jigsaw puzzles.