my own blood
Welcome to my rants! Yes, this is the cheerful section of the site. Take a while, look around, "take all you like but eat all you take". And feel free to let me know what you think. The rants are catalogued by date written, and all are copyright MDL.
|
|
Dreaming of my death again |
|
|
|
There is no such thing as
“choice” |
|
|
|
Hamburglar and childhood memories |
|
|
|
What happened to infomercials? |
|
|
|
Email complaints |
|
|
|
Radio format changes, and on, and on, and on... |
Columbo vs
Banacek
First, some
background on the two shows. Columbo was part of the “mystery
wheel” on CBS in the 1970s. The
show appeared about once a month, sharing the other time slots with McMillan and Wife and McCloud.
Peter Falk’s portrayal of the police lieutenant helped to cement
the character into pop culture. The
90-minute show followed a basic formula: a crime is committed (so the audience
knows from the start who the killer – or potential killer – is,
unlike a “whodunit”), then we watch as Columbo pursues his
suspect(s).
Banacek revolved around George Peppard’s title
character, an insurance investigator.
Since he was self-employed, his methods were quite different from the
police. Typically, he would net a fee of
10% of whatever the stolen item(s) were worth.
This has made him quite wealthy, and quite a playboy. This show also ran as part of CBS’s “mystery
wheel” group of shows, but aired several years after Columbo debuted, and was not as popular (Banacek only ran for about two years).
The cases
were quite different, Columbo solving murder cases while Banacek tracked down
stolen goods, but the real difference lies in the actors themselves. For a mystery show to succeed, the actor
portraying the “sleuth” must be a real character actor, something
that is rarely seen these days. He (or
she) must be able to fully embrace the character, inside and out. The nuances, the subtle personal details, all
help to flesh out the character. Plainly
speaking, Peter Falk was a much better character actor than George Peppard. Granted, I’m sure some of the
difference lies in the writing between the two shows. But even considering only the performances,
Peppard comes across as wooden and quite unmotivated. The character of Banacek seems incomplete,
almost like a caricature. Falk, on the
other hand, brings a solid humanity to Columbo.
You can’t help but enjoy the simple act of watching him work,
watching him play cat-and-mouse games with his suspects. What’s even more remarkable about Falk’s
portrayal is the personal side of Columbo.
Falk delivers a fully-realized character, a real person, a genuinely
likeable guy. Columbo could be your
next-door neighbor. But over all the
years and storylines, the only time the audience sees him is when he’s on
the job. We never see his home, his wife’s
first name is never given...no one even knows what Columbo’s first name
is (when asked, many have simply responded “Lieutenant”).
Bancek’s
character is part of what dates that show so much. He could be likened to a James Bond – a
very self-assured man, yet someone who would be unapproachable in real
life. He always “gets the girl”,
often without more than five minutes of small talk. And he gets at least one girl in nearly every
show. It’s not just the clothing
styles, but the whole attitude of the character that give it an undeniable 70s
feel. With Columbo, on the other hand, the time is unimportant. In fact, when watching the shows now, it’s
quite hard to tell exactly which run a particular episode comes from (the show
was resurrected a few times, in the late 80s and again briefly in the
90s). The story is all about what
happened, and who was involved...the styles or settings don’t feel at all
out of place today.
But what
would a mystery be without the criminal, the suspect? Columbo
was like the Love Boat for guest
stars on a mystery show. Sure, some of
the performances were hammy, but it’s all a delight to watch. And some of these folks even made repeat
appearances on the show. Of course, in
the end only one can walk away with his head...
Columbo wins. Flawless
victory.
|
|
|
