Banacek v. Manacek I was very surprised to watch earlier this year a Simpsons episode, ‘Homer Is Where the Art Isn’t’, that parodied the George Peppard series, Banacek. The Simpsons’ typography attempted to copy the titles from the first season, even though Helvetica Oblique is not the same as Folio Italic. The scenes, however, were inspired by the opening titles in the later episodes of the second season. While the rowing on the Boston River is common to all Banacek episodes, beginning with the pilot, the Packard scene appears only in season two, and Peppard with the unnamed blonde only show up in the titles of the last few. Not that many people will remember Banacek, which lasted only two seasons, so it was a surprise that The Simpsons would use it as a source. Nevertheless, I’m grateful that they did. Sometimes it’s nice being part of a small group of cognoscenti. And I do seem to know a lot of obscure TV within certain genres. The original Banacek theme tune by Billy Goldenberg (who also composed the best known Kojak theme, as well as that of Rhoda, and Duel on the big screen) was used, though it was sad to note that long-time Simpsons composer Alf Clausen did not do the score. A bit of digging revealed that after 27 years, Clausen was fired in a phone call. That’s a pretty awful way to treat someone who’s worked with you for so long.
