Banyon

By Ed Coleman

Banyon was about a Los Angeles cop, Miles Banyon (Played by Robert Forrester), who had quit the police force to become a private detective. Banyon was a well made series with close attention paid to small details. Typically the show was set in Los Angeles in 1937. However, some episodes would flash back to around 1932.

The story lines varied considerably and each episode (of the few that were actually aired) were interesting and fast paced. Miles Banyon was always under the watchful eye of his faithful secretary/mother figure played by Joan Blondell. Banyon was a tough and street smart figure who had compassion for those in trouble. He also had a streak of MacGyver in him which was evidenced when he stuffed a potato up the tailpipe of a car in which two gangsters were riding. When these guys tried to follow Banyon, their car quit in the middle of the street and as always the good guy got away!

It always seems that if I really like a TV series, it gets cancelled in the first season. Such was the case with "Banyon." I have never understood why this show was cancelled so quickly unless it was placed in a poor time slot where 12 year old kids like me couldn't stay up to watch it. It could also have failed because the characters stayed completely clothed during the show. Whatever the reason, I personally would love the chance to se it again.

I was an age when this show first appeared where I wanted to be a private detective. I was also an avid antique car fan because my father was a car collector and owned several cars from the 1930s.

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