Long before he toted a machine gun and traded quips with Mr. T, George Peppard starrred as the suave, clever insurance investigator Thomas Banacek on the Boston-based mystery series Banacek. Both characters loved their cigars.

A company called Hart Sharp Video is going to release a two-disc DVD set of the show's first season. It will be released on May 15 and is part of a series of sets they're going to release (the others are The Crow and Trapped In TV Guide, a prank show based around classic TV shows). Extras on the Banacek discs will include a photo gallery, a microsite, and a special TV Guide crossword puzzle.

Back in December Ryan told ya'll about Bring Back the A-Team, a reunion special being created for the UK's Channel 4. Well, now the creators can forge ahead with gusto, because George Preppard has given the show the "thumbs up" from beyond the grave (cue theremin). Apparently a Hollywood medium named Madam Francesca said George was delighted with the idea. Of course, something tells me they would have made this anyway had Peppard posthumously agreed to it or not. I also spoke to George Peppard recently: