GUENOT PHILIPPE This topic about a man on the run unvoluntarelly impersonnating a cop - or a sheriff - has already been told in a western from the fifties: RIDE A CROOKED TRAIL, starring Audie Murphy. But of course this was on a lesser scale, and from another era. Both are very entertaining features.

BirdmanT7 I once read that writer William Burroughs use to cut out words from news paper and magazines and mix them in pile in a jumble them to rearrange to recreate a new text. The cut-up technique (or découpé in French) is an aleatory literary technique in which a written text is cut up and rearranged to create a new text. I don't known why but "Banshee' also reminds of that analogy to me?. "Banshee" was almost like this cut up of jigsaw genre; all in bits and parts; thrown in with together with the cliches of cliches of total testosterone fantasy of "sex and violence", which was its hook to pull its audience. Then you have this other classic cliche base line story: "the man with no name", (Aka: Hood) whom assumed a new identity of a Sheriff, which was one of the best twist in a opening episodes of a series. We never ever found out his real name for the entire 4 seasons either, which added more to the mystic and enigma of the show. The show's photography and look was again almost comic book style, with the most intense fight scenes that any show ever dared to cross even before or after and lines from classic western's like "Behold the pale rider". You had this little town "Banshee", like the bowl mixed with with Amish culture on one side, Native Americans on the reservations, the the Neo-Nazis on the other, the US Army with a Cliche Colonel who was something out of a comic book, criminals like " Proctor" at the center, whom as much you wanted to hate, yet you liked him at the same time, a New York mobster seeking revenge for the betrayal of his daughter and her lover, a transvestite Hacker with an attitude, an old ex-con boxer bar owner who becomes from friends and partner in crime with the three people whose past and present were what glued this jigsaw show called "Banshee" together. In just one hour episode you had so much stuff thrown at you about the main characters stories and the story of the residents of "Banshee" that you would loose track of time, it was always full to the rim and you couldn't get enough. How many shows truly can do that in a hour? I think the creators of this show like Tropper, Schickler, Ball, and Greg Yaitanes didn't realize what they creating was not just a new show but new genre maybe that has yet to be defined, because "Banshee" is not a show that at first glance you can just call it your typical "Sex and violence", that was it decoy, it ploy to pull you in but suddenly the show would throw you these curve balls that you felt emotionally involved with people like "Carrie and Gordon" and their lives After watching "Hood" drinking whisky and going into fights scenes one after another but suddenly you find your macho cliche tough guy seat and cry which happened so many times with this character than other shows that broke down and debunked the very cliche of the tough guy don't cry.I think the biggest credit I give in creating "Banshee", whose signature style of direction was distinct is none other than "Greg Yaitanes". Greg Yaitanes is or will be the new "Micheal Mann" who created "Miami Vice". He has a perspective and understands the film making medium in a masterful way.I maybe going out on a limb to say that "Banshee" surprised its own acquired audience, those that use to come to the IMDB chatroom were hard core fans that loved this show like me, that were pulled in to the show due to the same appeal and yet we didn't expect to found a human story that was cloaked under sex and violence , that what made "Banshee" unique and different among your typical cliche genre shows. I was very sad and disappointed in how this show came to a sudden end in season 4, I think almost all the fans were. I felt even the story of "Hood" being absent for two years in a log cabin was where that love and care in the writing failed and I think the creators of this and Cinemax maybe don't realize that "Banshee" will live on in stream syndication in years and generations to come, it will become a cult classic, it will one day become a feature film even and how ending it was a premature and stupid?."Banshee" is yet to be defined, it was like those words cut up and all those genres created a new genre that maybe with time we get to call it a name?

iGlad I loved this show as the acting was hardcore, the violence was hardcore and the women were hardcore. It was a great show the likes which we might never see again.

r-angle One of the best and worst TV series I've ever seen. Some story-lines are disappointing, like that of the big Indian whose life is a dramatic waste. My favorite characters are the recovering Amish Kai Proctor, the ex-Nazi cop, the big fat villain in the semi-trailer truck, and the tough women who kick serious butt. Overall, the bad guys are more interesting than the good guys. At times the story telling is good; some scenes are chilling, hair-raising, and have great emotional depth. Others are stupid. So this river runs shallow and it runs deep. The main guy, our hero? Numb and dumb, I'd say.