Mannix

There's lots of competition in the private investigator premise for TV shows, but this was a standout in believability. Reminding one of the Johnny Cash quote, "Winners got scars, too", Joe Mannix got a fat lip or two but usually prevailed, or strategically retreated. Sort of a forerunner of the Jim Rockford character in occasional discretion-is-the-better-part-of-valor angles. Some episodes are now on VHS.

As a fan of mannix when it ran originally and now that it is in reruns I can say I think its the best detective series ever created. the plot ,action ,music,camerawork,guest stars and especially the stars made the show great.My favorite seasons are the first and fifth.I would love to see the last season again .There were actually 194 episodes made. If you get the chance to watch this classic show then you will be hooked.

Desilu Studio created this hit show starring Mike Connors and it was a blockbuster hit. Desilu had been riding high with Mission Impossible and Star Trek and of course the Lucy Show, but as Desilu was folding into Paramount, CBS bought this show and Desilu produced a superb drama. Bruce Geller who produced Mission Impossible at Desilu was given the task by Herbert Solow the dynamic Executive Vice President of Desilu to produce this hit TV show. Mannix stands as the very last of the great shows Desilu produced among them The Untouchables, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, and great comedies such as I Love Lucy, Our Miss Brooks and of course The Lucy Show. It was wonderful as a fan of Desilu to see so much quality programming from a great little studio run by Lucille Ball.

Frankly, the first season of MANNIX was the best. Mike Connors as Joe Mannix not only had to contend with a different adversary every week, but also put up with a corporate, computerized workplace(Intertect)and spar with his coolly abrasive yet supportive boss, Lou Wickersham played by Joseph Campanella.

I remember watching MANNIX on an Admiral 19 inch black and white set as a high school student. Watching it in color on DVD 41 years later, I still recall being very impressed with 'Joe's' hip yet raw common sense approach to each case. That's why the button down office scenes provided such great entertainment in between the carnage.

The on location episodes also provided a gritty, realistic atmosphere. The first show was filmed aboard the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway while a later episode found Joe at a hippie night spot on the Sunset Strip. For this sequence, the dance music wasn't even canned but was provided by Buffalo Springfield.

Of course, Lalo Schifrin's memorable theme score to MANNIX perfectly complemented the opening credits. The groundbreaking multi-screen process was introduced during Expo 67 in Montreal and was later employed in major motion pictures such as THE BOSTON STRANGLER.

It was a foregone conclusion that Joe Mannix preferred bare knuckled punches to settle disputes instead of relying on IBM punch cards. Yet, bullets and the mounting body count in between commercials were nonetheless fast and furious. As a result, the 1967-1968 season was the most violent per episode during the entire run of this show. After Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert Kennedy were both shot down in the space of two months, MANNIX was toned down as part of the national crackdown on TV violence.

Yet that first season gives the viewer a stark contrast between the florescent lit, corporate mindset against the loose cannon who gets the job done his way. For that reason, MANNIX delivers the goods with a powerful wallop! Bring your own silencer.

Mannix was one of the top private eye shows of all time. Mike Connors did a great job in the role, and the writers always strove for creative plots that stretched the genre.

It was a rare series that never got old. The last few shows in the series were as good as the first few shows.

In the first season, Mannix worked for a high tech agency, and was the maverick among their investigators.

They decided to move him out on his own, which eliminated some very interesting character struggles, but also introduced the wonderful Gail Fisher as his secretary, Peggy. She was worth losing the Intertec character conflict.