Mannix

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.

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.

He's not as fabulously wealthy as Amos Burke,nor famous as Jim Rockford or Columbo,but few television detectives have remained and beloved and under the radar cool as Mike Connors' Joe Mannix. The television series "Mannix" was the return of the private eye detective shows and this was a reply to the domination of the weekly espionage shows that were all over the place during the 1960's. Created by the team of Richard Levinson and William Link under executive producer Bruce Geller and associate producer Barry Crane along with producers Wilton Schiller along with Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts(whom wrote scripts for some of the episodes)and under the executive in charge of production Herb Solow and Douglas S. Cramer for Desilu/Paramount Television,"Mannix" produced an astounding 194 episodes-all in color for CBS and ran for an impressive eight seasons on the network from September 16,1967 until April 13,1975. The theme music was composed by the great Lalo Schirfin(one of the all time television theme greats).

"Mannix" is one of the great detective shows of all time and here's why. One,you had some very good writing and excellent camera work in both angles and continuity. The other,right from the start however,Mike Connors emitted broad-shouldered,Everyman solidness. Mannix solves his cases with his brains,his gun,and his fists. He was an all-purpose detective. In season one of "Mannix"(and from the debut episode),the intital concept of the series was intriguing from the start: a high-tech investigative agency,Intertect,headed by Joesph Campanella(the boss Lew Wickersham)possessed all the tools to analyze and fight crime,except one;a P.I.'s instincts,that ability to play hunches and make correct decisions by 'gut feeling'. So they hired the best veteran private eye in the business,Joe Mannix to take the cases and solve the crimes. Mannix utilized his services whenever the 'human touch' was required,while backing him with all their resources. While the Intertect episodes were often imaginative,and Connors and Campanella had good chemistry,fans were tuning in each week to watch Joe Mannix solve cases,deal with crime and mysteries and take on the baddies despite being beaten,tortured,drugged or worse managed to emerge victorious. With his chiseled features and thick jet black hair,Mannix was a hero attractive enough to appeal to women,yet tough enough to keep men watching as well despite being fiercely loyal to his Greek heritage.

However,Campanella and Intertect were dropped by the second season. Mannix left the firm at the start of the 1968-69 season and set up shop as a private investigator,accompanied by a secretary,Peggy Fair(Gail Fisher,in one of the first roles on a drama series for a African-American actress),the widow of a cop. With aid from his 'buddies' on the force(Robert Wood,Jack Ging,and "Brady Bunch" patriarch Robert Reed who played Mannix's superior Lt. Tobias),Mannix would take on cases as simple as petty theft,to unsolve murders,blackmail,while still taking his share of abuse each week. Over the course of eight seasons,Mannix was shot 17 times,knocked unconscious 55 times and was drugged 12 times. "Mannix" proved to be a winner in the ratings too,nominated for several Emmys and it was producer Bruce Geller's most successful show after the huge runaway success of "Mission:Impossible". In 1970,actress Gail Fisher became the first black actress to win the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Peggy Fair on "Mannix"(beating out Barbara Anderson of Ironside and Peggy Lipton of The Mod Squad),and was nominated for four Emmys,winning once and 3 Golden Globe Awards(she won in 1973 for Best Actress)and in 1971.

THE BEST EPISODES: Season One of its debut episode "The Name is Mannix",and episode 13 of the series "A View of Nowhere" were impressive. Seasons 2 thru 4 were brilliant,while the last few episodes of its last two seasons(season 7 from the 1973-1974 season,and the final season 1974-1975,season 8)were action packed and fill to the hill with excitement. The success of "Mannix" would open the door for a whole new generation of 'gumshoe detectives' to follow,from "Hawaii Five-O",to "Columbo","Ironside"(which premiered that same year-1967), "Dan August","MacMillan and Wife","Banacek","Kojak","Baretta","Cannon", to "Barnaby Jones","The Rockford Files",and "Policewoman".

Despite over thirty films to his credit, Mike Connors will be best remembered for his television work. In 1959, he created a sensation as the undercover agent with the hidden gun behind his back, in "Tightrope", and in 1967, at 42, he introduced one of the most popular detectives in television history, "Mannix".

The initial concept of the series was intriguing; a high-tech investigative agency, Intertect, headed by Joseph Campanella, possessed all the tools to analyze and fight crime, except one; a P.I.'s instincts, that ability to play hunches and make correct decisions by 'gut feeling'. So they hired the best veteran private eye in the business, Joe Mannix, and utilized his services whenever the 'human touch' was required, while backing him with all their resources.

While the Intertect episodes were often imaginative, and Connors and Campanella had good chemistry, CBS quickly realized that the program's fans were watching because of the rugged Mannix, who, each week, despite being beaten, tortured, drugged or worse, managed to emerge victorious. So Campanella and Intertect were dropped by the second season, and Mannix returned to more traditional digs, accompanied by a new secretary, Peggy Fair (Gail Fisher), the widow of a cop. With aid from his 'buddies' on the Force (Robert Wood, Jack Ging, and "Brady Bunch" patriarch, Robert Reed), Joe Mannix would take on cases as simple as petty theft, to unsolved murders, while still taking more than his share of abuse each week.

With his chiseled features and thick jet-black hair, Mannix was a hero attractive enough to appeal to women, yet tough enough to keep men watching, as well. Fiercely loyal to his Greek heritage and many friends, a sucker for a 'hard luck' story, and with a well-stocked (and used) medicine cabinet, the series 'fit' like a pair of well-worn, comfortable shoes, and audiences quickly developed a viewing habit that would last seven more seasons, until 1975. The success of "Mannix" would open the door for a whole new generation of 'gumshoes' that followed, from "Cannon" and "Barnaby Jones", to "The Rockford Files" and "Magnum, P.I."

It is a heritage that Mike Connors can be proud of!

As a child growing up "Mannix",was the family get together hour on Saturday nights after either "Mission: Impossible", or "The Carol Burnett Show",which was on the CBS network. "Mannix" may have some of the usual PI fare,but it was like no other detective show ever! He may go beyond the limits to solving a case,but in turn he kicked major butt!!! Mike Connors was the PI who was always sufficient in doing what he had to do,but in some cases,ended up getting either in fights or shot at every once in a while. The camerawork on the show,as well as visual effects,and locations were a standard,and it raised the quality of it definely. There was a twist in every episode to see who done it,or got away with murder, which is lead by the assistance of his secretary Peggy(played by Gail Fisher,who won an Emmy for her work on the series back in 1969),who herself ended up in great danger,and it was always Joe Mannix to the rescue to save her from some craze stalker,drug pusher,or killer. The show's theme song is a classic by Lalo Schifrin,who also composed the theme to Mission:Impossible as well.

It still comes on in re-runs on TV Land,but was the action packed show(and one of the most violent ever for television) on Saturday nights for the CBS network, which ran from 1967-1975.