 |
ALL SCI-FI The place to “find your people.”
|
View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Krel Guest
|
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 3:29 pm Post subject: Mannix (1967 - 1975) |
|
|
Seven years after "Tightrope", Mike Connors hit gold with "Mannix", a Desilu produced, detective TV show that ran from 1967 to 1975 on the CBS network.
In the first season Joe (Joseph R.) Mannix worked for a Los Angeles computerized detective agency named Intertect. Mannix was different from the other investigators in that he preferred old fashion detective work to following the agency's computers. He also objected to the agency spying on it's employees, with cameras in their offices. As it was the age of the spy, Intertect investigators carried Walther PP pistols.
CBS was unhappy with the show's ratings and was going to cancel it, but Lucille Ball convinced CBS to give the show a second chance.
From the second season on, the show was changed to be a more traditional Private Detective show. Gone were the computers and Walter PP, in came a home office and snub-nose .38 Special. He kept the custom automobiles though. Mike Connors also, in all seasons carried his weapon like he did in "Tightrope", in a small-of-the-back holster.
Mannix had a loyal secretary Peggy Fair, the widow of a Police Officer friend was played by Gail Fisher. He also had several close friends on the Police Force, one played by Robert Reed. I confess that this confused me back then. I knew back then that acting was a job, but I couldn't understand how he cound be on this show, while he was starring in "The Brady Bunch".
Like "Tightrope", "Mannix" was known for it's violence, and the dismissive attitudes to it. This concerned Mike Connors, who used an example of Mannix being thrown down a flight of stairs, then shrugging it off with no consequences.
One of the memorable images in the show was Mannix running across a bridge in the opening credits. This was the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge in the Port of Los Angeles. Because of the show, people started calling it the Mannix bridge. The bridge was a vertical lift-bridge, and has been replaced to meet current safety and earthquake standards.
"Mannix" was a fun exciting show, and it is a shame that it is no longer being shown.
David. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 7:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
__________
I was in the Air Force from 1967 to 1971, stationed in Korea for a year and Germany for over two years, so I never became a fan of this show. But I must admit, Krel, that your recommendation makes me want to watch it, and the opening is pretty jazzy!
The second video is episode 101 (the only full episode I could find), and I'm going to download it watch it. Netflix offers seasons 1, 2, and 3 and I've put the first three discs on my list.
_____________ Mannix Theme (Intro & Outro)
__________  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2020 6:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
Thanks to krel's fine post — and MeTV — I've become an ardent fan of Mannix!
However, his comments also made aware that my love of the "hi-tech" aspects of the first season — in which Mannix worked for a large agency with technological resources — will disappear in the second season when the show reinvents itself.
That's unfortunate, because the first-season episodes I've been enjoying have a kind of Search feel to them which I've been enjoying.
Oh well . . .
But since I love traditional Private Eye stories, I'm hoping the the subsequent seasons will be just as enjoyable. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Mar 29, 2020 10:09 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2020 7:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
Just a quick update: The more episodes of Mannix I watch, the more I like it!
I hope the episodes in season 2 through 8 will be as a good when Mannix no longer works for the hi-tech agency.
But the series went on for seven more seasons, so they must have been doing something right!
Meanwhile, I've become such a big fan of Chuck Conners that I'm tempted to watch my download of Kiss the Girls and Watch them Die. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2020 10:56 am Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
In season 1 episode 8, Beyond the Shadow of a Dream, the producers did something quite original with their tough, two-fisted character.
They took away his fists!
In the episode's climax, Mannix tries to get to an endangered lady client being held in a mental institute. But the doctor and several orderlies restrain him by putting him into a straitjacket!
Mannix struggles to get out of it, but he can't — so when the doctor comes back into the room, Mannix attacks him by slamming him into walls, even though the doctor puts up a pretty good fight against the "unarmed" private detective.
This was no quick fight. I was stunned.
Mannix knocks out the Doc by ramming him repeated into a wall, then he runs across the hospital grounds (still in the straitjacket) until he reaches the building where the the lady-in-distress is located. When he gets to the door of her room, he hears her struggling with someone trying to smother her with a pillow.
He can't work the doorknob in the straitjacket . . . so he crashes into the door and knocks it open. The assailant turns out to be the gorgeous receptionist at the hospital, and she wants to help her wealthy lover kill his wife, who's also a patient at the mental hospital, and she's located in the very next room.
Mannix slams the hot blond chick into the wall and knocks her out!
Then he smashes through the door to the adjoining room with the unconscious wife and battles the murderous husband, who is trying to injecting her with poison.
Did I mention that Mannix was still in the straitjacket?
He and the husband slam all over the room until Mannix — The Human Battering Ram — knocks the bad guy out, too!
Folks, is was glorious! I'm so impressed by the fact that the producers came up with such a daunting challenge for the hero, and they actually made it look exciting and realistic . . . instead of ridiculous, which they all must have thought the idea was when the writer first suggested it.
I can hear the producer's reaction:
"Wait a minute . . . Mannix is in a . . . straitjacket? And he knocks down two different doors and fights three different people?"
"Sure, boss! But one of them a beautiful blond."
"Oh. What happens to her?"
"Mannix slams her into a wall, just like the two guys. After all, a hero has gotta treat everybody equal!"  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:25 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2020 3:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
If Krel's initial recommendation of Mannix and my subsequent enthusiastic replies have yet to convince anyone they should treat themselves to this wonderful crime-drama series, you folks are missing a chance to livin' up your "self-quarantine" with some quality couch time!!
MeTV offers this show and several other classics from the past, and I've been DVRing them during the past month.
Hopefully all the members of All Sci-Fi have basic channels like MeTV and can enjoy the programs they offer. I've discovered that my sanity is being preserved by these wonderful shows from my youth!
Please tell me I'm not the only one who's enjoying these great show.  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Eadie Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 1670
|
Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2020 5:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm watching and enjoying them on a delayed basis as they are on late at night my time. _________________ ____________
Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:32 am Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
Eadie, I rarely watch anything live, because I loathe commercials!
I either DVR the programs I want to watch and watch them after I have five or six episodes (I love to binge watch stuff), or I pause a live program and then just ignore the TV for twenty minutes while the program gets ahead of me.
After I'm well behind the live broadcast, I play the delayed program until I reach a commercial, run it past the noisy thing, and then hit play until I get to the next commercial, etc.
Life it too short for noisy, brain-cell killing commercials.  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Eadie Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 1670
|
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 1:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Bud Brewster wrote: | Life it too short for noisy, brain-cell killing commercials. |
We also DVR it as it is on at between 1:00 AM t0 6:00 AM. _________________ ____________
Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 5:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
I recently watched the double episode called Deadfall: Part 1 and 2, and I was very impressed by how much it resembled a spy thriller like The Man from Uncle!
The hi-tech headquarters of InterTech was prominently featured, and Mannix frequently got updates on the case from the electronic devices in his snazzy "spy car', an Oldsmobile Toronado.
Frankly this series did a better job of presenting characters from the spy crazy than UNCLE did!  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat May 02, 2020 12:14 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Sat May 02, 2020 12:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
IMBD trivia has this item.
________________________________
In the beginning, Mannix drove a customized Oldsmobile Toronado convertible, which was done by Barris Custom Cars.
________________________________
The commentary on the DVD by Chuck Conners mentions this, and he said that during the first season when the Toronado was used, folks would go into Oldsmobile dealers in hopes of buying a convertible Toronado . . . when in fact none were actually made.
By the way, the episode that has the commentary is called Another Final Exit, and it includes a few scenes with Grace Lee Whitney — looking very lovely without that awful beehive wig that Yeoman Rand wore.
__+___________ _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Sun May 03, 2020 4:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
_______________________________________________
Barris-Built Mannix Roadster TV Toronado For Sale
BY Cristian Gnaticov | Posted on February 13, 2019
George Barris is one of the most known car customizers of the 1950s and 1960s. He’s the man responsible for the first Batmobile, Munster Koach, and the Rickshaw Taxi, among others . . . and he also created this Oldsmobile Toronado for the Mannix TV series.
The customizer took a then new 1967 Toronado, cut off its roof, got rid of the back seat and created a custom tonneau cover. He then proceeded with giving the interior a few special touches, including a telephone and a secret gun compartment — and the so-called ‘Mannix Roadster’ was born.
The television show’s producers used it in the first two seasons. In season one, the lower part of the vehicle was painted black and the headlights had sealed beams in them. And for season 2, Barris took it back to repaint the bottom red, change the headlamps, and add heated seats.
After 1968, subsequent to its TV star life, the Toronado Roadster was sold to an amusement park developer. He kept it until the late 1980s, when it was purchased at auction by the most recent owner.
Over the years, it was carefully taken care of and mostly displayed among other custom creations, some of them built by George Barris. To this day, it retains the original paint, upholstery and accessories.
And it’s also offered for sale, with the eBay ad revealing an asking price of $135,000 and about 10 days left at the time of writing for someone interested to click the ‘Buy it now’ button. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2022 12:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
Today I learned that an episode of Diagnosis Murder, starring Dick Van Dyke (which ran 8 seasons), included a cross-over episode in which Joe Mannix teams up with Dr. Mark Sloan to solve the 20-year-old murder of a devoted father whose grown daughter stills wonders who killed her daddy.
The Mannix episode is from season 7, episode 4 from 1973, Little Girl Lost.
However, Dr. Sloan (Dick Van Dyke) tells Joe that he has a heart condition which requires immediate treatment. But Joe refuses to get the treatment until he's finally solves the old case!
So, Sloan and Mannix team up to solve the case so that the heroic Joe Mannix will agree to be treated.
The cast of the original episode AND the cross-over follow up include Julie Adams, Pernell Roberts, and Beverly Garland — all appearing in clips from the the 1973 episode and new footage from 1997 as the younger and older versions of their characters.
The episode is available on YouTube (with poor picture quality), but the entire series of Diagnosis Murder (all 8 seasons) is available on Amazon for the low-low price of $56.99.
I love crimes drama AND medical series . . . so I think I'll get this one. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|