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Mannix TV Show Overview
Mannix was an
American television detective series that ran from 1967
through 1975 on the CBS network. Created by Richard Levinson
and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce
Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is an
Armenian-American private investigator. Mannix is played by
Mike Connors, an actor also of Armenian heritage.
 Amazon.com
DVD Review - One of the most fondly remembered and
action-packed detective series of the late '60s and
early '70s, Mannix was the brainchild creators
Richard Levinson and William Link (Columbo,
Murder:
She Wrote) and executive producer Bruce Geller
(Mission: Impossible).
Mike Connors won an Emmy as
the title character, a tough, streetwise private eye
whose hands-on approach to cases raised the hackles
of his employers, the scientific-minded Intertect,
and his no-nonsense boss Lou Wickersham (Joseph
Campanella). Episodes generally saw Mannix taking
his share of licks, either from or in the service of
that week's guest star (celebs on display in this
debut season include Tom Skerritt, Karen Black,
Julie Adams, William Windom, and Neil Diamond in
Episode 4, "The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher").
The on-screen violence, which earned the show its
devoted audience as well as critical outcry, is
fairly tame by today's standards, though it
preserves the show's energy and drive; the chemistry
between Connors and Campanella and especially Emmy
winner Gail Fisher as secretary Peggy Fair (one of
the first African-American characters to appear as a
regular on a television series) also keep the
episodes moving at a crisp pace. Modern audiences
used to more high-tech crime shows like Num3ers and
the CSI franchises may find Mannix's methods sort of
quaint, but those who favor classic TV fare or who
remember it from its lengthy network and syndicated
runs will enjoy tagging along with Joe Mannix all
over again.
All 24 episodes of the 1967-1968 debut season are
featured on this six-disc set, including the 1967
pilot "The Name is Mannix." Connors himself is all
over the DVD--not only is he interviewed with
Campanella in a loose but informative featurette
about their time together on the show (Wickersham
was phased out by its second season in order to let
Mannix work for himself), but he provides commentary
on several episodes and audio introductions for just
about every supplement. These include a promo clip
for the show in a CBS TV special announcing the fall
1967 lineup; an interview with Connors on a 1969
episode of The Mike Douglas Show; a Paramount sales
reel for prospective syndication broadcasters (with
voice-over by the legendary Ernie Anderson); and a
clip from a 1997 episode of Diagnosis: Murder in
which Connors reprised Mannix to investigate a
unsolved murder that was introduced in a '70s-era
episode of that series. It's an impressive package,
and should give Mannix devotees much to look forward
to in regard to upcoming DVDs. --Paul Gaita
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 Amazon.com
DVD Review - There's that great line in Blazing
Saddles when Sheriff Bart grabs his gun to go
capture the fearsome Mongo. "Don't do that," the
Waco Kid cautions. "You'll just make him mad." Joe
Mannix (Mike Connors in his signature Emmy-winning
role) is a lot like that. Cut the brake line in his
car, rough him up, or frame him for assault; once
he's on a case, he won't quit. Doing the legwork and
pursuing the thinnest of leads, Mannix is an old
school private eye, which is why it's great to see
him out of the high-tech Intertect firm and in his
own no-tech private practice with his faithful Girl
Friday, Peggy (Gail Fisher in her groundbreaking,
Emmy-winning role). Mannix doesn't need computers to
do his job. "I don't fly by instruments," he
proclaims in "The Girl Who Came in with the Tide,"
"I fly by the seat of my pants like a barnstorming
pilot." Which is why, in "Tide," when he recognizes
a slain girl about town at the morgue and discovers
she was in the company of the "swinging attorney"
who once had Mannix's license suspended, he takes
the case as a labor of love. Some cases put his gut
instincts to the test. In "A View of Nowhere," he is
convinced he witnessed a man trying to strangle a
woman, but when he follows up, the couple denies
anything is amiss. Some of this season's most
compelling cases hit closer to home; in "In Need of
a Friend," he reaches out to a man just released
from prison after seven years for a crime he didn’t
commit, and whom Mannix had helped to convict.
Peggy’s love life also keeps him busy. In "Death in
a Minor Key," Mannix goes to a small town to help
clear the name of Peggy’s jazz musician boyfriend
(guest star Yaphet Kotto) after he reveals he is a
fugitive, and in "Last Rites for Miss Emma," her
latest squeeze may be involved in the theft of
morphine. In classic TV PI tradition, Mannix butts
heads with the police (including a pre-M*A*S*H Larry
Linville, and Robert Reed), but his "reputation"
earns him considerable leeway. Mannix was a
particularly hard-hitting series in its day, and
it’s still bruising. In episode after episode,
Mannix takes a licking, but keeps on ticking. His
sports coats may now be out of fashion, but this
tough and rugged series will never go out of style.
In "an uptight world," it’s comforting to know that
Mannix is on the job. - Review by Donald Liebenson
 The weekly
adventures of private detective Joe Mannix in Los
Angeles. At his side is his faithful assistant Peggy
Fair. Hard-boiled and gritty, Mannix dished out
justice outside the law for his clients.
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