CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Emil Bakkum This is a very personal review, since my memories of Mannix date back from the early adolescence. Mannix has educated me. At the time characters like James Bond (notably Roger Moore) were my heroes (= what a guy in a boat does). I loved the Mannix series, since it uses a similar style. The narrative is fast, exciting and surprising. Every episode contains some spectacular fights and pursuits. Our hero seems smart, strong and just. His favorite trick is to wait at home for the hit men. It never fails! Hardly a day goes by, when Mannix does not get a bulletin something (pun intended). Of course not all bullets hit him, but around one intended. He appears to defend high moral standards, so that in the end justice always prevails. In general the other characters are evil villains or rich people, living in impressive houses. And always there is a blonde. Why did the blonde climb the glass wall? To see what is on the other side. But behold. Now, half a century later, the magic is gone. It can't be an age thing. Yes, I can remember when everything was fields. But Mannix is SUPPOSED TO BE a show for adults. So what could be wrong with the series? Somehow I can no longer digest its naivety and lack of credibility. Actually I suspect that most present viewers will prefer a more realistic picture. Besides Mannix, just like James Bond, is quite cruel. He knocks down all persons, that are a hindrance, including innocent guys who simply do their job. You should not hit someone in the bellicose it hurts. He is all hammer, no nail. How can you empathize or identify with him? Reflect on that. In addition the narratives are shallow, without any covert messages or suggestions. The viewer doesn't get a challenge, and there are no mental gains. Could the series try to ridicule violence? Think for instance about the episode "Downfall", where Lou Wickersham keeps swallowing pills that make him aggressive. However, this pretext seems a bit far-fetched. Apparently the scenario writers had bubbles in their think tank. Still, the Mannix show has the attraction of being a pioneer, which inspired other detective series of the time, for instance Cannon, The Rockfort files and Hawai-Five'O. Old police men never die, they just cop out. They all may help to kill time in those (hopefully scarce) moments when you feel worn down. I only bought the first season of Mannix, and was pleased to see musicians like Neil Diamond, Buffalo Springfield, with Stills and Young (unfortunately only in the first few episodes), and "George Anderson" of Peyton Place. In another episode there is a guest from The Adams family. To be brief, one season is enough for me. Don't forget to check off the "useful: yes" ballot. I love comments.

bpatrick-8 "Mannix" is my all-time favorite crime drama. Yes, there is a lot of violence (there seems to be an obligatory fight scene in every show, and it's a wonder Joe Mannix lived through eight seasons), but for those of us who don't care about sifting through a slew of clues to figure out whodunit, this is the show to watch. Except for the computer angle of the first season (which Lucille Ball had eliminated because she didn't think the audience related to it), this show is--unlike most detective shows of its era--free of gimmickry; Mannix is not crippled or blind or fat or bald or old or sloppy. He's just a regular guy (and he's Armenian, by the way) who lives by his wits and his fists.An added plus is Gail Fisher as Mannix's secretary Peggy Fair. True, she gets kidnapped a lot but she's also a lot of help to Mannix and it's also admirable that the show makes no big deal about the fact that she's African-American. She's a secretary, period.Ward Wood and Robert Reed add extra flavor as Mannix's contacts on the LAPD, Lts. Art Malcolm and Adam Tobias, respectively. Reed, who was doing "The Brady Bunch" at the same time, often said he preferred doing this show to the sitcom.And never to be forgotten are the split-screen graphics and that great Lalo Schifrin theme song which I find myself humming from time to time."Mannix" shows up occasionally on Cloo; I wish they'd show it more often.

williwaw 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.

dbonk 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.