108 replies to this topic

[TheSaint]

If you're wondering why Mannix hasn't been released on dvd yet, Neely Tucker of the Washington Post did some digging...
Mannix was the Man

[killkenny kid]

How sad, maybe one day we'll see Joe do his thing again.

[Bryce (003)]

Thanks Saint.

Aside from 007, my Dad and I where adamant fans of Five-O and Mannix.

Aside wanting to be a jet-setting spy, I wanted to either be head of a special police division in Hawaii, or a smooth, LA based P.I. packing a .38 snub with a loyal secretary, $200 a day (+ expenses - bullets mostly) and zip about in a convertible muscle car - and Joe had a phone in his, which I thought was wayyy cool.

Imagine! A phone IN YOUR CAR!

Another classic and I hope it makes it through the legal tangles that go with this sort of thing.

I wish Dad was around still so I could get him all our favorites on DVD, but he's probably already knocked back a few Mai-Tai's with Steve somewhere.

But I love what's out there. I've got Magnum (thus far), Rockford (thus far), Wild, Wild, West (thus far), ALL of I Spy and anxiously await Man from UNCLE.

Loved that theme though. Funny, in Vegas once at a club, the DJ, between sets, would cue up old TV themes. When he played Mannix's theme, people actually started dancing. I was one of them! Too cool, and Old School - That was Joe Mannix.

[TheSaint]

Another classic and I hope it makes it through the legal tangles that go with this sort of thing.

I don't think there are any legal tangles that are preventing Mannix from being released on dvd. I think that comment in the article was the CBS/Paramount company line for when there's no real reason why a series isn't on dvd. Maybe this article will some action. I doubt that when CBS/P released 5-0 S1 on dvd they had no clue how successful it would be, which is why they rushed out S2, and S3 is around the corner. It's a series that hasn't been seen in a generation, and it holds up well. The same thing would probably happen if they released Mannix.

[Napoleon Solo]

How sad, maybe one day we'll see Joe do his thing again.

Mike Connors reprised the role in a 1997 episode of Diagnosis Murder, or whatever the show was called with Dick Van Dyke as a crime-solving doctor. The episode was a sequel a 1973 episode of Mannix, with virtually the entire guest cast (Pernell Roberts, Julie Adams, Beverly Garland) in it.

You know what? Even though he was 72 at the time, Connors STILL looked like he could pull it off. Yes, I know he had stunt doubles, etc. But there was this one scene with Mannix sneaking around a house. A car starts up and tries to run him over him. Mannix rolls to avoid it and comes up firing. It was great.

It was explained that Mannix was still a private eye. Dick Van Dyke's character urges him to slow down. He asks "how's Peggy doing?" Mannix says she's on vacation.


What was really irritating was when the show was on TV Land, it didn't show (for the most part) the first season or the last. In the first season, Mannix worked at a big, corporate detective agency called Intertect (I think) run by Lew (Joseph Campenella). The idea was to highlight the tension beteween the individualist Mannix and the rule-boung corporation. In the pilot (shown the first night TV Land telecast). There was this exchange:

MANNIX: Lew, we've been here before. I just don't fit in the system. I know I won't I change the system. I know you won't change the system. It's logical. Can me.

LEW: Joe, you're my best man.

MANNIX (with a glint of gloating): I know.

LEW: I KNOW you know.

Apparently TV Land did show ONE eighth season episode -- the series finale -- because it had John Ritter in the cast. It was shown as part of a tribute to Ritter when he died. The end titles to that episode were on YouTube for a while but appear to have been yanked.

Edited by Napoleon Solo, 10 December 2007 - 01:00 PM.

[Brian Flagg]

Yep. Mannix! This was a show I saw fleetingly during the summer of 1985, when a local TV station aired at the ungodly hour of 2am. I really enjoyed the show and unfortunately, haven't seen it since! Talk about a show ripe for DVD.

I actually like Lalo Schifrin's theme for Mannix better than his immortal Mission: Impossible. Horrors!

EDIT: I should mention I did see the Diagnosis: Murder ep with Mike Connors guest-starring as Joe mannix, where Dick Van Dyke's Dr. Sloan character mentioned all the times he patched the bighearted Mannix all those years. Plus, the show integrated clips from a 1973 episode of Mannix, with the guest stars from that earlier episode, including Pernell Roberts (one of my TV heroes)

Edited by Brian Flagg, 10 December 2007 - 03:18 PM.

[Napoleon Solo]

The 1997 Diagnosis Murder episode:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0559193/


The 1973 Mannix episode it was based on:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0641605/]


Also, the name of Mannix's boss in the first season was Lew Wickersham. I couldn't remember the last name in my earlier post.

Edited by Napoleon Solo, 10 December 2007 - 04:23 PM.

[TheSaint]

I remember that Diagnosis:Murder "sequel". Thought it was a great idea.

It's been so long since I've seen an episode of Mannix that, if they released the series on dvd, it would be like watching a new series.

The powers that be considered replacing Raymond Burr with Mike Connors as Perry Mason when Burr was re-negotiating his contract but smarter heads prevailed.

[Napoleon Solo]

I remember that Diagnosis:Murder "sequel". Thought it was a great idea.

It's been so long since I've seen an episode of Mannix that, if they released the series on dvd, it would be like watching a new series.

The powers that be considered replacing Raymond Burr with Mike Connors as Perry Mason when Burr was re-negotiating his contract but smarter heads prevailed.

The pilot (which was shown on TV Land the first night it telecast in 1996) was excellent and they must have spent a lot for location shooting (by 1967 standards). There's even a Derek Flint connection. A thug in a helicopter goes after Mannix (shots of which were used for multiple seasons in the main titles). That thug was played by Buzz Henry, who was Flint's equivalent of Bob Simmons.

The Mannix pilot established the idea of the individualist Mannix working in the very corporate Intertect setting. The notion was abandoned in the second season, with Mannix setting up his own agency. However, one episode that season did reference Intertect. Peggy (Gail Fisher) went to Intertect to ask a friend if he could use Intertect's massive computer to run down some information. The guy said something like, "Wickersham would kill me if he knew what I was doing" or some such.

I recorded that and purchased another episode on VHS. Other than that, I haven't seen any first-season show.

[Bryce (003)]

Found this on this ever reliable Youtube.

Not much for the video (long intro), but it's the complete theme in GREAT quality. Crank the speakers and minimize the window.

Yeah Baby! *pumps fist* "OLD SCHOOL!"



GO JOE!

No....REALLY.

[killkenny kid]

[quote name='Napoleon Solo' date='10 December 2007 - 07:58' post='805446']


Mike Connors reprised the role in a 1997 episode of Diagnosis Murder, or whatever the show was called with Dick Van Dyke as a crime-solving doctor. The episode was a sequel a 1973 episode of Mannix, with virtually the entire guest cast (Pernell Roberts, Julie Adams, Beverly Garland) in it.

Already have it, this one was a must for a old-timer like me.

[David_M]

I don't think there are any legal tangles that are preventing Mannix from being released on dvd. I think that comment in the article was the CBS/Paramount company line for when there's no real reason why a series isn't on dvd.

I think there's one reason, anyway, and that's stinginess. They're probably waiting for some key personnel to drop dead so they can avoid paying royalties.

It's also probable some bean-counters are of the opinion that they can't make money off Mannix since "nobody will remember that show," which eventually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I adored Mannix as a kid and thought he was the coolest guy on TV. I couldn't wait until I was old enough to wear those plaid sport jackets. (I'm still not old enough. I figure maybe when I'm 70?)

I dimly remember...somebody correct me if I'm wrong...an episode where someone wanted to kill a race car driver, so they spiked his coffee before a race. Speeding along the track in mid-race, the driver began hallucinating and thought he saw the flying monkeys from "Wizard of Oz" zooming at his windshield.

I was just a wee lad when I saw that, so I may have it wrong, but it stuck with me all these years because nothing, not even a circus clown, is as terrifying as those damned flying monkeys!!

[Napoleon Solo]

I think there's one reason, anyway, and that's stinginess. They're probably waiting for some key personnel to drop dead so they can avoid paying royalties.

(snip)

I dimly remember...somebody correct me if I'm wrong...an episode where someone wanted to kill a race car driver, so they spiked his coffee before a race. Speeding along the track in mid-race, the driver began hallucinating and thought he saw the flying monkeys from "Wizard of Oz" zooming at his windshield.

I was just a wee lad when I saw that, so I may have it wrong, but it stuck with me all these years because nothing, not even a circus clown, is as terrifying as those damned flying monkeys!!

Point 1: Maybe they're waiting on Mike Connors (b. 1925). Bruce Geller, the show's executive prodicer, died in the 1970s as the result of a plane crash. Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, producers of seasons 2-8, are no longer with us. Co-creator Richard Levinson died in the 1980s though co-creator William Link is still alive.

Point 2: The racer with the drugged was Joe Mannix himself. Race cars was one of Mannix's hobbies.


edit: The episode may have been called "Death is the Fifth Gear," the last show of the fifth season.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0641578/

Edited by Napoleon Solo, 13 December 2007 - 03:40 PM.

[Brian Flagg]

Here's hoping that something gets Mannix onto DVD. That, along with It Takes a Thief, are two shows that I'm anxious to have...today's kiddies might actually be entertained by these "old school" masters.

[Red Barchetta]

Mannix! Wow! I used to love that show when I was a kid!

I really hope they do put it out on DVD on day!

Joe rocks!!!

[Brian Flagg]

When reading the part of the article when Mike Connors says "it's like it never happened" I said aloud to myself that I've been saying the exact same thing for years! How does a show run for eight years and achieve excellent ratings and then vanish from Mother Earth (except France, apparently, where they know great TV). The old, tired knock that MANNIX was "too violent" is a joke, considering what gets shown on TV today.

[Brian Flagg]

Power of the Press?


http://www.tvshowson...x-Season-1/8687

[TheSaint]

Stranger things have happened.

[killkenny kid]

Wow, another gift.

[Napoleon Solo]

Power of the Press?


http://www.tvshowson...x-Season-1/8687

Yes! Season 1 episodes were rarely shown in syndication so this is even better news.

[Keir]

After reading that review the Saint linked us, I want to see this show (possibly again, but it would have been when I was a kid with so many other great shows on the telly)!
"He drove too fast, drank too much and smoked like he got paid for it. He slugged people and shot guys and never got pulled in by the cops. 'The body count, even in the first few minutes of the show, could sometimes be appalling.'"
I'd also love to find out more about that episode "Hard-Boiled Murder" from season 4 of some show starring Dick Van Dyke (!)where Connors came back in 1997 as Mannix in the episode which was a sequel to the Mannix episode "Little Girl Lost".

Edited by Keir, 26 December 2007 - 01:57 AM.

[crheath]

I just heard from a source that Mannix was set to come out in July of 08! Pray it's true...

[Napoleon Solo]

I'd also love to find out more about that episode "Hard-Boiled Murder" from season 4 of some show starring Dick Van Dyke (!)where Connors came back in 1997 as Mannix in the episode which was a sequel to the Mannix episode "Little Girl Lost".

OK, but first


here's


some


SPOILER SPACE





In the pre-credits sequence we see, from a distance, a man emerging from a building. We also see an assassin aiming a rifle at the man. The assassin fires and the man falls. We next see the emergency room of the hospital. A man, his back to the viewer, is complaining he's fine (he's on a gurney being wheeled around.) The young doctor of the show tries to tell the man that he's been shot and needs to let doctors take care of him. The Dick Van Dyke character comes up, looks at the medical chart. It is clear he knows the patient who is none other than....JOE MANNIX.

(this description doesn't do proper justice for Mannix fans, but I'm trying to keep this short.)

After the main titles and commercials, we find out Mannix has been hired by the grown daughter of the journalist killed in the 1973 Mannix episode. While arrests were made, the killer was never really caught. Pernell Roberts, Julie Adams (who played the wife of the murdered journalist) and Beverly Garland all reprise their roles from the earlier show.

In the 1973 show, it was assumed the journalist was killed by the mob. Instead, in the Prescription: Murder story, it's revealed it was his wife. The journalist was going to contest custody of the child. So she was the one who killed her husband.

The major subplot of the 1997 show is that Mannix has something wrong with his heart that needs immediate attention, but he won't get the procedure done until he cracks the case.

[Brian Flagg]

Looks like June 3, 2008 is MANNIX day:

http://tvshowsondvd....x-Season-1/9028

[Brian Flagg]

MANNIX box art:

http://tvshowsondvd....x-Season-1/9049


And you *know* that plaid sportscoats are gonna make a HUGE comeback, at least in *my* wardrobe!

MANNIX!

Edited by Brian Flagg, 23 February 2008 - 06:30 PM.

[Blofeld's Cat]

MANNIX box art:

http://tvshowsondvd....x-Season-1/9049


And you *know* that plaid sportscoats are gonna make a HUGE comeback, at least in *my* wardrobe!

MANNIX!

Yep, just read about it on that site. Glad we'll be getting THE actual 1st season, which I don't think I've ever seen before.

[Napoleon Solo]

re: seeing 1st season shows

I've only seen two of them, the pilot and the third episode. The pilot I recorded off TV Land, the first night it telecast. The third was a bad pro VHS copy I bought at a video store. TVL never showed first season episodes very much and in the 1980s, when the show was syndicated, 1st season episodes weren't part of the package.

[stamper]

It's also probable some bean-counters are of the opinion that they can't make money off Mannix since "nobody will remember that show,"

Who the hell would that people be to decide in the public's place ? I say fire the bean counters, that'll leave enough money to make a profit out of the re-release on DVD. I'm glad the show is coming back, I was a fan as a kid.

[Napoleon Solo]

It's also probable some bean-counters are of the opinion that they can't make money off Mannix since "nobody will remember that show,"

Who the hell would that people be to decide in the public's place ? I say fire the bean counters, that'll leave enough money to make a profit out of the re-release on DVD. I'm glad the show is coming back, I was a fan as a kid.

The pilot to Mannix had very high production values for its time and it's very respectable today.

There was a lot of location shooting, admittedly in Palm Springs, rather than a more exotic locale, but pretty good all the same. Also, Mike Connors was pretty athletic and could do a lot of his own action scenes (with stuntmen used, presumably, for the most dangerous stunts). He was 42 when the show began, but he was clearly very fit.

The pilot also has a Derek Flint connection. One of the thugs (he pilots a helicopter) is played by Buzz Henry, who was the Bob Simmons of the Flint movies.

[Brian Flagg]

MANNIX Season 1 available for pre-order at Amazon.com.