Remember when TV shows had theme songs? I mean real theme songs that you could hum if you wanted, that you could remember. There’s even been CD compilations released of these old themes. Today’s shows don’t seem to have them any more. I remember seeing a joke online about LOST’s theme song. It was one stretched out note.
The shows were different then too. Less edgy, more standard fare that offered us good guys we looked up to. Joe Mannix was one of those. A private investigator who always fought the good fight, Joe took on murders and criminals each week whether he had a paying customer or not. And in season five of MANNIX, just release, we get the chance to see Mannix throw down with those bad guys once again.
Mike Connors was the actor who took on the role of Joe Mannix. His dark hair and rough good looks made him an ideal leading man. And he played the character straight rather than go for the signs of the time. No bell bottoms or long hair, instead Mannix was fond of plaid suits and ties. A subtle item this made sense as chances are a businessman would be more likely to send work his way than the stereotypical hippie of the time.
I’m sure Mannix was different in some ways than most private eyes on TV, but for me it didn’t seem so when I grew up in the sixties. Looking back now I can see the differences. First off Mannix was all for racial equality. This was one of the first shows to feature a black leading actress, Gail Fisher as Mannix’s secretary Peggy. Peggy was not only his secretary but his friend as well.
The other thing MANNIX was known for was as one of the most violent shows on TV at the time. Compared to what we watch today it’s hard to believe. There were always plenty of car chases, gunplay and somehow Mannix always got the jump on the bad guy…literally. He always seemed to find himself above the bad guy and jumped down on him. It was even one of the scenes shown during the opening credits.
The series stared with Mannix working for a high tech firm that employed the use of plenty of electronics, but Mannix was the one who caught the bad guys using the instincts of the man at the scene. As the series progressed he went to work for himself and must have done well seeing the cars he drove and the office he had.
Season 5 had Mannix helping all sorts of people from old friends being set up for murder to new ones about to be kidnapped. Each week starts with the set up followed by that popular theme song composed by Lalo Schifrin (who also did the themes for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, MEDICAL CENTER and THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.) with blocked images like a puzzle put together showing Mannix in action.
The guest stars were a whose who of popular actors at the time. Rosemary Forsythe, Robert Foxworth, Victor Jory, Ina Balin, Eric Braeden, Joanna Pettet, Andrew Duggan, Milton Berle, Jessica Walters, William Marshall, Lou Rawls, Marriette Hartley and Elsa Lanchaster, while not names most youngsters today will recognize, all appeared during this season on the show. And Robert Reed appears in a number of episodes as a police detective friend of Mannix.
Each episode offered a decent mystery to be solved and had you guessing till the last segment. Sure on occasion you could figure it out, but the clues that are offered didn’t always come together until the last few pieces were presented. Not surprising once you discover (as I did watching this for the first time in decades) that the series was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, the two men responsible for the acclaimed series COLUMBO and MURDER SHE WROTE.
Having the chance to go back and watch this series was a joy. Fans will be glad that they now have the chance to relive fond memories. Those of us to young at the time to appreciate the show will have a chance to enjoy it on a whole new level. And for those who’ve never seen it, take a trip back in time and see what TV was like back in the late sixties/early seventies. You’ll be glad you did.
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