Mannix is Coming! (All things Mannix w/spoilers) (1 Viewer)

[BobSchneider]

Well I got the mannix season 1 last friday and love it. The show captures are beautiful and the stories hold up very well and Ive watch nine episodes so far and they all blast to watch, mike conner and joe campnell are great. I love the pilot episode too, the tram way scene were cool , but I love to know who was the crazy cool helicopter pilot who did all that insane low level flying in that beautiful classic bell 47g helicopter (yeah Im a helicopter nut LOL) Bruce Geller must have some pull with CBS to get that much money spend on Mannix pilot . I picked up at best buy for 39.95 and so far its worth every penny. Although Im not completely in love with the ultra compact plastic case and plain rap silver dvd's, but if these budget saving devices lead to great classic series like mannix keep rolling out on a regular bases I can live with that

 

[WaveCrest]

I've had to have a replacement copy of Mannix: Season 1 (Region 1) sent to me as there was a problem with disc 2. The first disc was perfectly fine, but there was a sound problem when the disc was playing in my DVD player which I could clearly hear. Disappointed with that as 9 times out of 10 I've had no problem with R1 and R2 CBS/Paramount DVD boxsets.

 

[Steve...O]

Hopefully that was an isolated case with your set, Richard. My disc 2 played perfectly.
I'm halfway through disc 3 of this set and this has been a delight seeing these episodes for the first time. A couple of episodes were a bit weaker compared to others but the others have been top notch.
Video is quite good (compare to the 1967 Mannix promo included as a bonus and you'll see how good) and the two part interview w/Connors and Campanella was quite enjoyable. Aside from moderate weight gain, Connors looks remarkable for someone in his early 80s and he's very vibrant and engaged with some good stories to tell. Campenella is a bit more subdued which is likely due to the fact that his memories of this show are very few. Still, he comes across as a very likable guy and is quite grandfatherly.
After the Fugitive debacle it was nice to see the episodes featuring Neil Diamond and Buffalo Springfield being presented intact! (Which makes the treatment of Kimble & company even more bizzare.)

 

[BillyFeldman]

Never saw the show and am loving it lots. Great transfers, too. I'm especially enamored of the Lalo Schifrin theme, and the high quality original scores (they seem to stop after episode twelve and then it's all tracked music from there) by some pretty great people.

 

[BobSchneider]

Yes for anyone who likes 60's dramas Mannix is one of the better dramas and fun to watch. Although that olsmobile toronado land yacht he drives in s1 is one but ugly car . And Ive always though Lalo schifin is one of hollywoods greatest film composers and vastly underated, Ive loved his work in Mission Impossible, Mannix, Man from UNCLE, Bullet, dirty harry, etc.... his scores always enhance the movie or tv show and I love the fact that Lalo still working at 76 years young. Personally Lalo is one of hollywood under apprecated treasures and his work on Mannix is one of the major reasons why Mannix is a Classic show, Now if we can get CBS to release the remain seasons (uh season very six months or so ) with the scores un molested (ie fugitive), and if Shout! gets back on track releasing remaining seasons of Ironside I'd be I in Classic TV viewer Heaven

 

[michael_ks]

I ordered this set from Deep Discount 6/23 and finally received it 7/2. My wife and I are thrilled with this set. I have fond memories of watching "Mannix" with my parents in the early '70s and the show is even better than I remembered. Wonderful pacing with less of the sluggishness inherent in "Ironside". I have to echo Bob's comments on Schifrin's contribution to the series. He certainly was very skilled in developing jazz themed compositions and his contributions here are superb. His theme to "T.H.E. Cat" is great too, BTW.

 

[Mike*HTF]

Schifrin's...theme to "T.H.E. Cat" is great too.

Now this is a series I wish they would release.

 

[BobSchneider]

I ordered this set from Deep Discount 6/23 and finally received it 7/2. My wife and I are thrilled with this set. I have fond memories of watching "Mannix" with my parents in the early '70s and the show is even better than I remembered. Wonderful pacing with less of the sluggishness inherent in "Ironside". I have to echo Bob's comments on Schifrin's contribution to the series. He certainly was very skilled in developing jazz themed compositions and his contributions here are superb. His theme to "T.H.E. Cat" is great too, BTW.

I like Ironside and Mannix equally but there different shows both great in my books. Yes Ironside is a little slower paced but thats to be expected because of the lead start Raymond Burr had several very serious heart conditions, in fact during the perry mason run due to health issues RB was replace with guest stars standing in while he recovered from heart issues. Even if Perry mason wasnt cancel, RB's health late in the series was poor that there would have had to been serious changes in Perry Masons formate. Ironsides creator was a great friend of RB and put Ironside in a wheel chair so it would be easier for RB shoot the show due to his bad heart, so naturally theres a slower pace to Ironside. Also Ironside was a landmark show in how for the first time it highlight that people with disabilities can with work can live full and productive lives. Mike Conners on the other hand was a healthily man in the prime of his life active , So naturally Mannix move along at a quicker pace with more live action( ie fist fights and gun shots) . And maybe because I saw more frequent re run of Ironside growing up I have more fond memorys of both perry mason and Ironside (my grandma who used to babysit was nuts about perry mason and Ironside I saw alot of both).

 

[Randy Korstick]

I picked this up as a somewhat blind buy. I saw it in the the early 70's when I was little with my Mom and it sort of blends in my memory with the endless number of Police shows in the 70's but I sure am glad I got this I can't stop watching and am really surprised at how much I like it. I like the Intertect angle show hopefully the show doesn't drop off for me in the 2nd season.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Randy,

Glad you're enjoying Mannix. It's one of my favorite "cop/detective" shows from the late 60's-mid 70's era.

Just so you know, the "Intertect angle" went away after S1 when Mannix went out on his own in a private practice pvt eye. For me, I seemed to remember liking the later seasons after S1 better but I haven't seen the show since it's original airings. I just watched the 1st episode in the DVD set last weekend. I've always been a Mike Connors fan so I'll enjoy this set.

Are there any Mannix Fanatics out there? My memory's trying to tell me that, in one ep during the series run, there was a cameo appearance by the musical group "The Fifth Dimension" where Mannix stopped in the recording studio on a case and waved to the group through the sound stage when they were recording a song.

 

[BillyFeldman]

I'm glad to hear that the Intertect stuff goes away after season one (they talk about it in the interviews), because that angle of the show is the only thing that gets tiresome in the season one episodes. They basically have the same scenes in every episode.

 

[Harry-N]

Are there any Mannix Fanatics out there? My memory's trying to tell me that, in one ep during the series run, there was a cameo appearance by the musical group "The Fifth Dimension" where Mannix stopped in the recording studio on a case and waved to the group through the sound stage when they were recording a song.

Are you perhaps thinking of an episode of "IT TAKES A THIEF" with Robert Wagner? The Fifth Dimension guested on that series and had scenes of them in a recording studio doing "One Less Bell To Answer".
Harry

 

[Guy Foulard]

Are you perhaps thinking of an episode of "IT TAKES A THIEF" with Robert Wagner? The Fifth Dimension guested on that series and had scenes of them in a recording studio doing "One Less Bell To Answer".
Harry

However, Mannix Season 1 does have a pretty awesome early Neil Diamond cameo in "The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher"!

 

[Dan McW]

My memory's trying to tell me that, in one ep during the series run, there was a cameo appearance by the musical group "The Fifth Dimension" where Mannix stopped in the recording studio on a case and waved to the group through the sound stage when they were recording a song.

The second-season episode "Who Will Dig the Graves?" has an early scene with Harry Dean Stanton that is set in a studio, but the group featured is The Peppermint Trolley Company.

 

[Marty McKee]

have a pretty awesome early Neil Diamond cameo in "The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher"!

Another Season 1 show has Buffalo Springfield performing "Bluebird" and "For What It's Worth." I'm pretty sure it's the same coffeehouse set used in "Saint Christopher."

 

[WaveCrest]

Hopefully that was an isolated case with your set, Richard. My disc 2 played perfectly.
I'm halfway through disc 3 of this set and this has been a delight seeing these episodes for the first time. A couple of episodes were a bit weaker compared to others but the others have been top notch.
Video is quite good (compare to the 1967 Mannix promo included as a bonus and you'll see how good) and the two part interview w/Connors and Campanella was quite enjoyable. Aside from moderate weight gain, Connors looks remarkable for someone in his early 80s and he's very vibrant and engaged with some good stories to tell. Campenella is a bit more subdued which is likely due to the fact that his memories of this show are very few. Still, he comes across as a very likable guy and is quite grandfatherly.
After the Fugitive debacle it was nice to see the episodes featuring Neil Diamond and Buffalo Springfield being presented intact! (Which makes the treatment of Kimble & company even more bizzare.)

All sorted now. I tested out discs 3-6 from the first copy sent to me from Amazon.com and they were fine. I tested the disc 2 in the replacement boxsets and thankfully one of those was much better than the faulty disc 2 in the first copy sent to me.
I wish they could have had different moving menus for each disc.
I hope season 2 comes out before the end of the year. If you go by the 6 month rule the second season of Mannix will be out in December on Region 1, and we won't see the eighth and final season until late 2011.

 

[WaveCrest]

Did Joseph Campanella appear in a few Season 2 episodes? I've read on the web that he did, yet on the IMDb his last episode listed is the Season 1 finale.
Also, some suggestions for DVD extras - an interview with Mike Connors and Peggy Fisher, a featurette on the change from Joe Mannix working for Intertect to him starting his own private detective agency and a featurette on the show's title sequence.

 

[BobSchneider]

Did Joseph Campanella appear in a few Season 2 episodes? I've read on the web that he did, yet on the IMDb his last episode listed is the Season 1 finale.
Also, some suggestions for DVD extras - an interview with Mike Connors and Peggy Fisher, a featurette on the change from Joe Mannix working for Intertect to him starting his own private detective agency and a featurette on the show's title sequence.

Saddly peggy fishers dead , unless there is some tv talkshow/entainment news interviews its not possible.

 

[Dan McW]

Did Joseph Campanella appear in a few Season 2 episodes? I've read on the web that he did, yet on the IMDb his last episode listed is the Season 1 finale.

Connors mentioned in the commentary track that Campanella returned to the series in another role later on. Looks like that would be season six's "The Crimson Halo."
The entire Intertect set-up--including Campanella's character and those of "Parker" and other semi-regular Intertect agents--was written out of the show for season two. I don't know if there was even a mention of Intertect or Mannix's background there after season one.

 

[Bert Greene]

Great finally being able to see these long-hidden, non-syndicated 1st-season episodes. Actually, I do tend to like the Intertect angle; gives it a bit more of a peculiarly 60s flavor. Plus, I've always liked Joseph Campanella. Only have a few episodes left to view, and I'm sorry to see it end. That two-parter, "Deadfall," was pretty vibrant fare, to put it mildly. After it was over, I felt like I'd physically been through the ringer myself, courtesy of all the action and fisticuffs. Anyway, I hope the set sold well enough for future volumes. It's been good fun.