Mannix: Season 1

Finally, FINALLY, the very best Classic TV detective series EVER produced comes to DVD in a first-season set. For its legion of fans, it is a huge understatement to say this release is eagerly anticipated. Thanks to CBS/Parmount for putting this series out on DVD. Let's hope the remaining seasons quickly follow.Mannix ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller (who also created Mission: Impossible), the title character, Joe Mannix, is a two-fisted private investigator portrayed by Mike Connors.Rarely has an actor so inhabited a TV character that it's impossible to separate the two. This series represents one of those times, and even the show's producers recognized it when the unusual credit proclaimed: Mike Connors IS Mannix. The ruggedly handsome Connors was the perfect match, and made the signature loud sports jackets of the time look great on his altar ego. Mannix also drove a variety of convertibles, and even had a car phone - which was unheard of at the time!Mannix originally worked for a high-concept computerized firm known as Intertect in the rarely seen first season. This DVD set represents all of those episodes, including the series' pilot.Mannix featured a dynamic split-screen opening credits sequence set to its theme music from noted composer Lalo Schifrin. Unusual for a private detective series, the Mannix theme is in triple time, the same signature used for a waltz.(FYI: The show's title, opening credits and closing credits are in variations of "City Typeface," a distinctive, squared-off, split-serif face that has long been used by IBM Corporation as part of their corporate design, and continues to be used in its logo today. The use of this style of credits for Mannix spelled out his name as if on computer punch cards utilized by fictitious Intertect, but it was maintained throughout the series.)The first season of Mannix is a lot different than the more familiar episodes that began in the second season, when Mannix opened his own agency at 17 Paseo Verde, Los Angeles, California. It was in the second season that the brilliant actress Gail Fisher was brought on board as Mannix's devoted secretary, Peggy Fair, whose cop-husband was killed in line of duty.In the first season, Mannix is not on his own but is employed by an agency that tries to solve crimes using computers. It's great to see what passed for cutting edge technology in the late 1960's. The computers were the old mainframe type, and used punch cards and reel-to-reel tapes, which some younger viewers today may never have ever seen in use. These first season episodes are almost NEVER aired in syndicationAll 24 first season episodes will be on this six-disc set with guest stars that epitomized the best of the 1960's including: Kim Hunter, singer Neil Diamond, Tom Skerritt, singers Neil Young and Stephen Stills, Richard Mulligan, Norman Fell, Army Archerd, Rona Barrett, and Karen Black. In addition, the release contains special features that include episode introductions by Golden Globe and Emmy-winning star Connors, along with an interview.In its eight-year run, Mannix quickly became a TV staple airing on Saturday's at 10 p.m. Not only was it noted for its great writing, acting, unusual camera angles, hot cars and visuals, but also its violence. Mannix was, by one count, shot 17 times and knocked unconscious another 55 during the show's run.During the first season of the series, Mannix worked for Intertect in large Los Angeles, which was the most high-tech detective agency in the country. His superior was Lew Wickersham, played to perfection by Joseph Campanella. The tension between the two men was entertaining, since Mannix belonged to the classic hard-boiled school of American detectives (hard drinking, womanizing but compassionate, and always quick to action.) Mannix generally ignored the computers' solutions, disobeyed Wickersham and did things his own way.Connors incorporated his own Armenian heritage into his character. Viewers were treated to a host of great Armenian proverbs Mannix shared at some of the most interesting and unexpected times. A Korean War Army veteran, Mannix also seemed to struggle with unspoken demons from that experiences.From the second season on, Mannix worked on his own with the assistance Peggy Fair. (Fisher was one of the first African-American actresses to have a regular series role on TV. Later in the series, the producers even considered a romantic relationship between the two, but feared it was too controversial for the time. Nonetheless, the chemistry between the two is unmistakable). He also had assistance from the police department, the two most frequently depicted were Lt. Adam Tobias (portrayed by Robert Reed) and later Lt. Art Malcolm (portrayed by Ward Wood). Other police contacts were Lt. George Kramer (Larry Linville) and Lt. Dan Ives (Jack Ging).The series was also memorable for its cool cars, primarily convertibles, that Mannix drove. In Season 1, he drove a customized Oldsmobile Toronado convertible (Oldsmobile never produced a convertible in that model for sale); in Seasons 2-3, he drove a Dodge Dart GTS 340 convertible; in Seasons 4-6, he drove a Plymouth Barracuda convertible; in Season 7, he drove a Dodge Challenger Coupe; and in Season 8, he drove a Chevrolet Camaro LT.Included in this DVD set is the pilot, The Name is Mannix, which truly sets the tone for the whole series. In it, maverick private-eye Mannix tries to rescue the kidnaped daughter of former rackets' boss, Sam Dubrio. Mannix bets he can get the girl back, if he can persuade her father to risk the half-million dollar ransom plus another half-million dollars to bribe the kidnapers' pickup man.The other episodes here from the first season are: The Cost of a Vacation; Skid Marks on a Dry Run; Then the Drink Takes the Man; The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher; Make It Like It Never Happened; License to Kill, Limit Three People; Beyond the Shadow of a Dream; Warning: Live Blueberries; Turn Every Stone; Huntdown; Coffin for a Clown; A Catalogue of Sins; Run Sheep, Run; Falling Star; To Kill a Writer; Deadfall Part 1; Deadfall Part 2; You Can Get Killed Out There; Another Final Exit; Eight to Five, It's a Miracle; Delayed Action; and The Girl in the Frame.

Technical Details-The 6 DVDs for the 1st season were in English with no options for other languages. Audio was Dolby Digital AC3(per InterVideo WinDVD7 Info button), and the DVD case stated English Mono and Dolby Digital, but there were no audio options available on the DVDs. There were no detectable audio problems. Case stated Closed Captioned but there were no options available on the DVDs. Each episode(and most of the Special Features) had an audio introduction by Mike Connors giving a synopsis of the episode(or Special Feature) but you can bypass this by clicking on the Play Episode option. Picture was color and displayed perfectly on my 4:3 format TV(case states aspect ratio 4:3). Picture detail was excellent considering how old this TV series was and there were only 2 episodes(including the 1st) where I detected video problems(blurring of images). The longest occurred in the 1st episode toward the end. There was no scene access for the 6 DVDs, only to individual episodes(4 for each DVD), but by using the DVD remote, I could access different scenes. Disc 1, when first played, showed 2 options, Previews and Main Menu. Previews was really a long commercial for these series in the following order: Dexter; Twin Peaks; CSI Miami; CSI; CSI New York; Numbers; NCIS; Medium; The 4400; MacGyver. Previews displayed only on disc 1 and in letterbox format, with horizontal black bars above and below picture. Main Menu displayed the following options: Play All; Episodes; Special Features. On discs 2-6, when first played, the defaults are the Main Menu options. Play All played all 4 episodes in order and Episodes let you choose individual episodes on demand. For Disc 1, Special Features included the following: Mike Connors and Joseph Campanella Interview, Part 1; The Name is Mannix(pilot) With Commentary by William Link. For Disc 2, Special Features included the following: Mike Connors and Joseph Campanella Interview, Part 2. For disc 3, Special Features included the following: CBS Fall Promo-1967. Audio and video for it appears to be from the original broadcast. For disc 4, Special Features included the following: Mike Connors on the Mike Douglas Show, Airdate 4/22/69. Audio and video for it appears to be from the original broadcast. For disc 5, Special Features included the following: TV Land Promo; Sales Presentation; Another Final Exit(last episode on this disc) with Commentary by Mike Connors and Joseph Campanella. Audio and video for the first 2 appear to be from the original broadcast. For disc 6, Special Features included the following: Diagnosis Murder Clip-Hard Boiled Murder episode Featuring Mike Connors, Dick Van Dyke, and Barry Van Dyke, Airdate 2/13/97; Photo Gallery. Audio and video for it appears to be from the original broadcast.These DVDs did play on my Windows 7 Ultimate PC with a Dell HD monitor and resolution set at 1900 x 1200, using both Windows Media Player 12 and VideoLAN's VLC Player v.1.1.10. The picture displayed with vertical black bars on each side of the picture for both Windows Media Player 12 and VideoLAN's VLC Player v.1.1.10. Resolution was not as good as on my 4:3 format TV. HD monitors vary in their ability to down convert a signal source(720p) below its capability(full HD).On my Windows XP SP3 laptop with resolution set at 1400x1050 using InterVideo WinDVD 7 software, the picture displayed better than on the HD monitor and the software controls are better as well than either Windows Media Player 12 or VideoLAN's VLC Player v.1.1.10. The picture displayed full screen identical to my 4:3 format TV.

Mannix was a great series filled with mystery, excitement, and many before they were famous stars. I love the series, because it reminds me of The Rockford Files. If you like cop, detective shows you will love Mannix.

Very funny. All french soundtrack, no subtitles and no original English soundtrack available. To be fair, when looking deeper, it clearly states: "language: french". Why AMAZON CO UK offers the french version when searching "Mannix Season 1" is beyond me! Maybe I should have looked at AMAZON FR for the English version?The review by "Watcher" must be talking about a different release - "Watcher" describes the product as having English soundtrack only.Some releases include original soundtracks on top of the dubbed version - easily done in the days of the DVD. But not available here.What you get: Good quality picture 1960's TV series - added interviews with actors - original English and French subtitles. Main Features all French dubbed, NO subtitles, NO original English audio track.

This is the main season to collect.. This detective crime sleuth series is action packed and in great colour .. Mike Conners and Joe Campenella are great .. The interviews with these characters in 2007 are well worth buying this.. All shows start with a voice introduction by Mike Conners covering the general plot and actors .. This is the season to buy.. Mannix's 1967 Toronado Convertible was a one off for this season ...Order this season to begin the Mannix series....

I never saw the first season of Mannix when it premiered on network TV. I didn't know the show's producers revamped it after the first season. No worries, though. Joe Mannix is still good.

I highly recommend the Mannix TV series. The DVD quality is excellent and I will buy the rest!

ah enfin voici mannix en dvd pour la première fois la première saison j ai 50 ans et j ai pas le souvenir de l avoir vu car en france la sèrie as ètè diffusèe pour la première fois en 1969 j avais 9 ans ! mais je me rappèle bien du gènèrique avec les images qui apparaissent en cases noires et aussi quel musique composèe par lalo shiffrin . vivement les autres saisons a noter sur le premier dvd on peut pas acceder au menu pour visionner les èpisodes avant de voir des bandes annonces dont on s en moque bizarre de la part de tf 1 qui es l èditeur ca doit etre encore une astuce commercial publicitaire pour vendre les dvds de ces bandes annonces tres dommage pour les fans et pour ceux qui connaisse pas mannix c est un tres bon achat ce coffret comprends 6 dvds soit 24 èpisodes de la première saison avec comme bonus les èpisodes prèsentès en vo par mike connors lui mème et des interviews de mike connors et de son patron jouè par joseph campanella seule la version française es disponible pour visionner les èpisodes !