Memories of Mannix

What are your memories of Mannix? Not just the shows themselves, but the time and place, the joy of discovering the show, and elements of the program that remained with you or made an impression on you. What did you think of the styles, the cars, the music, the actors? Whatever comes to mind, please share!

I was a bit young to watch Mannix during its original run, and didn't get to see my first episode until early 1985, when a local independent channel included Mannix in its late-night lineup, which consisted of the following shows:

11pm The Honeymooners
11:30pm The Odd Couple
12am The Untouchables
1am Mission: Impossible
2am Mannix

I didn’t own a VCR back in 1985, so I had to try and stay awake until 3am, often on school nights, just to get to Mannix. But that great evening lineup of classic TV shows and that made it easier to battle the night.

I was also a Mission: Impossible fanatic at this time, and I used to audio record the tape and apartment scenes--I still have them!

As for Mannix, I believe the episodes I saw were from around the fourth to seventh seasons, as Mike Connors had puffier hair and crazier-looking sportsjackets. The stories all seemed like "adventures for grown ups" but I still loved watching--I turned fourteen in 1985. Seeing Mannix was like discovering a forgotten time and place. The late '60s and early '70s fascinated me then as they do now. I couldn't wait to actually record Mannix when our family finally got their first VCR later in 1985, but the local channel had blitzed their great late-night lineup. I wouldn't see another episode of Mannix until 1997, when TV Land started airing it.


Consilio et prudentia