MANNIX: THE FIFTH SEASON coming July 5

Coming to DVD this summer is the fifth season (1971-72) of classic P.I. series Mannix, starring Mike Connors and Gail Fisher:

The popular, long-running detective drama returns to DVD! MANNIX, the show about a tough and cynical private investigator, stars Golden Globe winner Mike Connors as the title character. Mannix is a hard-boiled and gritty detective who constantly defies rules and regulations and is able to take all the fist fights, high-speed car chases and bullet wounds that come his way in stride. Collectible 6 disc-set includes all 24 action-packed fifth season episodes.

Related:
Rock out with MANNIX!
Mystery TV Themes: MANNIX
Opening Theme: BARNABY JONES
Opening Theme: PETER GUNN
Opening Theme: THE ROCKFORD FILES

Rock out with MANNIX!

From time to time, private investigator Joe Mannix (Mike Connors) followed a lead that took him to a club or recording studio -- where he crossed paths with some real-life recording artists. Three examples below, including videos:

Neil Diamond performed "The Boat That I Row" and "Raisin' Cain" (and has a line of dialogue!) on the episode "The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher" (Oct 7, 1967).

NEIL DIAMOND on "Mannix"


Buffalo Springfield performed "Bluebird" and "For What It's Worth" on the episode "Warning: Live Blueberries" Oct 28, 1967).

BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD on "Mannix"


The Peppermint Trolley Company performed "Trust" on the episode "Who Will Dig The Graves?" (Nov 16, 1968).

PEPPERMINT TROLLEY CO. on "Mannix"


Related links:
Opening Theme: Mannix
DVD extras announced for MANNIX
Fiction and DVD Links (27 Feb 08)
MANNIX to the max

DVD extras announced for MANNIX

The folks at TVShowsOnDVD share a list of extras that will appear on the first season DVDs for classic private eye series Mannix -- including commentaries from creator William Link, star Mike Connors, and first season regular Joseph Campanella. The set will also audio intros from Connors, an on-camera reunion with Connors and Campanella, Connors' appearance on The Mike Douglas Show, and a clip from Mannix's crossover appearance on Diagnosis Murder (an episode that featured "flashbacks" from Mannix, as explained here). The six-disc set will include all 24 first season episodes.

Related links:
MANNIX to the max
Mystery TV Themes: MANNIX
Diagnosis -- Murder!
Fiction and DVD Links (27 Feb 08)
Q&A: LEE GOLDBERG

Fiction and DVD Links (27 Feb 08)

Here are your Agatha Award nominees (Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind)

Interview with Susan Downs, Editor (Novel Journey)
Interview with editor, Susan Downs -- Part 2 (Novel Journey)
Contracted, Again! (Elizabeth Writes)
What's in a Genre? (The Power of Words, The Magic of Story)

Farraday Road by Ace Collins (TitleTrakk Book News)
Forsaken by James David Jordan (TitleTrakk Book News)

Brave New Story (Poe's Deadly Daughters)
Writing the Series (Cozy Chicks)
Even More New Authors on Cozy Mystery Site… (The Cozy Mystery List Blog)

Anne Rice on Christ the Lord--The Road to Cana -- and Vampires (Forensics and Faith)
New Agent in CBA (Forensics and Faith)

THE FUGITIVE: Early Box Art For Season 2, Volume 1 (TVShowsOnDVD)
MANNIX: Box Art, Exclusive New Details for 1st Season DVDs! (TVShowsOnDVD)
HAWAII FIVE-O: Street Date and Sunset-Filled Box Art for 4th Season (TVShowsOnDVD)

TV on DVD

The folks at TVShowsonDVD.com have a lot of updates for fans of classic detective/mystery TV:

Perry Mason
Studio Celebrates 50 Years of Perry with Anniversary DVDs
New Details, Extras, for 50th Anniversary Edition DVDs!
Fans Wonder If Anniversary DVDs Mark End of Season Sets

Matlock
From NBC to ABC to CBS...Now Matlock Comes to DVD!
'Is The Pilot Telefilm Included on The 1st Season DVDs?'

Murder, She Wrote
Universal Delivers Package Art For 8th Season Set!

Burke's Law
Release Date, Promo Trailers for Season 1, Volume 1 DVDs!

B.L. Stryker
Press Release Arrives for 1st Season of Burt Reynolds Series

Mannix
Does the Washington Post Pull Some Weight? Mannix Heads to DVD!

I Spy
Image Re-Issuing Series In Newly Remastered Season Sets!

MANNIX to the max

Even as TV shows come to DVD faster and faster, the Los Angeles Times felt the need to announce that classic '70s private eye series "Mannix" is still not headed to DVD. Now, I don't have a lot of firsthand memories of the series -- while there are many classic TV shows I have been able to watch via the twin miracles of reruns and DVD, "Mannix" is one I only know by reputation. (And, of course, the uber-cool opening credits.)

Meanwhile, author and TV writer/producer Lee Goldberg shares a story about the time he and his partner engineered a Mannix appearance on the '90s sleuth series "Diagnosis Murder."

This unique episode of "Diagnosis Murder" cleverly teams Mannix with his old friend Dr. Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke) to solve a murder case that the detective was unable to crack on his own series 24 years ago.

Scenes from the 1973 "Mannix" episode "Little Girl Lost" are used in flashback sequences. Pernell Roberts, Beverly Garland and Julie Adams, who were guest stars on the original episode, also appear.

"It's such a good idea," the jovial Van Dyke says between takes on the "Diagnosis Murder" hospital set in Van Nuys. "We weave the old show in so well with the flashbacks."

Read the whole story here.

Related links:
Q&A: LEE GOLDBERG
Mystery TV Themes: MANNIX
Diagnosis -- Murder!
Fiction and DVD Links (27 Feb 08)