Mannix - And Now, Back to Mannix

by JoAnn M. Paul

Fistfights. Cars careening off cliffs and exploding. Running on a bridge. Dodging a helicopter. The dune buggy roll. Iconic convertibles. Signature sports jackets. 17 Paseo Verde. L.A. at its coolest-and then there was Peggy.

For generations, throughout the world these have brought a smile to the face and a single word to mind-Mannix. With such style up-front, the substance behind the character of Joe Mannix has been overlooked-until now. "Mannix" ran on CBS-TV from 1967-1975 during the Golden Age of Television, the last production of Desilu (the legendary studio owned by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) following"Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible". It was syndicated in over 70 countries during its first run, won Golden Globe and Emmy awards, and innovated the concept of the personalized crime-fighter. Star Mike Connors, who embodied his alter ego, wanted Joe Mannix to have emotion, a departure from type. And Now, Back to Mannix is not a TV log book, or even a behind the scenes book, but a behind the myth book, making the case that some TV characters have singular power to make societies and individuals better, interspersed with discussion of the richness of character, symbolism, and scenes in the series. The book includes a Foreword by Mike Connors and a Prologue by David Breckman, writer and co-executive producer of the highly successful USA series, "Monk". JoAnn M. Paul, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her childhood hero was shot, drugged, poisoned, beaten, tortured, and dumped down hillsides to be left for dead. Nothing could have prepared her better for life.