Mannix tries to help a woman suspected of murder when she kills an intruder in self-defense, who may have been blackmailing her.Mannix tries to help a woman suspected of murder when she kills an intruder in self-defense, who may have been blackmailing her.Mannix tries to help a woman suspected of murder when she kills an intruder in self-defense, who may have been blackmailing her.
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A bit later, the woman's mother comes to Mannix for help...not because of the shooting but because the mother is worried about her flaky alcoholic daughter (and the daughter CLEARLY is an alcoholic). Mannix gets involved and soon the cops find the body and put 2 and 2 together. Can Mannix tease apart what REALLY happened?
This episode isn't bad but isn't very good (especially for a debut episode for a new season). One problem is that the plot isn't that interesting or believable. And another is when Joe reunites the accused killer with her young daughter. Why is this a problem? Because they child MIGHT be better off in an orphanage than with a woman with a severe substance abuse problem. While bringing the small child into the woman's life might help the woman, what about the child? Troubling to say the least.
There's no mystery or suspense here because it's obvious right from the start who the killer is because there's no one else it could be, so it's a very tedious episode without any excitement. It's also a rare episode without any fight scenes, which only adds to the boredom.
Rosemary Forsyth is thoroughly dislikable as Leslie and her drunken tirades and constant whining are really aggravating.
There are cliches galore in this one. Joe gets shot at many times but is never hit, Adam thinks he has an open and shut case but Joe thinks otherwise and of course Joe turns out to be right, Leslie suspects there may be an intruder in her house so she goes downstairs to check but doesn't turn the lights on, and the police rush in at the end to wrap everything up.
One bright spot is Alan Caillou's performance as Derek, but he only appears in one scene. The action scene at the end is pretty good too, but beyond that there isn't anything else worth seeing.
Season five is off to a bad start.
Did you know
- TriviaIn this premiere episode of Season Five, the opening credits are altered somewhat from the previous three seasons. One of those changes is that early on a shot of Mannix standing on a lawn where a young woman pirouettes, briefly showing her panties, has been replaced by a shot of Mannix jumping off a platform onto the back of someone facing away. The new replacement scene is taken from near the end of this episode.
- GoofsThe property used throughout most of the episode as Leslie Fielding's residence is the same property used to depict the orphanage that Joe Mannix visits on his way to Mexico. In the establishing shot of the house shown immediately after the opening credits there is a distinctive white statue of Jesus, with arms outstretched, in the foreground of the shot; that same statue appears in the orphanage scenes, but shot only from the side and back, to try to disguise that it's on the same parcel as the house.
- Quotes
Joe Mannix: Ah, it's so good to see you, Mildred. Come in. Come in.
Mildred Oliver: I was just passing by and I... I saw the name.
Joe Mannix: Sit down. Golly, how long has it been?
Mildred Oliver: Now, don't you dare. I'm not as old as I look.
Joe Mannix: You look just beautiful.
Mildred Oliver: It's stull like that that used to allow you to raid the refrigerator, as I remember.
Joe Mannix: Well, after all, I was going to school on a G.I. Bill: a hundred and ten a month and all you could read.
Mildred Oliver: Those were good days, Joe.
Joe Mannix: And Mr. Oliver's great barbeques... what a feast.
Mildred Oliver: Matthew loved to have young people around, especially you, Joe. Thank you for that wonderful letter.
Joe Mannix: Well, he was a great guy. And Leslie: how is she?
Mildred Oliver: [sinks her head] Fine... as far as I know.
Joe Mannix: You... weren't just passing by, were you, Mildred?
Mildred Oliver: [shakes her head] I'm worried about her, Joe. She's drinking... excessively, I think is the clinical world for it. She was always a high-spirited girl: foolish but forgivable. But parties are just the public part of her drinking these days. It goes on day and night.
Joe Mannix: When did this all start?
Mildred Oliver: I don't know exactly. It was as if... the wind changed and no one noticed. She got worse after Matthew died. I let it go, hoping she'd find herself.
Joe Mannix: But she wasn't really looking.
Mildred Oliver: In fact, there was a time when she lost herself completely for months.
Joe Mannix: When was that?
Mildred Oliver: Five years ago. She just dropped out of sight. I was worried sick.
Joe Mannix: Why didn't you call me, Mildred?
Mildred Oliver: I thought of it, many times. She turned up, finally... married.
Joe Mannix: Yeah, I know. I remember seeing his picture.
Mildred Oliver: On a tennis court, no doubt.
Mildred Oliver: [as Mannix looks at her] Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't say that. Hardly know Glen, really. Mothers rarely approve of their daughters' choice in husbands, do they?
Joe Mannix: Well, that's all history, Mildred. What about today?
Mildred Oliver: Something's bothering her terribly, Joe. We were supposed to go shopping on Saturday, and she canceled. Then I called her on Sunday and Glen said she was out, but she never called me back. Then yesterday, we were supposed to meet for lunch, and she never showed up. And I still can't get through to her on the phone. Something's dreadfully wrong, Joe.
Joe Mannix: How can I help?
Mildred Oliver: Well... they're having a cocktail party today at the house. Glen's invited, oh, some important buyers from the East. I'm still on the Board, so they had to invite me.
Joe Mannix: And you have to invite me for old times' sake.
Joe Mannix: [as Mildred nods] Well, I hope they don't mind.