Delayed Action

The ace of action, Michael O'Herlihy, directed this adventure, who handled some of the very best episodes of HAWAII FIVE O that thrilled all of us kids back in the day. His trademark is everywhere here.

Ned Glass, who generally played timid guys in some sort of a mess, plays Spinelli, a guy in a hospital bed in an even bigger mess. He's linked to a bombing that happened many years ago and comes the old saying, "Dead men tell no tales...." May be in the cards for him?

Joe takes the case and there's some rotten folks at play. Note some exceptional underwater scenes and the use of spear guns. Sort of James Bond-ish. The underwater scenes had to be fun for Michael O'Herlihy, though Barry Oringer came up with the idea, who wrote many episodes for I SPY.

Barry was very imaginative; this story develops into what MAY BE the most fiendish. Introducing man-eating fish?

Partly filmed at Marineland (now long gone), which was the first big super tourist attraction in southern California before Disneyland. Marineland moved to San Diego several years later.

Veteran actor John McLiam plays Benny. Also guest starring is Louise Sorel, known for DAYS OF OUR LIVES. In the spot the famous face segment, yes that's Walter Koenig (Chekov on STAR TREK) in a small role as Harry. Koenig may have been adding to his tv credits at the time.

This one goes fast, and as usual there are some plot holes, like it or not, but prime early Mannix. Finally, another hint Joe will soon be saying "Ba Bye" to Lew Wickersham for good.

SEASON 1 EPISODE 22 remastered CBS/Paramount dvd box set. Collectors first season edition.

The storyline drives this one. You have the requisite fights and Mannix getting on Wickersham's last nerve, but the unfolding puzzle makes it maybe the most satisfying episode Mannix I've seen.

Plus spear guns. Any narrative can be improved by the presence of spear guns.

Season 1 of Mannix was significantly different from what the show became in later years. With Mannix working for Intertec, the computer played a central roll in the plots and Mannix himself was more of a heavy than in later years of the show. Ratings were low, so at the urging of Lucille Ball, Intertec was removed from the format as the show was transferred from Desilu to Paramount. The plots in season 1 were wild and sometimes hard to follow, but "Delayed Action" is intriguing enough to justify the complication. One mystery unfolds into another and the viewer never gets confused or bored. As an extra bonus, we get an inside, though still fictional, portrayal of the Synanon drug-rehab cult, when it was first becoming controversial, but before it was broken up in a spate of murders in 1979. Synanon came up in latter episodes , but only in brief references. Delayed Action is a snapshot, not only of the original concept on which the show was based, but of the time in which it was conceived.

"Delayed Action" begins with a VERY familiar character actor, Ned Glass, being wheeled into the operating room. He keeps muttering about 'Mannix', so they call the detective. But, Mannix doesn't recognize the guy! Now that Mr. Spinelli is unconscious and no one knows exactly what happened to him, Mannix just assumes Spinelli is his client and begins digging. Starting with an old photo, Mannix digs and digs--and eventually discovers a bombing from 1945 MIGHT have to do with this guy! But, of course, there's more...which you'll need to see for yourself.

This is a decent episode whose main reason for your watching it is to see Walter Koenig ('Chekov' from "Star Trek") in an early non-Trek role. Additionally, while stupid, it's also worth seeing to see a chase scene where Mannix is chasing a scuba diver and NOT catching him! Considering the guy is wearing an old rubberized diving suit and diving gear, it's ridiculous!! As for the plot, it's original but a bit confusing towards the end. Not bad but not among season one's best.