Mannix (TV Series) A Fine Day for Dying (1974) User Reviews

Don't you just hate it when you've been in a coma almost a year and when you FINALLY wake up, folks start trying to kill you?!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 16 April 2017]

Jenny Cole (Pamela Franklin) has been in a coma almost a year following being hit by a car. Suddenly, she awakens and while everyone is thrilled, their excitement is dampened when someone starts trying to kill Jenny...including a bullet that went whizzing through her hospital window! Naturally, the old family friend, Mannix, is going to get to the bottom of this. But when they take Jenny to the scene of the old accident, a sniper is waiting and this plan to job her memory might not be the smartest thing they've ever done!

While it IS an exciting episode, it also has one of the oldest and worst detective show clichés. Someone knows more about the shootings...and calls Mannix. Instead of telling him on the phone what he knew, he says he wants to meet the detective in person...and you KNOW that means the guy will be dead...and very very soon! I hate this cliché. Apart from that, it is pretty good...with some good twists and turns. Plus the story is very original....so ignore this cliché and enjoy.

If the bad guys had left it alone, they might have been home free

[Guad42 · 8/10 · 22 May 2021]

A standard Mannix plot device is a situation where a witness sees something and actions by the bad guys gets Mannix investigating the case. This is a fine outing that moves along. There is the usual miraculous shooting by the good guys. First, the police get s sniper and then Joe gets the bad guy in the end. Peggy uses her phone magic gift to find out a witness was getting blackmail payments every month. She can quickly get to the bottom of a situation with her trusty phone. As mentioned by the first reviewer, the old routine of "I can't tell you over the phone, come see me" does get old. That is a self imposed death sentence. Every PI show has used it and Mannix did several times. You think these characters had never watched TV. That cliché ranks right up there with "There is a monster chasing us so let's all split up" as seen in horror movies.

Good guests. Pam Franklin as the coma patient is well cast and quite attractive. I can see why the doctor is interested. Katherine Helmond makes her second Mannix appearance as the mother. Marc Lawrence made a career out of playing hoods. Alan Fudge is a good assistant bad guy.

It would seem easier for the bad guys to kill the girl while in a coma than go through all the trouble they go through after she wakes up. I wonder if anyone got the stoolie at the hospital.

Joe probably didn't get paid again but did help out old friends again. Just like in the last episode (and many others). A very watchable hour.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED.... RIGHT???

[tcchelsey · 9/10 · 17 November 2022]

True, the writers kind of get lost here, asI am in agreement with the last reviewer. Still, this is a nifty whodunit and filmed around old Hollywood. Talented Pamela Franklin (who had the good fortune of working with just about every major star in Hollywood) plays Jenny, who suddenly wakes up after a one year coma and learns that someone is trying to kill her.

The debit, of course, is that the hitman could have done her in a long time ago, and Mannix is a family friend again? Sean Penn's famous dad, Leo Penn, directed this and got some solid performances from the cast. At the time, he was directing episodes for CANNON and MARCUS WELBY. Long a director for BONANZA.

Katherine Helmond makes her second series appearance, playing Jenny's mom, always a fine actress. Best of the old time bad guys is an appearance by crusty Marc Lawrence, a little older, but the man to watch.

There's a classic Mannix scene where Jenny is taken by Joe to where it all began, to get her to remember. You well know they're going to have nasty company. Watch this one. Another scene (the news stand) is at 1770 Vine Street, a few yards from Capitol Records. The reason I bring this up as when you reach this interesection, you are now leaving Hollywood; less traffic, less people, less everything!

Legendary bit actor Bob Harks plays a cop and Joe has his new Camaro. Paramount signed a contract with GM, dumping Dodge/Chrysler, so his Dodge was history, although the Camaro also fit Mannix's style and got a good workout on the streets of LA. Another late nite fave. SEASON 8 Episode 3. CBS dbd box set.