Mannix (TV Series) The Need of a Friend (1968) User Reviews

A bit weak.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 12 May 2013]

"The Need of a Friend" begins with David Barker (John Colicos) being released after seven years in prison. Mannix shows up to talk to him and Barker responds by decking him! It seems that Mannix's investigation was key to convicting Barker of theft and murder! However, inexplicably, Mannix has returned because he has some doubts....perhaps this guy was really innocent. After all, apart from this case, he's never seen a job so open and shut!

I liked seeing Colicos playing a different sort of character--not the usual heavy. However, apart from this and a nice performance by a skid row bum (Sam Gilman), this was an awfully weak episode. It just wasn't that interesting and it was pretty obvious what had occurred. Not bad--just not up to the series' usual high standards.

Okay but not up to usual standards

[Guad42 · 6/10 · 7 November 2020]

It is clear from early on how the crime was done and who was in on it. It's hard to believe a guy threw away his life and became a skid row bum because of it. Joe doesn't get hit over the head but he is drugged. Why he would take the drink to beginning with, I have no idea. There are a couple a couple of bright spots. John Colicos is excellent in his role. He might be best known for hamming it up as a Klingon in Star Trek and Deep Space Nine and the bad guy in the original Battlestar Galatica but he can act. Also director Sutton Roley uses close ups and lingering shots to make it slightly different from the usual Mannix. Even Peggy and Joe have an argument, ("Make your own coffee!") but that seems to blow over in a hurry as he soon after calls her at 3AM. Did not like the ending but I assume the guy made it. Sutton Roley and/or the writers should have done that better. Cheated the audience a bit.

Interesting episode, but you need to be patient with it

[shakspryn · 7/10 · 17 December 2022]

There is a good story here, and a very strong supporting cast. The need for viewer patience comes in because the director was evidently going for an "arty" feel to the episode, so you get some camera angles and close ups that will seem a bit--well, different, than you see in most 1960's TV shows. Also, the dialogue sometimes has rather the feeling of a stage play. Still, it is well worth viewing: beautiful, clear cinematography, those fine guest stars, and Mannix showing depth and emotion. A young and ravishing Barbara Babcock, and a strong turn by Cloris Leachman, are standouts in the episode; plus the male guest star is excellent,

I'M ALWAYS AWAKE AT 3 IN THE MORNING!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 1 February 2023]

I agree with the last reviewer that Joe and Peggy bickering is something to see! Not happy campers. It may have been an attempt to develop her character, now revealing she is the widow of a cop and is a young mom. Bottom line, this story is actually a "bad day" for both Mannix and Peggy. One interesting note is that Peggy still called Joe Mr. Mannix. That would be dumped soon, and with good reason.

This time around, Joe has the tough luck task proving a man he helped convict for embezzlement is innocent. This is a prime example of one of those "complex" episodes you have to literally take notes on. Sutton Roley directed, who would do many more stories, and gets what he wants from a great cast. John Colicos (usually at home playing the villain) has a sympathetic role for a change. He would appear in about one episode per season for the series. Of course for STAR TREK buffs he is best known as the first Klingon, which he also assisted in creating facial features and the costume.

None other than Cloris Leachman plays his ex-wife, and in a very good role. What many don't know is that in her extraordinary career she appeared in one of the first, if not "the first" tv detective shows called CHARLIE WILDE as his secretary Effie, around 1950 in New York. Super trivia question.

Veteran Marie Windsor plays the wife of Mr. Timpkins (Paul Stevens), though with a blonde wig. Look closely or you will not recognize her! She rivaled Beverly Garland in noir and sci fi films of the 50s and was always popping up on tv. Casting people loved them both.

There's a crazy skid row bar scene in which Joe passes out and among the patrons is Noble "Kid" Chissel, playing a bum, a 1930s boxing star who would do other bits on the show. We also get a glimpse of Peggy's son, Toby, played by Mark Stewart, who was a hero to all of us kids back in the day. Some bios indicate Stewart, later called Stew, became a musician in his career.

Something for all here, but watch it closely... SEASON 2 EPISODE 9 remastered CBS dvd box set.

Mannix & Peggy

[erikbaade · 5/10 · 11 May 2019]

Is it just me, or is there some major tension between Mannix and Peggy? They seem less than friendly with each other. I mean, she basically screams at him to make his own coffee. The whole episode, it seems almost like she's on the "bad guys'" side.

Starring Joe's Apartment

[miketypeeach · 3/10 · 11 May 2019]

If you like the look and feel of Joe's upstairs apartment as much as I do, then you're in for a treat. If you like an episode viewed from the perspective of a man out of his mind, this episode is for you. If, however, you're looking forward to a Mannix episode you're accustomed to seeing, you're in for a shock.

In this, the first season of the former Intertect detective, Peggy refers to her boss as Mr. Mannix. She and Joe are at the beginning of their professional relationship, and it plays very well. Joe is exceptionally excitable in this episode, which is quite the change of pace. Perhaps because of it, the client is forced to crack the case. Poor, bewildered Joe fails to solve the mystery yet again.

My love of beautiful Peggy and Joe's apartment aside, this episode was a disappointment. Imagine watching a show while riding a roller coaster. Yeah, it was that awful. Add in the horrible script, and you're in for a mere trip down television's late-sixties memory lane, and little else. John Colicos was miscast, and that's an end of it.

Weak, Overly Emotional, Poor Ending

[samwa-27311 · 5/10 · 7 January 2020]

I agree with the reviewer of three stars.

I couldn't believe the script. Terrible, especially that of the man coming out of prison.

Not the slightest epilogue.

But the ending, just leaves the viewer hanging.

I have decided that, beginning about episode 18 from Season 2, is when the series got good, not before.