Mannix (TV Series) The Solid Gold Web (1969) User Reviews

Changing my tune

[glitterrose · 8/10 · 25 May 2022]

It's funny how I'm changing my tune in this episode. If I had reviewed it during an earlier viewing, my remarks and rating would fall right in line with what the other two reviewers are saying. I even groaned aloud when I saw which episode this was because I originally thought the actress playing Diana couldn't act her way out of a wet paper bag. But then I sat down and watched it anyway and I gained new appreciation for the actress and how she approached the role. The episode paints her out as having a drinking problem and I can break that performance down better than I could during earlier viewings. I think the actress is approaching the role more as being troubled than just a bunch of drunk performance cliches strung together.

I'm a very troubled person and going through yet another rough patch. I'm not drinking but it probably wouldn't take me much to go down that route. I definitely have the mood swings going on and basically feel like I'm trapped in a hole or cage. It's a very dark feeling and I'm sure you know how there's many layers to feeling as how I'm describing.

Diana's mind is being eaten alive because she thinks she hit a guy with her car. She didn't. The guy was already dead and was propped up to be hit. But the poor lady's driving herself nuts out of how guilty she feels.

Thankfully Diana had Joe around to help her solve what really happened. And I'll refrain from making my usual snarky comments of feeling all better because sexy Mannix touched her face and hair. No, he genuinely helped her to the point you can tell the character is healing by the end of the episode. And just a few scenes earlier had Joe rushing around to find her because he was afraid she was about to kill herself. Again, no catty remarks out of me for that. I realize this is a work of fiction but absolutely know just how dark things can get for somebody troubled---no matter what they're troubled about.

The end scene had Diana showing off a piece of art she'd drawn of Joe and thankfully it did look like Mike Connors instead of that last freakshow piece of artwork in another episode that made Joe look like a vampire about to suck all the blood out of the women he comes in contact with. So props to the artist that drew the art in this episode. I'm not sure if that person was credited but they should've gotten a credit if they didn't.

And I love the ending scene for another reason. It just keeps lining up with my theory of Mannix being written as a sex god. There's banter about nobody being able to catch Joe but Diana will certainly keep trying. You know Diana's right the first time since Diana's never seen or referenced again. Here's hoping she was able to sketch Joe in the nude so she could have a momento of that. ;) I'll finish this stream of thought by saying Mike Connors really looked sexy in this episode.

So yeah...try and give this episode a shot. It truly is an episode that could go either way. You might find it cringeworthy the way I used to feel about it or you might have the newer understanding I gained from watching it this time around.

JOE'S OLD FLAME, HIGH FLAME!

[tcchelsey · 9/10 · 25 May 2022]

Tribute to Sally Kellerman, who passed in 2022.

One thing you had better get used to with this series were the sudden appearance (and out of the blue!) of many of Joe's former gal pals. CANNON would have the same issues a few years later. Surprise!

That all said, there were an absolutely terrific line of actresses to play these roles. Case in point, Sally Kellerman, cast as Diana. She and Joe apparently had a relationship that went south, but now she desperately needs his help. Sutton Roley directed this episode and handled the cast well. He compiled a lengthy list of classic shows, such as MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and HAWAII FIVE O.

What also makes this story go is John Randolph, an unforgettable actor. Here, he plays Diana's father, an influential newspaper publisher --who thinks she's slowly losing her mind. There's a lot to throw into the mix, include some nasty characters Diana's involved with. This comes off as a noir, thanks to writer Ben Roberts, who also was the series producer. Roberts penned such movie classics as MIDNIGHT LACE and PORTRAIT IN BLACK with Lana Turner. The only critique here is that he made this story rather complex, so you have to watch it very carefully to connect the dots. It probably would have panned out smoother had it been a full length movie, get it?

I agree with the last reviewer, yet another episode where Joe should have gotten killed. If Ben Roberts wrote it, you know it's gonna' be tough.

The beach chase scene with Mannix chasing Diana, who is about to jump off a cliff, is outstanding, and well directed by Sutton Roley. Catch Whit Bissell, another fine actor, usually cast as doctors or businessmen, playing a chain-smoking ex-convict with an axe to grind. Veteran actor John Archer plays a judge.

You have to see Mannix in a bow tie and then you've seen it all. By the way, lots of drinking and smoking, 60s style.

Prior to this role, Sally Kellerman appeared in the BOSTON STRANGLER (1968), the next stop was stardom in M. A. S. H., and an Oscar nomination. At the time she was enormously popular on tv.

Nearing the end of SEASON 2. Episode 23 remastered CBS dvd box set.

Not that great

[Guad42 · 3/10 · 26 November 2020]

Sally Kellerman overacts. Whit Bissell is largely wasted. The crime is a bit too complicated to believe. Sally plays an old girlfriend of Joe's who gets into trouble when she might have killed his current boyfriend. Joe investigates and also gets re-involved with her. Not a very smart move considering she might be a murderer. She drinks too much and tries to commit suicide but Joe is there to save her. He figures out what happens and goes to the bad guy's house to confront him. (Why not the police? Joe has friends there.) Sure enough, Joe gets taken in a fight and the bad guys try to make his upcoming death look like he was hit while changing a tire. Joe recovers consciousness at a very convenient moment and takes out the two bad people. Why they didn't just shoot Joe and bury him is beyond me. The end is Sally admitting she can't catch Joe but will keep trying. They kiss and we never see Sally again. I guess she didn't try that hard but then nobody else in this episode did either.

Annoying to say the least!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 28 July 2013]

In the last few weeks, I have seen every episode of "Mannix" from the beginning until this one. While I really, really liked many of the programs (particularly the earlier ones), I must say that so far "The Solid Gold Web" is the worst. Heck, it's downright awful! It begins with a nasty guy slapping around his girlfriend, Diana (Sally Kellerman), at some party. No one seems to care and she soon runs off to get away from the creep. A bit later, she drives away and ends up running him over (actually, you could see it was a plastic dummy--thanks to some less than special effects). Now as far as most folks would see this, she did the world a favor. But, throughout the show, Diana emotes and emotes and emotes--like a beginning acting student. Mostly, she whines, gets drunk and then bellows....and it's certainly NOT one of Miss Kellerman's finer moments. I know she can act--so I assume the show's director bears some responsibility for this overwrought and downright silly performance.

I could try to explain the plot more--about the corrupt judge, Mr. Reeves and the like. However, after watching Kellerman's 'acting', I just didn't care. A very weak and whiny and silly episode. If they were all this bad, "Mannix" wouldn't have lasted eight seasons.