A while back, I began watching all the "Mannix" episodes and I am midway through the sixth (of eight) season. "A Game of Shadows" is engaging and interesting but it also marks a low point in the series so far...and hopefully future episodes will be better written and will make a lot more sense!
The show begins with a man running off the property of his boss' estate--and when the boss' wife is then found dead, everyone seems to assume the guy who ran off is the murderer. However, his bright- eyed girlfriend (Meg Foster) hires Mannix and insists he's innocent...though she later admits that she hardly knows him. During the course of the investigation, Mannix uncovers that the man on the run has had multiple identities and is assumed dead! What's really going on in this case?!
Where to begin with the ridiculous improbabilities in this one?! First, Mannix has no clear evidence at all, just a theory as to who is the real murderer...and he gets the guy to quickly admit he was the real killer! Second, the back-story for the accused killer is just ludicrous...and more than strains the audience's ability to suspend disbelief--they'd need a head injury to believe it! Third, Mannix sees two evil baddies holding a gun on people two different times...and both times does NOT get help but yells "halt...I've got you covered!"...but what about the kidnap victims?! Why not just shoot the evil guys?! Why yell and give them a chance to kill their hostages or Mannix?!?! Huh?!?! The only things of any interest are seeing Natalie Schafer in a small role as well as the incredibly striking Marta Kristen in a post-"Lost in Space" role. Other than that, this one is just awful...but still oddly enjoyable despite its many logical flaws (several of which I haven't even listed).
The show begins with a man running off the property of his boss' estate--and when the boss' wife is then found dead, everyone seems to assume the guy who ran off is the murderer. However, his bright- eyed girlfriend (Meg Foster) hires Mannix and insists he's innocent...though she later admits that she hardly knows him. During the course of the investigation, Mannix uncovers that the man on the run has had multiple identities and is assumed dead! What's really going on in this case?!
Where to begin with the ridiculous improbabilities in this one?! First, Mannix has no clear evidence at all, just a theory as to who is the real murderer...and he gets the guy to quickly admit he was the real killer! Second, the back-story for the accused killer is just ludicrous...and more than strains the audience's ability to suspend disbelief--they'd need a head injury to believe it! Third, Mannix sees two evil baddies holding a gun on people two different times...and both times does NOT get help but yells "halt...I've got you covered!"...but what about the kidnap victims?! Why not just shoot the evil guys?! Why yell and give them a chance to kill their hostages or Mannix?!?! Huh?!?! The only things of any interest are seeing Natalie Schafer in a small role as well as the incredibly striking Marta Kristen in a post-"Lost in Space" role. Other than that, this one is just awful...but still oddly enjoyable despite its many logical flaws (several of which I haven't even listed).