Mannix (TV Series) Search for a Whisper (1973) User Reviews

"Skid Marks" was indeed a "Dry Run"

[filmklassik · 8/10 · 4 February 2017]

Joe gets hired by a wealthy businessman (William Shatner) who's planning to run for governor. The guy wants Joe to investigate his background, to look for potential dirt that his enemies could use against him during the campaign.

Joe finds dirt, all right, and quickly finds himself in very hot water.

This is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the Season One episode "Skid Marks on a Dry Run." Difference is, this episode is better. It isn't as action packed or as violent as the earlier show, but it's much smarter, since most of the plot holes in "Dry Run" have been addressed and (for the most part) plastered over.

Props to producers Goff and Roberts for realizing the flaws in "Dry Run" and figuring out ways to fix them.

And perhaps not surprisingly, Connors is an even better actor here than he was in Season One.

Also, this episode has a welcome air of melancholy that the earlier episode lacked.

In short, this is the same story, done better.

One nagging question, though: Why retain the silly gimmick of the tracking device if it doesn't pay off at the end of the show? This made no sense to me.

Regardless, this was a very good episode.

A complete re-make from start to finish!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 8 January 2016]

In an unusual move to save money, this episode is an exact copy of a season 1 show! So, if you've seen "Skid Marks on a Dry Run", you've pretty much seen "Search for a Whisper"...so you might want to skip the remake.

When the show begins, a rich guy (William Shatner) approaches Mannix with a strange proposition. He wants Mannix to dig and dig and dig and see if he can find any dirt on a man. Mannix at first declines...this isn't the sort of stuff he is willing to do. However, when the guy tells him it's HIM, Mannix is intrigued. Apparently the rich guy is considering running for governor and wants to see what sort of things reporters and his enemies might find if they, too, look. Well, this idea certainly is ridiculous...and the viewer needs to suspend disbelief in order to watch what follows.

I scored the original "Mannix" episode a 9. Despite being far- fetched, it was exciting. This one is equally exciting...but hardly original so it loses a couple points.

Joe has pool shooting skills!

[Guad42 · 8/10 · 10 April 2021]

Over the course of the first six years of Mannix, we have learned Joe is a skilled pilot, star running back, great basketball player, judo instructor (although he never fights that way), and has demonstrated his deadly shooting skill on numerous occasions. Now we see he is a pool shark.

As pointed out, this is a repeat of a season 1 show but done better. An earlier show in this sixth season with Clu Gulager was a repeat of a season 2 show so Mannix is starting to slow down some. This doesn't detract from how good this outing is. A fine guest cast helps that out. Milton Selzer was on everything in the 60s and 70s and always brings his "A" game. Since he is a fellow detective down on his luck who is helping Mannix, I thought he was a dead man walking but his role is to make one major mistake but he is still alive at the end. Eddie Firestone is a down on his luck low life who gets dead, as he often does. Shatner is great as the client with a secret, a big one. Susan Flannery as the spouse has a bigger impact than the loyal wife usually has. Hard to see Yvonne Craig married to Noam Pitlik. She could do better. After Noam hits Mannix and Joe lets it slide, I thought we would see Joe get his revenge down the road but it didn't happen. Pitkin has a nice scene as an anguished husband. Pat Renella has the hitman role that Charlie Picerni often plays on the show. Does a good job with it. Phillip Pine plays the tough guy-in-charge role well. His scenes with Shatner reminded me the two worked together on a Star Trek episode years prior. Karen Carlson as the secretary Jennifer Holt is excellent.

High body count in this show. Unlike most episodes, the police do not roll in just as the action ends in order to make the arrests although it is set up that way. I guess they ran out of time. There are logic lapses as in why Shatner (and the Syndicate) hired Mannix to begin with. Lots of clients hire Mannix and then lie about the reasons why and they always regret it. You would think they would check out Joe's record and see he has a 100% success rate in solving cases. How Mannix jumped to Syndicate involvement is never explained.

Joe get smacked around a bit and doesn't get paid. The cast and the plot make this a good episode worth seeing even if you saw the original.

Fascinating Comparison

[jansutton-23877 · 8/10 · 20 December 2022]

Seldom do you get to see how an individual actor can shape a role without going to Hamlet or another classic play. Here we see distinct differences, and it's fascinating. Charles Drake is handsome and charming in the first version, as was William Shatner in the second. But Shatner adds a layer of vulnerability that underscores his love for his wife, and therefore makes his character more likeable. The real shocker though is the performance of Vincent Gardenia in the original as a secondary character whose wife is also endangered. It was an inspired performance, and Gardenia was given an extra scene to underscore his dilemna. Very interesting to have seen both versions.

A REPEAT, AND A COOL NEW TITLE!

[tcchelsey · 9/10 · 6 October 2022]

One of the best and most creative titles, minus one star.

The debit here, which is very unusual for the series, that "Search for a Whisper" is a remake of the very first episode? The story itself is intriguing, but it seemed the writers did not go for originality. It's strange why this was all done. Perhaps thinking viewers forgot the first episode. Hmmm?

The difference, if there is one, William Shatner replaces Paul Drake as the fabulously wealthy gentleman who wants Joe to dig up dirt --that may be used against him-- because he's considering a run for governor of California.

It would have been fascinating ONLY IF the producers recruited Ronald Reagan for the role, but he retired from acting nearly 10 years earlier. I am sure his name was bantered about, though. Ya think?

Shatner, as always, is fun to watch with the usual Mister Nice guy look, yet appears he's hiding something, a role he played many times on such shows as COLUMBO and BARNABY JONES. Pretty Yvonne Craig, fondly remembered as tv's BATGIRL, a very good actress, guest stars. Yvonne said no matter what she did in her career, BATGIRL followed her everywhere, though she eventually became a cult figure at BATMAN conventions. Also with Susan Flannery, and two supreme dramatic actors, Milton Selzer and all purpose Eddie Firestone, best in shifty roles.

One thing to note, compared to the 1967 episode, Joe Mannix is a lot cooler, a better dresser, and he's got the Dodge! We kids of the 70s loved it, still do.

Give it a watch, as you can never go wrong with Bill Shatner. He's the show here. SEASON 6 EPISODE 21. Remastered/color CBS dvd box set. 6 dvds. Same set style as CANNON.

Shatner's one single guest shot on Mannix is much too small

[belanger75 · 6/10 · 24 August 2019]

For years Star Trek legend William Shatner made his cult series right next door to the set of Mannix. But in spite of that he did not actually guest star on Mannix till almost four years after ST bit the dust. Now to this ep itself. He plays a candidate who asks Mannix to dig up any dirt on his ( the candidate's) past. His guest character is more referred to than actually seen and that is a shame because he does great in it when he is seen. The rest of the guest cast is excellent as well ( including a great modest performance by beautiful 'Batgirl' herself), the story is superb (despite being both slightly too heavily plotted as well being a remake of a much earlier Mannix) but Shat's mostly absence from it crushes its value too much. The character should have been played by a lesser guest star and Shat should have guessed in a different ep. Where he could have had a larger role.

A double whammy - a total retread of a bad episode

[pkfloydmh · 1/10 · 21 November 2021]

This is obviously just a scene by scene and line by line remake of the terrible Skid Marks on a Dry Run episode from season one. The plot doesn't make any sense and I didn't like the original episode and certainly don't like this one.

This is just a throwaway episode and it can be skipped.