‘Mannix’ was one of the most popular detective shows in the 1970s. It centered around the activities of Joe Mannix, who starts off with a detective agency and then eventually starts working alone with just a secretary to help him out.

The series spanned over eight years from 1967 to 1975. With as many as eight seasons, it was one of the most widely watched TV crime dramas of that time.

What happened in Season four of the show?

The fourth season was one of the most popular ones in the viewership history of the show, which displayed some serious ups and downs in the life of the ace detective who was also a crack shot. In this season, Joe is shown to have lost his memory after an incident.

So, what happened to Mannix on the 15th episode of the fourth season?

In the episode, titled, ‘What Happened to Sunday?’ Mannix suffers the aforementioned memory loss after meeting with an accident. He suffers a hard fall whilst being chased, and it’s a while before his memory slowly begins to return. As he returns to normal, he starts to remember a woman who was thrown to her death. And this gives rise to a new direction in the case he is handling. 

This episode, which aired on January 9, 1971, was directed by Paul Krasny and Frank Telford. The main cast of the show included Mike Connor as the titular character Joe Mannix and Gail Fisher as his secretary and love interest Peggy Fair.  

It was among the topmost-viewed TV shows of the time. With violence and gore being the main focus of many episodes, a lot of viewers found it distasteful, as well as the over-the-top ridiculousness where Joe hurts his head grievously in various ways and still manages to survive without any major or lasting impact. But overall, it is also remembered fondly by most elderly people who were the show’s ardent viewers at the time in which it aired. 

It certainly made its place among other contemporary crime dramas such as Columbo, Kojak, The Streets of San Francisco, and The Rockford Files. A few decades since the airing of the show’s last episode, some of its episodes still generate interest, giving rise to numerous questions about it on Q&A websites such as Quora. Give it a watch if you can!