By the end of the 1960s detectives were pushing cowboys off prime time. One of the characteristic and longest running of the era's TV detective series, “Mannix” (1967-75), is gradually being issued on DVD. Just out, “Mannix: The Seventh Season” includes six discs with 24 episodes from the 1973 era. Played by the ruggedly handsome Mike Connors, Mannix was a soft touch under a hard shell, fast with his revolver and his fists (and behind the wheel of his sporty car as if riding the high hats of the jazz soundtrack). He had a cool office-pad in a Spanish colonial building in LA with a glass of whiskey always ready for clients. The plots were a thin support for the reason most viewers tuned in: the character of Joe Mannix, a tough guy with a believable streak of humanity.
