Initially, I was skeptical of Joe being undercover as a heroin addict. They explain it well in that he is not addicted and was supposedly forced into it by bad guys. Story is straight forward with the only twist being who are the traitorous bad guys hiding among the good guys. With the use of makeup and skill, Mike Connors pulls off the addiction act rather well. As with most Mannix episodes, don't think about this one too much. Why did he need to "kill" Lt Malcolm. It was obviously a loyalty test but one that the good guys saw coming and so were prepared to easily fake it. It would be better to take Mannix along and have him watch while someone else shoots Malcolm. See if he can keep quiet through the whole thing. When you come right down to it, why do the bad guys need Joe at all? They can set up a heroin sale without him. When Lorna (Linda Evans) decides to run away, why does she need Joe? Just switch the money and go. She was going to leave Joe high and dry so clearly didn't want him around.
Great cast. I do think Don Gordon as the head bad guy was on autopilot a bit. I've seen him better. Roger Perry is good. Bill Fetcher as a bad guy is menacing. He always reminds me of James Coburn. Linda Evans is beautiful and in top form. Robert Ito is a doctor in on the plan. He's been a doctor on Mannix before and will move on to "Quincy" soon after this. Paul Carr is on hand so you know he is one of the bad guys, mostly because he is always one of the bad guys. For a change, he doesn't get killed, only wounded.
Of course, there is the usual Mannix trademark of superior shooting with a hand gun. Joe gets paid and Peggy must have gotten the time off so win-win here. Recommended viewing.
Great cast. I do think Don Gordon as the head bad guy was on autopilot a bit. I've seen him better. Roger Perry is good. Bill Fetcher as a bad guy is menacing. He always reminds me of James Coburn. Linda Evans is beautiful and in top form. Robert Ito is a doctor in on the plan. He's been a doctor on Mannix before and will move on to "Quincy" soon after this. Paul Carr is on hand so you know he is one of the bad guys, mostly because he is always one of the bad guys. For a change, he doesn't get killed, only wounded.
Of course, there is the usual Mannix trademark of superior shooting with a hand gun. Joe gets paid and Peggy must have gotten the time off so win-win here. Recommended viewing.