Mannix Odds Against Donald Jordan (1967–1975) Online

"The Odds Against Donald Jordan" is a pretty bad episode of "Mannix". The worst part, by far, is the ending--but the rest of it isn't up to the series' usual high standards.

The show begins with a man's sister paying Mannix to locate him. She's convinced SOMETHING bad has happened. However, no one seems to be giving Mannix a straight answer--and that's a HUGE problem with the film. EVERYONE lies to him and everyone bounces back and forth--seeming like a villain and like a friend to the missing guy (James Olson). This seemed really weak to me and NO ONE acted consistently during the show. But the ending was much worse. Instead of there being any crime (THERE IS NONE!!), Mannix talks to everyone like a social worker and they all chuckle and the episode ends! Aside from a nice guest performance by Joe Mantell, I just can't see much to like about this poorly written outing. Easy to skip. However, please don't think this show is indicative of the quality of the show--this is just a very weak outing, that is all.

As noted in an earlier review, "Odds Against Donald Jordan" was a bad episode of MANNIX and not at all representative of the series. It struck me as a rewrite of a MARCUS WELBY, MD script, but that series was still six months shy of premiering.

When Mannix brought Mrs. Jordan a hot dog on the Paradise Cove beach and she proceeded to bare her tortured soul while the camera lingered on seagulls and waves crashing I spotted a dorsal fin poking up out of the water. "No!" I cried, "This show is too good and too young to jump the shark!" Thankfully, no sharks were jumped that day, but there was blood in the water.

The plot was a stinker and wholly uncompelling. James Olson played Donald Jordan, a compulsive gambler who is in a very bad place--in the hole $50,000 with mobster loan sharks. After a couple torpedoes shake him down, Donald flees, and his concerned sister hires Mannix to locate him. Mannix's investigation is stymied, however, by Donald's sister, his wife, and his best friend and business partner who each mislead Mannix with lies and red herrings. Turns out they're trying to help Donald by covering up for him, even loaning him money that he immediately gambles away.

Rivalling the shark-circling beach scene is the conclusion where Mannix stages what A&E would later market as an "intervention" by gathering Donald and his family and friends in a "circle of love." Mannix calls out Donald's loved ones for enabling his compulsion, and encourages them to help Donald overcome his addiction. Mannix, auditioning for Roy Thinnes' role on THE PSYCHIATRIST, even persuades Mrs. Jordan in a sotto voce tete-a-tete to stay married to Donald, gently laying a guilt trip on her that Donald won't be able to get better without her. Yeesh--this is a MANNIX episode?

As much as I disliked the story, I still gave it a 6-star rating. So what was good about the episode? First and foremost, Joe Mantell as Alby Loos, the number two private eye who's always trying harder. He brings a lot of lighthearted moments to his guest appearances and is a perfect foil to Joe. I loved how Alby was "interrogating" the torpedoes by laying on the floor in a tipped-over chair. Second, Timothy Carey in his short scene as Moose, the hardest working do-nothing flower child south of Haight Ashbury. Third, Susan Oliver, beloved as Vina by all STAR TREK fans, and she looks as beautiful here as she did in "The Cage." Fourth and finally, King Moody--Schtarker on GET SMART--as the charming mobster O'Keefe.

Paul Winfield was also good in his role as Donald's friend and business partner Walter Lucas. He had a good scene where he tries, albeit impotently, to help Donald by not placing his bets, and only incurs Donald's wrath. James Olson plays Donald as a nervous, sweaty, agitated man and does fine, but I've seen him in better roles. Nan Martin plays the eccentric cat lady sister to Donald. I recently saw Martin play Julie's Mom in the "Hello, Mother, My Name is Julie" episode of THE MOD SQUAD that aired just over a month before this episode of MANNIX. She played the same brittle and emotionally fragile woman in both shows, blind to reality, dedicated to cover up, and willfully ignorant of inconvenient truths. She plays that role well, though her character didn't evoke the same sympathy that Susan Oliver did as the long-suffering wife.

Am I the only guy who, when seeing the blond-haired torpedo with sunglasses, thought it was Ilya Kuryakin? I did, but just for a surreal second or two.

I would file "Odds Against Donald Jordan" under ambitious failure, along with Steve Ihnat's "End Game" from a couple weeks ago. Both were ill-conceived attempts to move the show away from being a detective drama--and both failed. MANNIX had a mandate to deliver detective drama, and when it did nobody did it better.