Did you mean at the time Die Hard was released - 1988 - season eight of Mannix wasn't being rerun? Or it has never been in syndication?Little Garwood wrote: ↑Sun Aug 01, 2021 11:39 pm Mannix “predicted” two future film classics:
To Kill a Memory (S6; Oct 29, 1972) is a bizarre, delightfully hallucinatory precursor to Apocalypse Now. This episode’s guest star, Martin Sheen, plays a Vietnam veteran in what could be a dress rehearsal for the Francis Ford Coppola film. Sheen's "Alex Lachlan" character even has a scene in which he's lying down and looking vacantly at the ceiling while blearily reciting dialogue. (Yes, I know Apocalypse Now is based on Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad).
The Empty Tower (S8; Feb 16, 1975) is a precursor to Die Hard, with Joe Mannix conducting actions against a heist gang who are robbing every office in an empty skyscraper. Well directed by Bill Bixby. It's unlikely--though not impossible--that the Die Hard producers ripped off this episode since S8 of Mannix is said to have never been aired in syndication.
I really enjoy seasons 6-8 the most, but the first year is fantastic, too. Actually, I like every season save for season 5, which, ironically, was the show’s highest rated season!
Along with the rest of season 8, "The Empty Tower" can be seen on MeTV.
Do you know if Mannix and Die Hard were produced by the same studio?
Because Hollywood has a history of poaching properties it already owns. For instance there is an episode of Cheyenne that was a shameless
remake of the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Now don't start chucking rocks at me fans of classic movies, but it was good, really good!
The New Mike Hammer with Stacy Keach raided the vaults to remake some of the greatest film noir ever for it's episodes.
Home Alone brazenly stole from the Bonanza episode "Walter and the Outlaws" and it's sequel episode.