Being a season 1 Mannix fan can get lonely, since most everyone and their dog prefer to ignore season 1 and Lew in favor of seasons 2-8 and Peggy. I love all of those elements too, but there's a special place in my heart for season 1 and Lew. Imagine my overjoyed state to discover a really awesome writer wrote a story set in pre-season 1, with tons of wonderful Lew!
The story, Slippery When Wet by BJ Thompson, is available at https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11599104/1/Slippery-When-Wet and can't be praised enough. I especially love her very human and three-dimensional characterizations of both Joe Mannix and Lew Wickersham. They are very fleshed-out in ways that ring true with the series and feel very real, from their dialogue to their motivations. They are friends as well as boss and employee and that comes through beautifully.
One interesting thing the author attempts to explain is why Lew is often with Joe on his cases in season 1, instead of just staying in his office and letting things play out without him. She proposes a backstory where Joe has lost his license due to trouble on a past case and the only way he can get it back is to work for Lew for two years, with Lew in sort of a probation officer role. When Joe is such a wild card in need of supervision, Lew definitely has his hands full.
While I find the idea intriguing, and definitely enjoy it in the context of the story, I'm not sure I can say it fits with the canon of season 1, either up front or behind the scenes. Let's examine why.
At various times during season 1, Joe threatens to leave Intertect. On one occasion, Joe speaks of it as approximately, "Someday, Lew, someday I'm going to leave here and open my own detective agency." Although I don't recall the exact wording or the episode, he definitely doesn't sound as though he has been on his own before. He sounds as though he has only ever worked under others.
The story, Slippery When Wet by BJ Thompson, is available at https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11599104/1/Slippery-When-Wet and can't be praised enough. I especially love her very human and three-dimensional characterizations of both Joe Mannix and Lew Wickersham. They are very fleshed-out in ways that ring true with the series and feel very real, from their dialogue to their motivations. They are friends as well as boss and employee and that comes through beautifully.
One interesting thing the author attempts to explain is why Lew is often with Joe on his cases in season 1, instead of just staying in his office and letting things play out without him. She proposes a backstory where Joe has lost his license due to trouble on a past case and the only way he can get it back is to work for Lew for two years, with Lew in sort of a probation officer role. When Joe is such a wild card in need of supervision, Lew definitely has his hands full.
While I find the idea intriguing, and definitely enjoy it in the context of the story, I'm not sure I can say it fits with the canon of season 1, either up front or behind the scenes. Let's examine why.
At various times during season 1, Joe threatens to leave Intertect. On one occasion, Joe speaks of it as approximately, "Someday, Lew, someday I'm going to leave here and open my own detective agency." Although I don't recall the exact wording or the episode, he definitely doesn't sound as though he has been on his own before. He sounds as though he has only ever worked under others.
While Joe is totally often in trouble and creates havoc at Intertect, there is no mention of there being a problem with him going out on his own. In fact, in You Can Get Killed Out There, Joe really does quit and leave. Lew doesn't tell him he can't go because he has to stay on probation, so to speak. Joe seems to be perfectly free to leave Intertect any time he wishes.
Of course, this could be explained as Joe deciding to stay on after the probation period is up, for some reason, and that by the later season 1 episodes there is no more probation. In any case, he clearly doesn't need to stay with Lew to finish getting his mandatory three years of working under someone before striking out on his own. Most likely, he did this under the Harry Forrest character introduced in season 8 as Joe's mentor.
For some mysterious reason, in spite of Joe's dislike of technology reliance, he keeps staying on at Intertect. Within the context of the series, this is never explained. Behind the scenes, the truth is that while season 1 was in production, the crew never intended for Joe to leave Intertect and not come back. He would threaten to leave because he was a free spirit and because it created some level of tension, but he was always supposed to return at the end of the episode. Considering that Joe thinks Intertect is more machine than man and that rules are meant to be broken, it seems very odd that he continually returns (other than because the script required it).
Since he is apparently free to leave any time he wishes, it would seem to me that the only likely reason he remains is because of Lew. He likes Lew and he knows he is Lew's best agent. He doesn't want to let Lew down. But he wouldn't stay entirely for selfless reasons; he obviously wants to stay more than he wants to go, in spite of his threats. Something at Intertect holds that level of value to him. What could that be, if not Lew? He certainly doesn't have anywhere the same closeness with anyone else at Intertect. And he is confident in his abilities; he isn't staying because he worries he won't find clients on his own.
Perhaps, if there is any other reason Joe stays, it is because he's concerned about the cases that might not get solved if he wasn't there to shake things up and take them. Cases such as the little girl's happiness in Make It Like It Never Happened would not have been solved had Joe not been there to hear about it and agree to look into it.
On the other side of the coin, why doesn't Lew fire him and mean it, especially when Joe takes on cases that Lew would rather he left alone? Joe is always rehired if he's fired. In spite of the stress Joe causes Lew, Lew knows Joe is his best agent. Lew has an immense respect and trust for Joe and will listen when Joe has concerns or ideas about a particular case. More than once, Lew has also encouraged others to listen as well. He may despise some of Joe's methods with all his heart, but even then, he is willing to stick it out because he knows that if Joe thinks he is onto something, he very likely is.
That holds true for the cases Lew would ordinarily set aside, as well. Even if Lew is not initially interested in a case or feels it doesn't hold up to Intertect standards, he doesn't want any injustice to be done if they can prevent it. So he allows Joe a certain amount of latitude. If he is forced to fire Joe for straying too far from what he feels he can allow, he will rehire him after the case unfolds.
Lew would not let it govern everything he says and does, but it's also true that they are far more than boss and employee. It wouldn't be necessary to say it aloud for it to be known loud and clear, but in case the audience had any doubts, Lew and Joe both say in certain episodes that they are friends. In addition to worrying about what Joe's getting into because he's reckless and daring and could damage Intertect's reputation, Lew wouldn't want a friend to be hurt.
Lew really cares about the employees of Intertect. The thought that any of them would turn traitor is something he has a hard time accepting, as shown in Deadfall. His bad reaction to steroids makes the problem far, far worse, but judging from his scenes with Joe, the pills are bringing out his true feelings and twisting them and blowing them out of proportion. The things he screams at Joe are just more extreme versions of the things he says in other episodes. Therefore, even in his normal frame of mind, it is likely that he would find it difficult to accept an employee going rogue. With such deep-rooted caring for the people under his command, it isn't hard to fathom that he would come to the aid of any employee in a tough spot the same as he does many times for Joe. Therefore, although we only see him come to help Joe, it doesn't mean Joe is the only one he would go to bat for like that. It just means Joe is the main one who needs his help.
BJ Thompson feels that Lew would not be out in the field since he owns Intertect. This is a logical argument, but may not necessarily hold true in the fictional private eye world. Paul Drake on Perry Mason owns an apparently large detective agency with many operatives, yet he is not always chilling at his desk while they do all the work. He is usually in the field himself, on cases for Perry or others. Why not Lew as well? In at least one episode, You Can Get Killed Out There, Lew is in the field investigating when it isn't even an official Joe case anymore due to Joe quitting. And in Turn Every Stone, Lew joins an investigation at the request of the friend who needs Intertect's help.
So why does Lew often end up in the field with Joe? There doesn't seem to be just one answer, even in canon. He apparently still does field work, despite being the owner of the agency. He worries about the reckless, dangerous things Joe is getting into. He worries that Joe may create a huge mess and stick Intertect in the middle. He worries that his friend and employee will get himself hurt or killed.
Slippery When Wet is an amazing read and should not be ignored by any Mannix fan. But canon definitely seems to offer other reasons for Lew's interest in Joe's cases other than what Slippery When Wet suggests. Either way, however, both in season 1 and in Slippery When Wet, there is a treasure trove of material for the fans to enjoy. Perhaps another writer will even come up with yet another possible answer to these mysteries. That's what fanfiction is all about, anyway: exploring all possibilities, probable and improbable equally. I'm thrilled that there are Mannix writers eager to unravel the mysteries of the series and tell new stories about the characters. And even though I don't agree with BJ Thompson's explanation for why Lew often becomes involved in Joe's cases, I would read other stories by her about Lew in a heartbeat. She has set up a fascinating verse that I would love to see her play in some more. There just aren't enough Lew stories out there! It's a supreme treat to get one by such a master storyteller.
