Kim Manners 1950 – 2009
One of the most prolific and successful directors in the science-fiction genre, Kim Manners died on January 25th of complications from lung cancer
Manners was a long time exponent and defender of the genre, often speaking out over the industry’s apparent dismissal of sci-fi shows. “I directed 53 episodes of The X-Files and never had a nomination for an Emmy. We won 2 Golden Globes, we were never nominated for best drama Emmy. The people that run the TV industry truly think that this is just Sci-Fi nonsense. Today, if you’re not doing Desperate Housewives or some stupid legal show or a guy with a cane who’s running a hospital, you don’t have a ‘great’ show.”
His first directing gig was on Charlie’s Angels in 1979. He moved on to single episodes of shows such as Street Hawk, 21 Jump Street, Mission:Impossible and Baywatch. Manners directed the Star Trek TNG episode “When The Bough Breaks” in its first season, but it was as director and executive producer of The X Files that he will be remembered. “Kim had a blazing intensity that inspired everyone – writers, producers, actors and crew. ‘Kick it in the ass!’ he’d say to us. And ‘I love you,’ really meaning it. As long as he’d been a director, he never lost his passion for his work.” Says X-Files writer Frank Spotnitz.
In a fittingly weird tribute Jenson Ackles tells of the time that Manners braved a swarm of bees during the filming of the Supernatural episode Bugs (1.08). “He said “You know what if you guys do not have bee suits on, I’m not either.” And he went in there in shorts and a t-shirt and a monitor and sat down on a box and directed us from inside the room with bees crawling all over our faces. It’s that kind of relationship with Kim.”
His last directorial work was on the Supernatural episode Metamorphosis, which airs in the UK on February 1st on ITV 2.
Sample His Work
The X-Files - Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose
Manner’s pedigree in crime drama shines through in the brooding trudge towards the resolution of a multiple murder case involving psychics.
Supernatural - Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things
A masterful use of quick shocks played off against tension as Sam and Dean contend with a girl risen from the dead.
