Manimal (30 Sep. 1983)

Jonathan Chase is a British college professor at New York University who has the unusual ability to transform into any kind of animal he wants. He decides to use his power to assist the New... See full summary »

Director:

Russ Mayberry

Writers:

Donald R. Boyle, Glen A. Larson

Stars:

Simon MacCorkindale, Melody Anderson, Reni Santoni

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Simon MacCorkindale	...	Dr. Jonathan Chase
Melody Anderson	...	Brooke MacKenzie
Reni Santoni	...	Lt. Nick Rivera
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ursula Andress	...	Karen Jade
Gerald Berns	...	Lt. Griggs
Lloyd Bochner	...	Jordon
Robert Carricart	...	Old man
James Carroll	...	Guard (as James Lough)
Avner Garbi	...	Sheik
Michael Gregory	...	Kramer
Del Hinkley
Ed Hooks
Wynn Irwin
Elias Jacob	...	Sheik
Terry Kiser

Storyline

Jonathan Chase is a British college professor at New York University who has the unusual ability to transform into any kind of animal he wants. He decides to use his power to assist the New York Police Department in solving unusual crimes, and in this series pilot, he teams up with cute cop Brooke and war buddy Ty to stop some terrorists from stealing a supply of toxic gas.

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Plot Keywords:

animal | police | nerve gas | tv series pilot | turns into animal | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1983 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 90 minute pilot, directed by Russ Mayberry, aired on NBC, on September 30, 1983, opposite CBS's "Dallas", a ratings juggernaut . "Manimal" was canceled after 8 episodes were broadcast. NBC had campaigned a pre-must see TV at NBC experimenting with sheer high concept fare as programming like "Knight Rider" and the "A Team" shows to see what would stick in their programming line-up. TV Guide ranked "Manimal" #15 on their list of 50 worst TV Shows of all time in 2002.

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Goofs

Whenever Jonathan turned into a bird his hands became talons. His feet should have turned into talons and his hands and arms to wings.

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Connections

Followed by Manimal (1983)

User Reviews

Best TV series

I remember watching this as a young kid and thinking it was one of the best shows on the earth but so many years on when i ask people about it they cant remember it at all. Just the idea of a man fighting crime by changing into different animals is amazing. The special effects if i remember correctly were really good for around that time and although people were going on about Knight Rider, Street Hawk, Airwolf and the likes this by far outclassed them on all fronts. I'm am glad that i have eventually found it so i can prove to all those people that doubted me it really was a program. Only if it was on general release to buy, if it is out there somewhere to buy could someone point me to a link?