Manimal

Manimal
Genre	Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Created by	Glen A. Larson; Donald R. Boyle
Written by	Michael Berk; Larry Brody; Sam Egan; Joseph Gunn; Paul Mason; Douglas Schwartz
Directed by	Chuck Bail; Georg Fenady; Daniel Haller; Sidney Hayers; Leslie H. Martinson; Russ Mayberry
Starring	Simon MacCorkindale; Melody Anderson; Michael D. Roberts
Narrated by	William Conrad
Theme music composer	Paul Chihara
Opening theme	"Manimal"
Composer(s)	Paul Chihara (pilot); Alan Silvestri (all other episodes)
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producer(s)	Glen A. Larson; Paul Mason
Running time	45 min
Production company(s)	20th Century Fox Television; Glen A. Larson Productions
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	September 30, 1983 – December 17, 1983

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Manimal is an American action–adventure series that ran from September 30 to December 17, 1983 on NBC. The show centers on the character Dr Jonathan Chase (Simon MacCorkindale), a shape-shifting man who possessed the ability to turn himself into any animal he chose. He used this ability to help the police solve crimes.

[edit] Opening narration

For every episode except the pilot, actor William Conrad recites the opening narration that tells of Chase's wealthy present life and his early days in Africa with his missionary father.

“

Dr Jonathan Chase... wealthy, young, handsome. A man with the brightest of futures. A man with the darkest of pasts. From Africa's deepest recesses, to the rarefied peaks of Tibet, heir to his father's legacy and the world's darkest mysteries. Jonathan Chase, master of the secrets that divide man from animal, animal from man... Manimal!

”

[edit] Overview

Manimal premiered as a 90-minute pilot that aired on September 30, 1983. The series featured the story of Dr Jonathan Chase, a shape-shifter who could turn himself into any animal he chose, and used this ability to help fight crime. Only two people were aware of Jonathan's secret, his friend Ty Earl and Police Detective Brooke Mackenzie. Jonathan and Ty would assist Brooke with a case she was working on, with Jonathan transforming himself into an animal when it became useful.

While Jonathan had the ability to change himself into any animal, he would transform into a hawk and a black panther in nearly every episode. In some episodes, he would transform into a third animal, such as a horse, dolphin, or bull, with the transformation taking place offscreen, though once he was shown becoming a snake. The transformation sequences were designed and created by the Academy Award-winning SFX artist Stan Winston. Another aspect of the transformations that added to the show's camp factor involved Dr. Chase's clothing during a transformation: He was depicted generally wearing a three-piece suit and tie, and the viewer would see it rip off of him as he shape-shifted into an animal, though once the transformation was complete there would be no sign of his discarded clothing. A bit later, he would transform back into human form with all of his clothing perfectly restored upon his person, even if he was unconscious.

[edit] Cast

Simon MacCorkindale - Dr. Jonathan Chase
Melody Anderson - Brooke Mackenzie
Michael D. Roberts - Tyrone "Ty" C. Earl
Reni Santoni - Lt. Nick Rivera
William Conrad - Narrator (opening scene)
Glynn Turman - Tyrone "Ty" C. Earl (pilot episode)
Jack Greer - Young Jonathan Chase (pilot episode)

[edit] Reception and cancellation

Manimal was scheduled opposite CBS's popular soap opera Dallas, and was cancelled after eight episodes due to low ratings. However, Manimal was very popular in a number of other countries where it was broadcast.^{[citation needed]}

Manimal was a part of NBC's 1983 fall line-up which also featured eight other series that were cancelled before their first seasons ended (including Jennifer Slept Here, Bay City Blues, and We Got it Made).^[1]

TV Guide ranked Manimal number 15 on their list of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time in 2002.

[edit] Episode list

PC = Production code.

№	Title	Airdate	PC
1	"Manimal"	September 30, 1983 (1983-09-30)	101
90-minute pilot: When a group of thieves devise a plan to hijack a shipment of nerve gas, Detective Brooke Mackenzie must stop them. She teams up with Dr. Jonathan Chase, a man that knows the secrets that divide man and animal and who is trained in an African technique that allows him to change into different animal forms. Special Guest Stars: Ursula Andress as Karen Jade and Ed Lauter as Colonel Hunt
2	"Illusion"	October 14, 1983 (1983-10-14)	102
A Bulgarian ambassador hides behind his immunity status to smuggle illegal goods into the country. Special Guest Star: Richard Lynch as Zoltan Gregory
3	"Night of the Scorpion"	October 21, 1983 (1983-10-21)	103
While being interrogated by Russian agents about the location of a list, a man dies from a truth serum drug. A note and $2 million dollars are left to his daughter, Terry. Jonathan, Brooke and Ty must protect Terry while trying to locate the list before the Russian agents do.
4	"Female of the Species"	October 28, 1983 (1983-10-28)	104
After a girl is found living with wolves in the forests of Sultanpur^{[disambiguation needed ]}, India, she is the topic of discussion at a local university where she is being held. When an attempt is made on her life, Jonathan takes her into his care and protection. Her identity must be found in order to discover who it is that is trying to kill her. Special Guest Star: Michael McGuire as Stanford Langly NOTE: This episode has an almost identical storyline to a 1986 episode of The Wizard titled "Endangered Species". Both episodes were written by Michael Berk and Douglas Schwartz.
5	"High Stakes"	November 4, 1983 (1983-11-04)	105
When a horse trainer recognizes her stolen horse in a race, Jonathan helps her try to recover it. Special Guest Star: David Sheiner as Sheldon Greentree NOTE: Dr. Chase alludes to the episode title at least three times. At the bar he says both, "The stakes seem high", and "These are some high stakes... almost too high." Later that night in the restaurant he remarks, from off camera, "How about those stakes back there? Pretty high, huh?".
6	"Scrimshaw"	December 3, 1983 (1983-12-03)	106
While at the beach, Jonathan and the others discover a scrimshaw (walrus tusk with carvings on it) in the clutches of a skeleton. They begin investigating at a local bar where they encounter someone who has been looking for it for their whole life. Special Guest Stars: Meeno Peluce as Corky Morgan and Keenan Wynn as Sea Dog Morgan
7	"Breath of the Dragon"	December 10, 1983 (1983-12-10)	107
Jonathan, Brooke and Ty must stop a criminal who extorts money from businesses in China Town while posing as a superstitious icon known as The Dragon. NOTE: In this episode, Walter Nebicher from Automan can be seen walking outside a Chinese restaurant. Both Manimal and Automan were filmed back-to-back with the same scene, at a different angle, appearing in an episode of Automan.
8	"Night of the Beast"	December 17, 1983 (1983-12-17)	108
While on a well-deserved vacation, Jonathan, Ty and Brooke get involved to thwart an attempt by a syndicate boss to illegally take over the town of Birch Hollow in order legalize gambling and build a large casino.

[edit] Night Man

Glen A. Larson, the creator, briefly resurrected the Jonathan Chase character for a crossover with his 1990s series Night Man. In that episode, Manimal's traditional, practical-effects transformation was abandoned in favor of a CGI sequence.