Manimal: Doctor Doolittle Meets Batman

Welcome to the glorious fever dream that was “Manimal,” the 1983 TV show that dared to ask, “What if Ace Ventura was a shape-shifter and took himself way too seriously?” Prepare for a wild ride through one of the most gloriously ridiculous concepts ever to grace the small screen.

Picture this: It’s the early ’80s. The cocaine is flowing, shoulder pads are at their zenith, and someone at NBC has just had an idea so crazy it just might work (Narrator: It didn’t). Enter “Manimal,” a show about Dr. Jonathan Chase, a wealthy, dashing criminologist who fights crime by turning into animals. Yes, you read that right. Our hero’s superpower is basically the world’s most elaborate cosplay.

Dr. Chase, played with straight-faced earnestness by Simon MacCorkindale, can transform into any animal he chooses. But because this is network television and the effects budget was apparently blown on hair gel, he mostly sticks to a black panther and a hawk. Occasionally, when the plot demands it, he’ll turn into a snake or a bear, but let’s be real – those transformations probably looked like someone wiggling around under a carpet.

Now, let’s talk about these transformations. In an era before CGI, the show relied on what can only be described as “ambitious” practical effects. Picture close-up shots of hands growing fur, noses elongating into snouts, and ears pointy-ing up, all set to a soundtrack that sounds like someone sat on a synthesizer. It’s like watching a werewolf movie in fast-forward, if the werewolf was really, really into it.

The beauty of “Manimal” was its commitment to its utterly bonkers premise. This wasn’t a show that winked at the audience or acknowledged its own absurdity. No, sir. “Manimal” played it straight, treating each ludicrous plot with the gravity of a Shakespearean drama.

The transformation sequences were so iconic (read: hilariously over-the-top) that they were reused in almost every episode. It’s as if the producers said, “We paid for these effects, and by god, we’re going to use them until the film wears out!”

Each week, Dr. Chase would team up with his sidekicks – because every shape-shifting crime fighter needs sidekicks – to solve crimes that somehow always required turning into an animal. Bank robbery? Time to become a panther! Smuggling ring? Better fly in as a hawk! It’s like the writers had a dartboard with crimes on one side and animals on the other and just went to town.

The beauty of “Manimal” was its commitment to its utterly bonkers premise. This wasn’t a show that winked at the audience or acknowledged its own absurdity. No, sir. “Manimal” played it straight, treating each ludicrous plot with the gravity of a Shakespearean drama. It’s as if everyone involved collectively decided, “If we believe hard enough, the audience will too.”

“Manimal” aired for a grand total of eight episodes before NBC, in a rare moment of clarity, put it out of its misery. But like all great terrible things, it refused to die. The show has since achieved cult status, remembered fondly by those who witnessed its brief, glorious run and discovered with jaw-dropping awe by later generations.

In the years since, “Manimal” has become shorthand for ambitious failure in TV circles. It’s the show executives whisper about in hushed tones, a cautionary tale of what happens when high concept meets low budget. But for fans of the gloriously weird and wonderful, “Manimal” remains a shining example of a time when television wasn’t afraid to be absolutely, unabashedly bananas.

In the end, “Manimal” was a beautiful disaster, a glorious miscalculation that somehow made it past every level of network approval. It’s a reminder of a simpler time, when a man turning into a panther to solve crimes didn’t seem any more outlandish than a talking car or an alien living with a suburban family.

So here’s to you, “Manimal.” May your transformations forever remain etched in our memories, your plots forever incomprehensible, and your theme song forever stuck in our heads. In a world of peak TV and prestige dramas, sometimes we need to remember the shows that dared to be dumb, that reached for the stars and face-planted spectacularly.

After all, in the wise words of Dr. Jonathan Chase himself, “I have the ability to transform myself into any animal I choose.” And “Manimal” chose to transform itself into televised chaos of the highest order. Bravo, you beautiful, shape-shifting disaster. Bravo.