This police drama/fantasy aired on NBC from September 30th, 1983 to December 31st, 1983. The cast included:
as Dr.
Jonathan Chase
as Brooke
McKenzie
as Ty
Earle (played by Glenn Turman in the pilot)
as Lt.
Nick Rivera
TV superheroes have had many tricks up their sleeves over the years, but Jonathan Chase was really different. He had the ability, inherited from his father in some faraway jungle, to turn himself into animals - all sorts of animals, from a pussycat to a black panther. To most people he appeared as a wealthy, cultured young professor who taught "animal behavioral sciences" at New York University. To the police, he was a valued consultant on the use of animals in criminolgy. But to criminals, he was a snarl in the night, the sudden hiss of a cobra, the cry of an observant hawk.
The transformations were at will, and dramatic; his breathing grew heavy, his hands began to show ripplies and contractions, his nose grew snouty, and whiskers and fangs began to emerge. All of this was seen in intriguing, unconnected close-ups.
Only two mortals knew of Chase's secret powers, his hip black helper, Ty Earle, with whom he had shared a few scrapes in Vietnam, and a pretty police detective named Brooke. Brooke had stumbled on his secret by accident, and now worked with him on cases. She also found he had a certain - well, animal magnetism, but nothing much came of their budding romance during the short run of this series. Instead, viewers were treated to a steady diet of coy remarks ("I was a real pussycat," "He's probably out catting around"), while the heavy breathing was reserved strictly for business.
Here are a couple of other sites that contain information about Manimal/Simon MacCorkindale:
Movies Here you'll find two movies of transformation scenes.
Counterstrike Homepage Includes an ep guide and fanfic.
Simon MacCorkindale Fan's Homepage Includes a detailed biography.
Mamimal FanFic Nice page with fanfic.
Manimal Ep Listing Includes Airdates.
Manimal Includes ep and cast lists.
Le Cas Manimal French page with nice pics, history, ep guide and more.
Internet Movie Datebase IMBD listing on the show.
Recently I obtained an item from Ebay. A British book from 1984 about Manimal called Manimal Annual. It contains bios of the stars, including some very good pics, two short comics, two pieces of fanfic, an article about Transmutation Around the World, and an article detailing the process for transforming Simon MacCorkindale into various animals called From Man to Animal.
I scanned the front of the book and the inside cover. If I can scan the other photos without damaging the book, I'll do so and add them to the site. Also, as time permits, I'll post the short stories and articles. Enjoy the following pics in the meantime!
The following images were captured from the episode "High Stakes". Jonathan helps a beautiful horse breeder prove that her kidnapped stallion is indeed still alive and being held by a rival breeder. Guest starring Tracey Scoggins as Kathy.
The Transformation Webring
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Thanks to Cinda Gillilan for providing me with copies of Manimal! Any comments or suggestions, contact me at karmilla@hom.net.
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