By Owen Quinn author
Photos copyright Universal
I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.
In 1983 a a new type of hero never before seen hit our screens in the form of English actor Simon MacCorkindale as Doctor Jonathan Chase, a billionaire and a man with a dark secret. As a child he watched his father die only for the body to disappear Jedi Knight style. He left his son with a gem of wisdom. “My son you must have faith and learn. This is not the end. This is the beginning.”
Ok not the best parting words but Chase would travel to the deepest recesses of Africa and the peaks of Tibet and learn these dark secrets. One of these was how to bridge the gap between man and animal. By deep breathing and concentration he could turn himself into any animal you could think of. Using this ability he helps the police as a consultant until he meets officer Brooke MacKenzie (Melody Anderson) who discovers his secret. They form a partnership in which they flirt for all eight episodes of its short lived run. Making up the team is Chase’s best friend Ty (Michael D Roberts) who also provides the comedy relief.
Every animal transformation was anticipated like the Wonder Woman spin or Bruce Banner’s eye change heralding the arrival of the Hulk. While we never really knew how Chase was able to do this, it was impressive nonetheless. Simon MacCorkindale who went on to feature in Falcon Crest had a very distinctive face and shape. Academy Award winner Stan Winston created the transformation effects reminiscent of the Howling wolf. You would see Chase at midpoint of either his panther or hawk metamorphosis then cut to the real animal. This was in a time where effects were pushing the envelope to be better than before until the arrival of CGI. There is a lot to be said about practical effects.
John Carpenter’s The Thing was all practical effects and delivered a stunning movie with some of the most memorable monsters from the big screen never seen before. Jump forward to the prequel where both were used and you can clearly see the practicals are better than computer generated. Similarly when they did a CGI Pumpkinhead, it was woeful.
Manimal was not well received but again fell victim to network scheduling before being cancelled. However the show now has cult status. The stories bar a couple are pretty standard and logic as always where shapeshifters are concerned went out the window. Chase would change wearing clothes and when he turned back to human he was still wearing the clothes. At least the Hulk lost his shirt and shoes on more than one occasion. It was a similar problem with Maya from Space 1999 but not one for the gelatinous Odo from Deep Space 9.
Chase and his friends would deal with a wolf girl, a tiger accused of murder, Chinese mobsters threatening a neighbourhood, Russians, traitors, scrimshaws and falling from aeroplanes. Perhaps the best was Breath of the Dragon where a Chinese mobster was terrorising a neighbourhood and converting young peple to his cause as the Dragon. In this one Chase had to adapt the skills of the animal world and fight as a man to free the people from the Dragon. It is also the most hard hitting of them all and violent as an elderly man refuses to be intimidated and is set on fire along with his property. Logic fails here probably due the writers counting on kids watching the show as the man was up and about again in no time with minor burns. This was despite the fact he was engulfed and even Chase had trouble putting out the flames. Dialogue could be clunky as the show failed to find its own identity.
But ultimately Manimal failed due to having no money put into it. It was clear they were on sets rather than real buildings and a wall part cardboard was obvious when the bull smashed through it. It was also a show before its time with a huge idea that the times could not fully realise into a show that didn’t follow the standard formula. Chase would transform into a panther, hawk, snake, bull and a dolphin to name a few but not even Stan winston could come up with a human dolphin effect. There was no attempt to explore where Chase had gone and what other mad mysteries and secrets he discovered. We had a global playground here that went no further than the streets of New York. Why did his father vanish when he died? What did the cryptic message mean? Who were the tribe Chase was with when they witnessed his father’s death? Didn’t that freak him out and did he get the answer he needed?
Like Wakanda, Manimal had its very own mythology that was wasted completely.
if done today Manimal could be anything he wanted thanks to technology but alas 1983 was not the right time for him to be born. However the show did have its fans and MacCorkindale would return once more to the role of Manimal in an episode of Night Man. This time Chase returned as Night Man fought a time travelling Jack the Ripper. Chase now had a daughter who could also change into animals but this went against the original as Chase learned how to do this from someone. It wasn’t passed on through irradiated cells. Also all animal transformations here were CGI rather than practical. There a brief possibility of a new live action revival in 2012 but it never went ahead.
MacCorkindale rejected the role of Captain Archer in Enterprise but was one of the British actors tht paved the way for others in america alongside Joan Collins. He would die in October 2010 from cancer in London. He was a great actor that held your attention on screen. I personally liked the show despite its failings because there wasn’t a kid in the world that hasn’t seen it and done the animal transformation actions. You start breathing through your nose and mouth and stretch your hand out in front of you hoping it will bubble and became a panther’s pae or hawk talon. That’s why the kid in me will never die.
Manimal remains a victim of being born in the wrong time when television minds and money couldn’t handle such big ideas.
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