Shark Bytes

I only watched this show for the sheer beauty of the its star: Simon MacCorkindale!!! I could just stare at him while he sleeps, smokes, breathes...Um, I have to go now....

The concept (a crimefighter can turn into any kind of animal to catch the bad guys) was hokey, but could've worked on a little-kid comic book level, if not for two factors:

1. The budget only allowed him to change into two animals...a hawk and a panther.

2. The early time slot meant that there could be little to no violence.

Hence, Manimal is the riveting tale of a man who chases down criminals by turning into a hawk...that flies away. Or turning into a panther...that stares into the camera.

Not exactly compelling television.

I waited during every episode to see him turn into a horse.even though they only ever showed him morph into a bird or cat. my 8 year old horse crazy brain was pretty p#@!ed off and I never watched again.

Good ol' Glen Larson. His shows could be really hokey. However, they have a certain nostalgic charm becuase they remind me of my middle school years. Yeah..Manimal wasn't great, but it probably beats some of the reality TV that's on nowadays. I think its big mistake was giving him the ability to turn into any animal, when the budget only allowed him to turn into a hawk or panther on a regular basis. Maybe if those had been the only animals his character was able to change to, it may have made for more believability (if that's possible with this kind of show). Oh well...it was 1983.

Good ol' Glen Larson. His shows could be really hokey. However, they have a certain nostalgic charm becuase they remind me of my middle school years. Yeah..Manimal wasn't great, but it probably beats some of the reality TV that's on nowadays. I think its big mistake was giving him the ability to turn into any animal, when the budget only allowed him to turn into a hawk or panther on a regular basis. Maybe if those had been the only animals his character was able to change to, it may have made for more believability (if that's possible with this kind of show). Oh well...it was 1983.

I remember watching this show back when I was 9.

I actually liked the show and wondered why it was cancelled.

I really didn;t think this show was any worse than Blue Thunder, Knight Rider or the Highway Man when you came right down to it.

I guess if i watched it now my view might be different.

This programme is sharkproof. Ever since the first episode (only one I've seen, that my dad taped off the TV), we had a bunch of awful actors beating bad guys by showing them scary animals so they faint. The storylines were clicheed and the episodes were just too damn long. And yet, when I was like four, I watched the pilot episode every day. If it had been good, I would have hated it. Its rubbishness was its greatest asset. Bring back Manimal, even if nobody watches it!

That some shows ever air troubles me. You know a lot of people are involved in green lighting a show. Not just an idiot writer, or perhaps team of writers. You have to con people into giving you money for this crap, and air time. Then you have to trick people into watching it. Scrips like this were why paper shreders were invented. Terrible, terrible, terrible. On the up side it gives you the mocking quote to throw at another man when he's making an ass of himself "He's not a man, he's not an animal,he's a MANIMAL". In closing I hope a lot of people got fired for putting this show on the air.

I remember those Letterman jokes. One in particular, which was in the form of a fill-in-the-blank question: "In his snake form, Manimal can only be stopped by ________?" The answer? "A Rake!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Obviously Manimal jumped from day one. The fact this show even made it past the boardrooms seems to indicate someone at NBC was a little to liquored up one day when he approved production of this crap. I always thought the best part of the show wasn't the morphing, but rather William Conrad (or some ripoff) saying MAN-I-MAL at the commercial breaks. It's been good hear ol' Bill when this was on Sci-Fi channel. At least Simon MacCorkindale moved on the producing "Relic Hunter" with Tia Carrere.

When did it jump the shark? What does it even matter: the show was imbecilic right on the face of it, even to a 9-year-old. I really don’t remember anything but the bubbling vein – Boy, what a memorable show, huh. Although I do still snicker thinking of the deep voiced “NOW….Back to ….MANamal” In my house, that goofy word became a kind of a multi-function Swiss army knife for annoying each other. Like, for instance: (my brother): “Hey, who took the little needle thing that fits the end of the bike pump?” (me, deep voice): MANamal! (my ]brother): “C’mon! Seriously, who took th-“ (me, deep voice): MAAANamal! (my ]brother): “CUT THE S**T! Did YOU take it!!?” (me): no. (my ]brother): “DO YOU KNOW WHO USED IT LAST!?!!?” (me): yeah. (my ]brother): WHO!? (me, deep voice): MAAANamal! < brother chases me around the house at least 4 times>

The only moment I remember from this show is a shot of the bad guys, looking at pictures and figuring out that they were being followed by a bird. Huh?

At some point a woman was dangling over the edge of a cliff and Manimal turned into a snake to reach down for her but it seemed like it took about three days for him to change. The tension just wasn't there and if the woman could hold on for so long she didn't need Manimal. I know realistic could never describe such a show but there has to be some limit?

I believe that this show jumped the shark after the pilot movie. In the pilot, Manimal was an enigma, a man with the mystic ability to turn into any animal he wanted. I liked this enigmatic quality. However, when the first episode began the show turned away from the enigma and into farce. The scene that killed it for me was when McCorkindale, Melanie Griffith and his sidekick were splashed with mud when trying to hitch a ride.

Jumped the millisecond someone hatched the idea for this show. He should have morphed into a TRex and ate everyone & anything associated with this idiotic show - including the producers, directors, writers & stage hands. Anyone who's name is credited on this show should be banned from TV for life.