Remembering Manimal: Classic TV show starring JAWS 3D's Simon MacCorkindale
It may have only lasted a meagre eight episodes but for a generation Simon MacCorkindale will forever by associated with his role in Manimal, surely the greatest word ever created.
Manimal first aired in September 1983 and was created by Glen A. Larson, the mastermind behind other hit TV shows like Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider.
MacCorkindale, who were it not for his poor eyesight was destined for a career in the RAF, instead took flight in another guise, as Dr Jonathon Chase, who took to fighting crime in his human form or that of a panther, falcon or indeed snake, all of which he could magically transform into.
MacCorkindale - who also starred in JAWS 3D the same year - brought a sense of charm and charisma to the role that made him instantly likable and relatable. He was able to perfectly balance the dramatic and action-packed elements of the show, making him the ideal debonair leading man for the series. He even changed into a shark in one episode!
Think one part The Phantom, his dad passes on his powers on his deathbed in deepest darkest Africa, and another The Incredible Hulk and you are part way there, certainly a far cry from All Creatures Great and Small this was crime fighting with cat-itude. Of course being early 80s TV you only got one or two transformations an episode and these were all shown using the same stock footage.
Saying that, for its time and limited budget, it was all pretty memorable and is no surprise to find that Stan Winston had a hand in the creature effects, who famously created the special effects for Aliens, Predator, The Terminator and the T-Rex in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.
Winston used a combination of practical and optical effects to create the stunning transformation sequences that captivated audiences. The special effects team used prosthetics and makeup to bring the animal forms to life, while advanced optical effects were used to seamlessly integrate the animal forms into the live-action shots.
And it was the transformations that you watched it for as the crime fighting itself could have been lifted from any number of similar shows at time, such as Knight Rider, Street Hawk or Auto Man, but Manimal had the edge with its An American Werewolf in London-esque change sequences that thrilled my eight year old self, no matter how many times I had seen them, no matter that they were shown in the titles every week, which had some great visuals and an eternally catchy theme.
I loved the way that the skin on the hands pulsated, almost as if it was breathing, and the way claws would sprout and faces stretch, making Bill Bixby’s green contact lenses and Lou Ferrigno’s clothes bursting seem tame by comparison. Cue lots of Manimal transformation sequences re-enacted in the school playground!
MacCorkindale’s last major role was that of Harry Harper in Casualty but he never seemed to shrug off the Manimal side of him with appearances in Falcon Crest, lunch in Jaws 3D, Wing Commander and The Dinosaur Hunter.
He also made appearances in other genre fare such as Earth: Final Conflict, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Harsh Realm and Relic Hunter. Famously though, he also reappeared as Dr Jonathon Chase one last time in Night Man in 1998, if only he’d done that in Casualty! That would have quite literally put the cat among the pigeons.
MacCorkindale – who had one of the grisliest deaths in the whole of the JAWS series – died in October 2010, after a four year cancer battle, aged just 58.
Words by Dean Newman
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