Manimal The Complete Series (1983) {DVD Review}

Reviewed By Jason S. Lockard

Early attempts at superhero TV series were hit and miss! For every good one there was 2 or 3 less than stellar attempts! One series that didn't quite seem to resonate with audiences was Manimal! But now thank to the folks at Shout Factory we all can own this series on DVD!

Manimal follows Dr. Jonathan Chase (Simon MacCorkindale), famed Professor of Criminology, with the inherited powers to transform himself into any animal he wishes, uses that power to assist the New York Police Department in solving major crimes. He is assisted by Brooke McKenzie (Melody Anderson), an intelligent and beautiful detective with the NYPD, and Tyrone Earl (Michael D. Roberts), a former intelligence officer with whom he served in Vietnam.

The 3 disc DVD set contains the entire short lived TV series!
Disc One: Manimal (TV Movie ) /  Illusion / Night of the Scorpion
Disc Two:  Female of the Species /  High Stakes /  Scrimshaw
Disc Three:  Breath of the Dragon /  Night of the Beast

The video is presented in 1.33.1 full frame, just as it should be. The audio is on Dolby Digital 2.0. And the bonus features include Man to Animal: An Interview with Glen A. Larson, concept & production notes written in 1983, Biographies, Galleries, Shout Factory's trailer for Automan, and that 20-page episode guide booklet.

My analysis of  this series is it is cool! Some of the special effects of the transformations are a little dated and seem to take forever to complete! But all in all it is something different from the typical 80s cop shows.

If you'd like to check out this short lived TV series head over to www.Amazon.com!

Moral Rating: Mild violence
Audience: Teens and Adults
Length: 420 Minutes
DVD Release: 2015
DVD Rating: C