Now its Manimal Getting the Reboot Treatment
Steve Barton
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The Hollywood Reporter
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/manimal-tv-series-movie-sony-animation-370769
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In news that’s sure to make our own Foywonder dance a quick Electric Slide, it appears that the truly awful yet strangely beloved television series “Manimal” is next in line to get on the remake train. Yes, you read that right – “Manimal.”
The puzzling news comes from THR, which reports whtat Sony Pictures Animation has picked up the movie rights to “Manimal,” a short-lived television series that aired on NBC in the early 1980s, and is developing the project as a live action/CG hybrid film.
Glen A. Larson, one of the most prolific TV producers of the 80s (“Magnum P.I.,” “Knight Rider”, “Battlestar Galactica”), created the show and is attached as a producer on the feature.
“Manimal” followed Dr. Jonathan Chase, a wealthy doctor with a mysterious past, who morphed into animals in order to help the police fight crime. The show, which starred Simon McCorkindale and Melody Anderson (who played Dale Arden in the 1980 Flash Gordon movie), was slaughtered by critics and trounced when it aired in 1983 opposite “Dallas,” then a ratings juggernaut. It was cancelled after just eight episodes.
But the show was campy – Chase turned into a black panther in every episode – and developed a cult following even as it became a punchline. It aired during a pre-Must See TV time at NBC when the network was experimenting with high-concept fare such as “The A-Team” to see what would stick.
More as it comes. Until then we eagerly await the return of “Wish Man.”
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