That bird will peck out your eye.

March 31, 2003 12:50 AM

Forget all this new reality claptrap. How about the good old eighties-style claptrap? Why do I remember Manimal so fondly?
[more inside]
posted by zaack (8 comments total)

Apparently it only lasted 8 episodes. I remember sitting in our upstairs TV room watching it in the dark by myself. I guess the rest of my family already knew it was a horrible show. Oh well.

Also, first post. Please criticize, try not to kill. Thanks!
posted by zaack at 12:51 AM on March 31, 2003

Being one of MeFi's longest-running dorks, I applaud your first contribution and wish to encourage you to do more of the same. (Boy, now you are really gonna get charbroiled...)

Of course, for the absolute best of the worst in '80s Sci Fi Tee Vee, my vote is for "Misfits of Science"!!! See Courtney Cox before "Friends", Max Wright before "Alf", and way too many young actors with three names (Dean Paul Martin Kevin Peter Hall Mark Thomas Miller)!!! Episode titles like "Your Place or Mayan?", "Sonar, Yet So Far", and the great LOST EPISODE: "Three Days of the Blender"... It was SUPPOSED to be "a teen-oriented adventure that set out to prove that outcasts could be TV heroes", but why, oh why, were all these 'outcasts' so damn pretty (both the male and female, and dig that perfect '80s hair!)?!?
posted by wendell at 1:32 AM on March 31, 2003

While I don't think I ever watched Manimal, I vividly remember the Letterman sketch in which Dave tries to shield a young Jimmy from the terrible news that Manimal had indeed been cancelled.

It's been discussed on previous threads that I'm too tired to search for now, but to me the best early '80s short-lived show was Whiz Kids. One of my To Do projects is to transfer some of the episodes I have on VHS to DVD. See Andrea Elson before "Alf"
posted by gluechunk at 1:45 AM on March 31, 2003

Manimal was one of my all-time favorites. Don't ask me why. It just was. I was seriously disappointed when it was cancelled.
posted by NsJen at 1:53 AM on March 31, 2003

I always assumed the Whiz Kids were mates with the BMX riding kids from ET, who were also related to the BMX Bandits. MIDI warning
Luckily Charles was in charge, so things always got resolved within the 24 minute mark.
Richie (Mattew Laborteaux, Whiz Kids) looks alot like Charles (Scott Baio) to me. Maybe they are related.
posted by asok at 3:33 AM on March 31, 2003

While I can't remember any of the plots or characters, I remember the show Manimal because the guy could and did turn into a black panther - easily the coolest animal in existence when I was kid.

The show sits comfortably alongside Automan in my head as a show that I was keen to watch as a kid but made little long-lasting impression.
posted by MUD at 5:33 AM on March 31, 2003

gluechunk:

The Letterman sketch you refer to was "They Took My Show Away", which was served up as a Letterman after school special. It was hilarious. It was summarized in an early eighties book about the Late Night show that I used to have. The book was really cheaply made, but great.

How far Letterman has fallen since those days.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 9:51 AM on March 31, 2003

I miss Airwolf. Any show that has both Jan-Michael Vincent AND Ernest Borgnine has gotta be quality television, super jet helicopter or no.
posted by Vidiot at 6:30 PM on March 31, 2003