Back in the early 1980s there seemed no end of genre shows on TV and I watched them all avidly. I didn’t realize it then, but many were created and produced by the same man: Glenn Larson, and he was particularly talented at creating shows that appealed to preteen boys.
In 1983 two of his shows started almost simultaneously: Manimal and Automan. I loved both at the time and remembered them fondly for decades. After being unavailable for many years, both recently received DVD collections and last week we binged them both.
Since they were produced by the same man at the same time, and shared writers and themes and screened more or less simultaneously, it seems appropriate to compare them. So which is better? Let’s see…
Minimal tells the story of Dr Jonathan Chase, wealthy English guy who can shape shift into any (?) animal. Naturally he uses his powers to solve crimes, and in the 8 episodes of the series thwarts the plans of the usual gangs of mobsters, industrialists, Kung fu bad guys and even nazis.
Chase is basically James Bond with the gadgets replaced with animal transformations. As the central gimmick of the show it is used frequently, only it is rarely necessary to the story and never pivotal. He could just as easily – and effectively – been an undercover MI5 agent (for instance).
After an overlong and weak pilot the show is quite charming and we enjoyed every episode. While it’s never explained where his powers come from – and in fact they’re rarely discussed at all – we do see Chase change into a large variety of beasts from cats to snakes to sharks to an elephant! The special effects were good in the day, and while poor are not distractingly so. The acting is very ’80s genre drama’ but still enjoyable.
Manimal was canceled due to poor ratings but as I said is a fun show. I think this one failed mostly because of its time slot and not due to inherent weakness in the production. I know as a kid I loved it and now I remember why!
Automan tells the story of programmer/policeman Walter Nebicher who creates a ‘holographic’ man named Automan (since he’s an ‘automatic man’). Automan has frankly ludicrous powers to essentially alter reality and is in essence a superhero. Naturally he uses his powers to assist Walter in fighting crime!
Automan was basically Tron on TV. The effects – which still impress today – boggled minds back in 1983 and was a factor in the shows huge success. Secondary to this were the fun stories (involving mobsters, industrialists, evil bikers, hackers etc.) and the likable characters. As a kid I loved watching Automan use his insane vehicles and powers to catch the bad guys, and I have to say it holds up well.
Automan only lasted one season (13 episodes). While it was a big success it was canceled apparently due to extremely high for the time production costs. Another blow to my preteen heart!
Both shows are good. Both were fun and I dare say we would have liked more episodes of each. But which is best? Let’s compare the three strengths of each:
Manimal
- Better lead character (Chase vs Walter)
- Cuter girls (a new one every week!)
- Impressive (but disturbing) transformation sequences
Automan
- Amazing special effects
- Ridiculous superhero powers
- Funnier by far (Automan is friends with ‘Zaxxon’)
The winner is… Automan! Of course it always was going to be, because the Tron influence coupled with a relatable superhero is an irresistible combination and one that I’m surprised hasn’t been reprised since.
Watch them both though; they’re great!