I'm a huge mystery show fan, a MEGA fan of stories involving people turning into animals, so when I found out there was a series combining the two, I wanted to watch it, and I'm going to say overall, I was impressed. First off, the transformation scenes look EXCELLENT! Practical special effects have an edge over the most complicated CGI, and they really work to the series's advantage. Second, the actors' performances are all good, at the very least. And that's saying a lot since the actors don't have too much to worm with. While there are those occasional lines that make you think "why couldn't this have more emotion in it" those are few and far between. The show isn't actually as cheesy as people make it out to be. There are a couple of elements that are in the "Cheddar Zone," but those are easily ignorable. My only real complaint is that the main character's backstory isn't really explored until the "Nightman" crossover episode, and even then it's only barely penetrated. Speaking of which, the "Manimal/Nightman" Crossover episode is fantastic. It really delves into what the series could have been and taps pretty deep into the potential a story like this could have been. Even though the announced film reboot of this series is most likely going to be a comedy, I seriously hope Will Ferrel and Dan Aykyroid take some cues from this episode and do a "Stranger than Fiction" type story (in other words, a comedy with dramatic elements). Now, one question remains, is the show appropriate? I'm going to say, in this case, yes, but not for kids. There is quite a bit of perilous violence, a few lines and scenes with some mild innuendo, and some swear words (mostly d's and h's, with one use of a word with some mild innuendo to it). Overall, I'd say ages 13 and up (provided they know not to say said sexual word). I'd also give this show 8.5 awesome transformation sequences out of ten! :)
Series If You Actually Give "Manimal" a Chance...
I'm a huge mystery show fan, a MEGA fan of stories involving people turning into animals, so when I found out there was a series combining the two, I wanted to watch it, and I'm going to say overall, I was impressed. First off, the transformation scenes look EXCELLENT! Practical special effects have an edge over the most complicated CGI, and they really work to the series's advantage. Second, the actors' performances are all good, at the very least. And that's saying a lot since the actors don't have too much to worm with. While there are those occasional lines that make you think "why couldn't this have more emotion in it" those are few and far between. The show isn't actually as cheesy as people make it out to be. There are a couple of elements that are in the "Cheddar Zone," but those are easily ignorable. My only real complaint is that the main character's backstory isn't really explored until the "Nightman" crossover episode, and even then it's only barely penetrated. Speaking of which, the "Manimal/Nightman" Crossover episode is fantastic. It really delves into what the series could have been and taps pretty deep into the potential a story like this could have been. Even though the announced film reboot of this series is most likely going to be a comedy, I seriously hope Will Ferrel and Dan Aykyroid take some cues from this episode and do a "Stranger than Fiction" type story (in other words, a comedy with dramatic elements). Now, one question remains, is the show appropriate? I'm going to say, in this case, yes, but not for kids. There is quite a bit of perilous violence, a few lines and scenes with some mild innuendo, and some swear words (mostly d's and h's, with one use of a word with some mild innuendo to it). Overall, I'd say ages 13 and up (provided they know not to say said sexual word). I'd also give this show 8.5 awesome transformation sequences out of ten! :)