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" He'd also morph into...a horse! Not creeped out yet? Well, he did morph into a birdie once or twice. Yes, he would morph into a black panther ---like, in every single bleeding episode--- though none of these panther moments were any more thrilling than your typical classic Snagglepuss cartoon."

---from the article

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By this point in this Worst List, detractors may wonder where Space: 1999 is on this list. Without forcing you to look early at choice #1, the answer is: not at all. This is due in no small part, to how smoking hot Catherine Schell was in season two, as the shape-shifter Maya. With a character like that, Space 1999 may be 11th worst, but hardly on the Top Ten (look at the other members on this list, and you can see why!). One might have even wondered how good a series would have been with a shape-shifter as the lead star. How nice of Glen A. Larson to answer that question with Manimal. That answer would be: the idea would have totally sucked.

Here we have a series about a guy who can change into animals, making him a “manimal.” The idea sounds cool though in the long run it just seems weird. It could've been The Incredible Hulk meets The Werewolf, where the lead star would get peeved and uncontrollably morph into the enemy's worst nightmare; a poisonous snake, a black widow spider, or a grizzly bear. Instead, Manimal would morph into creatures about as scary as...a parrot, for no other reason than "parrots are easy to train." He'd also morph into...a horse! Not creeped out yet? Well, he did morph into a birdie once or twice. Yes, he would morph into a black panther ---like, in every single bleeding episode--- though none of these panther moments were any more thrilling than your typical classic Snagglepuss cartoon.

The biggest problem with Snagglepuss...er, Manimal, is how much time was wasted for his infernal transformation scenes. You had to hand it to Space 1999's Maya, who would transform into a creature with merely a thought, a 5-second 1970's sound effect, and a zoom into her eyeball with her new form in its reflection. In its highly promoted series premiere, Manimal would, by dragging contrast, take nearly two minutes to change into a panther. Yes, it was slightly cool to see his backbone bulge (for no reason), his hand bubble (for no reason), and his whiskers to grow slowest of all (for no reason), though could he just get on with it please? It's a good thing his friends never needed to be saved right away.

One last amusement worth mentioning, for humor's sake. Prepubescent comic fans often wonder how The Incredible Hulk can consistently rip away from his shirt, and often his shoes, yet his pants stay on, regardless of how much larger he is. Those are some pretty elastic pants. Well, what if I told you that a series wanted you to believe that a man could turn into a beast and back again, and retain his pants, shirt, shoes, suit coat, and even his tie? Manimal? That’s just maniacal.

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