"Jonathan Chase, master of the secrets that divide man from animal, animal from man … Manimal." Thus begins the 1983 NBC series Manimal, starring Simon MacCorkindale as a rich playboy who shapeshifts into various animals to help the police solve crimes. Manimal was canceled after only eight episodes, but gained a cult following thanks to its bonkers premise. Earlier this week, news broke that Will Ferrell and company are set on creating a "live-action/animation hybrid" feature film version of Manimal. The whole crime-fighting man-panther thing is pretty weird, but Manimal has a lot of company when it comes to television shows boasting absurd storylines. We uncovered some of the strangest, including a few classics and several you might have missed.

My Mother the Car

A precursor of Knight Rider (also worthy of inclusion on this list), 1965's My Mother the Car is the stuff of Freudian nightmares. The show only lasted one season and starred the voice of Ann Sothern as an overbearing mother who is reincarnated as a 1928 Porter touring car. She keeps watch over her goofy son David (Jerry Van Dyke).