- Monster Squad
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This article is about the TV series. For the film, see The Monster Squad. For the band, see Monster Squad (band).
Monster Squad Format comedy adventure Developed by Stanley Ralph Ross Starring Fred Grandy, Henry Polic II, Buck Kartalian, Michael Lane Country of origin 
United StatesLanguage(s) English No. of episodes 13 Production Producer(s) Michael Mclean Running time 30 minutes Broadcast Original channel NBC Original run September 11, 1976 – September 2, 1977 Monster Squad is a television series that aired Saturday mornings on NBC from 1976-1977 that is unrelated to the later movie of the same name.
The series stars Fred Grandy (who also starred in The Love Boat and was later elected to the United States House of Representatives) as Walt, a criminology student working as a night watchman at "Fred's Wax Museum". To pass the time, Walt built a prototype "Crime Computer" hidden in a large stone sarcophagus near an exhibit of legendary monsters. When Walt plugged in his computer, "oscillating vibrations" brought to life the wax statues of Dracula (Henry Polic II), the Wolfman (Buck Kartalian) who here was named "Bruce W. Wolf" (with one episode revealing that the "W" stood for "Were"), and Frankenstein's Monster (Michael Lane) who was referred to as "Frank N. Stein" in the credits.
The monsters, wanting to make up for the misdeeds of their pasts, became superhero crimefighters who used their unique abilities to challenge and defeat various supervillains. In most episodes, Walt would send the monsters out to investigate crimes and fight the villains while monitoring the activities from the wax museum via the Crime Computer, presumably because his job required him to be at the wax museum at all times. However, Walt would sometimes join the climactic battle with his comrades in some episodes and come to the rescue when needed.
The Squad had their own customized black Monster Van, and each monster had a "utility belt" with a communicator device used to keep in touch with Walt, who had apparently created them for the monsters to use. Their CB-style code-names were "Nightflyer" (Drac), "Chamber of Horrors" (Walt), "Green Machine" (Frank), and "Furball" (Bruce).
The show was comparable to the 1960s Batman TV show, not surprising considering that creator Stanley Ralph Ross had been one of the main writers on that series. The villains were often exaggerated camp villains much like the ones on Batman in keeping with the "superhero" tone of the show, and were often played by familiar-faced guest stars of the time period like Alice Ghostley ("Queen Bee"), Marty Allen ("Lorenzo Musica"), Jonathan Harris ("The Astrologer"), Julie Newmar ("Ultra Witch"), Avery Schreiber ("The Weatherman") and Vito Scotti ("Albert/Alberta").
A later, unrelated animated television series by Hanna-Barbera Productions called Drak Pack had a similar premise.
Though the Squad are supposed to be wax statues, it often appears that they are something else entirely as they apparently have all the memories of the monsters they are based on. In several episodes a statue of the Invisible Man can be seen in an alcove on the opposite side of the monsters' exhibit. It is never explained why this statue remains unaffected by the Crime Computer's oscillating vibrations.
Contents
Episode titles
Each episode is named after the villain of that episode.
№ Title Airdate 1 "Queen Bee" 1976.Sep.11 2 "Mr. Mephisto" 1976.Sep.18 3 "The Tickler" 1976.Sep.25 4 "The Ringmaster" 1976.Oct.02 5 "Music Man" 1976.Oct.09 6 "No Face" 1976.Oct.16 7 "The Astrologer" 1976.Oct.23 8 "Ultra Witch" 1976.Oct.30 9 "The Wizard" 1976.Nov.06 10 "The Skull" 1976.Nov.13 11 "The Weatherman" 1976.Nov.20 12 "Lawrence of Moravia" 1976.Nov.27 13 "Albert/Alberta" 1976.Dec.04 DVD release
Monster Squad - The Complete Series was released in Region 1 on June 23, 2009 by Virgil Films and Entertainment. The Region 2 release follows on August 3, 2009 by Fabulous Films.
References
- Jones, Stephen, ed. The Illustrated Werewolf Movie Guide. London: Titan Books, 1996. (page 137) ISBN 1-85286-658-6
- Terrace, Vincent (1979). "The Monster Squad". The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs 1947-1979, Volume 2 (2nd Ed. ed.). Alfred Smith Barnes. p. 666. ISBN 0-498-02177-7.
External links
Categories:- NBC network shows
- 1976 television series debuts
- 1977 television series endings
- 1970s American television series
- Vampires in film and television
- Werewolves in film and television
- Superhero television programs
- Superhero comedy television series
- Frankenstein
- American children's television series
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