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Monster Squad

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This article is about the TV series. For the film, see The Monster Squad.
Monster Squad
Developed byStanley Ralph Ross
Starring
ComposerRichard La Salle (1.1)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producers
ProducerMichael Mclean
Running time30 minutes
Production companyD'Angelo-Bullock-Allen Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 11 (1976-09-11) –
December 4, 1976 (1976-12-04)

Monster Squad is a television series produced by D'Angelo-Bullock-Allen Productions that aired Saturday mornings on NBC from September 11, 1976, to September 3, 1977.[1]

Premise

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The series stars Fred Grandy 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 the Frankenstein 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.

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 as well as their powers. The gentle giant Frank, for example, possessed superhuman strength and could smash through walls, while the dapper cloak-clad and fearsome-fanged Drac could turn into a bat, and the short and furry Bruce was a ferocious fighter who could climb up the sheer sides of buildings Spider-Man-style and had a super-sensitive sense of smell.

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 codenames were "Chamber of Horrors" (Walt), "Nightflyer" (Drac), "Green Machine" (Frank) and "Furball" (Bruce).

The show was comparable to the 1960s Batman TV show; its creator Stanley Ralph Ross had been one of the main writers on that series. The villains were often exaggerated camp supervillains 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, 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").

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.

Cast

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Main

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Recurring

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Others

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Villains

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Queen Bee"James SheldonRichard M. BluelSeptember 11, 1976 (1976-09-11)
2"Mr. Mephisto"H. Wesley KenneyAlan Dinehart and Herbert FinnSeptember 18, 1976 (1976-09-18)
3"The Tickler"H. Wesley KenneyCharles IsaacsSeptember 25, 1976 (1976-09-25)
4"The Ringmaster"Herman HoffmanJay ThompsonOctober 2, 1976 (1976-10-02)
5"Music Man"James SheldonEarle Doud and Chuck McCannOctober 9, 1976 (1976-10-09)
6"No Face"James SheldonGreg StrangisOctober 16, 1976 (1976-10-16)
7"The Astrologer"William P. D'AngeloGreg StrangisOctober 23, 1976 (1976-10-23)
8"Ultra Witch"Herman HoffmanRoy KammermanOctober 30, 1976 (1976-10-30)
9"The Wizard"William P. D'AngeloBill Freedman and Al SchwartzNovember 6, 1976 (1976-11-06)
10"The Skull"Herman HoffmanRoy KammermanNovember 13, 1976 (1976-11-13)
11"The Weatherman"Herman HoffmanBruce ShellyNovember 20, 1976 (1976-11-20)
12"Lawrence of Moravia"William P. D'AngeloStanley Ralph RossNovember 27, 1976 (1976-11-27)
13"Albert/Alberta"James SheldonCourtney Andrews & Laurie SamaraDecember 4, 1976 (1976-12-04)

Home video

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Monster Squad: The Complete Series was released in Region 1 on June 23, 2009, by Virgil Films and Entertainment. The Region 2 release followed on August 3, 2009, by Fabulous Films.

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A later, unrelated animated television series by Hanna-Barbera Productions called Drak Pack had a similar premise, as did the DC Comics characters the Creature Commandos, although they fought Nazis rather that super-criminals. A similar group of Universal-inspired monsters appeared in a film of the same name, given the name and iconography the influence is clear.

In Teen Titans Go! episode 8, "Monster Squad", the Titans want to be the scariest trick-or-treaters in town, so Raven casts a spell to turn them into real monsters.

References

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  1. ^ Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years (1946–1981) Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. Scarecrow Press. p. 350. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
  • Jones, Stephen, ed. The Illustrated Werewolf Movie Guide. London: Titan Books, 1996, p. 137. ISBN 1-85286-658-6
  • Terrace, Vincent (1979). "The Monster Squad". The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs (1947–1979) Volume 2 (second ed.). Alfred Smith Barnes. p. 666. ISBN 0-498-02177-7.
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