Monster Squad

Monster Squad is a television series produced by D'Angelo Productions that aired Saturday mornings on NBC from September 11, 1976 to September 3, 1977.[1] It is unrelated to the later movie of the same name.

This article is about the TV series. For the film, see The Monster Squad.
Monster Squad
Developed byStanley Ralph Ross
Starring
Composer(s)Richard La Salle (1.1)
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producer(s)Willam P. D'Angelo
Producer(s)Michael Mclean
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 11, 1976 (1976-09-11) –
September 3, 1977 (1977-09-03)

Premise

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 "Chamber of Horrors" (Walt), "Nightflyer" (Drac), "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 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.

Cast

Recurring

Others

Villains
  • Queen Bee: (portrayed by Alice Ghostley)
    • Spelling Bee and Bumble Bee: (portrayed by Hamilton Camp and Al Mancini) - Queen Bee's henchmen
    • Bear: - Queen Bee's pet
  • Mr. Mephisto: (portrayed by Barry Dennen)
    • Baby Doll and Arlene Doll: (portrayed by Cathy Worthington and Mindi Miller) - Mr. Mephisto's henchwomen
  • Tickler: (portrayed by Ivor Francis)
    • Twitter and Snicker: (portrayed by Al Stellone and Doug Stevenson) - Tickler's henchmen
  • Ringmaster: (portrayed by Billy Curtis)
    • Sam Strongman and Bonnie Bon: (portrayed by H.B. Haggerty and Simone Griffeth) - Ringmaster's henchmen
    • Lion - Ringmaster's pet
  • Music Man / Lorenzo Musica: (portrayed by Marty Allen)
    • Andante and Allegro: (portrayed by Tom Sherohman and Michael McManus) - Music Man's henchmen
  • No Face: (portrayed by Edward Andrews)
  • Astrologer: (portrayed by Jonathan Harris)
  • Ultra Witch: (portrayed by Julie Newmar)
  • Wizard: (portrayed by Arthur Malet)
    • Mumbo and Jumbo: (portrayed by Victor Paul and Mickey Morton) - Wizard's henchmen
  • Skull: (portrayed by Geoffrey Lewis)
    • Blue Tooth: (portrayed by Peter Zapp) - Skull's henchmen
    • Mummy: (portrayed by Pete Kellett) - Skull's henchmen
  • Weatherman: (portrayed by Avery Schreiber)
    • Phoebe Snow and David Frost: (portrayed by Cheryl Miller and Owen Orr) - Weatherman's henchmen
  • Lawrence of Moravia: (portrayed by Joseph Mascolo)
    • Fouad and Abdul: (portrayed by Winston Roberts and Joe Tornatore) - Lawrence of Moravia's henchmen
    • Night Watchman: (portrayed by Whitney Rydbeck) - Lawrence of Moravia's henchmen
  • Albert/Alberta: (portrayed by Vito Scotti)
    • Half-Wit and Half-Nelson: (portrayed by Raymond Singer and Phil Diskin) - Albert/Alberta's henchmen

Episodes

Each episode is named after the villain of that episode.

Nº Title Original air date
1"Queen Bee"September 11, 1976 (1976-09-11)
2"Mr. Mephisto"September 18, 1976 (1976-09-18)
3"The Tickler"September 25, 1976 (1976-09-25)
4"The Ringmaster"October 2, 1976 (1976-10-02)
5"Music Man"October 9, 1976 (1976-10-09)
6"No Face"October 16, 1976 (1976-10-16)
7"The Astrologer"October 23, 1976 (1976-10-23)
8"Ultra Witch"October 30, 1976 (1976-10-30)
9"The Wizard"November 6, 1976 (1976-11-06)
10"The Skull"November 13, 1976 (1976-11-13)
11"The Weatherman"November 20, 1976 (1976-11-20)
12"Lawrence of Moravia"November 27, 1976 (1976-11-27)
13"Albert/Alberta"December 4, 1976 (1976-12-04)

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 followed on August 3, 2009 by Fabulous Films.

References
  1. Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. p. 350. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
  • 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.). Alfred Smith Barnes. p. 666. ISBN 0-498-02177-7.
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