Monster Squad


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.

Premise

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, the Wolfman – who here was named "Bruce W. Wolf" – and the Frankenstein Monster, 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. Walt, however, 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", "Nightflyer", "Green Machine" and "Furball".
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, Marty Allen, Jonathan Harris, Julie Newmar, Avery Schreiber and Vito Scotti.
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

Main

  • Fred Grandy – Walt
  • Henry Polic II – Dracula
  • Buck Kartalian – Bruce W. Wolf
  • Michael Lane – Frank N. Stein

    Recurring

  • Mayor Goldwyn
  • '''Officer McMacMac'''

    Others

  • Man on Radio
  • Jackie Joey
  • Chief Running Nose
  • Mimi Falters
  • Farmer
  • Dandy Andy
  • King Fooey
  • Store Manager
  • Newscaster
  • '''Dr. Fishline'''

    Villains

  • Queen Bee : A bee-themed villainess who controls a swarm of killer bees.
  • * Spelling Bee and Bumble Bee : Queen Bee's henchmen
  • Mr. Mephisto : Creator of life-sized living dolls.
  • * Baby Doll and Arlene Doll : Mr. Mephisto's hypnotic-eyed henchwomen
  • The Tickler : Sad-faced clown/criminal mastermind
  • * Twitter and Snicker : The Tickler's henchmen
  • The Ringmaster : Diminutive circus owner who holds an audience of children hostage as revenge against those who made fun of his size.
  • * Sam Strongman and Bonnie Bon : The Ringmaster's henchmen
  • Lorenzo Musica : A failed musician who robs a telethon so he can pay people to attend his concert.
  • * Andante and Allegro : Lorenzo Musica's henchmen
  • No Face : A literally faceless master of disguise.
  • * Pillage and Plunder : No Face's henchmen
  • The Astrologer : A TV prognosticator planning to use an atomic bomb to make his prediction of an earthquake come true.
  • * Castor and Pollux : The Astrologer's henchmen
  • Ultra Witch : A sexy sorceress who has made all the world's milk turn sour.
  • * Toil and Trouble : Ultra Witch's henchmen
  • The Wizard : A Merlin-like magician miniaturizing monuments.
  • * Mumbo and Jumbo : The Wizard's henchmen
  • The Skull : A sinister scientist who revives a mummy as the first step in his plan to create an army of the evil dead.
  • * Blue Tooth and The Mummy : The Skull's henchmen
  • The Weatherman : A would-be dictator causing blizzards in July.
  • * Phoebe Snow and David Frost : The Weatherman's henchmen
  • Lawrence of Moravia : Arabian billionaire who steals for fun rather than profit.
  • * Fouad and Abdul : Lawrence of Moravia's henchmen
  • * Night Watchman : Lawrence of Moravia's henchman
  • Albert/Alberta : A sideshow-style half-and-half hermaphrodite using a laser to melt the polar icecap.
  • * Half-Wit and Half-Nelson : Albert/Alberta's henchmen

    Episodes

Home video

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 the same year, by Fabulous Films.

In popular culture

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.
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.