DRAK PACK
(CBS, September 6-December 20, 1980)
Hanna-Barbera Pty. Ltd.
MAIN CAST:
Jerry Dexter – Drak
Jr.
William Callaway –
Frankie, Howler
Alan Oppenheimer –
Dracula “Big D”
Hans Conried – Dr.
Dred
Don Messick – Toad,
Fly
Chuck McCann –
Mummyman
Julie McWhirter –
Vampira
Sometimes to fight evil, you need evil. Or the
descendants of evil, anyway.
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Drak, Howler and Frankie. |
That was the focus of Drak Pack. The relatives of legendary Universal Monsters Count Dracula, Frankenstein and Wolfman had banded
together to use their inherited supernatural abilities to save the world and
atone for the misdeeds of their predecessors. The Pack was led by Drak (called
Drak, Jr. in the opening sequence and voiced by Jerry Dexter in an
impersonation of Don Adams),
who could fly, change his shape, walk on walls and possessed telekinesis. Along
with Dexter’s impression of Adams as Drak’s voice, the series often made
frequent references to Adams’ well-known show, Get Smart.
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The Pack's human forms. |
The rest of the Pack included Frankie, who had
superhuman strength and could release electrical charges, and Howler, who had
super breath (ala The Three Little Pigs) and an
ultrasonic howl. Both were voiced by William Callaway, who gave Frankie a
Southern accent. Most of the time, they appeared as ordinary humans until they
slapped their right hands together and shouted “Whack ‘em!”, unleashing their
monstrous alter-egos in a stock transformation sequence. Their primary mode of
transportation was an amphibious flying car called The Drakster. The founder of
the team and chief advisor was Dracula himself, referred to as “Big D” (Alan
Oppenheimer, in an exaggeration of Bela
Lugosi’s iconic portrayal of the character). Although not exactly the same,
one can find many comparisons between this show and the Monster
Squad from four years prior.
![]() |
Meet the bad guys: Fly, Toad, Dr. Dred, Vampiria and Mummyman. |
Their main foe was the evil genius Dr. Dred (Hans
Conried), who would develop devices to either take down the Pack or do
something horrible to the world. He ran the organization OGRE (The Organization
for Generally Rotten Enterprises [or Endeavors in some episodes]) comprised of
his henchmen Toad (Don Messick impersonating Peter Lorre, whom Toad
resembles), who was Dred’s right hand who often unwittingly aided the Pack; Fly
(Messick), a humanoid fly; Mummyman (Chuck McCann), a reanimated mummy with
super strength and an endless supply of wrappings; and Vampira (Julie McWhirter,
impersonating Eva Gabor), who
had abilities similar to Drak’s as well as a crush on him. When not holed up on
their artificial island Dredquarters (sometimes Drednought), they can be
found heading towards their next target in their airship, The Dredgible. Often,
Dred would set up a meeting with Drak in order to gloat about his pending
scheme and to challenge the Pack to stop him.
![]() |
That's a wrap. |
Drak Pack debuted
on CBS on September 6, 1980. The series was
written by Douglas Booth, Larz Bourne, Glenn Leopold and Cliff Roberts, with Bourne and
Roberts sharing story editing duties under the supervision of Ray Parker. It
was produced by Hanna-Barbera’s
Australian subsidiary with music composed by Hoyt Curtin and Paul DeKorte. Chris Cuddington handled the
character designs. Unfortunately, its ratings proved abysmal and it was
canceled after a single season of 16 episodes. The show largely went forgotten
until Visual Entertainment brought
it to DVD in Canada in 2008. Visual later released it to America in 2011
through Millennium
Entertainment.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Color Me Dredful” (9/6/80) – Dr. Dred builds a color collector that
steals the world’s color.
“Mind Your Manners, Dr. Dred” (9/13/80) – Dr. Dred plans to frame the
Pack for the theft of Egyptian artifacts.
“Happy Birthday, Dr. Dred” (9/20/80) – Disappointed over Toad’s
birthday cake to him, Dr. Dred is determined to let the world know it’s his
birthday.
“Dreadful Weather We’re Having” (9/27/80) – Dr. Dred follows the Pack
on their vacation and uses a weather machine to ruin it.
“The Perilous Plunder of Pirate Park” (10/4/80) – Dr. Dred plans to
steal the treasure located under the new park.
“Night of the Terbites” (10/11/80) – The Pack heads to a party while
Dr. Dred unleashes his new tiny devices that devour anything.
“Time Out for Dr. Dred” (10/18/80) – Dr. Dred invents a device that
can freeze time for five minutes.
“Hideout Hotel” (10/25/80) – Big D’s Florida monster convention is
interrupted by a sea monster appearing near the beach.
“Dred Goes Hollywood” (11/1/80) – Dr. Dred makes a movie starring a
fake Pack as villains.
“Dred’s Photo Finish” (11/8/80) – Dr. Dred’s Photo Grabber turns
anything it photographs into photocopies.
“Dr. Dred is a Shrinker” (11/15/80) – Dr. Dred uses his new shrink ray
to sneak into Fort Knox.
“A Dire Day at Dredfulland” (11/22/80) – Dr. Dred builds an amusement
park that serves as a money magnet to force patrons to keep shelling out dough.
“Package Deal” (11/29/80) – Big D sends the Pack to retrieve a package
he buried in Transylvania.
“The Grimmest Book of Records” (12/6/80) – Dr. Dred challenges the
Pack to stop him as he attempts to secure the record for the most international
crimes committed in 3 hours.
“International Graffiti” (12/13/80) – Dr. Dred plans to turn all the
statues in the world into statues of him using a special ray.
“It’s in the Bag, Dr. Dred” (12/20/80) – Dr. Dred plans to use the
world’s most powerful vacuum to suck up the desert and reveal a lost city of
silver to finance his future plots.
Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2020.
Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2020.
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