MONSTER SQUAD (1976)
(NBC, September 11-December 4, 1976)
D’Angelo-Bullock-Allen Productions
MAIN CAST:
Fred Grandy – Walt
Henry Polic II –
Dracula
Buck Kartalian – Bruce Were
Wolf
Michael Lane – Frank
N. Stein
What do you do when Count Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman appear? Well,
you can’t call the Monster
Squad—because they ARE the Monster Squad.
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Frank, Dracula and Bruce watch as Walt works the Crime Computer. |
Walt (Fred Grandy), a criminology student, took a job
as a night watchman at Fred’s Wax Museum. It not being all that demanding a
job, apparently, he built a prototype crime computer in a sarcophagus. When he
activated it, the oscillating vibrations brought to life the wax statues of
Dracula (Henry Polic II), Frankenstein (credited as Frank N. Stein, played by Michael
Lane) and Wolfman (known as Bruce W. Wolf, played by Buck Kartalian). But,
rather than pick up where they left off, the famous monsters decided to atone
for their pasts and become superheroes.
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The monsters in the Squad. |
Monster Squad
was developed by Stanley Ralph Ross, who
used his time as a writer on Batman to create this monster-filled
equivalent to that show complete with campy elements. The monsters traveled
around town in a customized van and each possessed a utility belt full of
gadgets developed by Walt. Walt would typically supervise their missions from
the Museum as he was unable to leave, although he’d join them on the field
sometimes when they really needed him. Otherwise, they would keep in contact
through communicators with CB-style codenames: Dracula was “Nightflyer,” Frank
was “Green Machine,” Bruce was “Furball” and Walt was “Chamber of Horrors.”
Walt’s remote control for the crime computer was Mego’s Star Trek communicator painted a different color. Its
sound was even used on the show, though sped up.
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Ultra Witch at her cauldron. |
Like Batman,
the Squad’s rogues gallery was full of highly exaggerated villains played by
many notable guest-stars of the era. From Batman
came Julie Newmar (Catwoman) as Ultra Witch,
Vito
Scotti (Marty Dee) as Albert/Alberta, and Sandy McPeak (a Joker
henchman) as Castor. Jonathan Harris, Dr.
Smith from Lost in Space, played The Astrologer, and Bewitched’s Alice Ghostley
(Esmeralda) played Queen Bee. Notable Comedians Avery Schreiber and Marty Allen
played The Weatherman and Lorenzo Musica (after Lorenzo Music),
respectively. Ross even appeared in an episode as Jackie Joey.
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The catalog ad for the canceled Monster Squad figures. |
Monster Squad
was produced by D’Angelo-Bullock-Allen
Productions. It premiered on NBC on September 11, 1976 with music
composed by Richard LaSalle. While it
only lasted a single season of 13 episodes, NBC kept it on its schedule for the
remainder of the broadcast year.
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The board game. |
Despite its short run, a good amount of merchandising
was planned around the series. Ideal was
contracted to produce toys related to the show, including action figures and
their van. However, consumer disinterest led to the toy line to be canceled
before its release, and only a smaller version of the van was produced for
Ideal’s Micro
Mighty Mo line. Carlin produced three bendable figures called
“Chained Monsters” that were clearly modeled after the Monster Squad characters, right down to their communicators
(although Dracula differed significantly from his on-screen persona). A
blow-dart game and Frank bop bag were produced by GLJ Toys while a coloring
book was published by Rand McNally. In 1978,
Collegeville produced a Wolfman and Dracula costume based on the show’s designs,
but by the following year all they offered was Dracula still brandishing the Monster Squad markings. Milton Bradley
made a board game and HG
Toys produced a puzzle prominently featuring the “Ultra Witch”
episode. In 2009, the
complete series was released to North America by Virgil Films and
Entertainment and overseas by Fabulous Films.
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The half-man, half-woman Albert/Alberta. |
While the series fell into relative obscurity over the
years, the concept had not. In 1980, Hanna-Barbera
produced a cartoon with the premise of the same heroic monsters called Drak Pack.
In 1987, TriStar Pictures
released the Monster Squad movie;
however, the concept of that was a group of monster-enthusiast kids had to stop
the full gamut of Universal Monsters
from conquering the world. Fun fact: David Proval, who played
a pilot in the film transporting Dracula’s (Duncan Regehr) coffin, also
appeared in an episode of the TV series.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Queen Bee” (9/11/76) – Queen Bee chooses Dracula for her mate.
“Mr. Mephisto” (9/18/76) – Mr. Mephisto turns dolls into politicians
to commit crimes.
“The Tickler” (9/25/76) – The Squad faces off against the Tickler’s
tickling machine.
“The Ringmaster” (10/2/76) – The Ringmaster uses his stupid gas on
children.
“Music Man” (10/9/76) – Music Man holds up a telethon.
“No Face” (10/16/76) – No Face steals the mayor’s identity.
“The Astrologer” (10/23/76) – The Astrologer steals an atomic bomb to
make his prediction of an earthquake come true.
“Ultra Witch” (10/30/76) – Ultra Witch turns the Squad into cardboard
cutout versions of themselves.
“The Wizard” (11/6/76) – The Wizard uses his magic to steal national
monuments.
“The Skull” (11/13/76) – The Squad must stop the diabolical Skull.
“The Weatherman” (11/20/76) – The Weatherman uses the weather to
ransom his becoming President.
“Lawrence of Moravia” (11/27/76) – The Squad faces off against an evil
sheik.
“Albert/Alberta” (12/4/76) – The Squad fights a half-man, half-woman.
Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2018.
Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2018.
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