''Monster Squad'' is a

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

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 Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

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 A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

near an exhibit of legendary monsters. When Walt plugged in his computer, "oscillating vibrations" brought to life the wax statues of

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

( 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 Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...

( 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 A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

crimefighters who used their unique abilities to challenge and defeat various

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

s. 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 A wax museum or waxworks usually consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses, wearing real clothes. Some wax museums have a special section dubbe ...

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 A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, which serves the same purpose as an overcoat and protects the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. People in many d ...

-clad and fearsome-fanged Drac could turn into a

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

, and the short and furry Bruce was a ferocious fighter who could climb up the sheer sides of buildings

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

-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 Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' TV show; its creator

Stanley Ralph Ross Stanley Ralph Ross (July 22, 1935 – March 16, 2000) was an American writer and actor. Born Stanley Ralph Rosenberg, he was raised in Brooklyn, New York, working at Nathan’s Famous and as a barker at the Coney Island freak show. His c ...

had been one of the main writers on that series. The villains were often exaggerated camp

s much like the ones on ''Batman'' in keeping with the "

" tone of the show, and were often played by familiar-faced guest stars of the time, like

Alice Ghostley Alice Margaret Ghostley (August 14, 1923 – September 21, 2007) was an American actress and singer on stage, film and television. Ghostley was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–72) on '' Bewitched'', as Cousin Alice ...

Queen Bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are develope ...

"), Marty Allen (" Lorenzo Musica"), Jonathan Harris ("the

Astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

"),

Julie Newmar Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer; August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real estate Business magnate, mogul. ...

(" 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

Main

* Fred Grandy – Walt * Henry Polic II –

* Buck Kartalian – Bruce W. Wolf * Michael Lane – Frank N. Stein

Recurring

* Mayor Goldwyn (portrayed by Edward Andrews) * Officer McMacMac (portrayed by Paul Smith and Richard X. Slattery)

Others

* Jackie Joey (portrayed by

) * Chief Running Nose (portrayed by Sid Haig) * Mimi Falters (portrayed by Caren Kaye) * Farmer (portrayed by Frank Cady) * Dandy Andy (portrayed by Johnny Brown) * King Fooey (portrayed by Nathan Jung) * Store Manager (portrayed by Patrick Campbell) * Newscaster (portrayed by Mike Lawrence) * Dr. Fishline (portrayed by

John Alvin John Henry Alvin (November 24, 1948 – February 6, 2008) was an American cinematic artist and painter who illustrated many movie posters. Alvin created posters and key art for more than 135 films, beginning with the poster for Mel Brooks's '' ...

)

Villains

(portrayed by

): A bee-themed villainess who controls a swarm of killer bees. ** Spelling Bee and

Bumble Bee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera ...

(portrayed by Hamilton Camp and Al Mancini): Queen Bee's henchmen * Mr. Mephisto (portrayed by Barry Dennen): Creator of life-sized living dolls. ** Baby Doll and Arlene Doll (portrayed by Cathy Worthington and Mindi Miller): Mr. Mephisto's

hypnotic A hypnotic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), also known as a somnifacient or soporific, and commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to sleep induction, induce sleep and to trea ...

-eyed henchwomen * The Tickler (portrayed by Ivor Francis): Sad-faced

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

/criminal mastermind ** Twitter and Snicker (portrayed by Al Stellone and Doug Stevenson): The Tickler's henchmen * The Ringmaster (portrayed by Billy Curtis): Diminutive

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

owner who holds an audience of children hostage as revenge against those who made fun of his size. ** Sam Strongman and Bonnie Bon (portrayed by H.B. Haggerty and Simone Griffeth): The Ringmaster's henchmen * Lorenzo Musica (portrayed by Marty Allen): A failed musician who robs a

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

so he can pay people to attend his concert. ** Andante and Allegro (portrayed by Tom Sherohman and Michael McManus): Lorenzo Musica's henchmen * No Face (portrayed by Sid Haig and Edward Andrews, although his actual voice was supplied by an uncredited third actor): A literally faceless master of disguise. ** Pillage and Plunder (portrayed by Timothy Scott and David Proval): No Face's henchmen * The Astrologer (portrayed by Jonathan Harris): A TV prognosticator planning to use an

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

to make his prediction of an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

come true. **

Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of ...

(portrayed by Sandy McPeak and James Gammon): The Astrologer's henchmen * Ultra Witch (portrayed by

): A sexy sorceress who has made all the world's

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

turn sour. ** Toil and Trouble (portrayed by

Richard Bakalyan Richard Bakalyan (January 29, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor who started his career playing juvenile delinquents in his first several films. Early life Richard Bakalyan was born on January 29, 1931, in Watertown, Massachuset ...

and Joe E. Tata): Ultra Witch's henchmen * The Wizard (portrayed by Arthur Malet): A

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

-like magician miniaturizing monuments. ** Mumbo and Jumbo (portrayed by Victor Paul and Mickey Morton): The Wizard's henchmen * The Skull (portrayed by Geoffrey Lewis): A sinister scientist who revives a

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

as the first step in his plan to create an army of the evil dead. ** Blue Tooth and The Mummy (portrayed by Peter Zapp and Pete Kellett): The Skull's henchmen * The Weatherman (portrayed by Avery Schreiber): A would-be dictator causing

blizzards A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

in July. **

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals on Paul Simo ...

and

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

(portrayed by

Cheryl Miller Cheryl Deann Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA on TNT, NBA games on Turner Sports, TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked ...

and Owen Orr): The Weatherman's henchmen * Lawrence of Moravia (portrayed by Joseph Mascolo):

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

who steals for fun rather than profit. ** 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 henchman * Albert/Alberta (portrayed by Vito Scotti): A

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...

-style half-and-half

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

using a

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

to melt the polar icecap. ** Half-Wit and Half-Nelson (portrayed by Raymond Singer and Phil Diskin): 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 An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

called '' Drak Pack'' had a similar premise, as did the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

characters the

Creature Commandos The Creature Commandos are the name of several military special forces groups appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by DC Comics. Co-created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Pat Broderick, the team first appeared i ...

, although they fought

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

rather that super-criminals. A similar group of Universal-inspired monsters appeared in a film of the same name. In ''

Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013, and is based on DC Comics' fictional superhero team the Teen Titans. The series ...

'' 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

* Jones, Stephen, ed. ''The Illustrated Werewolf Movie Guide''. London: Titan Books, 1996, p. 137. *

External links

*
''Monster Squad'' – pilot episode in-depth review with screenshots

TV Shows on DVD news
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