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Biography
About|the TV series|the film|The Monster Squad|the band|Monster Squad (band)Infobox Television| bgcolour =| show_name = Monster Squad| image =| caption =| format = comedy adventure | camera =| picture_format =| audio_format =| runtime = 30 minutes| creator =| developer = Stanley Ralph Ross | producer = Michael Mclean | executive_producer =| starring = Fred Grandy , Henry Polic II , Buck Kartalian , Michael Lane | narrated =| composer = Richard La Salle (1.1)| country = flag|United States| language = English language|English | network = NBC | first_run =| first_aired = September 11, 1976| last_aired = September 2, 1977| num_episodes = 13| list_episodes =| website = Monster Squad is a television series that aired Saturday mornings on NBC from 1976-1977 that is unrelated to the later movie of the The Monster Squad|same name .
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 werewolf|Wolfman ( Buck Kartalian ) who here was named "Bruce W. Wolf" (with one episode revealing that the "W" stood for "Were"), and Frankenstein's monster|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 supervillain 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 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 Citizen's band radio|CB -style code-names were "Nightflyer" (Drac), "Chamber of Horrors" (Walt), "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 (style)|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 period like Alice Ghostley ("Queen Bee"), Marty Allen (comedian)|Marty Allen (" Lorenzo Music a"), Jonathan Harris ("The astrology|Astrologer "), Julie Newmar ("Ultra Witch"), Avery Schreiber ("The Weatherman") and Vito Scotti (" Hermaphrodite|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.
Episode titles
Each episode is named after the villain of that episode.
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Title
Airdate
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
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 follows on August 3, 2009 by Fabulous Films.
References
Jones, Stephen, ed. The Illustrated Werewolf Movie Guide. London: Titan Books, 1996. (page 137) ISBN 1-85286-658-6
cite book | last=Terrace | first=Vincent | title=The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs 1947-1979, Volume 2 | isbn=0-498-02177-7 | publisher= Alfred Smith Barnes | chapter=The Monster Squad | year=1979 | edition=2nd Ed. | page=666
External links
Imdb title|0128000|The Monster Squad
tv.com|5208|Monster Squad
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=O33OqZ8laLA YouTube:The Monster Squad - TV intro 1976
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Monster-Squad-Box-Art/11839 TV Shows On DVD news
DEFAULTSORT:Monster Squad, The Category:NBC network shows Category:1976 television series debuts Category:1977 television series endings Category:1970s American television series Category:Vampires in television Category:Werewolves in television Category:Superhero television programs Category:Superhero comedy television series Category:Frankenstein Category:American children's television series
