Monster Squad facts for kids

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. It is unrelated to the later film of the same name.

Premise

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 Wolfman (Buck Kartalian) who here was named "Bruce W. Wolf" (with one episode revealing that the "W" stood for "Were"), and the Frankenstein 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 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. 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 CB-style codenames were "Chamber of Horrors" (Walt), "Nightflyer" (Drac), "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 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, like Alice Ghostley ("Queen Bee"), Marty Allen ("Lorenzo Musica"), Jonathan Harris ("the Astrologer"), Julie Newmar ("Ultra Witch"), Avery Schreiber ("the Weatherman") and Vito Scotti ("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.

Cast

• Fred Grandy - Walt
• Henry Polic II - Dracula
• 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 Stanley Ralph Ross)
• 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)

Villains

• Queen Bee: (portrayed by Alice Ghostley)
  • Spelling Bee and Bumble Bee: (portrayed by Hamilton Camp and Al Mancini) - Queen Bee's henchmen
• Mr. Mephisto: (portrayed by Barry Dennen)
  • Baby Doll and Arlene Doll: (portrayed by Cathy Worthington and Mindi Miller) - Mr. Mephisto's henchwomen
• The Tickler: (portrayed by Ivor Francis)
  • Twitter and Snicker: (portrayed by Al Stellone and Doug Stevenson) - The Tickler's henchmen
• The Ringmaster: (portrayed by Billy Curtis)
  • Sam Strongman and Bonnie Bon: (portrayed by H.B. Haggerty and Simone Griffeth) - The Ringmaster's henchmen
• Lorenzo Musica: (portrayed by Marty Allen)
  • Andante and Allegro: (portrayed by Tom Sherohman and Michael McManus) - Lorenzo Musica's henchmen
• No Face: (portrayed by Edward Andrews)
  • Pillage and Plunder: (portrayed by Timothy Scott and David Proval) - No Face's henchmen
• The Astrologer: (portrayed by Jonathan Harris)
  • Castor and Pollux: (portrayed by Sandy McPeak and James Gammon) - The Astrologer's henchmen
• Ultra Witch: (portrayed by Julie Newmar)
  • Toil and Trouble: (portrayed by Richard Bakalyan and Joe E. Tata) - Ultra Witch's henchmen
• The Wizard: (portrayed by Arthur Malet)
  • Mumbo and Jumbo: (portrayed by Victor Paul and Mickey Morton) - The Wizard's henchmen
• The Skull: (portrayed by Geoffrey Lewis)
  • Blue Tooth and The Mummy: (portrayed by Peter Zapp and Pete Kellett) - The Skull's henchmen
• The Weatherman: (portrayed by Avery Schreiber)
  • Phoebe Snow and David Frost: (portrayed by Cheryl Miller and Owen Orr) - The Weatherman's henchmen
• Lawrence of Moravia: (portrayed by Joseph Mascolo)
  • 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)
  • 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, 2009 by Fabulous Films.