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The Monster Squad DVDs

The Monster Squad Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Monster
EAN: 0829567061022
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Original recording remastered
Label: Virgil Films and Entertainment
Languages: EnglishOriginal Language
Manufacturer: Virgil Films and Entertainment
MPN: D670610D
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Virgil Films and Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Release Date: June 23, 2009
Running Time: 300 minutes
Studio: Virgil Films and Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: 2009
 Buy The Monster Squad: The Complete Collection (2pc)
Monster Squad television series aired Saturday mornings on NBC from 1976-1977.

The series stars Fred Grandy (who also starred in The Love Boat) as Walt, a criminology student working as a night watchman in a wax museum. To pass the time, Walt built a prototype "Crime Computer" in a sarcophagus-style mummy case near an exhibit of legendary monsters. When Walt plugged in his Crime 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 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 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 museum at all times. However, Walt would sometimes join the climatic battle with his comrades in some episodes.

The Squad had their own customized 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.

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 like Alice Ghostley, Marty Allen, Jonathan Harris, Julie Newmar, Avery Schreiber and Vito Scotti.

Though the Squad are supposed to be wax statues, it sometimes appears that they are something else entirely. 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.

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.