"THE ASTROLOGER"
October 23, 1976

Monster Squad was a one season NBC Saturday morning live action show for kids in 1976.  In it, Walt, who worked in his uncle's wax museum, discovered that he could bring the figures of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolfman to life.  Wanting to atone for the sins of their past, the trio, with Walt's crime computer set out on a mission to stop evil wherever they found it.

We move on to the seventh episode with the villain - The Astrologer, masterfully played by Jonathan Harris of Lost in Space.  His plan is to make one of his predictions, an earthquake rocking the city, come true by using a thirty year old atomic bomb.

John and Joe Crowe of RevolutionSF and the Dragoncon American SciFi Classics Track discuss the performance of Jonathan Harris, the parallels of the clam trap with Batman 66's Joker/Penguin meetup, and how this is the best Drac episode to date.

Take a listen and let us know what you think here or by writing us at thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

Direct download: Monster_Squad_-_The_Astrologer.mp3
Category:Monster Squad -- posted at: 12:22am EDT

"NO-FACE"
October 16, 1976

Monster Squad was a one season NBC Saturday morning live action show for kids in 1976.  In it, Walt, who worked in his uncle's wax museum, discovered that he could bring the figures of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolfman to life.  Wanting to atone for the sins of their past, the trio, with Walt's crime computer set out on a mission to stop evil wherever they found it.

We move on to the sixth episode with the villain - No-Face.  Here we have the Batman 66 equivalent to False Face.

John and Joe Crowe of RevolutionSF and the Dragoncon American SciFi Classics Track discuss the particularly scary look to No-Face, the perfect weapon against werewolves, and the upcoming Manimal podcast.

Take a listen and let us know what you think here or by writing us at thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

Direct download: Batcave_-_Monster_Sqauad_-_No-Face.mp3
Category:Monster Squad -- posted at: 12:55am EDT

"Music Man"
October 9, 1976

Monster Squad was a one season NBC Saturday morning live action show for kids in 1976.  In it, Walt, who worked in his uncle's wax museum, discovered that he could bring the figures of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolfman to life.  Wanting to atone for the sins of their past, the trio, with Walt's crime computer set out on a mission to stop evil wherever they found it.

We move on to the fifth episode with the villain - Music Man.  This one clearly has Batman 66 DNA all over it from the henchmen to the humor to the appearance of Stanley Ralph Ross.

John and Joe Crowe of RevolutionSF and the Dragoncon American SciFi Classics Track discuss "Primrose Lane", the humor of Marty Allan and Stanley Ralph Ross' desire to be an actor.

Take a listen and let us know what you think here or by writing us at thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

Direct download: Batcave_-_Monster_Squad_-_Music_Man.mp3
Category:Monster Squad -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

 

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"THE RINGMASTER"
October 2, 1976

Monster Squad was a one season NBC Saturday morning live action show for kids in 1976.  In it, Walt, who worked in his uncle's wax museum, discovered that he could bring the figures of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolfman to life.  Wanting to atone for the sins of their past, the trio, with Walt's crime computer set out on a mission to stop evil wherever they found it.

We dive into the fourth episode with the villain - The Ringmaster.  This one is proving to be a dark episode as the Ringmaster holds 20,000 orphans hostage.

John and Joe Crowe of RevolutionSF and the Dragoncon American SciFi Classics Track discuss the unfortunate imagery of Bonnie Bon, the use of "Chekov's Gun" in this story, and a missed plot point that could have been developed into something more.

Take a listen and let us know what you think here or by writing us at thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

Direct download: BATCAVE_-_Monster_Squad_-_The_Ringmaster.mp3
Category:Monster Squad -- posted at: 10:00am EDT

"THE TICKLER"

September 25, 1976

Monster Squad was a one season NBC Saturday morning live action show for kids in 1976.  In it, Walt, who worked in his uncle's wax museum, discovered that he could bring the figures of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolfman to life.  Wanting to atone for the sins of their past, the trio, with Walt's crime computer set out on a mission to stop evil wherever they found it.

For our look at the third episode of the series, we deal with the depressing villain with the misleading name - The Tickler.  He's the first "returning" villain in terms of the Squad has faced him before, but he's new to the viewer.  He wants revenge on Walter and the Squad for sending him away for a long stretch.

John and Joe Crowe of RevolutionSF and the Dragoncon American SciFi Classics Track discuss the darkness of The Tickler and his henchmen, the great humor that still works in the episode, and the potential for a Monster Squad/Batman 66 team-up facing The Tickler and The Joker.

Take a listen and let us know what you think here or by writing us at thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

Direct download: Monster_Squad_-_The_Tickler.mp3
Category:Monster Squad -- posted at: 12:29pm EDT

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"Mr. Mephisto"

September 18, 1976

Monster Squad was a one season NBC Saturday morning live action show for kids in 1976.  In it, Walt, who worked in his uncle's wax museum, discovered that he could bring the figures of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolfman to life.  Wanting to atone for the sins of their past, the trio, with Walt's crime computer set out on a mission to stop evil wherever they found it.

And in our second episode review, the Squad take on Mr. Mephisto (Barry Dennen) and his dolls, Baby Doll and Arlene Doll as he tries to subvert the political system in Metro City by replacing many of the major figures with animatronic dolls.  John is joined in the Batcave by Revolution SF host and DragonCon American Sci-Fi Classics Track co-moderator Joe Crowe to discuss the parallels with this series and Batman 66.  And there are quite a few.

They discuss the guest cast that includes two actors who appeared in Batman 66, how Walter may have been inspired to fight crime from Batman, and wonder what kind of media outlets are in Metro City that no one reports on the mayor's proclamation commending the Monster Squad for their work.

Take a listen and let us know what you think here or by writing us at thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

Direct download: Monster_Squad_-_Mr_Mephisto.mp3
Category:Monster Squad -- posted at: 3:08pm EDT

 

"Queen Bee"

September 11, 1976

Monster Squad was a one season NBC Saturday morning live action show for kids in 1976.  In it, Walt, who worked in his uncle's wax museum, discovered that he could bring the figures of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolfman to life.  Wanting to atone for the sins of their past, the trio, with Walt's crime computer set our on a mission to stop evil wherever they found it.

And in our first episode review of this Stanley Ralph Ross-helmed series, the Squad take on Queen Bee (Alice Beasley) and her bee drones, Spelling Bee and Bumble Bee as she tries to take over the world.  John is joined in the Batcave by Revolution SF host and DragonCon American Sci-Fi Classics Track co-moderator Joe Crowe to discuss the parallels with this series and Batman 66.  And there are quite a few.

They discuss the henchmen, the merchandise for this series, and attempts at layering the humor as was done in the 60s Batman series.

Take a listen and let us know what you think here or by writing us at thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

Direct download: Monster_Squad_-_Queen_Bee.mp3
Category:Monster Squad -- posted at: 11:15am EDT

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