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.
56-468: The series stars Fred Grandy 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
112-548: A Mediterranean Sea cruise, MS Pearl of Scandinavia for a Chinese cruise, Royal Viking Sky for European cruises and Royal Princess and Sun Princess for Caribbean Sea cruises. In 1981, P&O Cruises' line Sea Princess was also used for the two-hour episode "Julie's Wedding", set in and around Australia . The "star of the show", the now-world famous Pacific Princess , after being renamed MS Pacific and being sold then owned by another cruise line in Spain ,
168-472: 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; its creator Stanley Ralph Ross had been one of the main writers on that series. The villains were often exaggerated camp supervillains much like
224-469: A cameo appearance as Doc. A two-part 1997 Martin episode, "Goin' Overboard", had the main characters going on a cruise and encountering Isaac, Julie, Doc, and Vicki. A revival of the series, titled Love Boat: The Next Wave , aired on UPN from 1998 to 1999 for two seasons and twenty-five episodes. Set aboard the cruise ship Sun Princess , the series starred Robert Urich as Captain Jim Kennedy,
280-535: A different set of writers working on one group of guest stars. Thus, episodes have multiple titles referencing its simultaneous storylines, e.g., the first episode of season one is "Captain & the Lady / Centerfold / One If by Land". Each episode typically featured three storylines. Storylines focused on members of the crew, the interactions between passengers and crew members, a single passenger, or interactions between several passengers. The three storylines usually followed
336-411: A handful of his crew, with passengers played by guest actors for each episode, having romantic, dramatic and humorous adventures. The series was part of ABC's popular Saturday-night lineup of the time, which also included Fantasy Island until 1984. The executive producer for the series was Aaron Spelling , who produced several television series for Four Star Television and ABC from the 1960s into
392-422: A long shot of the ship in dock before the camera slowly zoomed in onto its bridge area. This was followed by posing shots of the crew members at different points on the ship or the set, revealed with a weighing anchor graphic wipe. These posing shots were updated several times throughout all seasons due to cast changes. The long shot footage of the ship was used for the credits of the celebrity guest stars. For only
448-419: A reality dating competition series to be produced by Eureka Productions . The series features single contestants on a luxury Mediterranean cruise as they participate in challenges and dates to stay on the boat in the hopes of finding love, with those unsuccessful being progressively dumped from the cruise. As contestants are dumped, new contestants come aboard the cruise. In the end, the last couple remaining wins
504-418: A retired United States Navy officer, Phil Morris as chief purser Will Sanders, and Heidi Mark as cruise director Nicole Jordan. Several members of the original show's cast guest-starred on a reunion-themed episode in which it was revealed that Julie and Doc had been in love all along. In March 2022, both CBS and Australia's Network 10 (both Paramount -owned networks) commissioned The Real Love Boat ,
560-687: A similar format. In all, thirty-two past and future Academy Award winners guested on The Love Boat , including the Best Actress from the first awards ceremony in 1929, Janet Gaynor . In the final season, a troupe of dancers who performed choreographed routines, often to current hits, was introduced. The Love Boat Mermaids were made up of Tori Brenno (Maria), Debra Johnson (Patti), Deborah Bartlett (Susie), Macarena (Sheila), Beth Myatt (Mary Beth), Andrea Moen (Starlight), Teri Hatcher (Amy) and Nanci Lynn Hammond (Jane). The original 1976 made-for-TV movie (titled The Love Boat ) , that served as
616-568: A similar premise, as did the DC Comics characters the Creature Commandos , although they fought Nazis rather that super-criminals. A similar group of Universal-inspired monsters appeared in a film of the same name , given the name and iconography the influence is clear. In Teen Titans Go! episode 8, "Monster Squad", the Titans want to be the scariest trick-or-treaters in town, so Raven casts
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#1732875995575672-399: A similar thematic pattern: One storyline (typically a "crew" one) was straight-ahead comedy. The second would typically follow more of a romantic comedy format (with only occasional dramatic elements). The third storyline would usually be the most dramatic of the three, often offering few (if any) laughs and a far more serious tone. A common plotline focused on a romance that had gone sour, with
728-594: A spell to turn them into real monsters. Fred Grandy Fredrick Lawrence Grandy (born June 29, 1948) is an American actor who played "Gopher" on the TV series The Love Boat and who later became a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Iowa . Grandy was most recently the host of The Grandy Group , a morning drive time radio talk show on 630 WMAL in Washington, D.C. Grandy
784-495: A student at Radcliffe . They had a son, Charlie Grandy , and a daughter before divorcing in 1983. On March 28, 1987, Grandy married novelist Catherine Mann, whom he had met when she interviewed him as one of the first reporters for Entertainment Tonight . They have one daughter (born 1989). In 1993, Grandy and his wife sporadically toured Iowa with a stage production of the play Love Letters for charity (especially children's charities). The Love Boat The Love Boat
840-561: Is an American romantic comedy - drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series premiered and four specials and a TV movie aired after the series ended. The series was set on the cruise ship MS Pacific Princess , and revolved around the ship's captain Merrill Stubing (played by Gavin MacLeod ) and
896-480: Is currently airing 24/7 on its own channel on Pluto TV under the "Classic TV" section. So far it just seems to be the 9 regular seasons on the series. CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount ) has released seasons 1–4 of The Love Boat on DVD in Region 1. Each season has been released in two-volume sets. For its first seven years, The Love Boat was very successful in the ratings . During that time, it usually ranked among
952-636: The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour . In May 2013 Grandy returned to the stage, starring in a production of Sleuth at the Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven, New Jersey . In 2014 Grandy had a recurring role on Season 3 of The Mindy Project for which his son, Charlie Grandy , is a writer. He portrayed Dr. William Ledreau. He has also had recurring roles in two TV series, Knight Squad and Sprung . He has also performed around
1008-599: 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. 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. A later, unrelated animated television series by Hanna-Barbera Productions called Drak Pack had
1064-524: The Pacific Princess on a cruise to the Virgin Islands with all of The Love Boat regulars having cameo appearances. A 1994 Saturday Night Live sketch featuring guest host Patrick Stewart merged The Love Boat with Star Trek: The Next Generation . Stewart played the captain while caricatures of Deanna Troi and Geordi La Forge played the cruise director and bartender, with Kopell having
1120-464: The Republican congressman from his home district, Iowa's 6th congressional district . With Mayne's successor, Democrat Berkley Bedell , deciding not to run in 1986, Grandy, a Republican, campaigned for the open Iowa United States House of Representatives seat, beating Clayton Hodgson by two percentage points (51.0% to 49.0%). Although Grandy tried to distance himself from his acting career (at
1176-541: The U.S. House of Representatives . MacLeod was not the captain of the Pacific Princess in the first two pilot TV movies and did not appear in them, although when his character was introduced, it was mentioned that he was the new captain; indeed, none of the series cast members appeared in the first pilot, which had a different captain and crew. Among the series' attractions was the casting of well-known actors in guest-starring roles, with many famous film stars of prior decades making rare television appearances. The Love Boat
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#17328759955751232-536: The University of Maryland, College Park . From 2003 to 2010, Grandy and radio veteran Andy Parks were the hosts of The Grandy & Andy Morning Show , a conservative radio talk show on 630 WMAL in Washington, D.C. In May 2010, the program was reconfigured and was afterward called The Grandy Group. On March 3, 2011, Grandy resigned from the program allegedly over a dispute about his and his wife's statements about Islamic extremism or low listenership . Grandy
1288-732: The syndication market in the United States in September 1983, with Worldvision Enterprises handling distribution. As an alternative for stations with tight scheduling commitments, Worldvision offered edited 30-minute episodes in addition to the original hour-long programs beginning in the fall of 1986 after the series completed its original run on ABC. It is currently distributed in syndication by its successor CBS Media Ventures . The series can currently be seen on MeTV Sunday afternoons at 5:00 PM ET/4:00 PM CT and on Catchy Comedy Monday through Friday afternoons at 4:00 PM ET/3:00 PM CT. The Love Boat
1344-473: The 1973 made-for-TV movie The Girl Most Likely to... , as Ted Gates. He starred in the Saturday morning TV series Monster Squad (1976) as Walt, a criminology student working as a night watchman at "Fred's Wax Museum". He also appeared in a number of Match Game episodes from 1979 to 1981. He usually sat in the male guest-star seat in the top row left. He also did one week's worth of episodes on its sequel,
1400-464: The 1990s. The series was nominated four consecutive times for a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy between 1978 and 1981, without winning any. Gavin MacLeod and Lauren Tewes also received several Golden Globe nominations for their roles in the series. In 1997, the episode with segment titles "Hidden Treasure", "Picture from the Past", and "Ace's Salary" (season 9, episode 3)
1456-525: The Republican primary race for governor of Iowa against incumbent Terry Branstad , but lost the election by nearly four percentage points. Grandy served as president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International from 1995 to 2000. He later became a political commentator for National Public Radio and served as a visiting professor teaching a course on nonprofit organizations at the School of Public Affairs at
1512-577: The country in regional theatre productions of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , On Golden Pond , I'm Not Rappaport , and Give 'em Hell, Harry! . Grandy holds a master of fine arts (MFA) degree from the Washington Shakespeare Theatre and George Washington University . Grandy's political interests preceded his acting career. Between 1970 and 1971, he served as a speechwriter for Wiley Mayne ,
1568-516: The entity that owned and operated Pacific Princess . Episodes set and filmed in European and East Asian locations became more frequent instead of the usual west coasts along the Pacific shore of North America as the show continued. They traditionally aired as season premieres or during the sweeps months of February, May and November. Ships used in these episodes were: SS Stella Solaris for
1624-425: The few hour-long series ever made for American television that used a laugh track . The Love Boat theme song was composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Paul Williams . It was sung by Jack Jones in the opening sequence of the first eight seasons and, in a different arrangement, by Dionne Warwick in the last season and the four specials that followed it. Charo , who had also recorded and commercially released
1680-399: The first season, the guest stars were credited by having their names appear on the screen while a radar/compass style circle with four hearts wrapped around them. Beginning with season two (and originally tested in the fifteenth episode of the first season), the compass was graphically put in place and at its center, the guest stars were shown posing for the camera on different parts of the set,
1736-489: 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 -clad and fearsome-fanged Drac could turn into a bat , and the short and furry Bruce was a ferocious fighter who could climb up the sheer sides of buildings Spider-Man -style and had a super-sensitive sense of smell. The Squad had their own customized black Monster Van, and each monster had
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1792-527: 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. Though the Squad are supposed to be wax statues, it often appears that they are something else entirely, as they apparently have all
1848-505: 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 "). In several episodes, a statue of
1904-427: The parties reconciling at the end of the episode. On rare occasions, there were crossovers between stories. In one episode, actors Robert Reed and Florence Henderson , formerly of The Brady Bunch , guest-starred in separate segments. In one scene, the two bump into each other at a buffet table, exchange a questioning look, shrug, and continue on their separate ways. The series was also distinctive as being one of
1960-471: The pilot for the series, was based on the nonfiction book The Love Boats by Jeraldine Saunders , a real-life cruise director for a passenger cruise-ship line. Saunders was also partly inspired by the German cruise ship MV Aurora . The pilot was followed by other two (titled The Love Boat II and The New Love Boat ) , all of which aired before the series began in September 1977. The one-hour sitcom
2016-514: The series and is awarded a large cash prize as well as a cruise from Princess Cruises. The American version is hosted by married actors Jerry O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn . This version briefly aired on Wednesday nights at 9/8C on CBS starting on October 5, 2022, before being moved to Paramount+ . The Australian version is presented by Darren McMullen . This version also premiered on 5 October 2022 and aired on Wednesdays and Thursday nights on 10. CNN reported industry experts credit
2072-488: The series in its marketing. Actor Gavin Macleod was appointed the line's global ambassador in 1986 and appeared in television advertisements and other campaigns for Princess for over 30 years. Actress Jill Whelan is currently Princess' Celebrations Ambassador and has appeared in online videos promoting the line. The series' primary cast were named the godparents for and participated in the christening of two Princess Cruises ships,
2128-481: The series was permitted to use some iconography owned by Princess Cruises. For example, Princess' logo is frequently visible in the establishing shots of the vessels, in the backgrounds of sets and even on props, such as name tags for the ship's crew. However, the ownership of this fictional representation of the Pacific Princess is never explicitly stated as being Princess Cruises; instead, characters would use terms such as "the line" or "the company" in reference to
2184-611: The ship or on-location in special episodes, while their names appeared at the bottom of the screen. For the final season, the compass was replaced by a crescent wave and the long shot of the ship was replaced by a montage of the various locations traveled to on the series. At the center of the wave graphic, the guest stars were shown posing for the camera wearing their formal outfits against different colored backgrounds. The Love Boat aired in reruns on ABC Daytime from June 30, 1980 to June 12, 1981, and from September 14, 1981 to June 24, 1983 at 11:00 a.m. EST/10:00 CST. The show entered
2240-451: The show when it moved off-Broadway in 1971. Among his co-stars was future Saturday Night Live star Jane Curtin . Although of service age, Grandy had a high lottery number and was not drafted for Vietnam. Grandy played purser Burl "Gopher" Smith on the American television series The Love Boat . The series aired for nine seasons (1977–1986). He also wrote several vignettes for
2296-410: The show with increasing interest in the cruise industry, especially for those that weren't newlyweds or senior citizens, and for the resulting demand to spur investment in new ships instead of conversions. The influence was particularly notable for Princess Cruises , a line that partnered with the series and received a great deal of attention as a result. Princess Cruises has embraced its connection to
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2352-410: The show. In 1982, while visiting Turkey to film scenes for the show, Grandy suffered severe burns when a balloon filled with hydrogen exploded. Before gaining prominence on The Love Boat , Grandy had guest roles on many shows, including Love, American Style (1969); The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970); Maude (1973); Phyllis (1975); and Welcome Back, Kotter (1975). Grandy also acted in
2408-420: The song, performed it within the show in one of her guest appearances. The opening sequence of the TV movies featured an instrumental version of the song without the lyrics. Instrumental variations of the song were extensively used throughout the series as incidental music . The opening sequence for the series underwent three major changes over the years. From seasons one to eight, the opening sequence began with
2464-617: The time), he said to People magazine that "if there were no Gopher, there would be no Fred Grandy for Congress." During his four terms in Congress, he served on a variety of committees, including Ways and Means , Agriculture, Standards of Official Conduct, and Education and the Workforce. While a member of Congress, Grandy won eight "Watchdog of the Treasury" awards. In 1994, Grandy declined to run for another Congressional term and instead entered
2520-468: The top 20, and sometimes even the top 10. However, the show fell out of the Top 30 during the 1984–85 season, and after falling out of the Top 50 during the 1985–86 season, The Love Boat was canceled after nine years on ABC, although four three-hour specials aired during the 1986–87 season. In 1997, the episode with segment titles "Hidden Treasure", "Picture from the Past", and "Ace's Salary" (Season 9, Episode 3)
2576-533: Was scrapped in Aliağa , Turkey in 2013 after no further buyer could be found. Her sister ship, which was later renamed MV Discovery , was scrapped in Alang , India in 2015 after she too failed to find a new owner. Both vessels' scrappings were controversial, but the previous owners justified it by saying that they were getting too old to continue operating. Every episode contained several storylines, each written by
2632-514: Was also the host of a show on Retirement Living TV called Daily Café (with MSNBC anchor Alex Witt ). Since then he has been a Senior Fellow for National Security Affairs at the Washington-based Center for Security Policy , a far-right , anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C. –based think tank , developing and managing projects on domestic terrorism and counterintelligence. Grandy has been married twice. He married Jan Gough in 1969,
2688-467: Was announced they would be receiving a joint star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their contributions to television, sponsored by Princess Cruises. The 1979 two-hour season premiere of Charlie's Angels —another Aaron Spelling series— that introduced Shelley Hack as new angel Tiffany Welles was titled "Love Boat Angels" and its characters attempted to recover stolen museum artifacts while aboard
2744-677: Was born in Sioux City, Iowa , the youngest of three sons of William Grandy, who worked in his father's insurance business, and his wife, Bonnie. When Grandy was eleven, his father died of a heart attack. His mother died of an aneurysm a year later. The young Grandy was then raised by Margaret Avery, his mother's best friend (a widow who later married his father's doctor). He went to public schools until ninth grade, after which he attended high school at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire , as his father and brothers had done. At Exeter, Grandy
2800-469: 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
2856-425: Was not the first comedy series to use the guest-star cast anthology format— Love, American Style had used the formula seven years earlier—but it had such success with the formula that future series in similar style (such as Supertrain and Masquerade ) drew comparisons to The Love Boat . The series was followed on Saturday nights on ABC by Fantasy Island , which was also produced by Aaron Spelling and had
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#17328759955752912-483: Was primarily filmed on sets in southern California : 20th Century Fox Studios for seasons one through five, and the Warner Hollywood Studios for the remainder of the series, and occasionally filmed aboard the actual vessels. Regardless of where the episode was filmed, the actual ship was extensively shown in the establishing shots . Along with use of the real-life Pacific Princess and Island Princess ,
2968-441: Was ranked No. 82 on TV Guide ' s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time list. MacLeod, Kopell and Lange are the only cast members to appear in every episode of the TV series, the four specials as well as the last made-for-TV movie. Grandy appeared in every episode throughout the run of the series but he did not appear in the four specials nor in the last TV movie, as he was campaigning for the first of his four consecutive terms in
3024-543: Was ranked No. 82 on TV Guide 's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time list. In 2014, Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin McLeod, Cynthia Lauren Tewes, and Jill Whelan became godparents (the passenger ship industry's equivalent of naval ship sponsors ) of the Princess Cruises ship Regal Princess . On May 23, 2017, the original cast (MacLeod, Kopell, Grandy, Lange, Tewes and Whelan) reunited on Today , where it
3080-434: Was set aboard Pacific Princess , at the time a real-life Princess Cruises cruise ship . The Pacific Princess ' twin sister vessel Island Princess was also used for the show, especially if the show's schedule conflicted with Pacific Princess ' s cruises or her annual drydocking. Based in the port of Los Angeles , the ship's regular ports of call were Puerto Vallarta , Acapulco and Mazatlán . The series
3136-542: Was the roommate of David Eisenhower , the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower , and was later best man at Eisenhower's wedding to Julie Nixon , the daughter of then–president-elect Richard Nixon , in December 1968. Grandy graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English studies from Harvard University in 1970. In 1971, he joined an improvisational group at Harvard called "The Proposition" and then rejoined
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