How to best describe this unique Canadian children's show... hmmm....
Well, it's kind of a children's educational haunted house, horror movie satire show chock full 'o great adult gags. It's all about bein' "groovy", hangin' with the "Pet Vet" and learning about animals, dancing to the Wolfman's groovy wax, laughing at Paul the gorilla's slapstick humor, reciting poems with Vincent, and all that year-'round Hallowe'enie goodness! I imagine mostly Canadians will remember this Saturday morning classic, whether when it originally aired in the 70's or in its ongoing reruns.
This was one of my fave staple Saturday morning shows in the early 70's that I watched right after the really bad animated "Spiderman" cartoon that came on at 9:30 AM! I loved the many characters that the incredibly (and unfortunately largely unrecognized) talented Billy Van created. It was off-beat, bizarre as all heck, and a great parody of horror films.
Well, I hadn't thought of this groovy lil' show in ages, so when I did (near Hallowe'en, naturally) I ventured into a google search, and I found a tribute site dedicated to the show! The site has images, wav files with all the characters being kooky, video and more! This weird and wacky show always began with Vincent Price's on screen intro monologue with the castle in the background and super-low-tech lightning superimposed over the image, then jumped into the castle with the Count, Igor, Paul the Gorilla, the Wolfman (a DJ), Super Hippie, the Oracle, the Librarian (one of my faves!, the Wolfman Jack inspired DJ the Wolfman who played psychedelic music as Igor & the Grammar Slammer dancer before a swirling psychotropic backdrop, and more freaky characters.
Most of the characters were played by Canadian actor Billy Van (also seen on "The Sonny and Cher Show", "The Bobby Vinton Show", "Bizarre" , "The Party Game", "The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show" and more!). The show was shot in Hamilton, Ontario at CHCH TV back in 1971. It has since gained cult status as it's been translated into many languages and re-broadcast in different parts of the world.
I truly hope that the series comes to DVD, as I'll be first in line for the release! ~ T.Paul
