- "It's right versus wrong; good over greed; niceness against naughtiness. That's the dedication of the terrific trio - the Drak Pack!"
- ―Narrator
| Drak Pack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Title: | Drak Pack |
| Format: | Animated |
| Genres: | Childrens' animated Superhero |
| Running time: | 30 min. |
| country: | USA |
| Network: | CBS |
| Seasons: | 1 |
| Episodes: | 16 |
| Production | |
| Production company: | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Executive producers: | William Hanna; Joseph Barbera |
| Producers: | Art Scott; Doug Paterson |
| Principal cast: | Jerry Dexter; William Callaway; Don Messick; Alan Oppenheimer; Hans Conried; Julie McWhirter; Chuck McCann |
| Air dates | |
| First aired: | September 6th, 1980 |
| Last aired: | 1980 |
Drak Pack was an American animated children's series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and aired on CBS from 1980 to 1982, spanning a total of sixteen episodes. Though not directly in-line with the horror genre, the series was a send-up to several notable iconic monster figures, specifically, the classical renditions of Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Frankenstein Monster. The main characters on the show were three teenagers who made-up the superhero team the Drak Pack. All three were the descendants of legendary monsters who atoned for the sins of their parents by using their monster powers to fight against crime. The leader of the group was Drak, Jr., the grand-nephew of the infamous Count Dracula. The others were Frankie - a living iteration of the Frankenstein Monster and Howler - a werewolf. The primary antagonist of the series was the diabolical Doctor Dred and his evil organization O.G.R.E., which consisted of Vampira, Mummy Man, Toad and Fly.
Episodes
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1x01 | Grimmest Book of Records | September 6th, 1980 |
| 1x02 | Dr. Dred Is a Shrinker | September 13th, 1980 |
| 1x03 | International Graffiti | September 20th, 1980 |
| 1x04 | Time Out for Dr. Dred | September 27th, 1980 |
| 1x05 | Hideout Hotel | October 4th, 1980 |
| 1x06 | Dred Goes Hollywood | October 11th, 1980 |
| 1x07 | Dred's Photo Finish | October 18th, 1980 |
| 1x08 | Color Me Dredful | Unknown |
| 1x09 | Mind Your Manners, Dr. Dred | Unknown |
| 1x10 | Happy Birthday, Dr. Dred | Unknown |
| 1x11 | Dreadful Weather We're Having | Unknown |
| 1x12 | The Perilous Pluder of Pirate Park | Unknown |
| 1x13 | Night of the Terbites | Unknown |
| 1x14 | A Dire Day at Dredfulland | Unknown |
| 1x15 | Package Deal | Unknown |
| 1x16 | It's in the Bag, Dr. Dred | Unknown |
The Team
The Drak Pack was a fictional team of super-powered monsters featured in the 1980-1982 animated television series Drak Pack. The series was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and lasted sixteen episodes. As the main characters of the series, the Drak Pack appeared in all sixteen episodes.
The Drak Pack consisted of three super-powered teenagers named Drak, Jr., Frankie and Howler - all of whom were the descendants of legendary monsters of old. To atone for the sins of their parents, the three youths used their monster powers to fight against the forces of evil. Their arch nemesis was Dr. Dred, leader of a monstrous criminal organization known as O.G.R.E. (Organization of Generally Rotten Endeavors).
All of the members of the Drak Pack assumed normal human guises. To transform into their more monstrous images, they clasped hands together and shouted "Whacko!" This gesture was referred to as the "Drak Whack".
The team availed themselves of an amphibious flying vessel dubbed "The Drakster". The term is derived from Dragster, which is another name used to describe a custom built automobile used in the sport of drag racing.
Notes & Trivia
- Drak Pack was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. All episodes were directed by Chris Cuddington with select episodes written by Doug Booth, Cliff Roberts, Glenn Leopold and Larz Bourne.
- Dracula, and ostensibly Big D, is loosely based on the historical figure, Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler, and re-imagined by author Bram Stoker as a vampire for his 1897 novel Dracula. Big D is a pastiche of the 1931 Universal Pictures iteration of the character played by Bela Lugosi with his great-great grandnephew, Drak, Jr., patterning himself in similar fashion.
- The concept of the Frankenstein Monster was created by English writer Mary Shelley and was first brought to life in her 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Frankie is a descendant of Doctor Frankenstein's original creation and draws from visual stereotypes of the Frankenstein Monster as seen in the 1931 film Frankenstein.
- The concept of Howler plays on the classical notions of a werewolf. This idea was popularized by actor Lon Chaney, Jr. in the 1941 film The Wolf Man by Universal Pictures.
- Drak Pack: The Complete Series was released as a three-disc DVD collection in Region 1 format in Canada on February 5th, 2008 by Visual Entertainment. The US Region 1 edition was released on September 6th, 2011.
- The thematic elements featured in Drak Pack bear a strong resemblance to Groovie Goolies, a cartoon series produced by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott which aired on CBS from 1970 to 1971.
- Another show that bore similarities to Drak Pack was Monster Squad - a live-action children's series that presented Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Werewolf as heroic figures who slept in a wax museum by day and fought crime by night.
- The character voices used in Drak Pack were inspired by several notable celebrities. Jerry Dexter, who voiced Drak, patterned his voices after Don Adams from Get Smart fame. Julie McWhirter's Vampira was styled after actress Eva Gabor and Don Messick's voice for Toad was an obvious lampoon of character actor Peter Lorre. Alan Oppenheimer provided the voice for Dracula, which was of course an exaggerated version of Bela Lugosi's thick Hungarian accent from the original Dracula film.