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AWESOME-tober-fest 2009: Drak Pack cartoon

Posted in cartoons, Frankenstein, Halloween, holiday, pop culture, TV shows, werewolves with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2009, cartoons, Dracula, Drak Pack, Frankenstein, Halloween, holiday, monsters, pop culture, TV shows, werewolves on October 14, 2009 by Paxton

Continuing my look at cartoons featuring Frankenstein’s monster. Today I look at Drak Pack.

This show originally aired on CBS between 1980 and 1982 and it was created by the Australian arm of Hanna-Barbera.

The cartoon had a great premise. As descendants of the original monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and Wolf Man), the three main teens use their monster abilities, and taking orders from the legendary Dracula, to fight crime and atone for their ancestors’ evil doings. Here is the opening sequence that explains the entire premise of the show (like many Hanna-Barbera cartoons are want to do).

This was a very clever series that merged the superhero genre as well as the monster genre. As you can see, the teens appeared normal until they called on their monster identities to fight evil. The three teens are Drak Jr (or just Drak), Frankie and Howler. They each had different abilities in their monster forms. To change into their monster personalities they high fived and yelled “WHACK-O!” (called the Drak Whack). Surprisingly, they went by the same names whether as regular teens or as the monsters which makes you wonder why they used secret identities. But I guess walking around as a 7 ft green monster would be a bit much. To get around they drove a bad ass hot rod called the Drakster which not only looked cool but had a ton of James Bond-ish gadgetry hiding within it.

I remember really enjoying this show. I only ever saw it a few times because the time that it aired constantly changed. I was always on the lookout for it but never could find it. It was released on DVD in Canada, but you can order it from Amazon (it’s Region 1, so you can watch it on a US DVD player). Unfortunately Netflix has not added it to their library just yet.

Definitely worth a look for monster fans as well as Hanna-Barbera fans. Another really great series staring every0ne’s favorite monsters as heroes.

Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2009: The Groovie Goolies cartoon

Posted in cartoons, Frankenstein, Halloween, holiday, pop culture, TV shows, werewolves with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2009, cartoons, Frankenstein, Groovie Goolies, Halloween, monsters, pop culture, TV shows on October 12, 2009 by Paxton

Okay, the Frankenstein theme begins in earnest this week. All the entries from here on out will feature the giant, green skinned behemoth in some pop culture incarnation. This week’s entries will look at Frankenstein cartoons. Next week I’ll look at Frankenstein novels and the final week of AWESOME-tober-fest will be spent looking at Frankenstein movies.

So, like I said, this week is cartoons. Frankenstein has been in a bunch of cartoons. He’s headlined a few, been a part of a few. Let’s take a look at one of the more fun ones.

Today’s entry is The Groovie Goolies

This cartoon originally aired on TV between 1971 and 1972. The show was created by one of the best animation houses around, Filmation, who also created He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra, Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids, Star Trek the animated series and many other of your favorite cartoons.

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2009: Coney Island’s Dante’s Inferno and a few other dark rides

Posted in Frankenstein, Halloween, movies with tags amusement parks, AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2009, dark rides, Frankenstein, Halloween, haunted houses, holiday, monsters on October 9, 2009 by Paxton

Today, I finish talking about haunted dark rides. I’m going to start with a former Coney Island attraction but I’ll also talk about a few others as a bonus.

Let’s begin…

Dante’s Inferno (Coney Island, NY) — Constructed and originally located in Europe, this two story portable dark ride was brought to New York’s Coney Island Astroland in 1971. It was originally run as an independent carnival concession until the owners of Astroland bought it outright a few years later. In the ’90s ride designer Lou Nasti completely redesigned the inside. Despite the name, the ride isn’t based on Dante’s poem nor is it a “ride into Hell”. A “bumper” type car would ferry you through several unconnected scenes of horror including monsters and human torture. As of 2008, this ride as well as the entirety of Astroland has been closed. Check out an in-depth article including pictures about this ride here.

The Haunted House (Ocean City, MD) — Located in Trimper’s Amusement Park, this ride was originally built in 1964 by Bill Tracy, a legend amongst dark ride enthusiasts. In 1988, the ride was expanded with new and updated scares. However, at least 20 of Bill’s original stunts are still intact throughout the ride making it the most complete Bill Tracy ride still in existence. Check out Surfing Pizza’s nostalgic rememberances of this ride as well as the unofficial website.

Castle Frankenstein (near Darmstadt, Germany) – I couldn’t pass on mentioning this when my theme this year is Frankenstein!! Built sometime in the 13th century by Konrad Reiz von Breuberg (who took the name Frankenstein) it is said that this castle was the inspiration for Mary Shelley’s novel. However there is a lot of controversy about this and there is nothing historically to prove it. For instance, in the actual Shelley novel, there was no Frankenstein castle. It would be James Whale’s 1931 movie that would popularize the idea of a Frankenstein castle. This “real life” Frankenstein castle, however, is now mostly in ruins as there are only two towers and a chapel left standing. If you ever go to Germany and want to see it, tours are available.

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2009: Midway Pier’s Castle Dracula

Posted in Halloween, holiday, New Jersey with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2009, Dracula, Halloween, haunted houses, holiday, New Jersey on October 7, 2009 by Paxton

Week 2 of AWESOME-tober-fest. This week we are discussing haunted dark rides. On Monday I talked about Six Flags’ Monster Plantation. Today, we are looking at a much older attraction. It was located at Midway Pier in Wildwood, NJ; Castle Dracula.

Midway Pier amusement park was first opened in 1919. the Nickel family purchased it in the ’70s and opened the Pier’s most recognizable attraction, Castle Dracula in 1977.

This huge haunted castle attraction was built over an old mill ride that had been there since the Pier’s opening in 1919. The mill ride had been “themed” differently throughout the years (Arabian Knights, Circus, Mine Train, etc). The Nickel family decided to build the ride up as a haunted castle attraction. The upper portion of the mill ride became the walk-thru haunted dark ride known as Castle Dracula and the ride portion underneath became the Dungeon Boat Ride.

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2009: Six Flags’ Monster Plantation

Posted in Atlanta, Georgia, Halloween, holiday, Six Flags with tags Atlanta, AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2009, Georgia, Halloween, haunted houses, holiday, Six Flags on October 5, 2009 by Paxton

Okay, here we are at Week 2 of AWESOME-tober-fest 2009 (click here to see past articles). Last week I discussed Halloween treats you can find in the supermarket. This week, I’ll be discussing some of my favorite as well as some other famous haunted rides.

During the Halloween season, who doesn’t enjoy going to a scary haunted house? Well, my wife doesn’t, but we do it anyway (last year we went to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights). So I thought I’d look at some cool haunted houses and rides. Today, we start at one of my all-time favorites.

Today’s haunted ride can be found at Six Flags Over Georgia. It opened in 1981 and is consistently listed as one of the most popular rides. It’s called The Monster Plantation.