MonsterFest - Dr. Madblood: Scientific Master of the Horror Film!!

Recently, I attended a local yearly event that I had been putting off for quite some time. Having, at one time, been involved with the areas resident Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast, I had known one of the long-time-associated individuals by the name of Rob Floyd. Rob is one of the coordinators of the event in question and every year he got up on that Rocky Horror stage and promoted the hell out of it.

What is that event, you ask?

Well, it's MonsterFest.

MonsterFest is a somewhat small, local convention that specializes in current horror and older horror films, along with a splash of fantasy and science fiction thrown in. Located at the Chesapeake Central Library in the Great Bridge division of Chesapeake, MonsterFest isn't widely known, but IS widely loved by its loyal attendees.

This past Saturday was, in all honesty, my first time going to MonsterFest. Ever. I had been aware of it for quite some time and never made the effort to go. While it doesn't have the glamour and scale of other large conventions in the area (Nekocon comes to mind...), it certainly makes up for it in heart and local talent.

So! Now that I've concluded my introductory stretch for this article, I'll get into the reason for this series.

One of the charms of MonsterFest is all the local talent that shows up to showcase and share their work with the public, hopefully gaining some new fans. I will highlight several of these artists/entertainers here in my blog in hopes that I can generate at least a LITTLE more fanbase for them.

Today, I'm here to talk about Doctor Madblood.

Pictured here: SCIENCE!

Doctor Madblood is a horror movie showcase program that began in 1975. Trying to differentiate himself from the other horror show hosts at the time (who were all vampires...I guess it was the "thing" to do), Jerry Harrel created the titular Doctor Madblood to be the host of a Halloween special.

With the special having a resounding amount of success, the show has, since then, been aired weekly after Saturday Night Live,  been moved around to various other time slots, been taken off the air for a few years, and eventually returned with a resurgence in televised and online media.

During it's 36 year, on-and-off tenure, Doctor Madblood has introduced a variety of characters and storylines into the Madblood universe. These stories and characters have ranged from the comedic and one-shot to the serious/scary and recurring, showing the extensive creativity that Harrel and his team still continue to draw upon even after more than three decades of doing it.

One notable cast member, a personal acquaintance of mine, is one Craig T. Adams.

Pictured here: TIME TRAVELING SCIENCE!

Involved with a local childrens theater troupe in the area, Craig also portrays Uncle Felonious, Brain, and several other recurring characters on the program.

Now, as of the posting of this article, I've only watched a few of the complete episodes, "The Goodbye Button" and "Wonderman" that I found on Youtube, and the special sneak preview of their upcoming movie at MonsterFest, and I have to admit that the team involved is talented and funny. Personally, I'm going to look for more episodes and try to catch their show more often.

I recommend all of you do the same too!

Long days and pleasant nights, readers.