"Around The World In A Total Daze"

HUZZAH!!!

Season 4 episode 1 (episode 59 overall)

 Original broadcast date: 5 January 1993

Writer: Jimmy Hibbert
Additional voices: Sibelius Smogg: Brian      
                              Trueman

                               Dr. Von Goosewing/club 
                               member/Major: 

                               Jimmy Hibbert

                               Club member/Commodore: 
                               David Jason

                               Timmy: Jack May

Travel location: London; England, Paris; France, Spain, African Jungle, Australia, Himalayas, Egypt, China, Arctic

Castle transport visual used - many times!

This episode opens, as the narrator duly points out, not in Transylvania but in London – hold on, is this a Danger Mouse episode? No, it’s the Explorers Club in Pall Mall and Goosewing is sharing some soup with his new friend Sibelious Smogg. 

 

His plan is to have Smogg challenge the Count to a race around the world (hot air balloon versus castle) so as to burn out the castle’s travelling mechanism and leave the Count stranded. Goosewing naturally assumes that by this stage, Duckula will know him too well and that, coming from a famous explorer, said challenge will carry more weight. A decent enough plan, but will it work? 

Smogg seems keen to set off despite some initial misgivings about the concept of a vampire with a travelling castle, which even the Doctor admits is far-fetched! So, after a sending a letter of challenge to the Count, both meet up for a chat and prepare for the race. 

Goosewing still wants to come along so he disguises himself as Smogg’s butler. Even though Duckula remains suspicious, throughout the episode, neither he nor even Igor figure it out. Mind you Igor doesn’t come close enough to see the Doctor, or he may well have done so.

"Delighted to make your aquaintence YOU MONSTe- eh - I mean, my dear sir!"

Much of the humour in this episode comes from the Count’s desperate attempts to stay ahead in the race. He naturally assumes he has the upper hand, but since Goosewing and Smogg have tethered their balloon to the castle, there’s no way that Duckula can beat them. He'll always assume they got to wherever they're going first. Another amusing part is the contrast between the excitable German and the reserved Englishman in Goosewing and Smogg. Brian does an impressively straight act as Smogg, to Jimmy’s characteristic Teutonic shrieking as Goosewing. It’s also fun to see Smogg’s polite veneer crumble against the increasing  annoyances they both have to endure, on which he naturally blames Goosewing. 

Duckula never cottons on to the fact that his opponents are technically cheating although Igor does. His pleas get progressively funnier as Duckula gets more and more agitated (“Milord PLEASE listen to me..”) while poor old Nanny, initially happy at going on a world tour, gets progressively more travel sick. Every time Duckula opens the door, he’s met with Goosewing and Smogg enjoying the local cuisine and sights before he can. Things aren’t perfect for the VG/Smogg team either though, as with almost every country they visit, they pick up a stowaway in their balloon – in the shape of a local wild animal!

After several stops in various countries (I don’t know what kind of itinerary they are following but it seems roughly in order of country until Duckula decides on a detour from Australia to the Himalayas) they reach the North Pole, where the Count hasn’t the courage to even go and check to see if they’re still there! Great bit of acting on Duckula from the animation and vocal sides as he makes to open the door and chickens (or should that be ducks?) out several times. 

Nanny, opening a window for a breath of fresh air, ‘tidies away’ the rope tying the balloon to one of the castle turrets, so that when Duckula makes the castle move to London for the victory line – Smogg & Goosewing are stranded. As Smogg says himself “Stranded at the North Pole with a maniac and a basketful of wild animals!”

 By this stage Smogg’s patience has worn thin and he’s finally fed up with Goosewing and his crazy scheme! We leave them shouting at apes, kangaroos and yaks as we fade to the castle landing in London. 
 

Back in London, Igor finally explains that Smogg and ‘his assistant’ have been cheating. I love David Jason’s well-timed delivery of this line here:

Duckula: He’s an Englishman! I mean they are well known to – (suddenly angry) CHEATS! YOU ROTTEN CHEATS!

Despite his rage, he soon cheers up when, for once, it seems as if he has won. But while he goes back into the castle to compose an impromptu speech, the bell tolls and the castle heads back automatically to Transylvania. It seems that the castle needs to rest now as Duckula feels thwarted and there remains nothing more to be done than to tear his hair out screaming “I WANNA BE RICH!”

A frentic, funny and fast-paced episode and nice recap of previous adventures. You can see why they saved this for later in the show’s run as a sort of ‘remember this from the earlier episodes? Well, here they are again!’

I recall I had at least some of this one recorded on VHS off the telly from its original ITV broadcast, but most of it bar the very end and Igor’s ‘Still there I take it Milord?’ survived. The animation is by the British team and it's mostly very expressive. Duckula in particular gets a lot of fun acting and expressions. Some of the animation is repeated, due to the Count finding himself in an endless repetition of events and frankly it's funnier that way.

The music track is mainly appropriate thematic stings based on wherever the castle lands along with some patriotic British music where fitting. A version of  'Rule Britannia' (Dick Walter - track 8.2) plays when Duckula first meets Smogg and to start the race event opening we hear 'Le Prophete' (track 12) by Edrich Siebert. The music that plays during the race start is 'Sousarama' (track 1) also by Edrich Siebert, which is appropriately featured on 'Around The World In 80 Minutes.' 'Les Toreadors' by Bizet plays in the Spanish scene. The spooky music that plays when Duckula fights with himself as to whether to open the door or not, is 'Gonna Get You' by the 'Spooky Hallowe'en Players.' 'Join The Parade' (Keith Papworth) is heard as Duckula's castle wins the race.

Opening shot of the club. Had to cheat a little in the bottom left corner due to the nature of the pan.

Again, this is the best I can do due to how the camera moves in an organic way. Keep the noise down in the dinin' room what?

This pan moves on a double plane, so this isn't exact, but it is very close.

Too bad Bill Platypus never showed up.

I guess Smogg must have reached the peak first.

Pieced together, it almost looks as if Nanny's waving them goodbye!

HUZZAH!

Trivia

• One of the few episodes that does not start in Transylvania, nor with a scream – just as the narrator points out. It ends with one though. It's also one of few episodes to start out without Duckula, Igor or Nanny. Goosewing and Smogg are in the opening scene.

• The Explorers Club resembles the Athenaeum Club and according to Smogg’s headed notepaper, is to be found in St. James, London, which is indeed, in Pall Mall.

• Given the title of this episode, it should be fairly obvious that Sibelious Smogg is a parody of Phileas Fogg, the famous explorer of Jules Verne’s 1873 novel ‘Around the World in Eighty Days.’ In keeping with this, Goosewing’s alias is ‘Billet-Doux’, which is a pun on Phileas Fogg’s assistant Jean Passepartout and is also French for ‘love letter.’
• The magic coffin makes an appearance as does the clock (but not the bats).
• Smogg is one of 5 characters Brian plays who wear a monocle on their left eye. The others being the city gent in 'OO Duck', Reggie from 'Wind in the Willows', Lord Piers Flimsy from Victor & Hugo, and Vladimir Hedingov from the Danger Mouse episode 'Blunder on the Orient Express.' The starting official in 'Duck Ahoy' had one on his right eye.

• The British crowd and the Spanish crowd are deliberately drawn and laid out to look similar.

  

  Huzzah!                                                 Olé!

• Last official appearance of Dr. Von Goosewing.

• Goosewing is not seen wearing his regular hat at all throughout the episode. He wears a green bowler, just like Sviatoslav (whom Jimmy also voices). Nanny is seen at one point in a boater hat, sort of like Dmitri's (whom Brian also voices).

• This episode features many call-backs to the Count’s previous travels, both in terms of locations and characters. We see the Café Instant and it’s patrons from ‘Hunchbudgie of Notre Dame’, El Loco the bull and the stadium from ‘Vampire Vacation’, Timmy, Commodore and Major from ‘Jungle Duck’ (sharing tea with Smogg and Goosewing), Bruce and Norm from ‘Down Under Duckula’ (sharing beer with Smogg and Goosewing!) and the camels from ‘No Sax Please, We’re Egyptian’. A handful of backgrounds are re-used too.

• The London bus that drives past the Explorers Club is advertising a day out at Cosgrove-Hall!
  

• When trying to disguise himself, Goosewing briefly dons Groucho Marx style glasses – with what looks like a human nose! Guess it could just as easily be a beak.

• The balloon does not have 'VG' on it but instead is red and white stripes. Goosewing was clearly clever enough not to use a balloon that has his name on it. Then again, maybe it's Smogg's balloon. 

•  Duckula makes 2 alliterative gags using G (grouchy, grousy, grumpy and GAH!) and F (land of flamenco, fun and ffffaauugh!)

• This episode was released on VHS in 1990 (3 years before its ITV broadcast!) along with 3 other episodes - 'Astro Duck', 'The Rest is History' and 'The Zombie Awakes.' The case has a 3D decal of ‘Astro Duck’ the lead episode on the tape. The cover made a noise if you pressed on the button on Duckula’s joystick. The VHS was re-released with a simpler label which simply recycled the image from the very first VHS.

• This episode would have been broadcast a mere week after the final episode of “Victor & Hugo” which was also set in London with “I say old boy!” literary reference types - ie, Soames and Potson.

• And the 2^nd last episode of V&H a week prior also started out in a hot air balloon

• 3rd time Brian’s character rides a hot air balloon, the 1^st being the Weasel Henchman in “The Wind in the Willows” episode ‘Hot Air’ the 2nd, Rory McDuckula in 'The Ghost of McCastle McDuckula.' Von Goosewing has used one several times throughout the series run.
• 2nd time Brian's character (Smogg) is called 'no oil painting', the first being Nanny in 'Sawdust Ring.' 
• Two of Goosewing's curses is "Tannhäuser und Lohingrin!" and "Gotterdammerung!" which are references to musical works by Richard Wagner.

• Some stock animation of Igor is used.

• No full verses to make the castle move, but we hear a snippet:

"Our attempts to shake Smogg off –"

• Duckula paraphrases the ‘I can do anything better than you’ song when steeling himself to open the door in the North Pole.
• He also says 'A duck's gotta do, what a duck's gotta do' - good luck finding the exact reference for that one. Hugo also paraphrases this in "Cowboys and Indiscipline."
• When Nanny says she's getting travel sick, this marks the only time we see inside the castle WHILST its travelling. We even hear some weird noises to indicate this.
• Duckula uses his teleport ability when angry right at the end.
• Goosewing does not call for Heinrich in this episode, presumably because he has another accomplice. One who is actually there.
• It seems that the castle can travel anywhere within 24 hours, but must rest awhile when it returns home automatically.
• It's worth noting that whenever the castle travels, anything connected to it, travels with it. This has been evident from the very first episode.
  
• One of the few episodes where Nanny doesn't destroy anything, be it a door, wall or otherwise!
• At the end, Igor announces that it is 'dawn, Eastern Transylvanian standard time.' 
• The layout of the trio near the end is partly reused from the end of  'Mysteries of the Wax Museum.'
• This episode is officially the first one of season 4, which only comprised 7 episodes, which I suspect were meant to be the final 7 of season 3. For whatever reason they were not broadcast on ITV until early 1993, almost 2 years since the last new episodes of season 3. 1993 saw the start of the ITV takeover. Thames Television ceased broadcasting on 31st December 1992 to be replaced with Carlton Television. When all episodes were released on DVD, the final 7 were packaged along with the others in season 3.

Goofs and nitpicks

• A sliver of Igor’s body appears in front of the dining table when he is in fact behind it.
• Smogg’s shirt collar is coloured as his cape collar in a shot just before the launch.
  
  Finally, here is quite probably the only piece of Sibelius Smogg fan art in existence, although I'd be happy to be proved wrong. Enjoy!