"Restoration Comedy"

Tea break.

Season 1 Episode 5 (episode 5 overall)

Original broadcast date: 4 October 1988

Writer: Jimmy Hibbert
Additional voices: Dr. Von Goosewing/
                              Mr. Roberto/Svaitoslav:
                              Jimmy Hibbert
                              Norm/Dmitri: Brian Trueman
                              Den: David Jason

Castle transport visual not used.


Duckula wants his castle redecorated, so he hires flamboyant designer Mr. Roberto to take care of it, much to Igor's disdain. Doctor Von Goosewing uses the confusion to try a sneak attack on the Count.

This episode explores a recurrent theme for the series, the feudal system. The idea that the Count and staff are kind of like an odd little family is an endearing one but, at the end of the day, they are still his employees and this can lead to complications from upstairs and downstairs. Both Igor and Nanny take an immediate dislike to the campy Roberto (Hibbert of course), who to be fair, is only trying to do his job, a vocation he clearly enjoys. He shows up promptly, in answer to Duckula's newspaper advert and launches into detail about the exciting modern plans he has for the old place. Because of this disruption, and the fact that the gloomy ambiance of the castle is in jeopardy, Igor decides that he and Nanny should go on strike until Duckula agrees to get rid of the interior designer and his cack-handed workmen. This infuriates Duckula and he zig-zags between trying to maintain his pride and coming across as a little childish since he is forced to do things for himself for once. The sympathy is very much evenly distributed among the characters, even to Mr. Roberto who has to put up with his own staffing problems in the shape of Norm and Den, two of the laziest 'work-to-rule' workmen you're ever likely to meet.

As if this wasn't bad enough, Von Goosewing, who has been spotting Duckula's adverts for staff in the newspaper (I love how he pronounces the word 'necessary') decides that there's something fishy going on up at ze castle and decides to use this as a chance to disguise himself as a jobber and sneak in to kill the Count. Sadly there is no tie-in staffing problem storyline between Goosewing and Heinrich, as the latter had yet to be introduced to the series, but it might have been a fun addition.

Once the designer and the workmen have sized up the place they leave, but Igor and Nanny immediately go back on strike when they realise they'll be back the next day to start on the refurb'. Nanny has got over her initial misgivings about letting her duckyboos fend for himself for once, while Igor puts the master in the picture. So does this lead to Duckula doing his own cooking and cleaning? No, he has more pride than that! It instead leads to him placing another advert for a housekeeper, which Von Goosewing answers the next day in unconvincing drag (Duckula still calls him Mister!) and tries to stab Duckula with a stake as is his wont.

Meanwhile, the cowboy builders have inexplicably surrounded the castle with scaffolding, blocking the front door and Duckula's escape. Duckula could of course just use his teleport ability (he does so twice in this episode) but I get the feeling the writers didn't want to overdo this trope. Wandering about the scaffolding, Goosewing shows up in a second disguise, that of a workman. Norm and Den immediately view him with suspicion until VG manages to fool them, but then Norm and Den turn the table and ask the Doctor to remove the scaffolding for them while they take another tea break! The capper is that VG does indeed get the scaffolding down, after running ragged around it, chasing Duckula with his stake gun. The Count jumps to safety while the Doctor gets crushed by a load of boards. We don't see him again in the cartoon. Another ambiguous 'death'? Norm and Den also take a tumble - while still nonchalantly sipping their tea!

There's a great little exchange between Roberto, Norm and Den after this bit, as Mr. R tries to figure out what N&D are even on about:

Roberto: I am in interior designer. INterior. I have no need of scaffolding!
Norm: Well that's alright. The new bloke's got it down again.
Roberto: "New bloke?" What?
Den: The new bloke you sent.
Roberto: I sent no-one.
Norm: Well that's alright then 'cos he gorn!

It's also funny hearing a character like Roberto saying a word like 'bloke' - it's just so uncharacteristic!

By now, Igor has decided he and Nanny have to sabotage the work in progress, since their strike appears not to be working. They arrange to blow up the newly constructed Hall of Mirrors with a small cannon. This proves to be a waste of time however, because Roberto now realises that he's been working for a vampire (the Count casts no reflection) and legs it. Presumably Norm and Den leave too - I can't imagine them sticking around if they aren't getting paid, which paints Igor and Nanny in an even more sympathetic light when you think about it.

Sadly, due to Nanny's clumsiness - and Igor's negligence in not extinguishing his cooking match - the cannon goes off and shoots the kitchen. Duckula screams at yet another delay to his mealtime. Now they really will need to get the builders back in! Oh well, at least he got a free hall of mirrors out of it - win some lose some.

Animation is by the Spaniards and has at least 4 or 5 distinctive drawing styles to have fun spotting.

Backgrounds and pans

 

Music
'Drama Sting No.3' (Peter Knight) Igor brings in breakfast/cannon goes off.
'Softly She Swings' (Graham Preskett) Mr. Roberto makes initial plans. 
'Spirit of Arabia' (John Leach & Georgee Fenton - track 17) In the cellar.
'Lonely Bass Flute' (John Cameron - track 11) Going on strike.
'Games Played In The Dark' (Richard Alan Harvey) "HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR STAKE?!"
'One Over the Eight' Track 27- Scaffolding tea break.
'Another Fine Mess' How appropriate! Track 26 - Norm and Den put up wallpaper. 
'Hasty Departure' (Dudley Matthew) Scaffolding chase.
'Scream and Scream Again' (Tim Souster) Hall of Mirrors.
'Twelve String Ties No.4 ' (John Churston) Cannon goes off (two cues played at once - see above)
'Finger of Fear' (Frederic Bayco) Ending.

Trivia

• First episode to be credited to Jimmy Hibbert.
• The title is a reference to a style of English play that was popular during the Restoration period (1660 to 1710) and also to the home improvement theme of this episode. 
• Episode begins and ends with Duckula screaming. 
• The Von Goosewing poster with darts on it appears on Duckula's bedroom wall.
• Duckula alliterates again when describing his dream - 'hideous, horrible, hair-raising and h-h-who's that?' 
• Duckula uses his teleport ability twice, to get to the 'phone box.
• First use of the outdoor 'phone-box.
• Another use of the Transylvania Morning Sun.
• The castle is apparently on Transylvania Avenue.
• Nanny appears to let Mr. Roberto and his men in through a side door. Tradesmans' Entrance?
• Roberto refers to the library as the bibliotheque - French for library. He also makes reference to palm trees, liana, yucca plants and philodendron. Also, he references 'Kubla Khan', a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
• Judging by the comparatively tight shot, Goosewing in his first scene is seen to be staying in somewhere that is neither his airship nor his cave lab. Some of his inventions are seen so it could be his house or some unfortunate hotel.
• VG expletives: "Schinken und Kase!" (ham and cheese sandwich), "Wienerwald (the Vienna Woods, a town of the same name and a chain of restaurants -  rare instance of an Austrian reference, though the restaurant is German) und Wunderkind!" (child prodigy)
• No references to Heinrich. He still hasn't been officially 'introduced' at this stage. 
• First appearance for Von Goosewing's airship. 
• Goosewing weapons of choice: stake solo and stake gun.
• The second newspaper Goosewing reads has 'PZSTЯ ' written on it.
• Norm and Den are a partial spoof of Laurel and Hardy, right down to the bowler hats. They act more like traditional lazy, by-the-book builders though. Reminds me of the Bernard Cribbins song 'Right Said Fred.'
• Brian Trueman's characters Nanny and Norm both have similar beaks, hair and faces, both are quite fat and both begin with N. David Jason's characters, Duckula and Den, both wear red bow ties, are smaller and begin with D. 
• The portrait of a giant pair of hairy legs can be seen, as in 'Prime Time Duck.'
• When planning the mirror room, Norm suggests "heat-extruded polytetrafluoroethylene". Polytetrafluoroethylene is not just a comedy word, it's an actual material.
• A couple of shots during the scene where Duckula confronts his staff about the strike get used a lot in current merchandising.
  
  

  

  Expect these to get shoddily edited to Hell and back!

• Norm and Den have their names written on their mugs. 
• Norm can be heard saying "Left hand down a bit", which may be a reference to "The Navy Lark". This was one of  Sub Lieutenant Phillips (Leslie Phillips) catchphrases.
• Although the clock bats do appear in this episode, we do not actually see them, as they have been wallpapered over. This is also one of only two instances where their theme music does not play, the other being 'Manhattan Duck'.
• Dmitri also seems to have an Uncle Vlad - unless it's just part of his joke.
• One of three times Jack May's character is seen behind a cannon, the others being 'The Mutinous Penguins' and 'Transylvanian Take-Away'.
• This episode was adapted into a book by Maureen Spurgeon and released by Carnival in 1988. (see above)
  
  Goofs and Nitpicks
  
• Mainly petty little colouring goofs that no-one but pedants like me even spot. Von Goosewing's eyes are miscoloured for a shot at the castle front door, a sliver of Den's collar is coloured as his neck when facing Roberto in the scaffolding wreck, Igor's eyelid and Duckula's beak corner colour flicker for a single frame in the final scene.
• When Duckula, Roberto and the workmen enter the corridor, the doors disappear for a shot. The lighting and angle makes it look like they could be half-closed though.