"Astro Duck"

Season 3 episode 2 (episode 47 overall)

Original broadcast date: 29 October 1990

Writer: Jimmy Hibbert
Additional voices: Computer/Bank Clerk/2nd   

                               scientist/Colonel Grid/
                               Doreen: Jimmy Hibbert
                               Miss Didyouever/1st
                               Scientist/5th scientist:
                               David Jason
                               3rd scientist/Lionel:
                               Brian Trueman
                               4th scientist: Jack May

Joke Credit: Assistant Director - Mort Gage.
                              

Travel location: Sea of Tranquillity*, The Moon

Castle transport visual used

When Duckula's computer receives a bolt of lightning to the circuitry, it turns it into an evil trouble-maker.

This one mainly uses sci-fi elements with the catalyst being a classic horror trope. As with any good horror sci-fi, being struck by lightning always brings you to life! It happened twice in "One Stormy Night" so why not again? This time, it's not a stone statue or a metal monster, but the Count's crummy computer that receives electrostatic enlightenment. One good thing about the series embodying the old school horror tropes, Victoriana and the like, is that it rarely dates badly. I suspect that Duckula's 'new' computer was pretty outdated even at the time this episode was made! It makes perfect sense that he'd have such a piece of 'cheap trash' given his luck in (after)life anyway. I wonder what his reaction would be if he played his own tie-in games? They were notoriously not-very-good, particularly the second one.

Igor of course, is far from impressed. I really like the use of language in this exchange.

Igor: I trust milord, that the machine has been put out of action by the lightning?
Duckula: You would Igor! And I expect it has!
 

There aren't a huge deal more of these exchanges between the Count and his servants in this one as otherwise, he mainly converses with his computer, first in puzzlement, then with an air of tetchiness. In fact, a substantial portion of the episode is David and Jimmy exchanging dialogue as various characters. The Count gets more annoyed when he finds out the machine's idea of fun does not meet with his own. The calculating computer finds great delight in messing with things from a distance, first causing (offscreen) accidents by screwing with traffic lights and then messing up peoples' banks account and making cash machines spew out money. I really needs this program in my computer! It does all this in such a way as to keep Duckula in the dark. He can't figure out what the big deal is about a screen full of numbers. This leads to one of my favourite lines in the entire series.

Computer: Fun isn't it?
Duckula: Fun? I've had more fun counting my feet!

Threatening to pull the plug out, Duckula demands some genuine fun. The computer decides on a compromise. It hacks into the computer system at Transylvanian Space Headquarters (T.R.A.S.H.) which, despite it's name, is a spoof of a gee-golly AMERICA! space station. The illegal hacking results in a space probe being blasted up and away into orbit, which gives Duckula a more realistic space game to play.

There follows a funny scene that parodies American military and space exploration type characters. The funniest of these being Jimmy Hibbert's blustering Colonel Grid as he berates David Jason's more 'serious acting' scientist character. It's especially fun to hear David playing a straightman for once. Apart from his character of Danger Mouse, he didn't do this all that often. Oddly enough, Brian and Jack's scientists don't even attempt American accents.

Colonel Grid: WOULD SOMEONE MIND TELLING ME JUST WHAT THE BLUE BLAZES IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?!

Meanwhile Duckula is enjoying himself  'piloting a real spaceship' - which of course he is actually doing for real without being aware of it. He lands it rather perfectly on the moon using his joystick. It may not crash, but the computer does. Figuratively and literally

Duckula: Oh great and just when I was beginning to enjoy myself too. Cheap trash!

Speaking of trash, next morning, there's some T.R.A.S.H. waiting to take HIM out! The castle has been surrounded by the military and Duckula is now in real trouble as a prime suspect. I like how the Colonel continues to use his megaphone even when he obviously doesn't need to! Duckula's reactions are really good too ('You old joker you!') and he eventually decides to follow his favourite course of action: PANIC!

After a brief brainstorm with his servants ('I really don't know where I'd be without your helpful advice, THANK YOU Igor') Nanny actually comes up with a good idea involving travelling in the castle, which Duckula naturally takes credit for. He did the same thing in "The Return..." and once more Igor is suspicious, though the butler gets some sarcastic 'praise' in this time.

Nanny: Oooh Duckyboos! You are clever!
Igor: Indeed milord. One wonders how you managed to think up that idea ALL BY YOURSELF.

Later on the moon we get another amusing character in the shape of a grumpy alien who's right fed up with big things like space probes and castles landing in his garden. He bickers with his missus and stomps over to the castle to tell them off. Duckula initially can't believe the idea of a 'little green bug-eyed monster' and suggests Nanny's been drinking again!

Igor: Heap of junk? I hope you are not referring to his lordship's castle?
Lionel: Castle, rocket ship, heap of junk! It's all the same to me! I want it out!

They eventually come to a solution: Duckula will remove the space probe for the guy when he leaves in his castle. Which of course is what he had come to do in the first place. Lionel softens somewhat at this although he still rants and grumbles all the way home! He gets in a lot good lines, mostly cheeking back Duckula and is written very much as an 'angry neighbour' sort of character, which we can't blame him for. Amongst his grousing, he even manages to get the h-word in there! Another word that's ruder stateside. I wonder how much of it was even scripted. Brian Trueman uses his Brummie-type accent as he often did in Danger Mouse for alien characters.

Lionel: Flying flaming rockets all over the shop and wreckin' the garden! Just look what they've done to my Neptuniums!

Next day, after returning home with what they came for, Duckula 'phones the Colonel, gets insulted and returns to the computer room. 

Duckula: It's a dreadful line you seem to have, very crackly. Sounded like you were calling me a..! Hehehe! Oh you were.

The computer has by now revived itself and is ready for more mischief. It once again establishes contact with the space probe and prepares to blast it off again. Unfortunately for all but the computer, the probe is still tied to the castle. Back to the moon they all go to land straight in Lionel's garden once more! Flamin' 'ooligans.

An unique sort of episode. Less interaction between the main three, but still full of some very funny dialogue. Animation is by the UK team.

Music 
Uneasy Feeling (Track 14 - Jack Trombey) - Opening.

Girl of my Dreams (James Clark) - Bank.

Acorn Rag (A) (Dick Walter) - Businessmen at cashpoint.
Taking Positions (Laurie Johnson) Colonel Grid confronts Duckula. 
Sea of Tranquility*(Dave Vorhaus) Castle lands on the moon.
Changeover (track 68) Dick Walter - Duckula calls the Colonel.

Can't identify anything else in this one I'm afraid! Gives a really weird feel to the soundtrack, to my ears. Lots of odd computer-y sounding cues as well as weird outer space themed ones, so that makes perfect sense. There's a few military sounding cues too for the AMERICA! characters and the usual musak for the bank scene used elsewhere in the series for similar scenarios.

Pans and backgrounds

There are a lot of solid, but unusual colours used here. Salmon, raspberry and amber for the most part. This, coupled with more simplistic (for this series) stylings in the backdrops gives the episode a more minimalist, comic strip kind of feel. The most interesting new areas are probably the space station and the lunar landscape, the latter of which is themed in cool light blues and a little grey.

The long downwards pan above left is also used in "Unreal Estate" and "One Stormy Night."

Trivia

• Another episode with the word duck in the title.
• There is also a DePatie-Freleng produced Daffy Duck cartoon of the same title. Oddly, it has nothing to do with outer space!
• Episode begins on Duckula screaming. Ends on both him and the alien doing so.
  Opens in Transylvania, closes on the moon.
• Igor makes mention of the werewolf  again and immediately covers his tracks.
• Duckula wants to play 'Destroy the Dribulons.' This race is also referenced in 'A Christmas Quacker' and in the Victor and Hugo episode 'Spacial Event' where the brothers visit the planet Dribulon. He also mentions 'the Musculoids from planet Futron.' The name Futon was used in 'A Christmas Quacker' for an alien there. Droylsden is a town in Greater Manchester.
• The computer makes the same noise as Namco's "Galaxian" (1979).
• The computer does not seem to have a QWERTY keyboard, but rather an ABC one! It also appears to take floppy disks for games.
• Jimmy Hibbert would use a similar voice for the talking island, car and plane in the Alias the Jester episode "The Walking Island" and the Victor & Hugo episodes "Auto-Manic Transmission" and "Yule Be Sorry" respectively. The computer in this episode sounds a lot more sinister however.
• One of only 2 times in the series where David Jason voices a female character, ther other being 'Manhattan Duck.'
• All David's male characters wear bow-ties. One of Jimmy's wears a pince-nez, like Goosewing.
• 2nd time in the series Jimmy Hibbert voices an American colonel.
• Two of the boffins trade seats at one point.
• 1st reference to T.R.A.S.H. - Transylvanian Space Headquarters. It is referenced again in "00 Duck."
  
• The deep space probe cost 765,823,938,317 drachmas and 14 cents. Sir.
• Right: Some artwork which appears to reference the military characters and TRASH. The guy giving the thumbs-up reminds me of one of the TV crew from "Prime Time Duck."
• "Right men!" "And me!" "Yes Nanny and you" joke done here. 
• Verse to get the castle moving:
  The space probe's landed on the moon
  We need to get it back and soon
  So even be it made of cheese
  Take us moonwards castle please! 
• No-one seems to have any difficulty breathing on the moon! Of course there shouldn't be life there anyway, but in case you're new here, this is a cartoon.
• When Duckula makes his wee speech he paraphrases Charles Dickens. He follows this with another alliterative gag 'Noble, newsworthy, notable and er...oh no.' He also does one earlier in the episode "I want Action! Action, adventure, activity and all this is pretty boring!"
• Another appearance of the magic coffin. 
• Brian also played a Brummie moonman (Keith) in the Danger Mouse episode "Turn of the Tide." I also used to know somebody called - wait for it - Keith Penfold!
• As above, David Jason's titular character meets Brian Trueman's alien, which again happend in "Spacial Event" (V&H) although that wasn't on the moon.
• Lionel grows Dehydrangeas and Neptuniums in his garden. The first is a pun on Hydrangeas (an actual flower) the second is a pun on Neptune. Brian also voiced King Neptune in 'The Lost City of Atlantis.'
• Lionel suffers from high 'juice pressure', obviously the moonman equivalent of blood pressure.
• The cyclops portrait also shows up in "Unreal Estate". 
• Nanny breaks the front door, offscreen, but when we see it it's not that badly damaged. The lighter sound effect reflects this.
• Igor mentions 'dawn - Eastern Transylvania standard time.'  
• Another use of the telephone box. It really sounds like the Colonel Grid swears at Duckula over the 'phone. He certainly seems to insult him!
• The joke credit is probably a reference to how expensive the space probe is.
• This episode was released on VHS in 1990 along with 'Around The World In A Total Daze', '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.  Below are both versions. I own the re-issue. I did see the original in a second hand video store once, but it was not in great condition.
  
  

  

  The original release.
  
  

  

  The version I own. Poor Jimmy gets no writer credit on the back from some reason.

  
  
  

Goofs and Nitpicks

• The antenna on the monitor disappears when the lightening strikes the computer.
• Duckula's beak disappears for a frame or two when he calls the Colonel.
  
  

  

  HAPPY NIGHTMARES ALL YOU OUT THERE IN COMPUTER LAND