"Manhattan Duck"

MOVE IT, YA JOIK!

Season 4 episode 2 (episode 60 overall)

Original broadcast date: 12 January 1993

Writer: Brian Trueman
Additional voices: Tarquin Q Paintbrush/

                              Odysseus Schussboomer/

                              Dmitri: Brian Trueman

                              Mrs. Paintbrush/Floorwalker

                              Old lady/Cabbie/Neil/

                              Sviatoslav: Jimmy Hibbert

                              Zizi L'Amour: Ruby Wax

                              Brunhilde Schussboomer:
                              David Jason

Travel location: New York

Castle transport visual used

Joke Credit: Film Location - Vampire State Building

Duckula lands the castle on a 5th Avenue department store in New York, the very week Transylvaniana is 'chic' in the big city.

This is more great class-conscious satire. The most memorable thing about this series to me is not just the horror trappings, but the mocking of social strata and this episode is a great example of this. I also love it when British comedy lampoons American stereotypes, especially in cartoons, because all too often it's the other way around. As a general rule, the most you can usually expect from US cartoons is posh 'British' (upper-class RP English) or 'Cockney' (anything else) accented characters with not much more to it than that. Here we've got a bit of variety, what with NY being such a melting pot kind of a city. Of course, I'll leave it up to genuine American chaps and chapesses to be the judge of how accurate the spoofing is this side of the pond. I'm certain there is a plethora of archetypes we don't spoof accurately, if at all. Whichever way you look at it, no-one gets the mickey ripped out of them more on this show than the Brits themselves, despite the main cast technically being Transylvanian, they qualify as English character types, especially the two retainers, Igor and Nanny.

The shenanigans start off with the Count moaning that the castle has misheard his commands again and landed him on 'a department store' rather that 'the farthest shore.' He soon cheers up however when he finds out that the store is situated in The Big Apple (or the large mango as Igor erroneously suggests) and is all set to take in the sights. Interesting how Igor gets it wrong this time. Probably a joke on how it's more of a 'modern cool person' type of knowledge.

The confusion starts right away when Mr and Mrs Tarquin K (or Q?) Paintbrush appear and greet the Count warmly, assuming that he works in the department store. It's so rare on this show for the Count to recognise anyone he's met before and even rarer for him to have a pleasant reunion with them. This is probably among the nicest things that may have happened to him in a show like this! Igor is less than pleased to see them and after a couple of slightly off-colour jokes (disguised under a silly pun about ear-piercing) he tells them in his own erudite way to basically, shove off. The couple take this as very good manners and carry on with what they're doing, referring to Igor as a shop assistant, which offends him! Clearly beneath his dignity as a butler. Perfect example of US and UK character types getting equally mocked at the same time. A similar exchange, only in reverse, would occur in Avenger Penguins ('Sherlock's Penguins) when the the penguins get insulted horribly while in London, yet deem this as very polite compared to what they are used to.

The mix-up gets partly explained and partly worse when a very real and very campy, shop assistant (Jimmy Hibbert of course!) tells them all to look lively and plug the Transylvanian merchandise. Duckula is very puzzled now, but Igor's measured response is simply "He was American, milord..." Another classic doubled-edged joke and one that always raises a dry smile! Jack May's delivery is perfect. They don't get much chance to figure things out much further before another larger-than-life American character barges in (this must have been a fun episode to cast), in the shape of the aggressive and bad-tempered Mr. Schussboomer, (with a Don Martin-esque appearance) voiced perfectly by Brian Trueman, doing a growling Noo Yoik accent. Igor takes an immediate dislike to him.
 
Mr. Schussboomer: Mrs. Schussboomer sez she's gotta have somethin' Transylvanian! And there ain't gonna be no LIVIN' with Mrs. Schussboomer until she GETS somethin' Transylvanian!
Duckula: Why don't you just leave the old bat to Mr. Schussboomer?
Mr. Schussboomer: Jerk. I'M Mr. Schussboomer!
Duckula: I hear your wife's a lovely woman.
Mr. Schussboomer: She's an old bat.

It's also made explicit that Mr. S does not want to buy Transylvanian memorabilia because he likes it, he just wants to get it for his wife and to keep in with the nouveu-riche set. This is a good way to exemplify shallow materialism. Igor also displays a rare instance of baser emotion, in that he actually changes his usual tune when he sees how much money they can all gain by selling the magic clock. I guess he forgot about what happened in 'Down Under Duckula.' Again, although Igor is by far the most intelligent member of the regular cast, he is not perfect.

Soon more customers arrive and before long everything has been sold off bar the staff. This soon changes too, because who should drop in but 'that awful film star' Zizi L'Amour, the one who wanted to buy the castle (and Igor) in 'Unreal Estate' and another character that Duckula remembers. Before long he has sold Igor and sent Nanny out to deliver him like a parcel!

Igor: Do I mean nothing to you?
Duckula: Igor, I can't tell you how much you mean to me. But I can buy all the butlers I want with it!

Another off-colour joke ends the scene as Duckula whispers something objectionable in Zizi's ear, echoing an earlier bit where she whispered to him.


Next we cut back and forth a little between Duckula and Nanny touring NY city and Igor's stint as Miss L'Amour's butler. He's not enjoying it and if you listen carefully, you can hear Jimmy Hibbert praising Igor for being 'so exotically insulting!' He also meets 'the old bat', Mrs. Shussboomer (who resembles Dame Edna Everage) at the party and insults her husband in an equally exotic way. Meanwhile Nanny is managing to cause accidents all over town with Duckula admonishing her for it, coupled with some 'how on Earth could that have happened?' one-shot visual gags. It's often funnier (not to mention cheaper!) not to see how these things happen but to merely see the ridiculous results. Rewatching recently, I'm actually amazed at the taxi sequence, where the very angry cabbie's solution to any and every problem appears to be to shoot people! Gun culture comment aside, I'd be very surprised if this made it through the censors these days on a supposed 'kids show.' Funny stuff though.

Duckula and Nanny then run into Igor in a shady alley (what was he up to there I wonder?) after Nanny accidentally hits him with the taxi door she managed to rip off. He explains how he has 'left (Miss L'Amour's) emplyoment' after apparently trying to murder the cook! They've all had enough by now and decide to head home to the castle before it takes off for Transylvania.

Unfortunately, because they've sold the clock, the castle isn't going anywhere, which enables all the customers from earlier to come back and demand refunds for all that they've bought. Nanny is at least pleased to see all the stuff back where it belongs and one does wonder about those hard-to-please customers. Sure, the stuff they bought might have been a pile of old rubbish, but it was genuinely Transylvanian! Peasants. No pleasing some folk, is there?

Miss L'Amour and her gigantic driver also appear to claim back the money she spent hiring Igor. I like how Igor shows a little base emotion here too. He spars with Duckula a little when Miss L'Amour refers to one of them as 'handsome.' Eventually, the clock gets returned too. Seems the Schussboomers had a lot of trouble getting it to work properly. There's a scene earlier where Dmitri and Sviatoslav make utter gobbldegook 'jokes' while the couple try unsuccesfully to set the time. Seems that the clock only works properly when it's in it's proper place. Deep.

Another class/title exchange is followed by yet another off-colour joke.

Floor walker: Ah, Mr. Duckula.
Igor: COUNT Duckula!
Schussboomer: (agressive) Duckula?
Duckula: (meek) Yes?
Floor walker: This...gentleman, Mr. Schussboomer has a complaint.
Duckula: Well I hope it isn't catching!

He also has the clock. He explains humorously about how ugly and inaccurate it is. After a somewhat clunky joke about artichokes/are dey jokes? (the floor walker mishears Mr. S's accent) the clock is back where it belongs and Mr. S is giving the floor walker a beating outside the castle just as it takes off for home. Our trio express their joy.

Are we watching the right show? A happy ending? Even the narrator is confused! OK, they lost all the money, but they got reunited, got their stuff back and are now safe at home. Interestingly they didn't get a chance to return Schussboomer's money, so if they hurry, they could still cash that cheque if they haven't already! He won't miss it anyway.

One of the wryest and most high-brow episodes for my money; Duckyboos at his most sitcommy. Gets new laughs every time with the large amount of very quotable lines. Animation is by the Spanish team.

Music
Bit bare this review I fear. "Fa Fa Fa" by Roger Roger opens the episode. Also known as "Miller's Mood." (track 2) I remember hearing this music on a kids' nature show ("The Really Wild Show"?) on a segment about pelicans appropriately. "Clowneries" (Roger Roger) can be heard during the shot of the store banner and the selling spree time lapse.  "Uncle Fred"  (Malcolm Neville Lockyer) plays as Mr. S. explains why he's retoining da clock. (I had this on a stock music tape many moons ago when I did a video production course. I may still have it somewhere.) I also heard it once on a BBC Sunday morning show that had a segment about gnomes of all things. I also love the piano jazz that plays during Mr. S's first scene. 

Pans and Backgrounds
A rare treat! A panning title card. The one used here is edited so as to see both words of the title. They flash alternately in the televised version.

Same pan as above, without the overlay of the apartment. Used to bookend the scene in the apartment.

Trivia

• Yet another episode with duck in the title.
• Episode neither begins nor ends on a scream of dismay, in fact it ends with everyone happy. Also does not begin in Transylvania, but ends there.
• The name of the store is Casey's, which is a pun on Macy's Department Store. 5th Avenue is also known as Millionaire's Row because of all the fancy and expensive shopping outlets.
• Duckula references Jack Lemmon when Igor is trying to remember the slang for New York.
• There's a Greek runner statue in the room at the beginning.
• Duckula alliterates again. "The B-ronx, the B-rooklyn B-ridge and B-roadway!"
  Igor: Ah well, at least it makes a change from b-roccoli.
• 2nd appearance of Mr & Mrs. Paintbrush. Tarquin seems to have changed his middle initial from K to Q and they also seem to have patched things up with the Count since their last appearance which is rather endearing for such a cynical show. It's also unusual for the Count to remember anyone he's met before other than Von Goosewing. If we're to believe what Miss L'Amour says at the cocktail party, Mrs. Paintbrush's first name is Quintiss-Beam.
• The floor walker does the let's do it 'with love' thing Mr. Roberto did in 'Restoration Comedy.' Both are played by Jimmy using a similar voice.  
• Both Brian's husband characters do the 'if my wife wants X, she gets X' lines. He also does the same as Mr. Belmont in the Victor & Hugo episode 'Artful Dodgers' which is also set in New York.
• Mr. Paintbrush does the same confusion with Duckula's title as Scot did in 'Igor's Busy Day.' 'Mister Count.' They don't have aristocracy in the Americas doncha know!
• Mr Schussboomer uses the insult 'limey' which is a reference to how English sailors would suck on lemons/limes to prevent scurvy. In return, Igor calls Mr. Schussboomer an arriviste, which is a word for a ruthless, selfish person with lots of money and no taste. Ulysses P. Broomhandle uses the limey word in 'Escort-Red Handed' (V&H)
• Igor asks if he may nail Mr. Schussboomer's ears to his kneecaps, a threat he made to Mr. Paintbrush in 'Mobile Home.' Duckula's response is, amusingly, "Hmm, why not."
• Mr. Schussboomer's design is also used for one of the gangsters in 'Private Beak' only coloured differently.
• All of Brian's male characters wear bow ties/and or spotty ties. Mr. Paintbrush's tie was more flowery in his first appearance.
• One of only 2 times in the series where David voices a woman, the other being 'Astro Duck.'
• One of only 2 episodes where the clock bats' theme is not present for any of their appearances, the other being 'Restoration Comedy.'
• Schussboomer is the name for a skier who skis directly downwards at great speed. The word is used a lot for the song 'Shussboomer Toad' in the 'Winter Sports' episode of  "Wind in the Willows" also written by Trueman. The husband's first name is Odysseus and the wife's name is Brunhilde. Cosgrove-Hall made a pilot called 'The Story of Odysseus' in 1996 about the legendary Greek king. He is also know by the Latin name Ulysses, which was the name of an American tourist in the Victor & Hugo episode 'Escort Red-Handed' also voiced/written by Brian. Greek Odysseus's wife was called Penelope, also the name of Hugo's pet earwig. Brunhilde was a female warrior of the Valkyries from Norse legend. Cosgrove-Hall loved giving American characters outrageous names!
• Mr and Mrs. Nouveu-Riche and the secretary from 'Rent a Butler' can be seen at the party. The dame from 'Private Beak' is also there.
• 2nd appearance of Zizi L'Amour. She appears in the unofficial pilot episode 'Unreal Estate' which she makes a reference to. 'I like a home that stays at the same address.' Her name is a pun on Zsa Zsa Gabor. L'Amour is French for love and could also be a nod to Dorothy Lamour. She also references the Vanderbilts, a very wealthy family.
• Nanny, like Mr. Toad, says that the drivers are all 'poop-pooping'!
• Woody Allen makes a cameo! (see below right) In the same scene, a passing cop appears to have a humanoid ear! 
• The Statue of Liberty is depicted as a duck person. It is depicted as normal in Danger Mouse and Victor & Hugo and as a cat person in Fantomcat. Interestingly, it is not seen at all in Avenger Penguins. Nanny manages to somehow break its arm so it mimics her appearance. Not the only time she'd mess up a famous landmark.
• The cabbie responds disgustedly to the term 'Duckyboos' as several others have done throughout the series. He also seems to roll his sleeves up between shots.
• An ad for JVC can bee seen in the backgrounds as well as the BFG! Cosgrove-Hall's movie of course.
• The clock bats voices get mixed up back and forth as their clock is completely screwing up. It's on purpose as their names are still correct.
• Mr. S's 'swearing' at the clock references a clepsidra, which is an hour-glass appropriately enough.
• We get some specific animation of Sviatoslav as he springs into Mr. S. He also comes out of the upper window when he does so, otherwise reserved for the non-comedy clock bat.
• Another appearance of the magic coffin. 
• Duckula mentions 'Eastern Transylvanian standard time' which is usually Igor's line. Igor mentions it too of course, towards the end.
• Duckula cheeks Nanny's slowness by asking 'is Lindbergh across the Atlantic yet?' This is a reference to Charles Lindbergh, aviator known for the first transatlantic flight in 1927. Lindbergh is also the name of the pigeon from 'Fantomcat' who is afraid of flying. I had both series (including this episode) on the same VHS at one point, so this was doubly amusing to me. Naturalistic birds are seen flying at a few points in this episode.
• A similar Neil/kneel joke is done briefly in the Danger Mouse episode 'The Clock Strikes Back.' 
• This episode was released on VHS in 1990 along with '00 Duck' and 'A Mountie Always Gets His Duck' - well before any of them were broadcast! I remember being a bit disappointed when it came on TV that it wasn't a 'new' (to me) episode. Then again I did have a bad cold from walking home from school in the snow, so I wasn't in the best of moods.
  

Goofs and nitpicks

• Mr. Paintbrush's tie changes from red with maroon spots to lilac with maroon spots at one point. Could be explained away by lighting.
• Nanny's collar is briefly miscoloured when Mr. S wants the clock.
• Mr. Schussboomer's cheque book is spelled the British English way. Mind you, this is from the same studio that used three-pin plugs in 'Avenger Penguins' so it could quite well be intentional. License on the taxi is spelt the US English way.
• Mrs. Schussboomer's cocktail stem flickers in and out of existence briefly.