"Town Hall Terrors"

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Season 1 episode 23 (episode 23 overall)

Original broadcast date: 21 February 1989

Writer: Peter Richard Reeves

Additional voices: Peasant/Chairman: 

                              David Jason
                              Obadiah/2nd doorman: 

                              Jack May
                              Hezekiah/1st Doorman/
                             Catchpole/Information 
                             Lady/Typist: 

                             Jimmy Hibbert

Joke Credit: Red Tape - Form 327/54/P9Q
                                                    
Castle transport visual not used.

Duckula is convinced by some peasants to apply for a grant to help renovate the castle. Unfortunately for him the process to actually getting this done is needlessly complicated.

We open up in the village in where the peasants are discussing what to do so as to have the best chance of winning a prettiest village contest. I love the contrast of what seems like a typically middle-class mum sort of deal being taken very seriously by a bunch of grizzled farmers. They even debate what material of curtains will look best in a totally deadpan manner. Which leads them to the most difficult aspect to look into. What are they going to do about the castle? They're of the opinion that it's an eyesore that ruins the appearance of  their village. While that's debatable, the fact that they are too scared to tell the Count about this is definitely not worth worrying about. But they're still certain of him as being a blood-sucking fiend in duck form, so their fear is justifiable. They draw straws to see who has to do the brave/foolish deed (for some reason the pencil and paper gag stuck in my mind as a child) and David Jason's peasant cheats, forcing the other two next to him to have to go. So off they set.

Their journey upwards is interrupted by some falling cocoa. For context, Duckula chucks the solid mass of Nanny style hot beverage out a window which knocks out Hezekiah, the more portly of the two fellow. This seems to confirm his friend Obediah's suspicion that no-one makes it back from Castle Duckula alive.

Obadiah: They say that anyone who enters Castle Duckula is never heard from again. They just disappears overnight and all that's left of them in the morning is their teeth and bones lying bleaching in the sun.
Hezekiah: I ain't got any teeth. I got a good set o' gums though!

The main three rescue the unconscious peasant and use the kitchen as a makeshift hospital. Some funny lines here about aspirins being a little weak to cure a fractured skull while Igor's more keen on having his master eat the peasant alive! When the peasant starts to revive, Igor's quick to act -

Duckula: Look he's coming round.
Igor: I'll soon have him unconscious again sir. Quick Nanny, more cocoa!

Duckula manages to resist the temptation to tuck into a filthy farmer's flesh (not difficult) and forgives them for sneaking around his castle. This is where the two of them broach the subject of tarting up the castle which Duckula actually thinks is a great idea, much to their surprise. Only problem -as ever - is one of money, but the peasants know what to do there too. Go to the Town Hall and apply for a grant. Simple! You have to wonder if any of the rest of the village believed old Hezekiah and Obadiah when they returned. Their experience with the Count was nothing short of civility itself, disregarding some of Igor's behaviour.

The second half of the episode is a lot less gloomy and takes place during the day. It's off to the Town Hall in the rickety old trailer where Igor gets another great 'opposite humour' style gag.

Duckula: Careful Igor! You only just missed those people back there!
Igor: I know sir. My aim is getting worse I fear. Perhaps I could go back and have another go?

The trailer (but not it's toppermost portion) make it to the Town Hall and what follows is a confusing trek to find the right office. The whole thing is very relatable to anyone who has ever had to deal with office buildings and mind-boggling bureaucracy in general. It's bad enough to deal with over the telephone but getting lost in a maze of identical doors is just a nightmare. The whole thing puts me in mind one of the challenges in of "The 12 Tasks of Asterix." Still, it's exercise! After asking the old geezer at the front door where to go, he gives them confusing directions to where to go to get directions to where they want to go. Things are boding well, then...

The building itself is pretty surreal (like the castle in that respect) in that behind each door seems to be a portal to that department's function. Departments included are:

• Water - All three get soaked and a rubber duck floats by!
• Sports and Recreation - Rugby players trample all over Duckula.
• Gardening and Agriculture - Duckula gets ploughed down by a tractor and Igor gets his suit mowed.
• Demolition - A wrecking ball gets wrecked itself by hitting Nanny.
• Entertainment - Duckula gets knocked over by a bunch of clowns.
• Sanitation - A literal rubbish dump where an eccentric garbageman tries to con Duckula into doing his job for him.
• Information - A snooty librarian type gives them a load of random facts except the one they need.
• Grants for Crumbling Castles - What they were looking for!
  
  

Getting what they need attended to is surprisingly straightforward after all they've been through so far (isn't it always?) and it's amusingly portrayed by having them walk into the office followed by a few seconds of a closed door, before they re-emerge, cheque in hand. Of course, perhaps the official people were scared of Duckula like the peasants were, but it seems unlikely. The 'higher-ups' in this series tended to be more apt to dismiss the Count rather than fear him.

 

Sadly their Town Hall Terrors are not over yet (see how I managed to work the episode title in there? Clever eh?) and soon they're returning to pay a fine for parking illegally outside the hall. Annoying! Couldn't the doorman have warned them earlier? Maybe his wages come from the fines. Back to the hallways and a call-back to the earlier searching scene is played out using the same footage and dialogue (though not the same readings) which then takes them into a board meeting about railway development. This is not really where they want to be though but before long Duckula loses himself in the fervor of speech-making in favour of said railway. David Jason does a great job here and also does a few lines as the chairman himself in what sounds (and looks!) like a Ronnie Barker parody. Despite Igor's protests Duckula gets carried away and soon so has his money. Seems his speech was a little too convincing. And they still haven't paid that fine yet. Again, I like how they didn't go for the more obvious and have the grant cheque used to pay the fine.

What is the upshot of all this? No castle grant and now the new railway line runs directly through the castle. Well, his castle did get done up in a sense as long as his likes trains. Duckula gloomily accepts this, but is dismayed at the lack of a buffet car! I guess the peasants lost their contest too, but maybe the new railway will bring plenty tourism trade in for them. There has to be an upside right?

This episode is a great example of how this series would have stood out from many of its competitors back in the day. It amazes me that this sort of thing was successfully marketed to children at all! Overaching gloom and horror aside, this is genuinely funny stuff and just as good, or better, than many live action sitcoms of that era or, in my (biased) opinion, of any era. A joke in almost every line coupled with the kind of bureaucratic nonsense the purported target audience of the time will be all too familiar with by now. Of course, as with "Ghostly Gold" (also penned by Reeves) there will be no evidence of the transformation in the castle's appearance by the following episode! Reeves must have liked abusing that reset button. UK animation.

Music

"Drama Sting No. 3" (Peter Knight) - Title.
"Shadowed" (Peter Francklyn/Robert Gill) Drawing straws and 'Please forgive us!'
"Stealth By Night" (Jack Coles) - Peasants ascending the mountain.
"Jack O'Lantern - Feux Follets" (Roger Roger)  - Searching the hallways. 
"The Big Top" (Keith Papworth) - Run over by clowns.
"The Villain (a/b)" (Dick Walter - track 34/5) Information/grants.
"Pomp and Circumstance" (Edward Elgar) - Duckula getting carried away.

Pans and Backgrounds

At least one of these backgrounds also appears in "Amnesiac Duck" only recoloured and edited. See if you can spot it! It appears in others too, with the tree coming through the window (referenced from "Dracula" 1931) The town hall areas look like a cold and somewhat outdated (even for 1989) building like an old school, with each room having it's own theme. There's a clever trick whereby the same background is used, but the fire extinguisher is moved to create the impression that Duckula approaches a door further down the corridor. Clicking on any of these images or sets will enlarge them. A couple of really nice long vertical pans showing off the castle and the mountaintop as the peasants ascend. Paul Salmon is most likely the artist responsible for this. See also above.

Mike Whaite possibly drew this bit. Or at least someone working from his model sheets, given the pose on the right. Another such pose occurs during the trashcan scene.

Trivia

• 
  Episode starts and ends in Transylvania but not on a scream either time. Reeves scripts tend to do this more than anyone elses'.
• It looks a little light in the sky for the first scene outside the pub. 
• The innkeeper appears, but has no lines.
  
• First time Jimmy Hibbert voices a peasant called Hezekiah. Next time is in "The Return..." It's clearly not the same character. Maybe it's his son, named after him? The peasants in that episode also make their way to the castle.
  
• The drawings and layout where Duckula takes the mug of cocoa are reused in "Arctic Circles."
• Hezekiah and Obadiah are arguably the only peasants in the series to bravely enter Castle Duckula...and live to tell the tale! (or escape unharmed) Unless you count some of the visitors from "Open To The Public", the main difference there being that none of them appeared to think of the castle as a threat so it's less of a bravery challenge. 
• They're also among a few characters other than the main trio (a list that even includes Victor and Hugo) to enter the kitchen. Like Duckula in "Amnesiac Duck", Hezekiah also ends up lying dazed on the kitchen table. Soames and Potson also land on it in "The Great Ducktective."
  
• The mug motif is carried through from the beer tankards to the cocoa mug.
• The two peasants are seen ascending the spiral pathway up to the castle. We would see Igor and Nanny descending this path in "There Are Werewolves At The Bottom Of Our Garden."
  
• Hezekiah claims not to have any teeth (Igor backs this up!) yet he is among the few characters drawn with a few visible teeth sticking out. This is probably meant to represent how few he has left though. Never mind the fact that they're birds - I don't.
• Nanny has a cousin Bernice who has children called Grant, Wayne, Bobby, Chuck and Sharon.
• Igor recommends robbery to get the money. He also seems to approve of this in "Mysteries of the Wax Museum."
  
• Second appearance of the trailer. It gets damaged when passing under a low archway. This remains consistent for the rest of the episode. 
  
• All three get confused about the doorman's directions, but Igor gets closest by remembering the right floor and door numbers but the wrong way round.
  
• Another instance of the main trio entering the village. This didn't happen too often.
• The doorman is one of three Jimmy Hibbert characters to have epaulettes on their outfit. The Colonels from "Mississippi Duck" and "Astro Duck" are the other two.
  
• I think Duckula makes reference to American football, but tellingly, he just calls it football. Perhaps some sports fans can explain that one for me.
  
• Circus clowns and the same music cue are used in this episode as in the very next one.
• It's always Tuesday in Transylvania! Unsure if this even counts as a mistake, but the episode opens on a Tuesday and when Duckula goes to the Town Hall the next day, according to 'information' it is apparently still Tuesday!
• The dustman and the 2nd doorman re-appear in "00 Duck" where the doorman is now a railway porter. They are even voiced by the same actors, albeit with different voices. 
• The dustman also mentions a beret like another Hibbert character a few episodes back. He too, has been seen hiding in a trashcan.
  
• Igor states that he has/had 13 siblings and that his mother used sump oil as a fragrance that his father appreciated.
• The info' lady mentions Charles Bulfinch, regarded by many to be the first professional American architect. Appropriately, a bulfinch is also a bird. Louis XII of France was married at 14. He was forced to marry his cousin's cousin who was disabled and supposedly sterile, in a bid by King Louis XI to end Louis XII's line. (Jimmy Hibbert also voiced King Louis XIII in "Albert the 5th Musketeer") Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's mother was called Zilpah. HWL was an American poet and Professor and was responsible for writing the poem "Paul Revere's Ride."
• Nanny's line about three werewolves up the wall is a reference to the decoration three (appropriately enough) ducks up the wall. 
• Duckula addresses the board room as gentlemen, despite there being some women present too.
• The cheque is for $60,000. This isn't the symbol for drachma, but then I'm certain the currency in this show is fictionalised anyway. A cheque is also used (for US dollars) in "Manhattan Duck."
• The train is the "12:50 from Sprotsylvania." Spotsylvania is actually a place in Virginia USA, so that's a long trip! It's clearly being used as a Transylvania pun, but it could easily Count as a two-for-one joke. I like how they didn't got for the more obvious Pennsylvania as is often the case in US cartoons. The narrator mentions Durazzo and Viipuri. These are respectively a city in Albania and a Russian city near the Finnish border.
• Nanny manages to open the doors correctly! Something she learned and remarked upon in the previous episode. It won't last.
• Another of a handful of episodes where Brian Trueman voices no additional characters. Equally unusually, Jack May voices two and Jimmy Hibbert voices two females. 
• Two of Jack May's characters hold doors open.
• The joke credit is a reference to the term used to describe pointless over-complicated bureaucracy, called red tape. This used to be actual physical tape that held together documents, so the phrase 'cutting though the red tape' used to mean just that.
  
  
  Goofs and Nitpicks
  
  
• Misplaced background of the kitchen table for a very brief shot. 
• Igor's head gets misaligned when Duckula is ploughed down. Unintentionally funny actually!
• Nanny's sling is on the wrong arm briefly when they meet Catchpole. Oddly enough the same happens when they meet up again.
  
  
  To close, here's a couple of those earlier shots worked into a slow GIF. 
  
  
  
  
  
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