"Beau Duckula"

Or "Jimmy Hibbert's Lungs Are Insured For Millions."

Season 2 Episode 13 (episode 39 overall) 

Original broadcast date: 5th December 1989

Writer: Jimmy Hibbert
Additional voices: Dr Von Goosewing/

                        Sgt. Frendlez/Sheik: Jimmy Hibbert

                              Colonel: Brian Trueman
                              Corporal Wretch: David Jason    

                              Legionnaire: Jack May

Travel location: Sahara Desert

Joke Credit: Focus Puller - Seymour Better

Castle transport visual used.

Well, well, well - another 'Duckula in the service' episode so soon after the last one! This blog's full of surprises. This one is similar in taking it's cues from classic adventure literature and movies, this time, the romanticized view of life (and death!) in the French Foreign Legion. In contrast to the cold snowy weather of last month's review, things are heating up now, so this seems appropriate too.

It starts off with what seems like another regular day at the castle which is just what the Count does not want; Nanny being infuriating, Igor being boring and Goosewing showing up bent on murdering. It's all too much for a vegetarian vampire duck to take! Igor makes the mistake of sarcastically suggesting he join the foreign legion to get away from it all. He ought to realise how impressionable his master is by now, because of course this is just what Duckula does. So, it's time to take the castle off to the middle of the desert and knock on the door of the first garrison he finds.

Unfortunately for Duckula, the first garrison he finds contains the ironically named Sgt. Frendlez (what? - friendly - ah) who at first seems to live up to his name in spades, but soon afterwards begins screeching nastily like some sort of unholy hybrid of Von Goosewing and Gaston. I love how this complete 180 turn happens the instant Duckula signs his name on the enrolment paper. I have no intentions of finding out if this is based on real life or not but I think it's safe to say we've all come across someone like the Sarge before at some point. The kind of person who's just sweet and lovely, but only until they have some sort of legal hold over you. The garrison also contains a doddering old Colonel - who seems to be very vainly concerned about his weight - and his aide, a scruffy Corporal who talks like Delboy Trotter. We get a little education in what French words mean (coupled with captions) here. In fact, eagle-eared viewers will spot inklings of "Victor & Hugo" style French language jokes peppered throughout the episode. There's also what seems like a really dirty joke just as the Colonel and Corporal are introduced! This really took me by surprise the first time I saw it I have to admit! Maybe that's why they don't want any women in the legion? Anyway things get even more shocking as the Colonel's corset pops off and Duckula is signed up for duty.

Well, women may not be allowed to join, but that doesn't seem to stop Nanny from doing so, along with Igor as well, advanced age regardless. Like overprotective parents, they've enlisted too, to keep an eye or two on their charge. This recurring motif of Duckula's servants acting more like his parents is pretty endearing as well as amusing. It's just as well they do enrol though, as Duckula needs all the help he can get against the sadistic sergeant who is a total psychopath.

The Colonel's inspection lasts all of about two seconds before his corset rebels again, leaving the Sergeant to carry on. Being a bit of a rotter, he sets up an important, dangerous (and most likely fictitious) mission and for this, he needs to ask for three volunteers. Gee I wonder who will be selected? As expected, he sends our three heroes off into the desert to find the aptly names Fort Dispair, with no directions other than '40 leagues due South' and doesn't even tell them what the important message is. I'm beginning to get the impression this guy is just evil for the sake of it. It does seem to be heavily implied that he basically runs the fort himself for his own vile amusement with the senile old Colonel being no more than a figurehead. This is presumably so he (the Colonel) can get the blame for everything that will inevitably go wrong when the fort gets inspected by trading standards. Hey, I don't know how legions work! I don't intend to sign up to find out either, thanks.

The next few scenes involve our stars trekking through the desert. This being a Hibbert script, there's a couple of noticeable little education points from Igor as he explains the meaning of a league and a mirage. Trueman was usually more subtle about this sort of thing. Also, Duckula and co. really should have used this opportunity to get back to the castle (assuming they haven't lost it again) but they carry on regardless. My favourite part is Igor's reaction to Duckula's panic. Some stuff on this show really is made funny by the actors' delivery more than the actual lines themselves.

Duckula: That's MILES!
Igor: Yes milord. 103.68 miles to be precise, approximately.
Duckula: But we're going to DIE!
Igor: Ye-es milord.

The whole exercise is all for naught anyway as they arrive straight back at the same fort they left. Frendlez is not exactly pleased to see them. He reacts in the only reasonable way he can; by organising a firing squad! I hope he has plenty of silver bullets. Come to that, can vampires be truly harmed by gunfire? Duckula seems to think so, but then again he tends to disavow his vampiric traits and frequently forgets he even has any. Igor and Nanny are certainly in trouble though.

Thankfully the day is saved by a third and final appearance of the Colonel's crazy corset! This distracts everyone for long enough so that Nanny can simply walk away from the stake she's tied to and release the other two before heading off home. Although, judging from the paper target on the wall behind them, they weren't in much real danger anyway. Still, it'd be hard to miss a target like Nanny. The best part is the fact that Nanny herself seems to view the whole exercise as some sort of play group and one upon which she is not overly keen on; mainly do to poor manners. She really takes exception to the Sergeant's...unique way of expressing himself throughout the episode and it finally comes to a head now that play-time appears to be over.

Sergeant: Stop! What are you doing you great hulk?

Nanny: What am I doing? Hoo! I'm takin' Duckyboos home that's what I'm doing and I don't think he'll be coming back tomorrow neither. I don't like him playing with rough oiks like you!

Sergeant: Ruffoix? What is this ruffoix?

Things get a bit mad now. Frendlez is intent on having them shot anyway and orders his men to give chase. Some riff-raffs decide to get in on the action too, but our trio manage to make it back to the castle in time to take off. Well, better late than never! The Sarge caps it off by bringing up the mirage motif again while getting crushed by everyone else in the chase.

A cute, although bittersweet bit to close things off. Duckula realises that he was foolish to run away from those whole genuinely care for him, even if he doesn't always see eye-to-eye with them a lot of the time. In contrast to the accepted form, he begs Igor and Nanny to do their thing, to restore his sense of security. By now, Igor is too tired to comply and Nanny assumes he's joking. I'm sure Duckula might change his mind about all this anyway if Goosewing is still hanging about.

A fun, jokey episode, my favourite parts being Nanny's reactions to the Sergeant's "naughty talk!" and the 'buried in the sand head first' quip. This is also an episode that has a bit of heart-warmingness to it too if you look at it a certain way, especially that ending, so it's not just total silliness and peril. I would not be at all surprised if some children reconsidered running away from home after watching this one. Expressive and bouncy animation is from the UK team.

Another fine bookmark!

 Music

"La Marseillaise B" (Dick Walter - track 9.2) Title/Fort Issymeux

 "Uneasy Feeling" (Jack Trombey - track 14) - Duckula being haunted by   his staff.

"Les Follies" (John Herbert Leach/George Fenton - track 8) - Signing up.

 "Paris Pavements" (Dick Walter - track 9.3) - Back of my neck!

 "Sinister Street 2" (Peter Francklyn) - Leaving and returning to the fort.

 "Desert Caravan" (George Fenton, John Leach - track 10) - Arriving in  desert.

 "Basket of Snakes" (Keith Papworth) - Out in the desert.

 "Saloon Bar Hoedown?" (Dick Walter, track 22.11, distorted) - Mirage. 

 "After Dark" (Paddy Kingsland, track 31) - Returning to the fort. Very  brief.

 "La Marseillaise A" (Dick Walter - track 9.1) Fort Issymeux again.

 "Jailbreak" (Robert Gill) - Time to go 'ome!

 The music used when Duckula hams it up (twice) is also used in the Danger Mouse episode "The Return of Count Duckula" when he hams it up there. A couple of stings are used from an unidentified track each time the Colonel's uniform pops off. I have the full track if anyone wants it. "La Marseillaise" is also heard a few times as well as a couple of Frenchy cues from "Hunchbudgie of Notre Dame." A reveille bugle call is heard when the chase starts.

Pans and Backgrounds

 Speedy for production reasons! Deserts always help with that. But we do get some really good castle shots too, my favourite being the stairway area and the chair at the end. The light effects from the blinds on the Colonel's office windows are a nice touch too. The sense of heat from the sun is often conveyed via special effects. Double exposure? I don't know, I've never been able to figure that out no matter how many times I read about it! It's too hot to think. Quite a few pans, even if some are quite brief.

Is that a relative of Obadiah on the far right?

Looks like a leering face on the far right.

Trivia

• Another episode with the word duck in the title, technically. It's a reference to the novel "Beau Geste" by P. C. Wren (appropriate name there) and subsequent films.
• Episode starts on Nanny's singing and ends on Duckula's screams. She's singing something about her uncle. Unsure what song that's a reference to, if any.
• Speaking of relatives, one of the portraits looks like it could be of Igor's mother or maybe his sister! Right next is one that looks like Duckula as a playing card character.  
• Nanny's early line about Duckyboos being 'a brave soldier' is prophetic of what happens in this episode.
  
  
• The animation of Duckula running away from his staff is reused from "Dr. Goosewing and Mr. Duck." Some of his poses immediately prior and one when he descends the stairs look like model sheet references. Abuse that freeze frame function folks!
• Another appearance of the magic coffin.
• Verse to make the castle move:
   "From Transylvania to the land
   Of pyramids and desert sand
   I will very soon be gone
   To join the Foreign Leg-i-on!"
• When Duckula enters the coffin a cloud of smoke and lightening appears outside it as he says his verse. This never usually happens. It also occurs in "The Lost Valley."
• Second time the gang travel to the Sahara. It is mentioned by Igor in "No Sax Please."
• Fort Issymeux is a pun on fortissimo which means very loud. Appropriate given the Sergeant's way of communicating. Igor pronounces it correctly, Duckula doesn't.
• Sgt Frendlez wear 3 chevrons, implying he is a staff sergeant.
• The Colonel's office window-sill is covered with dead flies!
• Tunic and buttons in French are actually spelt tunique and bouttons, but this is part of the Franglais joke. Kepi is the name of the legionnaire hat. The Colonel's French exclamation is basically "oh the cow!"
• The Colonel and Marcel MacElvenny say 'sacré bleu' and are both voiced by Brian Trueman. Marcel was also in a 'Duckula in the service' type of an episode.
• "Wind In The Willows" fans will get a bonus in-joke when the Sergeant calls Duckula a toad.
• Despite popular conception, French citizens cannot join the Foreign Legion without changing their nationality beforehand. Then again, perhaps these soldiers are Belgian.
• Both David Jason's characters have titles starting with 'co'. He also played a legionnaire in the Danger Mouse episode "A Plague of Pyramids." 
• First appearance of a Colonel in the series. There's also a Colonel in the very next episode. Unlike the Sergeant and Corporal, the Colonel gets no comedy surname. Le boo hoo!
• Rare episode that has Duckula not in his regular suit for the majority of the time. Even rarer in that this also applies to Igor and Nanny.
• Despite women not being able to enlist, Nanny manages and is referred to as a man by the Sergeant throughout the episode. This is a double joke given she's voice by a man!
• For some reason Igor does not wear a kepi. Perhaps, as a vulture, he's got no problem with the desert! Duckula doesn't seem affected by the sun either, so this must be his vegetarianism helping. Nanny's excuse is that she's dopey and puts it on backwards anyway. In fairness to Igor, he could be being respectful (which would be in character), as a new recruit is only authorised to wear a kepi after 4 weeks training.
• Igor's measurement of a league in miles is pretty accurate. Approximately.
• Duckula does not take his rifle on the march. Igor and Nanny do.
• One of Frendlez' insults is (more-or-less) calling Duckula a miserable piece of stew! Mirepoix is a vegetable stew, so maybe this is a slur of Duckula's meal preferences.
• The Colonel's watch looks like it says about 5 to 6.
• Nanny's arm comes out of its sling briefly when pointing at Frendlez.
• Very rare instance where Nanny refers to Igor without the Mister prefix. She says it almost immediately afterwards though. An out-take that made it past the cutting room floor? The only other time this happens is in the Victor & Hugo episode "The Poultry-Geist" where, tellingly, Neither Igor nor Duckula are present. She also does it in "Arctic Circles", however she is directly quoting Duckula in this instance so it doesn't Count.
• For a cartoon series made in the 1980s there's a startling amount of gunfire in this episode! Possibly because it was made in Britain where it's not so much of a sensitive topic, but I'd be very surprised if this aired in the States unedited. Perhaps some American fans with long memories can enlighten me?
• Another episode with camels in it.
• Some of the jokes in this episode were later reused in the "Sooty's Amazing Adventures" episode "Desert Song", also written by Jimmy Hibbert and also FFL themed.
• Nanny can be seen in her legionnaire's outfit in the first Count Duckula annual. See the image in the trivia section for "Sawdust Ring." This leads me to believe it was an early episode idea that made it into just over halfway through the run. A lot of shows get produced in a 'first out of the factory' basis so it's not unusual.
• There seems to be some mild tape noise near the end of this episode. It's on every print I've seen, although recent ones seem to have mostly fixed it. It is very easy to miss though but I recall spotting it more on the Sky One broadcast in 2000.
• The joke credit is a camera pun on 'see more better.'
• This episode was released on "More Children’s Holiday Favourites" VHS in 1990.
  
  Goofs and Nitpicks
  
  
• The French flags are the wrong way round. HOWEVER, the 1921 FFL flag is indeed reversed with the motto emblazoned onto it.
• Sliver of a cropping error on Nanny when she says Duckula can't go away. This is not visible on a television set as originally intended.
• The Colonel's hands are coloured as his head when going through the papers. Since they're almost the same shade, it hardly matters.
• Brief continuity error with the office door.
• It's incredibly quick, but Duckula appears to disappear when Frendlez first scolds Nanny. She's so big though she could just as easily be obscuring him.