Duckman

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Duckman
Image:Duckman.gif
(left to right: Eric Duckman, Bernice, Ajax Duckman, Gecko Duckman, Charles and Mambo Duckman, 'Grand-Ma-Ma', Cornfed Willibald Feivel Pig)
Format Sitcom
Created by Everett Peck
Starring Jason Alexander
Gregg Berger
Nancy Travis
Dana Hill
Pat Musick
Elizabeth Daily
Dweezil Zappa
Country of origin Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
No. of episodes 70
Production
Running time 22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel USA Network
Original run March 5 1994 – September 6 1997
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Duckman is an animated sitcom developed by Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn, based on characters created by Everett Peck in his Dark Horse comic.

Contents

[edit] Description

The series consists of 70 episodes that aired right before USA's Up All Night on Saturday nights from 1994 to 1997 on the USA Network. The initial showrunners were Reno and Osborn, and the show was produced by Paramount Television. The animation was produced by Klasky Csupo. In later years, the show running duties went to David Misch and Michael Markowitz. Producer Gene Laufenberg was with the show for most of its run. The music for first season episodes was composed and performed by Frank Zappa; however, because the show premiered after Zappa died, all the music was spliced and rearranged by his son Dweezil Zappa. The original timeslot for Duckman episodes while still being produced was changed to later at night due to complaints from parents about children seeing the adult humor-oriented show.

[edit] Plot

The series follows the adventures of a lascivious private detective duck who lives with his family and sister-in-law Bernice (an identical twin to his wife). Duckman's wife, Beatrice, died before the show began. The tagline of the show, seen in the opening credits, is "Private Dick/Family Man."

[edit] Characters

Eric Tiberius Duckman (Jason Alexander)
The main character, called simply Duckman throughout most of the show, though he recalls his father referring to him as "Duckboy" in his younger days. He shares his middle name with Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek fame. A slovenly, womanizing private detective who is more interested in sex than work, he usually fails at both. He is lazy, sarcastic and obnoxious, but usually has a quip or insult on the tip of his tongue. He relies heavily on his partner Cornfed, who has gotten him out of numerous precarious predicaments. He has been shown or implied to be responsible for the deaths of at least three of his family members, including his wife and father (his father's last words were apparently "Careful, son, I don't think the safety's on.")
Duckman is a widower; when his wife Beatrice died, she left their house to her sister Bernice, so as to insure some sort of stable atmosphere for her and Duckman's three children, Ajax, Charles and Mambo. He is a graduate of Don Galloway Detective School and has a detective license from Panama signed by Manuel Noriega. Duckman wears glasses which contain his eyes. They can be removed like normal glasses, taking his eyes with them.
Duckman often uses his catch phrases, "What the Hell are you staring at?", "Hommina hommina how wah" (punctuated in the first season by somebody saying "I didn't know you could speak Cherokee"), and his trademark scream of "D'wah!". Often when Duckman had something to celebrate, he would do "The Funky Duckman," which is a non-stop series of pelvic thrusts while "singing" the lyrics "You thrust your pelvis, hah!" over and over. The first line is usually "You let/put your down down."
Willibald Feivel Cornfed, also known as Cornfed Pig (Gregg Berger)
Duckman's mildly Joe Friday-esque business partner; loosely based on the character "Greggery Peccery" as portrayed by Frank Zappa in a handful of songs. An amazingly talented pig, Cornfed knows dozens of ancient martial arts. Cornfed was secretly a virgin - this was "remedied" in an episode regarding the Cornfed family's genetic disease contracted from a relative generations past who enraged a tribal elder in a foreign country and was force fed an odd berry.
Most (if not all) of the cases solved by the Duckman Detective Agency are solved by Cornfed, with Duckman usually hurting the case rather than helping. Cornfed deals with all of the elements of the detective agency that Duckman ignores, such as getting the clients, paying the bills and solving the cases. Cornfed has also helped Duckman numerous times with his personal life, and has often offered him advice on how to keep his family together and how to avoid the various villains, scoundrels, debt collectors, famous celebrities, video stores, politicians, late-night talk show hosts, ex-classmates, ex-girlfriends, prostitutes, pizza delivery drivers, nuns, 911 operators and old ladies who want to see him dead.
Cornfed might look mild-mannered, but in his chest beats the heart of a super pig and is also a jack-of-all-trades guy similar to Forrest Gump. He has had numerous former occupations, such as mailman, truck driver (at which point he reunited Duckman and his wife Beatrice, also naming their son Ajax after the company he was employed by), waiter, plumber, clerk for a Supreme Court justice, and member of the Irish Parliament. He has a medical degree from a Peruvian med school, and was also educated in air conditioner and VCR repair (the former of which was paid for by Marla Maples when he did her wainscoting at Mar-A-Lago).
Ajax Duckman (Dweezil Zappa)
Duckman's eldest teenage son. He speaks with a slight Californian surfer-dude accent, and always calls his father "Dod." Ajax is not the smartest person in the world, and does not seem to have very many friends along with being very shy. Despite being somewhat slow on the ball, he is a skilled free-verse poet, and occasionally surprises Duckman with a few words of slacker wisdom, as well as the occasional piece of obscure knowledge. He is not quick to take action unless he needs to, and when he does need to take action, usually finds a way to avoid it. Still, his dad is proud of him. Ajax got his name from a trucking company Cornfed was driving for when he and Duckman first met. Ajax is a huge Merv Griffin fan.
Charles and Mambo Duckman (Dana Hill then Pat Musick, and Elizabeth Daily)
Duckman's Siamese twin sons, whose heads shared the same body and both think very differently. In fact, both heads are often arguing with each other. Charles and Mambo are geniuses. Although Charles and Mambo may seem physically odd, they often are more level headed than their single craniumed father. Duckman can never seem to remember Mambo's name (calling him "la bamba," "mandingo," "mono" and "Gumbel," among other things). In later episodes, occasionally one will attempt to commandeer their one shared body.
Bernice Florence Hufnagel (Nancy Travis)
Duckman's sister-in-law. Dresses in spandex and is a fitness buff (with oddly thick thighs for a duck), always trying out the latest exercise trend to keep her body fit and muscular, and she seems to be physically very strong. She is also much taller than Duckman. Because she blames Duckman for the death of his wife, Bernice hates him with a passion and constantly criticizes him for his lack of interest in his children and anything else involving his family. She also beats him up once in a while. She is always yelling at Duckman because of his selfish personality and constant lack in responsibility of taking care of the family (yet ironically continues to put Grandma-ma in Duckman's care). She would like nothing more than to see him fail or get in over his head on one of his investigations.
Although she reviles and abhors their father, Bernice is very loving to her nephews (Duckman's sons) Ajax, Charles and Mambo. She is considered to be their primary caretaker, since their father is usually either running off on a dangerous case or dealing with a dangerous case of the runs. Bernice does have a soft spot though... she never fails to show her appreciation to anyone who can show up her no good brother-in-law (and sometimes, it may have been implied in the series that she likes Duckman more than she realizes). She eventually fell in love with King Chicken, Duckman's arch-enemy, due to their similar and sometimes torture-like personally traits; towards the end of the series they become engaged and marry in the series finale episode. The identical twin sister of Duckman's wife Beatrice, it was revealed in the fourth season that she was actually a triplet, and had another sister, Beverly, who was separated at birth. She eventually became a congresswoman.
Beverly Glenn Hufnagel (Nancy Travis)
Beatrice and Bernice's long-lost sister. It was revealed in the fourth season that Bernice and Duckman's wife Beatrice were separated from their triplet sister at birth. Eventually she tracked them down and took over Bernice's place in the household when Bernice was elected to Congress. She is much nicer to Duckman than Bernice, and sees the good in him.
Beatrice Hufnagel Duckman (Nancy Travis)
Duckman's first wife. Duckman met her in a farming country area in Iowa while working for a magazine that sent him to take pictures of bridges, and she met him after a car accident when he hit her cow. They began to spend a lot of time together and quickly fell in love with him. She was originally married to a duck named Richard until he had a heart attack (caused by Duckman), and she married Duckman soon after. She became pregnant with Duckman's first son Ajax while still married to Richard.
She and Duckman were married for several years until she was believed to have passed away from when Duckman flicked his cigarette out into the street during a parade and it hit a balloon, which deflated and knocked her down a manhole. Beatrice looks a lot like her sisters Bernice and Beverley, but is much softer spoken than either. She is usually seen wearing a dress with her hair fixed up. Beatrice may be a reference to Dante's Beatrice, as Duckman idealizes his love for her, despite his puerile tendencies. She is revealed to still be alive in the series finale.
Grandma-ma/Sophia Longnameovich (Nancy Travis)
Duckman's apparently comatose and immensely flatulent mother-in-law. In the episode "Aged Heat", she was kidnapped by her dopplegänger Agnes Delrooney (played by Brian Doyle-Murray), who posed as her for several episodes until her scam was revealed (although in the meantime there was an episode which made it obvious that it was really Grandma-ma). Grandma-ma sits in the same chair and rarely moves. She never says a word, but rarely keeps quiet. How does she do this? She usually lets her flatulence do the talking for her.
Grandma-Ma has a soft spot in her round form for her son-in-law, but can only express it in her disgusting bouts of wind-passing. Grandma-Ma also loves to watch TV, although most of the Duckman family often wonders if she is aware of what she is watching... or whether or not she knows where she is. She is possibly comatose. In (Crime, Punishment, War, Peace, and the Idiot) is revealed about her former life, she's a Russian immigrant, later on she traveled to the USA. She had a boyfriend named Petrov, who looked like Cornfed and was coveted by Trigorin, who looked like Duckman.
Gecko
Duckman's purple dog. Although this may seem strange in the real world, in a family that has a two headed duck and a patriarch whose best friend is a pig, Gecko is the most normal of the bunch. Like most dogs, Gecko likes to eat, but as far as watch dogs go, is not very good. Still, Duckman prefers his company any day over Aunt Bernice's. It's also shown in one episode that Gecko was stolen by Duckman from one of his neighbors, and that his true name is "Sparky."
George Herbert Walker 'King' Chicken (Tim Curry)
Duckman's arch-nemesis. Stops at nothing to try to rid the earth of his nemesis. King Chicken hates Duckman with every feather of his being. Blaming Duckman for some past transgressions (such as hazing him back in high-school), he has been the constant thorn in Duckman's side, doing everything he can to ruin the duck detective's life. Although his plots often end in defeat, King Chicken keeps on clucking, returning again and again with more nefarious schemes. Became engaged to Bernice during the series finale.
Unlike Duckman, King Chicken has a dark, sinister intelligence, often proving to be intellectually superior even to Cornfed. He also has an uncanny talent for manipulating others. His schemes have often involved turning very large groups of people, sometimes even the whole country against Duckman, usually in hopes of making him feel as isolated as he did when he was bullied in High School. He has created deadly viruses capable of manipulating reality itself, incited all women in America to destroy and vilify Duckman, and convinced a small southern village that Duckman was the Antichrist himself. He also has cynical outlook on the nature of mankind, often relying on the fickle and hasty nature of humanity, as well as mob mentality to achieve his desires. During the final confrontations, it is usually by accident or a fluke that Duckman manages to foil his plans.
Despite his hatred of Duckman, he does not seem above forgiveness. In one episode, he learns the reason for Duckman's supposed abuse of him in High School, (Duckman was the 2nd most unpopular kid in school and would always get beat up after Chicken ran home) and the two become good friends, though this is short lived. He and Bernice also seem to have a romantic interest in each other, drawn together by their mutual hatred of Duckman. They often engaging in loud (and destructive) sexual intercourse. Or so it would seem.
His catch phrase is simply "Mwah ha haa, bawk bawk bawk!" Usually punctuating the end of his speech about his evil plan. His first and middle names are based on President George H.W. Bush.
Honey Chicken
King Chicken's wife. She has frequent 'romantic' affairs with Duckman, and has had a daughter together with King. Is engaged to Duckman in the final episode.
Fluffy and Uranus (Pat Musick)
Duckman's two teddybear-like office assistants. One is pink, the other blue, however, their constant optimism makes them interchangeable. A constant running gag involves each of them attempting to show Duckman the brighter side of whatever issue he's having at the moment, only to be somehow ripped to shreds, literally, in various fashions by Duckman. They are literally living stuffed animals, so are perfectly fine by next episode or later in the original episode.

[edit] Guest stars

The show regularly featured high-profile guest stars, including David Duchovny, Heather Locklear, Coolio, Burt Reynolds, Carl Reiner, Lisa Kudrow (in an episode titled "The One With Lisa Kudrow in a Small Role"), Eddie Deezen, Katey Sagal, Leonard Nimoy, Marina Sirtis, Ben Stiller, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Brian Keith, Ben Stein, Janeane Garofalo, Joe Walsh, Ice T, James L. Avery, Sr., Eugene Levy, Gilbert Godfried, Bob Guccione, Bobcat Goldthwait, John Astin, Joe Mantegna, Vicki Lawrence, Jim Varney, Tisha Campbell, and Dan Castellaneta (as Homer Simpson). Jason Alexander had a small "cameo" as himself in one episode.

[edit] Series alterations

  • The length of the seasons is lopsided. There are thirteen episodes in the first season, and only nine in the second, while the third is more standard for a network show with 20 (but still a little less than usual), and the fourth is unusually long, with 28 episodes.
  • Episode 51 "With friends like these" was supposed to be voiced by the cast of "Friends", somehow it did not work out. Designs were changed at the very last minute.

[edit] Final episode

In the final episode, many characters get married and as the ceremonies draw to a close, Beatrice (Duckman's deceased wife) appears and shocks the entire crowd. Cornfed reveals he knew that Beatrice was alive all along. This plot twist is never resolved and has thus created a cliffhanger. Writer Michael Markowitz noted (in Sep 1998): "We never formally planned Part II... and I'll never tell what I personally had in mind. I'm hoping to leave it to my heirs, for the inevitable day when Duckman is revived by future generations. Ah, the Spandex suits they'll wear, the hovercrafts they'll fly!"

[edit] Computer Game

Towards the end of the series a point-and-click adventure computer game was created. In it Duckman has become a famous detective, and a television series based on him is about to debut; but, someone is pushing Duckman out of his own life, and replacing him with a bigger, better, heroic Duckman. Your job is to get rid of this new s.o.b., and reclaim your rightful place.

[edit] Trivia

  • The setting of the series is questionable, as many episodes present evidence that Duckman's family resides just outside New York City, whereas others indicate Los Angeles to be the setting. The episode Aged Heat takes this a step further, as it makes references to a statewide hunt for a Riker's Island (New York) escapee, but depicts the area code 213 (Los Angeles) on every phone number displayed.
  • Most of season four's episodes featured musical numbers to capitalize on Jason Alexander's Broadway success.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season 1: 1994

  • 1. 1- 1 4000 5 Mar 94 I, Duckman
  • 2. 1- 2 4001 12 Mar 94 T.V. or Not to Be
  • 3. 1- 3 4003 19 Mar 94 Gripes of Wrath
  • 4. 1- 4 4004 26 Mar 94 Psyche
  • 5. 1- 5 4005 9 Apr 94 Gland of Opportunity
  • 6. 1- 6 4006 16 Apr 94 Ride the High School
  • 7. 1- 7 4007 23 Apr 94 A Civil War
  • 8. 1- 8 4008 30 Apr 94 Not So Easy Riders
  • 9. 1- 9 4009 7 May 94 It's the Thing of the Principal
  • 10. 1-10 4011 21 May 94 Cellar Beware
  • 11. 1-11 4010 28 May 94 American Dick
  • 12. 1-12 4012 4 Jun 94 About Face
  • 13. 1-13 4013 11 Jun 94 Joking the Chicken

[edit] Season 2: 1995

  • 14. 2- 1 4215 11 Mar 95 Papa Oom M.O.W. M.O.W.
  • 15. 2- 2 4214 18 Mar 95 Married Alive
  • 16. 2- 3 4216 25 Mar 95 Days of Whining and Neurosis
  • 17. 2- 4 4217 3 Apr 95 Inherit the Judgment: The Dope's Trial
  • 18. 2- 5 4218 10 Apr 95 America the Beautiful
  • 19. 2- 6 4219 17 Apr 95 The Germ Turns
  • 20. 2- 7 4220 24 Apr 95 In the Nam of the Father
  • 21. 2- 8 4221 1 May 95 Research and Destroy
  • 22. 2- 9 4222 8 May 95 Clip Job

[edit] Season 3: 1996

  • 23. 3- 1 4224 6 Jan 96 Noir Gang
  • 24. 3- 2 4223 13 Jan 96 Forbidden Fruit
  • 25. 3- 3 4225 20 Jan 96 Grandma-ma's Flatulent Adventure
  • 26. 3- 4 4226 27 Jan 96 Color of Naught
  • 27. 3- 5 4327 10 Feb 96 Sperms of Endearment
  • 28. 3- 6 4328 17 Feb 96 A Room With a Bellevue
  • 29. 3- 7 4329 24 Feb 96 Apocalypse Not
  • 30. 3- 8 4330 2 Mar 96 Clear and Presidente Danger
  • 31. 3- 9 4331 9 Mar 96 The Girls of Route Canal
  • 32. 3-10 4332 16 Mar 96 The Mallardian Candidate
  • 33. 3-11 4333 6 Apr 96 Pig Amok
  • 34. 3-12 4334 13 Apr 96 The Once and Future Duck
  • 35. 3-13 4335 20 Apr 96 The One With Lisa Kudrow in a Small Role (also known as Planet of the Dopes)
  • 36. 3-14 4336 27 Apr 96 Aged Heat
  • 37. 3-15 4337 4 May 96 They Craved Duckman's Brain!
  • 38. 3-16 4338 11 May 96 The Road to Dendron
  • 39. 3-17 4339 25 May 96 Exile in Guyville
  • 40. 3-18 4341 22 Jun 96 The Longest Weekend
  • 41. 3-19 4342 29 Jun 96 The Amazing Colossal Duckman
  • 42. 3-20 4343 6 Jul 96 Cock Tales for Four

[edit] Season 4: 1997

  • 43. 4- 1 4449 4 Jan 97 Dammit, Hollywood
  • 44. 4- 2 4446 11 Jan 97 Coolio Runnings
  • 45. 4- 3 4440 18 Jan 97 Aged Heat 2: Women in Heat
  • 46. 4- 4 4445 25 Jan 97 All About Elliott
  • 47. 4- 5 4447 1 Feb 97 From Brad to Worse
  • 48. 4- 6 4448 8 Feb 97 Bonfire of the Panties
  • 49. 4- 7 4450 15 Feb 97 Role With It
  • 50. 4- 8 4451 22 Feb 97 Ajax and Ajaxer
  • 51. 4- 9 4452 1 Mar 97 With Friends Like These
  • 52. 4-10 4453 8 Mar 97 A Trophied Duck
  • 53. 4-11 4454 15 Mar 97 A Star is Abhorred
  • 54. 4-12 4455 22 Mar 97 Bev Takes a Holiday
  • 55. 4-13 4456 12 Apr 97 Love! Anger! Kvetching! (also known as Ain't Gonna Be No Mo No Mo')
  • 56. 4-14 4457 19 Apr 97 Duckman and Cornfed in 'Haunted Society Plumbers'
  • 57. 4-15 4458 26 Apr 97 Ebony, Baby
  • 58. 4-16 4460 3 May 97 Vuuck, as in Duck
  • 59. 4-17 4459 10 May 97 Crime, Punishment, War, Peace, and the Idiot
  • 60. 4-18 4461 24 May 97 Kidney, Popsicle, and Nuts
  • 61. 4-19 4462 14 Jun 97 The Tami Show
  • 62. 4-20 4463 21 Jun 97 My Feral Lady
  • 63. 4-21 4464 28 Jun 97 Westward, No!
  • 64. 4-22 4465 12 Jul 97 Short, Plush and Deadly
  • 65. 4-23 4466 19 Jul 97 How to Suck in Business Without Really Trying
  • 66. 4-24 4467 26 Jul 97 You've Come a Wrong Way, Baby
  • 67. 4-25 4468 2 Aug 97 Hamlet 2: This Time It's Personal
  • 68. 4-26 4469 16 Aug 97 Das Sub (also known as Class Warfare)
  • 69. 4-27 4470 23 Aug 97 Where No Duckman Has Gone Before
  • 70. 4-28 4471 6 Sep 97 Four Weddings Inconceivable

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

es:Duckman fi:Duckman sv:Duckman

Retrieved from "http://india.smashits.com/wikipedia/Duckman"
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