Count Duckula Season One DVD is Proof that Nickelodeon Used to Show Good Cartoons
Who would ever have thought that a vegetarian vampire duck would be the stuff of great comedy? The makers of Count Duckula, that’s who! Once upon a time, Nickelodeon used to feature cartoons for adults as well as children. Then, characters like Arnold and Zim were given the bum’s rush to make room for such improved characters as Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom. (Ooh, that’s good sarcasm!)
Count Duckula may very well be the greatest cartoon ever to air on Nickelodeon. Especially considering the shocking decline in quality of Spongebob Squarepants since the hiatus of new episodes while they went to work on the horrific movie. Count Duckula has inspired legions of fans to create web sites devoted to this little green and yellow vampire duck who faints at the sight of blood. Because the show wasn’t available on DVD, and because Nickelodeon would prefer to rerun old episodes of Full House rather than a clever television show, fans were forced to use their memories to enjoy the adult-oriented humor of Count Duckula.
Well, that ain’t the case no more! Count Duckula, season one, arrived on DVD a few months ago and it was more than worth the wait. We’re talking three discs containing 26 half hour episodes, along with a few special features. While the special features are interesting, this is one DVD that lives or dies by its original content. I can say that without any compunction that COUNT DUCKULA LIVES AGAIN!
The little vampire duck was a spin-off of another show, DangerMouse. Most fans are split down the middle as to which of these shows was superior. I’ll have to say right out that I just never really got into DangerMouse. Maybe it’s because I’m just not that big of a James Bond fan. (Which is too bad, because if I was a James Bond fan I’d have not only one, but two 24 hour channels devoted exclusively to my interest. Remember when AMC and the Spike Channel used to show something other than James Bond movies around the clock?)
For those still scratching their heads and wondering how a vampire can survive as a vegetarian, much less be a duck, first a little backstory: Although watching countless episodes of Buffy may have convinced you that vampires can be destroyed by a stake through the heart, this does not suffice; they can in fact be brought back to life once a century by performing a rite that can only be performed when the moon is in the Eighth House of Aquarius; the rite involves the use of blood, but this particular time ketchup was accidentally used in place of blood.
The characters: Count Duckula himself, his butler Igor, and his nanny, Nanny. Nanny is responsible for the use of ketchup instead of blood. Nanny is, shall we say, a little accident prone. Igor is determined to convert his vegetarian mistake back into the evil little bloodsucker that Doctor Van Goosewing thinks he still is. Which is why he continually plots to kill him. Fortunately, he’s about as accident prone as Nanny.
The quality of the DVD is strikingly good considering that this wasn’t the most vividly colored cartoon of all time. In keeping with its subject and locale, the images are darker and danker than most animation today. As a result, younger kids may be put off initially as they compare it to the brightly colored claptrap that invades their bodies and steals their souls courtesy of Ed, Edd and Eddy and American Dragon. On the other hand, my kids at age 7 and 10 find it hysterically funny. And, although it does contain puns and visual jokes that go over their heads, this truly is a family cartoon. Parents need not be afraid of any funny potty-mouthed Cartman-like kids, nor should they be concerned about unfunny potty-mouthed Stewie-like kids. (Yeah, that’s right, I said Family Guy isn’t funny. Want to make something of it?)
There are three episodes that stand out as highlights. The first is, oddly enough, episode one: No Sax Please, We’re Egyptian. And that title is about as sexually suggestive as this show gets. The episode places Duckula in Egypt to track down a saxophone that…well, the plot really doesn’t matter. It’s the characters and the script that counts and this one features all the major characters at their best, along with an extended verbal routine that would make Abbott & Costello proud.
The episode titled Hardluck Hotel is notable for its thoroughly non-accidental resemblance to an episode of Fawlty Towers. Duckula goes on vacation alone and winds up at a hotel run by a Basil Fawlty-soundalike who perfectly captures the nuances of John Cleese at his most sarcastic. It is hilarious.
Dr. Von Goosewing’s Invisible Ray draws its humor from transferring personalities into bodies in which they don’t belong. This one features great slapstick humor that is sure to be appreciated by the kids in the family.
In addition to the four main characters, much of the humor derives from the supporting characters. Count Duckula’s castle has a teleportation device in its clock; the clock is populated by two mechanical bats named Dmitri and Sviatoslav. These guys tell painfully corny jokes that would be considered lethal weapons were it not for the panache with which they deliver them.
Several episodes feature two criminals named Gaston and Pierre. There’s a certain Abbott & Costello feel to these two as well, with one the brains and the other not so much. Although, as with A&C;, it’s often up for grabs who really is the smarter one. There are also a murder of crows who occasionally pop up with somewhat sinister motives, but who never quite get what they’re after. And in Duckula Down Under, there’s a character with the widest Australian accent this side of Bryan Brown.
It’s not often that a first season DVD of any episode contains not a single clinker. Most shows are still trying to find their way in their first season. Fewer still are those shows that hit a home run on the first pitch. Count Duckula season one DVD gets underway with one of the all-time classic episodes and never slows down. It’s a welcome relief for parents who remember watching it when they were younger and who now have proof to show their kids that Fairly OddParents isn’t the greatest cartoon ever.
