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Duck Dodgers (TV series)

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Duck Dodgers
Voices ofJoe Alaskey
Bob Bergen
Richard McGonagle
Billy West
Michael Dorn
Tia Carrere
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes39 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time22 minutes
Original release
NetworkCartoon Network
ReleaseJune 6, 2003 (2003-06-06) –
November 17, 2006 (2006-11-17)

Duck Dodgers is an American animated television series, based on the classic cartoon short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 2003 to 2006. The series aired on Cartoon Network and starred Daffy Duck as the titular character. It currently airs in reruns on Cartoon Network's sister network, Boomerang.

Concept

Though primarily based around the original Duck Dodgers short (which is also set in the "24½th" century, or roughly 2350 AD), the series has also taken many visual and thematic cues from other Looney Tunes shorts unrelated to the Dodgers character and its science fiction premise. Many other familiar characters from the Looney Tunes pantheon are featured in the series, often given traits to fit within Duck Dodgers's own universe. For example, Yosemite Sam becomes "K'chutha Sa'am," a parody of Klingons in Star Trek, Elmer Fudd becomes a parasitic mind-altering alien disease known as "The Fudd" (a combination of The Flood and The Borg), Witch Hazel was Leezah the Witch in one episode, Count Blood Count was Count Muerte in two episodes, and Wile E. Coyote was a Predator-like alien hunter in one episode where Martian Commander X-2 and K-9 were hunting. Nasty Canasta, Taz, Rocky and Mugsy, and The Crusher also made appearances on this series. In a two-part episode, The Shropshire Slasher appears as a convict named the Andromeda Annihilator. In addition to these pop culture references, the show's theme (arranged by The Flaming Lips) is sung by Tom Jones, in a style reminiscent of Jones' performance of the theme from the James Bond film Thunderball. Jones also appeared in caricature form in the second season episode "Talent Show A Go-Go," to sing his signature song, "It's Not Unusual." The episode "In Space, No One Can Hear You Rock" featured Dave Mustaine of heavy metal band Megadeth, and the band performed "Back in the Day."

Duck Dodgers was nominated in 2004 Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production Produced For Children, Music in an Animated Television Production, Production Design in an Animated Television Production, and Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. It won the Annie award for 2004 for Music in an Animated Television Production, music by Robert J. Kral. It was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category of SPECIAL CLASS ANIMATED PROGRAM in 2004 and again in 2005. This series ended production in 2005 after its third season.

Characters

Main article: List of characters in Duck Dodgers

Galactic Protectorate

  • Captain Duck Edgar Dumas Aloysius Dodgers - A poor, hapless soul that was accidentally frozen for over 3 centuries. He was later revived by Dr. I.Q. Hi in the 24½th century. Through scheming and lies he managed to trick everyone into believing he was a 21st century hero. In reality, he was only a water-boy for a football team. He is cowardly, lazy, selfish, gullible, and not particularly intelligent. However, he occasionally displays surprisingly high levels of heroism and competence, suggesting that he is not quite as daft as he appears to be.vIn fact, a guardian of the universe once remark that, while Dodgers can be more stupid than he appers to be, he is neverthless a good-hearted person, although he mostly succeeds through dumb luck and the work of the Eager Young Space Cadet. Ironically, Commander X-2 actually caused Dodgers to become a minor football star in the final game of the season, which is what he used to parlay himself into captaincy in the Protectorate, meaning that he is, technically, not lying when he claims he won a championship football game in his own time. He is played by Looney Tunes staple character Daffy Duck.
  • The Eager Young Space Cadet - Looks up to Dodgers, seeing him as a father-figure in many ways. He is utterly loyal to Dodgers and doesn't doubt a word he says. Despite being much smarter than his so-called hero, he lets him give all the orders. Dodgers cares deeply for his Cadet though he rarely shows it, and often tries to take credit for the Cadet's work. Dodgers relies heavily on the Cadet's assistance and would likely fail most missions without it. It should be noted that the Cadet is also fairly successful as a ladies man, often being the one who gets the girl Dodgers swoons over. He graduated summa cum laude from the Protectorate Academy. Very little else is known about his past, though one episode portrays him as being the Prince and Ruler of his home planet of Swinus 9, with his own set of villains trying to dethrone or otherwise eliminate him. Since this was revealed in a story the Cadet told while babysitting his overly rambunctious niece and nephews, Porko, Puerco, and Sow (a joke on Animaniacs' Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, and even voiced by the same people), and they expressed no prior knowledge of this, it is unknown whether or not this is true or just his attempt to impress his impressionable relatives. He has claimed to have ended world hunger to Count Muerte, although this could be seen as bragging to a stranger. The Cadet is played by Porky Pig.
  • Dr. Ignatius Q "I.Q." Hi - The overweight scientist that revived Dodgers after being frozen for 3 centuries. Serious and hard-working, he is often irritated and frustrated with Dodger's incompetence, and doubts that Dodgers truly was a twenty-first-century hero. In addition to being a hard-working scientist, he constantly wears gloves that stretch up his arm, ending at his elbow and leaving a gap between his fingertips and the glove's tips (which he did not wear in the 1952 short). Also, every year, he tags along with Dodgers, flying as a cadet to see how orders are received on Dodgers' ship, much like the Cadet. In college, he majored in Pointless Minutiae, which his mother warned him against. He also has a slight potassium deficiency.
  • Captain Star Johnson - Johnson is a rival captain of Dodger's in the Galactic Protectorate. Gifted with a University education, Johnson has a Flash Gordon-like personality about him, and once took Dodgers to court over his incompetence. Since then, Johnson has been involved in freeing Mars from the military coup by General Z9, and searching for gangsters when Dodgers went missing for a brief period of time. He also played rocketball in college.
  • Bigfoot - In "The Six Wazillion Dollar Duck" (a parody of The Six Million Dollar Man), it was revealed that Bigfoot worked for the Protectorate as a Maintenance Supervisor and was also the first (thing) to receive cyborganic implants (Steve Boston was the first man to receive them, but before The Protectorate tested it on someone with a similar anatomy). These implants enhanced his combat abilities, as he is able hold off several centurions before they bait and trapped him with pie. He seems to not be very educated as the only two words he says are "Duck" and "Stereo".

The Martian Empire

  • Martian Commander X-2 - The confident commander of the Martian military who is Dodgers' arch enemy. He is infatuated with the Martian Queen that he serves, and considers Dodgers more of a nuisance than a true enemy. He (at times) shows his own moments of incompetence, evidenced by the fact that he essentially created Duck Dodgers by going back in time and making him a hero. He is played by Marvin the Martian.
  • The Martian Queen (AKA Queen Tyr'ahnee) - The beautiful ruler of Mars. She is in love with Dodgers and, just like Cadet, believes him to be a true hero, although she still dislikes him at times. She is something of a female version of Marvin Martian and wears outfits reminiscent of ancient Egyptian royal garb. Martian Commander X-2 once dated and very nearly married her. But her love for Dodgers was too strong. Her name is pronounced like "tyranny."
  • Commander K-9 - Martian Commander X-2's dog.
  • Martian Centurion Robots - The faithful robotic servants of the Mars Empire. They appear to be sentient, and make up a large portion of the Imperial Army, while the organic Martians act as officers. This is a homage to the Cylon Centurions of Battlestar Galactica. All Centurions are voiced by Michael Dorn. Dorn's casting may be a nod to his popular sci-fi character Worf from Star Trek.
  • Instant Martians - Strange bird-like Martian beings with purple hair. They were used briefly as an escape ploy by Commander X-2. They emerge from minuscule seeds that are activated when they come in contact with water. They first appeared in the 1958 cartoon Hare-Way to the Stars in which the Martian Commander ordered them to capture Bugs Bunny.

Planets

  • Earth - The HQ of the Galactic Protectorate, as well as the homeworld of Dodgers, the Cadet and several of the heroic characters of the series.
  • Mars - Barren, hostile home of the Martians, ruled over by Queen Tyr'ahnee. The planet boasts a large army of robot centurions, and bears some resemblance to ancient Sparta.
  • Klunk - Homeworld of the Viking-like Klunkans, led by K'Chutha Sa'am.
  • Vacation World - A planet visited by Dodgers in The Wrath of Canasta. A parody of Westworld.
  • Hollywood Planet - Artificial planet that resembles the Universal Studios logo. The planet is one giant film studio, and was partially damaged in Hooray for Hollywood Planet.
  • Fridgdonia VII - Queen Tyr'ahnee imprisoned The Eager Young Space Cadet on this ice-planet to lure Dodgers into a trap in The Queen is Wild.
  • Swinus 9 - The Eager Young Space Cadet's home planet. It is modeled after Bagdad.
  • Exile Planet - This planet was mentioned by Archduke Zag.
  • Niponno - A technocratic world seen in The Menace of Maninsuit. It is modelled closely on Tokyo and other Japanese cities seen in early Godzilla films.
  • Masativo the Living Planet - A sapient planet from Deathmatch Duck which resembles a large Geode. Masativo was presumably destroyed by the Cadet where his diamonds were harvested by the end of the episode. He is almost a parody of Ego the Living Planet and Mogo (who is also a sapient planet and member of the Green Lantern Corps).
  • Maltese VII - Dodgers claims to have a time-share on this planet in Deathmatch Duck.
  • Nostrillia - A planet where its inhabitants resemble noses.
  • Nolandus - Nicknamed "the island planet" as it consists only of several desert islands separated by vast oceans. Dodgers and Martian Commander X-2 are stranded here in Just the Two of Us, before discovering it to be a holiday resort that the Cadet and the Martian Centurians were vacationing at.
  • Dakota - A planet modeled after either North Dakota or South Dakota or both.
  • Groovica - A 70's disco planet in the ABBA Bee-Gee Quadrant.
  • Explodicon - A planet that houses a large variety of massive explosives (dynamite, tri-nitro-touriline, etc).
  • Felinia - A planet inhabited by cats.
  • Caninius - A planet inhabited by dogs (both Felinia and Caninius needed a peace treaty).
  • Aquarium - A planet that resembles an aquarium. It is the home of the Sharkarians and the Dolphinites.
  • Oa - Homeworld of the Guardians of the Universe and headquarters for the Green Lantern Corps, depicted in the episode The Green Loontern. Included among the Lanterns serving on Oa in the episode are Kilowog, Tomar-Re and Hal Jordan, who are still alive on Earth in the 24½th century.

Episode list

Main article: List of Duck Dodgers episodes

Cast

Guest Cast

In blackest day or brightest night
Watermelon, cantaloupe, yadda yadda
Erm...superstitious and cowardly lot
With liberty and justice for all!
  • Also in "The Green Loontern", Dodgers makes a reference to Spider-Man.
  • Again in "The Green Loontern", Dodgers sarcastically refers to Ganthet as Papa Smurf and to Green Lantern Ch'p as Alvin from Alvin & The Chipmunks.
  • In "Till Doom Do Us Part," Agent Roboto assembles some of Duck Dodgers' old enemies to form the Legion of Duck Doom (parody of the Legion of Doom). It's made up of Crusher, Fudd, Catapoid, Count Muerte, New Cadet, Black Eel, Nasty Canasta, Commandante Hilgalo, Baby-Faced Moonbeam, Long John Silver the 23rd, K'Chutha Sa'am, and Taz.
  • Though he is briefly referenced in two episodes, Bugs Bunny does not make a single appearance in the series.
  • In "Surf the Stars," Duck Dodgers eats a can of pineapples and instantly becomes stronger, possibly a reference to Popeye and his spinach.
  • In "Samurai Quack," Duck Dodgers eats a poisonous blowfish, and falls into a coma. In the coma, Dodgers dreams that he is Samurai Quack, a parody of Samurai Jack. There is also a fight scene in this episode in which Achoo (a parody of the Samurai Jack character Aku) tells Dodgers to join him and rule the galaxy as father and son (an obvious parody of Darth Vader's famous line from The Empire Strikes Back (since the creator of Samurai Jack also made the 2003 version of Star Wars: Clone Wars).
  • In the episode "Fins of War," a character resembling SpongeBob SquarePants can be seen.
  • "Pig Planet" features an appearance by the Cadet's nephews and niece, named Porko, Puerco, and Sow. These particular characters' personalities and voices were based on those of (and were possibly a tribute to) Yakko, Wakko, and Dot from Animaniacs. They were even voiced by the same actors: Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, and Tress MacNeille.
  • In "Shiver Me Dodgers", Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble of the famous animated sitcom are seen in the line of pirates wanting to join the crew of Long John Silver the 23rd. However, in keeping with the theme of the episode, they were shown in pirate form.
  • The episode "The Spy Who Didn't Love Me" (a title that is itself a reference to the James Bond novel and film and movie novelization, The Spy Who Loved Me) featured a character named Yoshimi, which is also the name of the title character from the album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, by the Flaming Lips, who arranged the series' opening theme. Also, there is a scene in which Dodgers tries to dispose of a space bomb, running across a variety of doors through which he might drop the bomb but encountering a situation in each room that won't allow him to do it. This is reference to and parody of a scene in the Batman film of 1966 starring Adam West.
  • The beginning of the episode "Just the Two of Us" has Dodgers narrating in which he gives the current star date, à la Star Trek. The star date happens to be 8675.309, a probable reference to the 1982 song 867-5309/Jenny, performed by Tommy Tutone.
  • The FUDD is a reference to the Flood, a parasitic enemy from the video game series Halo.[citation needed]
  • In the episode "The New Cadet," in which Dodgers is confronted by an obsessive femme fatale, he and the Cadet encounter a boiling pot of rabbit stew, parodying the pot of boiling water containing a rabbit in the 1987 film Fatal Attraction.
  • In "Old McDodgers" while Dodgers was trying to blast the Martian gophers, he says, "Klondike Kat always gets his mouse.;" This is a recurring line from the 1960s television cartoons starring Klondike Kat.
  • In the episode "MMORPD", Duck Dodgers briefly transforms to characters from other cartoon series, including Muttley.
  • As the talking tree leaves the forest, Dodgers says "Loved your work in The Wizard of Oz," which is a reference to the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz.[episode needed]
  • In the episode "The Trial Of Duck Dodgers", the Cadet suggests Dodgers uses his feelings in order to destroy a Martian ship but Dodgers says: "No I'm pretty sure I gonna use this expensive targeting computer". This is probably a parody of a scene in "Star Wars: A New Hope" when old Ben-Kenobi suggests Luke Skywalker uses his feelings and not the computer in order to strike Darth Vader's battle station.
  • In the episode "I See Duck People", the title itself is a parody of the movie "Sixth Sense" and the little boy's characteristic line: I see dead people.
  • In the episode "The Mark Of Xero", there's a reference to Dragonball.
  • In the episode "To Love A Duck", after passing the second trial, Dodgers is seen carrying a famished Commander X-2 and after dropping him, he truimphantly yells "Hakuna Matata!", a catchphrase of Timon and Pumbaa from Walt Disney's Lion King.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Duck Dodgers (TV series).
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