EPISODES 61-70
Launchpad, Darkwing Duck and Megavolt in A Revolution in Home Appliances
61.
A Revolution in Home Appliances Episode 13 September 23, 1991 Animation: Sunwoo Animation Megavolt uses his Power Transfer Generator to bring electric household objects to life. Honker,l who has formed a rock band with Gosalyn and Tank in Drake's garage, is having guitar lessons in a neighbouring building, and it makes his guitar sentient before escaping. Darkwing reluctantly follows Honkers account and pursues the case. A fun episode about the value of listening to others. Drake learns to open his ears to Gosalyn's clues, but just not her music. Gosalyn, Tank and Honker forming their own garage rock band, that annoys Drake, is entertaining. Of their time are Tank and Gosalyn's ambitions to become hotel room trashing video stars with their own lip synced one hit wonder. The assortment of free-thinking household objects have some fun voice work, especially a Billy Idol like guitar, a TV mimicking voices such as Jack Nicholson and a very nostalgic looking 1960s dryer chair. Darkwing and Launchpad waiting for Megavolt underneath a random fold up table is the standout visual joke. The hippy guitar teacher who lives next door to Megavolt is fun too, as is his implied neighbourly relationship with the supervillain. It is great to see more of the world around Megavolt, especially with his giant novelty light switch facade across the front of his building, and Gosalyn and Honker walking the bridging shared fire escape. The St. Canard power generator is also a great location for the finale, full of Forbidden Planet style technology and glowing Tesla orbs. The background artwork in this episode has a limited, four colour comic panel style and angular use of lines. It really enhances the subject matter. Megavolt episodes usually boast silver age comic flair and bursts of glowing neon. 
Launchpad and Darkwing Duck in Night of the Living Spud
62.
Night of the Living Spud Episode 5 September 11, 1991 Animation: Sunwoo Animation Lost at a boyscouts campfire, Darkwing Duck tells of Bushroot’s failed attempt to grow a new bride: a vampire potato named Posey, which turns its victims into motionless, potato consuming zombies. We find out that it went on a rampage of terror into the wilderness, where the Muddlefoots happened to be vacationing. Campfire stories and haunted highway folklore are a natural genre fit for the show. The humour throughout this episode is pleasingly absurd and offbeat, as the story focuses on how we should sometimes give others the benefit of the doubt. However, it becomes progressively more random with twists and tonal turns, skipping from horror folklore, vampires and zombies, to a finale involving a mistaken love triangle. The overlapping storytelling transitions between Darkwing, the Muddlefoots and the Vampire Potato are quick fire and tight. The outer city, night time ambience of the setting is typically beautiful. One highway view of St. Canard is particularly impressive. The stand out character here is country trucker, Duane, and his far-fetched ghost stories and superstitions, told from his truck cabin. Coincidentally, Duane Capizzi was the episodes story editor. A witch hunt undertaken by Duane’s fellow truckers (including a test to prove that vampire’s bounce when dropped and cannot stomach chilis) is very funny. The in-show diner Hamburger Hippo gets a great foreshadowed set up early on, only to be called back wonderfully later on and used very amusingly. It is also great to see the all consuming Muddlefoot family, with their VCR and television set on a camping trip, mutated into literal couch potatoes. Most interesting here is the contrast between our lost and confused heroes clashing with the unrefined country folk and their paranormal obsessions. There is a wonderfully staged visual gag involving an underground chase. This episode picks up presumably after the events of Bushroot episode Beauty and the Beet. However, he is no longer treated as the central monster character that he was in his origin episode. After being chased by Darkwing for robbing a fabric shop, Bushroot is absent for most of the episode, as his spud creature takes centre stage, despite having no visible motivation and a tiny amount of victims. Bushroot's sentient creations would be the centrepiece of most of his later episodes. The accompanying American folk style music by Philip Giffin aids the proceedings immensely. 
Drake Mallard, Gosalyn and Launchpad in Film Flam
63.
Film Flam Episode 67 September 21, 1991 Animation: Sunwoo Animation Gosalyn watches a chainsaw wielding zombie burst out from a cinema screen viewing. She informs her school counsellor about this, who expresses concern to Drake that Gosalyn cannot distinguish fact from fantasy, as she’s been watching too many violent movies. Other villains from movies begin to appear at crime scenes across St. Canard. Tuskernini is using a 3D projection gun to make them real. This episode comments on a much discussed topic of the time: the negative influence of movie violence on children. As with real life, it is quickly revealed that this subject is a grey area. Drake forces Gosalyn to watch the age appropriate cartoon, Andy Ape. The title character is a loud monkey babysitter with a characteristic stutter, dungarees and a bowtie; he’s a stand in for Roger Rabbit, whose feature film from a couple of years before had exaggerated cartoon violence to a new level. The apes don’t end there, as the finale involves the overly familiar character Son of Kongo, with striking recreations of imagery from the original King Kong. Some of the other movie characters come to life are fun, such as adventurer South Dakota Smith. In another inspired moment of moving image universe crossing, Darkwing’s costume is torn to reveal a Disney’s Talespin T shirt. For a Disney cartoon commenting on cartoon violence, at one point we see Darkwing firing a mini gun. An action highlight of the episode has Kongo using a grappling wire attached to the Thunderquack as a Yo-yo. There are some funny lines too; At one point Launchpad cites a TV program called ‘The It’s so late It’s Early Show’. 
Quackerjack, The king of Canardia (Herb Muddlefoot) and Darkwing Duck in Quack of Ages
64.
Quack of Ages Episode 51 February 26, 1992 Animation: Hanho Heung-Up Co., Ltd. Annoyed by yo-yos eclipsing the sale of his own toys, Quackerjack travels back to Canardia of 1291AD, the year the very first yo-yo was created. He plans to destroy it. Darkwing and Launchpad follow him back to those medieval times, where Quackerjack poses as the advisor to the king, who is an ancestor of Herb Muddlefoot. It is fun to see Darkwing’s superheroics compared to medieval sorcery by the people of Canardia, as they watch on at a lunar eclipse that he has predicted. The difference between magic and technology runs consistently throughout the episode. Quackerjack here is in his interestingly manipulative mode seen in episodes Stressed to Kill and Days of Blunder, role playing as the King’s advisor. Michael Bell gives him a notably energetic performance. Binkie’s ancestor, Binkith, has a playful period dialect that is used to witty effect. The Inquisitors Sir Cumference and Sir Veillance and their warlock confession scenes are inspired. The torture sequence involving the use of Quackerjack’s toy Mr. Trivia-Buff is the episode’s stand out moment. The opening chase scene, including a collision with a steam roller, is breathless. The portrayal and explanation of time travel is sophisticated and accessible. A gag with a Trojan bird is wonderful. There is some great character animation of the dragon Darkwing is forced to confront. It is fun to watch them both fabricate the creature’s death. The dragon indulges the opportunity to overact his famous last words, and it becomes a late running gag, to the point of describing the afterlife and even quoting the 1928 football pep talk of Knute Rockne. Oddly, the episode ends abruptly in the past. 
Drake Mallard in Bearskin Thug
65.
Bearskin Thug Episode 17 September 27, 1991 Animation: Sunwoo Animation Drake takes a very reluctant Gosalyn on his annual vacation to the great outdoors. However, a furry threat is scaring everyone away from the National Park. There is an entertaining tension between young Gosalyn’s resistance to her father’s beloved great outdoors, and everthing it entails. Over the course of the episode she learns to be open to new experiences. The setting is a natural backdrop for a child/parent bonding episode, and was used similarly for the later Disney TV animation based A Goofy Movie. The introduction of the Muddlefoots midway through (a moment that can only be described as Deus ex Muddlefoot) is a pleasant surprise. Their excesses, such as a microwave oven, easy chairs and a TV are equally entertaining. Their dinner table looks not unlike the Mad Hatters tea party, and helps deviate from the unvaried forest setting. Bruno the bear’s true form is held off until the end, but built up with just enough intrigue, as is FOWLs plot to hide missiles inside of fur trees. There are some brilliant sight gags and physical comedy: The tent erecting itself in the Mallard living room, Gosalyn wearing a gas mask in the out house and the group of forest animals exiting the park. Camping food is also made fun of fun as well as a running joke with an inflating rubber raft. 
Isis Vanderchill, Darkwing Duck and Launchpad in All's Fahrenheit in Love and War
66.
All's Fahrenheit in Love and War Episode 28 October 21, 1991 Animation: Sunwoo Animation During exceptionally snowy winter weather, Darkwing investigates multiple bank gold thefts where no evidence is left behind. He waits in the final bank for the felons to show themselves, and comes into contact with an army of glowing fireflies, that melt gold. This takes them underground to the frozen blooded, failed ice queen of St. Canard and ice factory heir, Isis Vanderchill. The selfish and deceitful Isis Vanderchill is a unique character who plays by her own rules. Her plot is to melt the gold of St. Canard and spray it over the city, generating enough heat for her to be warmed by. This of course makes the city unliveable for anyone else but herself, and there are some chilling images of piled bodies across the city streets. This episode is about how we shouldn't underestimate time, from Vanderchill's cosmetic origins (an oddly prophetic commentary on now common cryptotherapy) to Darkwing rushing through the case in order to jump ahead to a vacation. The harsh winter makes for a unique setting. The contrast with Isis Vanderchill cavernous villain’s lair and the graphic, gold plated views of St. Canard at the end are straight out of a silver age comic book. There is an unexpected gag where Darkwing and Isis watch a desert set adventure at a cinema. The characters within the projected movie are also freezing and covered in snow! There are so few characters in the episode, and the heavily snowed in locations make for an unusually high amount of dialogue. That said, there is some conceptually complicated and beautifully executed visual storytelling alongside this, such as our heroes entering a bank dressed as a snowman, the fireflies launching a giant snowball, a dinner scene atop a hill of snow and Darkwing awaiting a bank crime in a suitcase deck chair. 
Darkwing Duck and Agent Grizzlykov in Bad Tidings
67.
Bad Tidings Episode 75 November 16, 1991 Animation: Sunwoo Animation Tidal waves will ruin the world if FOWL isn’t paid a ransom fee of $90 Gazillion within 72 hours. Darkwing is assigned to stop this by SHUSH, but is forced to work with Agent Grizzlykov, who is the the only person who can pilot the top secret Stealth shuttle needed for the mission. A historically interesting episode, with its pronounced cold war spy subtext (the episode was released in late 1991). At one point, after setting American Darkwing and Russian Grizzlykov against each other, Steelbeak remarks “That ought to heat the cold war back up again.” Agent Grizzlykov is very much in the mould of Illya Kuryakin from The Man from UNCLE (and J. Edgar Hooter has a voice and look not unlike Leo G Carroll). The words Borscht and Comrade are used repeatedly. The conflict between Darkwing and Grizzlykov becomes so intense, they eventually draw a border between each other in white paint, separating both parties. The Stealth Shuttle is strategically set up so both agents can move to the moon for the finale. Here Darkwing and Grizzlykov bicker over who takes the first step on the moon, in itself a clear reference to the Soviet/US Space Race. Much of this episode, like the other spy focused episode In Like Blunt, takes place in a claustrophobic jungle setting. However, the moon setting, with the retro 1960s space costumes, is more imaginative and visually interesting. The closing sight gag is brilliant. 
Launchpad and Darkwing Duck in Double Darkwings
68.
Double Darkwings Episode 22 October 4, 1991 Animation: Hanho Heung-Up Co., Ltd. & Walt Disney Animation (France) S.A. Jambalya Jake is given a Hex Powder by his Granny Wammy in order to catch Darkwing Duck. She does this expecting $10,000 to be paid later. Elsewhere, Darkwing is training Launchpad to be his costumed decoy. Jake uses the Powder on Launchpad and it puts him under Jakes control. A clever play on how you shouldn’t use others to do the work you should be doing yourself. Granny Wammy has more energy, humour and eccentricity than Jake. She also has great chemistry with Gumbo. The news montage of Launchpad committing crimes as Darkwing is creatively done, including CCTV footage and a moment where candy is stolen from a baby. Darkwing is sentenced to prison, amusingly not as a decostumed Drake Mallard, but in his full superhero attire. There’s a random gag with naughty prisoners stuffed into a Jack in the box type wooden crate called “the box”. There’s also a surreal moment where Darkwing tap dances and receives flowers and applause under a prison spotlight. Visually, there are some great looking new angles on St. Canard, plus some really great animation and low-key lighting effects. However, it appears that both Hanho Heung-Up and Walt Disney France alternated animation duties, leaving the visuals quite wildly inconsistent. The live band arrangements of various music score tracks add a flavour similar to episode Can't Bayou Love. 
Quiverwing Quack dwarfs Darkwing Duck on a billboard in Paint Misbehavin’
69.
Paint Misbehavin’ Episode 85 October 24, 1992 Animation: Hanho Heung-Up Co., Ltd. Darkwing Duck and Quiverwing Quack are to attend a comic book convention. Neither is impressed by eithers taste in comic books. Splatter Pheonix has perfected her Quantum Mechanical Brushes and wants to replace low brow art with her own living creations of art. After attacking a Motel Art Auction, she sets her sights on the comic book convention. Of all the ABC season 2 episodes, it contains the closest to the meta, fandom and consumer culture critique of the best season 1 episodes. It sets up a an intriguing premise with the battle between high art and “low brow” pop culture. Later on in the episode, Splatter Pheonix creates an inspired henchperson called Surreal Man; he is the perfect accomplice by way of Rene Magritte. There is a very striking opening sequence, recreating the dark and violent comic book tone of Ghost Rider and Judge Dredd with the amusing character of Death Scooter. The episode is also partially a fascinating window into fandom and the convention circuit of the time. Along with Cleanliness is next to Badliness and Bad Luck Duck, it gets to look at fandom circa 1991 and 1992. However, halfway through the episode it moves away from the convention hall and towards Splatter Pheonixs warehouse hideout. The previous Splatter Pheonix episode A Brush With Oblivion, had some of the most creative artwork and animation seen in the series, which truly benefited the visual subject matter, realising a variety of art styles. Unfortunately, the same resources aren’t apparent here. The artwork of Splatter Pheonix often looks indistinguishable to the comic art and lowbrow art that she despises. Also, despite a well designed comic book opening scene, the overall quality of the animation is very low, and often seems unfinished. At one point Launchpad, Darkwing and Gosalyn are comparing comic book front covers, and none of the titles are legible in close up. 
Wacko the alien stands on Drake Mallard as Gosalyn looks on in When Aliens Collide
70.
When Aliens Collide Episode 24 October 8, 1991 Animation: Sunwoo Animation After a child minding evening out, Drake, accompanied by Gosalyn, Honker and Tank, meets an adorable mute alien, wearing a collar, that lands in the St. Canard Park. Tank discovers it is holding a container full of balls that look like jawbreaker candy. Soon it begins to change size, and an Outerspace Patrol Captain turns up in its pursuit. The purple alien, named Wacko, is visually appealing and cute, before his collar is released and he shape shifts into a loud mouthed, body building form. Captain Bignasti, of the Outerspace Patrol sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger. His cabbage shaped spacecraft has an original design. The quiet, night time ambience creates a mood similar to episode Battle of the Brainteasers. The intergalactic setting is unique for the series, and the various spaceship and star scape environments are colourful, detailed and interesting to look at. The tense sequence as Darkwing reenters the earths atmosphere is a nice change of pace. The episode appears to be about how figures of authority should be respected, although Drake’s disapproval of Gosalyn’s leisure activities is quite different to ignoring the words of the space police. |