DVD Watch: Duckman

I can't generate an Amazon link to the Duckman DVD's because technically - they don't exist. Despite having a four year run and a few Ace awards under its belt - this cartoon series has never been released on DVD's. Which is a shame, because the show is brilliant and original.

Duckman stars a neurotic, hyperactive, belligerent duck "private dick/family guy" who is more than simply incompetent ... he's usually outright catastrophic. Were it not for his porcine partner, Cornfed, he'd probably be dead by now. Hated by his sister-in-law Bernice (voiced by Nancy Travis) and not much more loved by his kids ... his family life is about as bad as his professsional one. Insane rants, killing stuffed teddy bears and a surplus of sex jokes round out the show. Not intended for small children barely covers a warning for the show. It's not quite as sophomoric as South Park (no talking poo) but the humor is definately aimed at adults.

And Jason Alexander certainly deserves some award for being the voice of Duckman (he probably has one). Duckman will occasionally break into five minute curses or rants which I could only assume would be the bane of such work - but Alexander carries it extremely well.

The fact that we have bootlegs is really the only problem. Occasionally the video will skip out and then get out of sync with the audio. Fortunately, the show is 99% funny with just audio alone - so this isn't really a problem. Video quality varies - but again the show's art style (best describe as a frantic kind of Picasso) doesn't really require the best resolution.

The real crime is that the show is sliding into obscurity and there doesn't seem to be any plans for a DVD release. This is a fine example where piracy simply wins out.



tagged: television , duckman