Count Duckula is a British children's animated comedy horror television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films and produced by Thames Television as a spin-off from Danger Mouse, a series in which an early version of the Count Duckula character was a recurring villain. Count Duckula aired from 6 September 1988 to 16 February 1993 across four series; in all, 65 episodes were made, each about 22 minutes long. All have been released on DVD in the UK, while only the first series has been released in North America.
A new version of Count Duckula appeared in the 2015 reboot series of Danger Mouse.
History
Count Duckula was created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films as a spin-off from Danger Mouse. In 1984, Nickelodeon acquired the US broadcast rights to Danger Mouse, which became a hit for the channel. After a few years, the Nickelodeon management came to Cosgrove Hall wishing to co-produce a new series. After being shown a number of ideas, the then head of Nickelodeon, Gerry Laybourne, spotted a picture of Count Duckula in Brian Cosgrove's office, and said, "That's the one I want". As the series went into production, one of the writers suggested he become a vegetarian, which added an even sillier concept to the series.
Plot
Several episodes explore the theme that each resurrection creates a new incarnation with little to no memory of its past life, the immediate past incarnation referred to as the current's "father". Thus, every incarnation is free to develop its own personality and pursue its own personal interests. The vampire is able to pose as a "dreadful dynasty, the counts of Duckula". The preceding generations included knights, sorcerers, scientists, artists, Egyptologists and even professional gamblers, all of whom are also secretly "vicious vampire ducks".
As the title sequence puts it, "the latest reincarnation did not run according to plan". The successful conclusion of the ritual, which was to be performed "once a century, when the moon is in the 8th house of Aquarius", requires blood, the source of sustenance for any vampire, but Nanny accidentally substitutes ketchup. Consequently, the newest version is not a blood-sucking vampire, but a vegetarian one. He is more interested in juicy carrots than hunting for victims. Igor is appalled. Even worse, his "new" master is obsessed with pursuing wealth and fame as an entertainer.
The stories often revolve around Duckula's adventures in search of riches and fame, assisted by the castle's ability to teleport around the world. Another regularly occurring theme is the repeated attempt by Igor to turn Duckula into a proper vampire. Some episodes feature Duckula's nemesis Doctor Von Goosewing (based on Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, the nemesis of Dracula), a vampire hunter who blindly refuses to believe the current incarnation of Duckula is harmless. There is also an array of bizarre, often supernatural foes, from zombies to mechanical werewolves. Another feature of the show is a cuckoo clock whose bat-like Borscht Belt comedian styled characters come out and make jokes about the current situation (or corny jokes in general). The clock is also a vital part of the castle's traveling mechanism, and it even has the ability to turn back time.
A series of annuals and monthly comics further detailing the adventures of Count Duckula and associated characters were released throughout the time that the series originally aired and for a short time afterwards.
Voice cast
Count Duckula, played by David Jason
Igor, played by Jack May
Nanny, played by Brian Trueman
Dr. Von Goosewing, played by Jimmy Hibbert
Dimitri, played by Trueman
Sviatoslav, played by Hibbert
Narrator, played by Barry Clayton
Various other characters played by Clayton, Hibbert, Jason, May, Trueman and Ruby Wax Theme song vocalists were Doreen Edwards and Mike Harding
Characters
Count Duckula
Count Duckula is a short green duck with black parted hair and the traditional vampire evening wear, and speaks with a hybrid British-American accent. He has no fangs, and his favourite food, as a vegetarian, is broccoli sandwiches.