Jedi's Paradise - Childrens TV

History

Duckula was a spin off from series Danger Mouse, where the Count appeared in a number of episodes. He became a cult figure, so he was given his own series.

The show was made by Cosgrove Hall Productions and had a number of fantastic voice actors - David Jason, Brian Trueman, Jimmy Hibbert, Jack May. In fact Jack May (who played Egor) was better known for playing Nelson Gabriel in the BBC Radio series called The Archers.

The show was exquisitely narrator by Barry Clayton, and lasted for 4 series between 1988 and 1993.

Story

Castle Duckula has been home, for many centuries, to vicious family of vampire ducks the Counts of Duckula. They can be destroyed by a stake through the heart or exposure to sunlight.

They can be brought back to life by means of a secret right, once a century, when the moon is in a certain position. But something went wrong when they accidentally used tomato ketchup instead of blood to bring back Count Duckula.

They even use the castle as a time machine, which is activated when Duckula enters an upright coffin, which naturally is edged with multicoloured light bulbs. He says where they want to go, and poof, off they go.

Count Duckula (voiced by David Jason)

Count Duckula isn't your normal Vampire Duck and doesn't like the taste of blood. Not only that, he is a vegetarian.

Once he went to New Orleans as he was under the delusion that he was a fantastic Jazz trumpeter. After being kicked out of a few venues he still didn't get the hint!

What he would like to be is rich and famous and is always trying to make this come true.

Such as the time he went to find gold in a ghost town in the wild west. The trouble was that the town was run by ghosts who didn't like vampires. Luckily he found a prospector who swapped his gold mine for Nanny and Egor (the mad fool). But all he seem to dig out of it was snow (now who was the fool?).

He doesn't like to sleep in a coffin and prefers a normal bed. Duckula tries to avoid a hug from Nanny, as she can hug the life out of him. He even joined the Foreign Legion to get away from Nanny and Egor.

The trouble is they tried to visit him, but were told that they could only visit him if they joined up too. It's an understatement that he was upset when he found out.

He likes to try his hand a cooking, but he isn't very good at it (it tastes terrible!), but he upset Nanny as she thought he didn't like her cooking.

Egor (voiced by Jack May)

Egor has been a butler in the Duckula household for years. He longed for the old days when the vampire ducks terrorised the lands.

So he decided to bring back one of the Counts of Duckula, using a secret right. So he wasn't happy when he found out that Duckula wasn't interested in feeding on the locals and just wanted fame and fortune.

It has become his aim in life to persuade the Count to renounce vegetarianism and go back on a killing spree.

He just can't believe how weak the Count is compared to the previous ones and was so embarrassed when he found out that the Count had attempted to try his hand at cooking. The shame of it!

Not only is Egor the Count's butler, he is also his chauffeur and drives a car that actually looks like a house. He is a bit weird, as he has a shower with his clothes on. Also Nanny can get on his nerves.

Once, Duckula did want to drink the blood of the living, but this only happened after he had a bang on the head. Egor was overjoyed, but it was short lived, as the Count received another bang on the head and he changed back to normal (to the graet disappointment of Egor).

Nanny (voiced by Brian Trueman)

She is Count Duckula's Nanny and is quite a large person. Nanny likes to call him Ducky-Boos, which he doesn't like bei. She was the main reason why Count Duckula is like he is, as she passed Egor a bottle of Tomato Ketchup instead of a bottle of blood when he was trying to resurrect him.

So as you can tell, Nanny isn't too bright. She even walks through doors in the castle instead of opening them, as she forgets they are there. The Count gets upset with her over this as she is costing him a fortune in repair bills.

Nanny would do anything for the Count, as she loves him dearly. The trouble is that she would walk off a cliff if he asked her!

I'm not sure what she has done to her arm, but she has constantly got her arm in a sling (maybe its a strange comfort blanket?). Nanny doesn't like bullies either and she even took on a dinosaur that was chasing some villagers and won!

Dr Von Goosewing (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert)

He is a German goose, who is always trying to kill Count Duckula, and uses some great weapons in his quest. Count Duckula has tried to explain to him that he doesn't like blood and doesn't turn others into the undead. But it turns on deaf ears, as he thinks that the Count is only saying this to get out of being killed.

Von Goosewing thought that if he shrunk Castle Duckula, and its occupants, then it would stop Count Duckula from terrorising the world.

So he spent months on developing a shrinking gun, which actually looked like a telescope. So as you see he can be quite brilliant when he needs to be, but he seems to fail when trying to execute his plans. He shrank the castle with them all in it and took it back to his house, where the effect wore off and flattened his house!

Heinrich is his helper, but he always seems to be absent (we are not sure if he exists). Which is a good job really, as he always wants to use him as a guinea pig for his schemes. Von Goosewing's favourite form of transport is a hot air balloon.

Gaston

Gaston is one half of a French criminal duo. He is the brainy one, who comes up with the plans, such as hijacking a plane.

He was shocked when his contact gave him a water pistol to use to for the hijacking. He tried to keep this quiet from the passengers, but unluckily for him Count Duckula accidentally disarmed him and saved everyone.

Pierre

Pierre is the second half of the criminal duo and is the thick one. Gaston says he has the brain of a turnip, which on close inspection seems to be true. He also doesn't know what the word 'whisper' means, as he seems to shout all their plans to everyone, to the horror of Gaston.

He also doesn't understand when Gaston speaks in code to other criminals, which can have hilarious results.

Gallery


Its the home	of Count Duckla


Its a bit creepy	isn't it?


We will help you get the Vampire	I want ketchup, not blood!


Is Duckyboos upset?	He is, when the Vampire hunters arrive


Oh, didn't I tell you that the Vampire is vegetarian?	Can we disappear?


Help, I'm dazzled	Don't Panic


I think they are telling us something