DUCK DODGERS
(Cartoon Network, August 23, 2003-November 11, 2005)
Warner Bros. Animation
MAIN CAST:
Joe Alaskey – Captain
Duck Edgar Dumas Aloysius Eoghain Dodgers/Daffy Duck, Martian
Commander X-2/Marvin the Martian, Drake Darkstar, Andromeda
Annihilator, Hubie,
Bertie, various
Frank Welker –
Commander K-9, Captain Dallas Rodman, Mainsuit, various
Duck Dodgers is the
recurring alter-ego of Daffy
Duck (Mel Blanc). First
appearing in 1953’s Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½th
Century directed by Chuck Jones,
the character was a spoof of the popular Buck
Rogers in the 25th Century and Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s. The short had Dodgers battling with Marvin the
Martian (also Blanc) over ownership of a planet that contained a rare element;
eventually resulting in the planet’s destruction.
 |
| Duck Dodgers confronting Marvin the Martian. |
A sequel, Duck Dodgers and the Return of
the 24 ½th Century, also directed by Jones, was released in 1980 with
almost exactly the same plot as the original; except this time Marvin was
trying to solve Earth’s energy crisis (by destroying it). Three more shorts
were made around the character: 1996’s Marvin the Martian in the
Third Dimension starring Joe Alaskey,
which played in select venues; Superior Duck, which
also came out in 1996, starring Frank Gorshin; and Attack of the
Drones in 2003, starring Jeff Bennett. Within that timeframe, the
character had also made appearances in video games, Tiny
Toon Adventures, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action,
both he and Marvin were featured as patches for the 1st
Space Launch Squadron’s Mars
Exploration Rover missions, and
the short itself had been seen in Close Encounters of the
Third Kind and Babylon 5, as well
as been re-released to theaters ahead of the reissue of Star Wars:
Episode IV at the request of director George Lucas.
 |
| The cast of Duck Dodgers: Star Johnson, I.Q. Hi, Dodgers, Cadet, X-2 and Queen Tyr'ahnee. |
2003 certainly seemed
to be the year for Duck Dodgers, as the character was given his first
television series by Cartoon Network.
For the show, Captain Duck Edgar Dumas Aloysius Eoghain Dodgers (Alaskey) was a
21st century duck who was accidentally frozen and revived by Dr.
Ignatius Q “I.Q.” Hi (Richard McGonagle) in the year 2350 AD. Using various
schemes and lies, he managed to trick everyone into believing he was a hero
back in his own time, when in reality he was a water boy for a football team. As
such, he was made a member of the Galactic Protectorate and given his own
sidekick, The Eager Young Space Cadet (aka Porky Pig, voiced by Bob Bergen).
Dodgers traveled the universe, carrying out the Protectorate’s mission to defend
it from the forces of evil. Of course, the only way he succeeded in those
endeavors was through sheer dumb luck and the work of the Cadet, who was much
smarter than Dodgers but loyal to his partner. Dodgers’ chief rival in the
Protectorate was Captain Star Johnson (John O’Hurley), who was his better and
tried to sue Dodgers for his incompetence.
 |
| Dodgers with Z-9 and Dish. |
The primary foes of the Protectorate were the
Martians, whose army was comprised of Martian Centurion Robots (all Michael
Dorn) and instant Martians. They were led by Martian Commander X-2 (aka Marvin,
voiced by Alaskey). X-2 was Dodgers’ arch-nemesis (even though X-2 regarded
Dodgers as more of a nuisance), and he was aided by his loyal dog, Commander
K-9 (Frank Welker). Newly created for the show was the Martian Queen, Tyr’ahnee
(Tia Carrere). A competent ruler whose ability far outshone her rival, The
President of Space (Tom Kane), who was incompetent and cowardly hid in his
fortress. She had developed feelings for Dodgers and had a civil friendship
with I.Q., despite their being on opposing sides. Tyr’ahnee was briefly
overthrown by Martian General
Z-9 (Corey Burton) and his cyborg second-in-command, Dish (Tara
Strong), in an attempt to conquer both Mars and Earth.
 |
| Cadet with Rona Vipra. |
Other new characters included Black Eel (Jim Cummings), a
parody of DC Comics’ Black Manta; Victor
Von Boogieman (Bennett), a thief from the disco planet Groovica; the
Magnificent Rogue (Tim Curry),
a handsome and suave celebrity villain; Camoman (Jeff Garlin), who could blend
into any surrounding (except plaid); Rona Vipra (Paget Brewster), a bounty
hunter that eventually flipped allegiances and aided Dodgers; Hungortus, an
alien entity with limitless cosmic powers (a parody of Marvel Comics’ Galactus); Flame Valet (Tom Kenny), a lawyer with fire
powers that served as the herald of Hungortus (a parody of Galactus’ herald, Firelord); Counselor Combustion
(Jennifer Hale), fellow lawyer and
sister of Flame Valet (also a parody of another herald, Frankie Raye);
Master Moloch (Quentin Tarantino),
a gibbon-like alien who trained Protectorate Agents; and Steve Boston (Chris Edgerly), a cyborg known as “The Six
Wazillion Dollar Man” (a parody of The Six Million Dollar Man);
and Maninsuit (Welker), a giant docile monster controlled by the Martians (and
a parody of Godizlla, which is where the
name came from); amongst others.
Duck Dodgers premiered
on August 23, 2003 on Cartoon Network. It was developed by Spike Brandt, Tony Cervone, Paul Dini and Tom Minton. Dodgers went beyond its initial source
material to lampoon various franchises within science fiction and other areas
of pop culture. The series’ theme was composed by Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd, arranged by The Flaming Lips
and performed by Tom Jones similarly to
his rendition of the theme from the film Thunderball. Jones
would also make an appearance as himself in an episode performing his hit, “It’s Not Unusual”. Robert Kral and Douglas Romayne handled the
rest of the series’ music. The series ran for three seasons with episodes
comprised primarily of two segments each. Brandt, Cervone, Dini and Minton
served as the primary writers, with additional work from Tom Ruegger, Mark Banker, Kevin Seccia, Ken Daly, John Matta, Michael Grodner, Jeff Goode, Bradford Schultze, and Tim McKeon. It used a
combination of cel shading for its characters with CGI animation for the space
backgrounds and ships. The animation was provided by Yearim Productions.
 |
| K'Chutha Sam. |
A number of other Looney
Tunes characters made appearances on the show in various roles; typically,
antagonistic. Amongst them was Yosemite Sam as
K’Chutha Sa’am (Maurice LaMarche),
leader of the Klunkins (a parody of Star Trek’s Klingons); Elmer Fudd as the
parasitic mind-altering Mother Fudd (Billy
West), who gave anyone infected Fudd’s personality (based on Star Trek’s The Borg); Count Blood Count
as the fat-sucking vampire, Count Muerte (Jeff Bennett); Wile E. Coyote as
the Predator-like Alien Hunter (Dee
Bradley Baker), who was actually the preserved Wile E.; The Goofy
Gophers as Martian Gophers (Rob
Paulsen & Jess Harnell)
who caused trouble for X2 and Dodgers; Witch Hazel as Leezah the Wicked
(June Foray), a character in
a virtual MMORPG who needed Dodgers to rescue her; the scientist from Water, Water Every Hare as
mad scientist Dr. Woe (LaMarche), who was X2’s archenemy; Taz as the
Tasmanian Warrior (Cummings), a savage creature from the sentient planet Masatevo;
Petunia Pig as Princess Incense
(Jodi Benson); Rocky and Mugsy
(Alaskey & Kevin Michael
Richardson) as gangsters hired by Dodgers and Cadet to form their own crime
family to take down another one; Crusher (John DiMaggio) as the best
surfer in the universe; Ralph Phillips as
Baby-Faced Moonbeam (Dick Beals,
his original voice actor), an evil little boy with electromagnetic powers; the Shropshire
Slasher (Alaskey) as the Andromeda Annihilator, a convict seen in a space
prison; and Nasty
Canasta (Richardson) as an intergalactic bounty hunter. Michigan J. Frog
(Jeff McCarthy) also
appeared as the host of a talent show, and the Animaniacs
were reimagined as the Cadet’s niece and nephews Porko (Paulsen), Puerco (Harnell)
and Sow (Tress MacNeille).
Although he was mentioned several times, Bugs Bunny is never
seen.
 |
| Enter: the Green Loontern! |
There were also several crossover episodes. Along
with the aforementioned Jones, Dave Mustaine of the band Megadeth was featured with the band
preforming “Back in the Day”
in an episode. The DC Comics characters of the Green Lantern
Corps was also featured after Dodgers had mistakenly picked up Hal Jordan’s (Kevin Smith) uniform from the cleaners,
turning him into the Green Loontern. He aided the Corps against the latest plot
by their greatest foe, Sinestro
(John de Lancie).
Duck Dodgers was
nominated for an Annie
Award and four Emmy Awards in 2004,
and two more Emmys in 2005. Alaskey won the 2004 Emmy for “Outstanding
Performer in an Animated Program”. Warner
Home Video released the complete first
and second
seasons to DVD in 2013 a few months apart. The third has yet to see a release.
The episode “The Green Loontern” was included as a bonus feature for the
direct-to-video movie, Green Lantern: First Flight.
The Green Loontern would also make a return appearance as an unlockable
character in the video game LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“The Trial of Duck Dodgers / Big Bug Mammas” (8/23/03) – Dodgers is
put on trial for his misconduct. / Alien girls kidnap Dodgers and plan to eat
him.
“The Fowl Fiend / The Fast & the Feather” (8/30/03) – Dodgers gets
a robot assistant. / Dodgers competes in a race against Martian Commander.
“Duck Deception / The Spy Who Didn’t Love Me” (9/6/03) – Dodgers and
Cadet sneak onto a Martian ship to restore power to their own. / Dodgers has to
escort a spy to a planet infested with Martians.
“Duck Codgers / Where’s Baby Smarty Pants” (9/13/03) – Dodgers and
Cadet have to get past Martian Commander to get to a spring to stop their
accelerated aging. / Dodgers distracts a peace treaty signing while Cadet
escorts a baby there.
“I’m Going to Get You Fat Sucka / Detained Duck” (9/20/030) – A
fat-sucking vampire turns Dodgers into his slave in order to get at Cadet. /
Criminal Drake Drakstar trades places with his look-a-like: Dodgers.
“K-9 Kaddy / Pig of Action” (9/27/03) – K-9 is harassed by gophers
while Martian Commander plays golf. / Cadet becomes powerful after finding a
piece of glowing ore.
“Shiver Me Dodgers” (10/4/03) – Dodgers, Cadet and Martian Commander
infiltrate a pirate spaceship in order to steal their invisibility device.
“They Stole Dodgers’ Brain / The Wrath of Canasta” (10/11/03) – The
Martians steal Dodgers’ brain to learn his secrets, but his replacement brain
turns out to be an upgrade. / A bounty hunter attempts to blow Dodgers’ cover
to the Martians.
“The Green Loontern” (10/18/03) – Dodgers becomes an unlikely member
of the Green Lantern Corps.
“Quarterback Quack / To Love A Duck” (10/25/03) – To prove he can be
right about something, Martian Commander attempts to turn Dodgers into a star
quarterback. / Tyr’ahnee wants to marry Dodgers, even if he doesn’t want to in
return.
“Hooray for Hollywood Planet” (11/1/03) – Dodgers heads to Hollywood
Planet where a film is to be made about him—or is it?
“The Queen is Wild / Back to the Academy” (11/8/03) – Tyr’ahnee tries
to get revenge on Dodgers by kidnapping Cadet. / Dodgers is sent back to
Galactic Training Academy.
“Enemy Yours / Duck Departure” (11/15/03) – Dodgers has to prove he’s
a worthy adversary for Martian Commander. / Dodgers quits the Protectorate to
work in a restaurant.
Season 2:
“Pig Planet” (8/14/04) – Cadet relays a story from his past to his
young relatives.
“Invictus Interruptus / Pet Peeved” (8/14/04) – Dodgers and Cadet take
on a Martian super weapon. / Dodgers adopts a shady pet.
“The Menace of Maninsuit / K-9 Quarry” (8/14/04) – Dodgers, Cadet and
Rikki Roundhouse have to rescue an entire planet. / Martian Commander goes for a
hunt on Mars.
“Talent Show A Go-Go / The Love of A Father” (8/14/04) – Dodgers uses
Tom Jones’ voice to win a talent show. / Dodgers accidentally frees a criminal
that resembles a kid.
“The New Cadet / The Love Duck” (8/14/04) – Dodgers resists a woman’s
attempt to seduce him. / Dodgers and Cadet set up a love boat in order to earn
some money.
“The Fudd” (8/14/04) – A hive-mind alien race called the Fudd
assimilates every being they encounter in a plot to destroy the sun.
“The Mark of Xero / I See Duck People” (1/7/05) – Dodgers invades a
planet to free its populace. / No one believes Dodgers when he claims his ship
is haunted.
“Deathmatch Duck / Deconstructing Dodgers” (1/14/05) – Dodgers tries
to save a planet from the destruction of Taz. / While stranded on a space
station, I.Q. and Tyr’ahnee discuss Dodgers’ intelligence…or lack thereof.
“M.M.O.R.P.D. / Old McDodgers” (1/21/05) – Cadet introduces Dodgers to
his favorite digital role-playing game. / Dodgers teaches Cadet farming so they
can grow food.
“Diva Delivery / Castle High” (1/28/05) – Dodgers and Cadet’s escort
duty goes any way but easy. / Dodgers explains to I.Q. what happened to his
castle.
“Surf the Stars / Samurai Quack” (2/4/05) – A bully challenges Dodgers
to a surfing contest. / Dodgers hallucinates after eating a poison blowfish.
“Of Course You Know This Means War and Peace” (2/25/05) – Cadet ends
up in prison for a blunder of Dodgers’ while General Z-9 plots to overthrow the
Queen and destroy the Protectorate.
Season 3:
“Till Doom Do Us Part” (3/11/05) – Robot assembles all of Dodgers’
enemies in order to enact his revenge.
“Villainstruck / Just the Two of Us” (3/18/05) – Dodgers has to keep
the Earth from becoming a water planet. / Dodger and Martian Commander end up
stranded, while their underlings all take a vacation.
“The Kids Are All Wrong / Win, Lose or Duck” (4/8/05) – Dodgers and
Cadet go undercover in high school to find a device that affects teens. / Earth
and Martian teams are abducted to compete on a deadly game show.
“Boar to Be Riled / Clean Bill of Health” (4/15/05) – Dodgers starts a
biker gang to get a free rocketcycle. / I.Q. creates a device for Dodgers that
works a little too well.
“The Best of Captains, The Worst of Captains / That’s Lifomatica” (4/22/05)
– Dodgers and Star compete to win “Captain of the Year” and the heart of a
colleague. / Dodgers’ new robot tries to take over his ship.
“Diamond Boogie / Corporate Pigfall” (9/16/05) – Dodgers and Cadet
look to reclaim some diamonds from the Martians. / Cadet becomes the head of a
successful company, which Dodgers tries to sabotage.
“The Six Wazillion Dollar Duck” (9/23/05) – Dodgers is turned into a
cyborg and has to prevent the Martians from getting their hands on the
technology.
“Too Close for Combat / The Fins of War” (9/30/05) – The Martians make
it so that Dodgers and Cadet believe the other is out to kill them. / Dodgers
and Cadet are sent out planetary ambassadors.
“Good Duck Hunting / Consumption Overruled” (10/7/05) – A bounty
hunter hired to kill Dodgers joins him instead. / Dodgers and the Martians hire
lawyers in order to convince a galaxy-devourer which of their planets to eat
next.
“A Lame Duck Mind” (10/14/05) – When the President of Space locks
himself in his closet, the codes to open it must be retrieved from Dodgers’
brain.
“Master & Disaster / All in the Crime Family” (10/21/05) – Dodgers
and Cadet learn kung-fu in order to beat a thief. / Dodgers tries to retrieve
the greatest gum in the galaxy from The Serpenti Gang.
“In Space, No One Can Hear You Rock / Ridealong Calamity” (11/4/05) – To
save Earth’s music from the Martians, the band Megadeth is revived. / Dodgers
and the Martians try to plot how to get I.Q. to go back home to Earth.
“Bonafide Heroes” (11/11/05) – Dodgers becomes the subject of a
reality show.
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