Sitting Ducks (TV Series)

''Sitting Ducks'' is an animated children's television series based on the 1977 "Sitting Ducks" lithograph and the 1998 children's book of the same name, created by the poster artist Michael Bedard. The series first premiered internationally before debuting in the United States on Cartoon Network, reruns had also aired on Qubo from 2007 until 2012.

The show lasted for two seasons each comprising thirteen episodes, with the last episode shown on July 5, 2003.

Background

''Sitting Ducks'' stars Bill, a duck who likes to hang out with his socially outcast best friend Aldo, the alligator. The duration of the show revolves around the daily life of the two, while also having the two seek to overcome the stigma between duck and gator-kind in their world and bring forth tolerance between the two species. The citizens of Ducktown are taught to fear and treat the alligators as monsters, while the alligators of Swampwood are taught to eat ducks, and ducks only; both of these ideas are an integral part of the culture of both respective towns.

Bill seeks leisure in planes (due in part to his passion for flying and the art behind it) and painting, but more often than not he's constantly pestered by the likes of Ed, Oly, and Waddle, his gluttonous next-door neighbors. The brothers always mooch off of Bill and friends and use them for their own advantages; in essence, they are greedy, self-centered freeloaders. Bill also shares his apartment with Fred, a melancholy immigrant penguin from the region of Antarctica.

Aldo, on the other hand, resides in Swampwood and is surrounded with temptations to consume ducks. He consistently overcomes this instinct (while he nearly let it get the better of him and nearly ate several ducks), while also encountering resistance from fellow alligators who advise him to end his interspecies friendship with Bill; Aldo remains unwavering in his dedication to their relationship.

Characters

*Bill (voiced by Ian James Corlett) is an anthropomorphic diminutive duck who waddles to a different beat. A very kind-hearted, good-natured fellow who is always there when needed. One of his dreams is to fly. With the help of his friend Dr. Cecil, he tries again and again to fly, and eventually is told that the reason he cannot is because ducks became too terrestrial. Bill's main appearance difference, apart from his smallness, is his bow tie (usually red) which he changes every year at the Ducktown Picnic. Bill lives in an apartment with his pet parrot, Jerry. He has been called a "gator lover" for his rare efforts to turn alligators into allies of Ducktown.
*Aldo (voiced by Dave Ward) is a lumbering but kind-hearted alligator from the town of Swampwood. He is Bill's best friend, though he often receives grief from his fellow gators on being a "duck lover". He has a blind uncle named Artie and a younger cousin named Andy. He was once the cook at the bowling ball factory, but transferred to the assembly line after he befriended Bill, as he did not want to cook any more ducks. He also fights his carnivorous instincts so he will not eat ducks.
*Bev (voiced by Kathleen Barr) – Owner of the Decoy Cafe, where many ducks go to eat. She is a sweet duck who also has an alias, Madam Bevousky, as whom she offers fortune telling services to the residents of Ducktown. She is also the focus of Bill's romantic interests.
*Ed (voiced by Louis Chirillo), Oly (voiced by Phil Hayes), and Waddle (voiced by Jay Brazeau) are three brothers and friends of Bill who live next door to him. These three goofy and lazy freeloaders tend to scheme their way into things and are usually the ones behind some plot or a practical joke, from which they always try to distance themselves when things go awry. Ed wears a tropical shirt and speaks with a New York accent. Oly wears a green beret, has big, soft feathers (as seen in "Fowl Weather Feathers") and speaks with a "beatnik" accent. Waddle is the shortest, fattest, and youngest and has a childish voice.
*Cecil (voiced by Ian James Corlett) is Ducktown's only dentist and an inventor. Cecil speaks in a British accent and is always there to offer advice to Bill or the others. Naturally, Aldo is typically his only customer, being the only person in town who actually has teeth. He also provides beak adjustments for the ducks.
*Claire is Cecil's wife who was scared of alligators, just like Aldo in the first episode.
*Fred (voiced by Phil Hayes) is a melancholic, but sometimes nervously hyper penguin, who migrated from Antarctica to Ducktown, in which he has citizenship. He's somewhat of a loner most of the time, always seen surrounding himself with bags of ice or air conditioning to remain comfortable in the intolerable (to him) heat. Has a duck girlfriend, Dot Cable, and a stylish cousin, Gelata.
*Raoul (voiced by Michael Benyaer) is a Spanish-accented crow who tends to be the freeloading troublemaker in Ducktown, and likes trading insults with Bill and mocking Bill's attempts to fly.
*Drill Sergeant Duck (voiced by Cathy Weseluck) is a tough police duck who makes it hard for Aldo to come into Ducktown, as she also is the leader of the Duck Defense League, an anti-gator organization, and the Ducktown Scooter Shop and Driver Station.
*Other characters that have appeared in the show have been voiced by Dale Wilson, Brian Dobson, Sylvia Zaradic, Chantal Strand, Chiara Zanni, Pauline Newstone, Paul Dobson, Lee Tockar, Garry Chalk, and Scott McNeil.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2001–02)

Season 2 (2003)

Broadcast

Besides airing on Cartoon Network in the US, the series also aired in Australia on ABC3 and Nickelodeon, in Canada on CBC Television and YTV, in the United Kingdom on CITV and Boomerang, and on the Japanese version of Cartoon Network.

Home media

VHS releases

DVD releases

Merchandise

''Sitting Ducks'' proved to be a big hit with the European children's show market, and as a result toys, clothing and other merchandise were created.

Print

The show itself also spawned a few books. ''Quacking Up'' is a joke book written by Rick Walton featuring the characters from the TV show, and multiple children's picture books by Danielle Mentzer and Annmarie Harris based on various episodes. The books were released in 2004, roughly one year after the show had ended.

Video games

In May 2003, Light and Shadow Production picked up the rights from Universal to create games for ''Sitting Ducks''.

PlayStation 2/Microsoft Windows

Developed by Asobo Studio, the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows versions are 3D action-adventure titles where the player controls Bill and Aldo in different missions based on episodes from the show, with a Multiplayer racing mode also available. An Xbox release was also planned, but was cancelled.

PlayStation/Game Boy Advance

Developed in-house at Light & Shadow Production with The Code Monkeys assisting the PlayStation version, the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance versions are top-view adventure games where the player can control Bill, Aldo and Fred. It also features a different storyline than the PS2/Windows version. The Game Boy Advance version of the game was generally panned; according to the review aggregator Metacritic, the game received an average score of 34 out of 100, indicating "generally unfavourable reviews. The PlayStation version of the game did not receive enough reviews to earn a critic consensus.

References

External links

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Internet Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitting Ducks
2000s American animated comedy television series
2000s American children's comedy television series
2001 American animated television series debuts
2003 American television series endings
2000s Canadian animated comedy television series
2000s Canadian children's television series
2000s Canadian comedy television series
2001 Canadian television series debuts
2003 Canadian television series endings
American children's animated comedy television series
American television shows based on children's books
American computer-animated television series
Canadian children's animated comedy television series
Canadian television shows based on children's books
Canadian computer-animated television series
Animated television series about ducks
Animated television series about reptiles and amphibians
Animated television series about penguins
Animated television series about birds
Television series by Universal Television
Cartoon Network original programming
American English-language television shows
Works based on art
Children's television series about talking animals