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Duck Blind
Reviewed: 04/13/2007
I'm going blind seeing this one!
This would be the debut of Megavolt and the blindness plot device which I believe Warner Brothers would steal for Batman: The Animated Series later on....Well here we go; it's time to rant.....
The episode is written by Len Uhley and the story has been edited by Kevin Crosby Hopps. Yeah; the same Uhley that made TaleSpin so awesome to watch is writing an episode using blindness as a plot device. This might be good...or not. This would be the second episode animated by Walt Disney Animation Japan and would introduce a tradition for Darkwing Duck to using four different animation studios on TOP of that. They are: Atelier Bwca, Animation Art Studio Jack, Jade Animation and Tama Productions. I have only one thing to say about this: Too many animation companies can ruin the animation. At least TaleSpin was smart enough to use only one or three additional animation studios per episode to do animation and they only used three additional studios because Plunder and Lightning was four parts long and therefore Disney could get away with it. Using more than two on one episode is clearly overkill and I believe Disney stopped doing that after this series.
We begin in the CITY OF SAINT CANARD with the usual dark at night city shot. I swear to my bloody honor that they are using stock footage to the gills because I cannot see how difficult it is to do multiple shots of the same city. They also add a few extra shots with absolutely ZERO animation in it to waste more time...and there NOTHING but sierns and no VOICEOVER OF DOOM. That's actually an improvement from previous episode as we go to a ferret like rat wearing a banana yellow suit which seems to be leftover from Bullethead Baloo..Oh wait; it couldn't be. Baloo weighs about 250 pounds more than this guy wearing a read battery, a hat which looks like a red plug and blue rubber boots with almost matching Wii-colored gloves. This thing is removing light blubs from a large sign for absolutely no reason whatsoever. He comments on the light bulb as if it is a fetish to him. Considering our addiction to oil; this isn't out of place for some reason. He puts the light bulbs into a blue sack and then he talks to one or it talks back apparently and Megavolt can understand him as he reveals his name. His original codename was Dim Bulb which is a hundred times better than Megavolt (voiced by Homer Simpson using the Zvaldo voice which saved The Incredible Shrinking Molly from being below average.). His high pitched voice is pretty cute as he wants the light bulbs to live with him.
Stupid question number one: Does this means that there's a PETLB (People for the Ethical Treatment of Light Bulbs)? Anyhow; we then see DARKWING....DUCK and his trophy sidekick Launchpad hiding behind a box whose angle is drawn so badly that anyone could see them coming. Folks; this is why having four extra animation studios is a bad idea. LP calls him a four star wacko. I don't know; I rate him about a 3 and an half star wacko since he looks like an ugly rat and not a deranged rat. Drake explains that Megavolt's responsible for a blackout that Len forgot to even mention and therefore showed NOTHING to build it up making Drake even more full of himself than usual. Megavolt's probably stealing the bulbs to build his Christmas Light set for next year. Yeah; it's dumb but Len Uhley is supposed to be the best writer DTVA has given his TaleSpin track record (Read: Near Perfect). Drake decides to get the drop on Dim Bulb....ERRR...Megavolt while violating ANIME DUB CONDUCT COMMANDMENT #12: Thou Shalt Not Rhyme! (Because it's COOL!) While Meggy is unscrewing more lightbulbs; Drake sneaks behind an smoke vent while giving the dreaded VOICEOVER OF DOOM. And people say I don't have a life.
However; he apparently trips on a pipe with gas gun in tow; but it looks stupid because the ANIMATION BY COMMITTEE screwed it up. I guess they're doing this so I won't be able to blame ANYONE for the screw ups. Except that I can always blame Disney for hiding the truth in the first place; so that is worthless. Megavolt hears him and gasps...badly...which is apporos for the screwed up spot so at least the voice talents are making an effort in spite of the animation by committee. Drake of course calls him Sparky and Megavolt HATES that. He is an anime purist after all. I should have known. He invokes the thunder bolt head on the gas gun on the floor and it causes Drake's hand to burn to a crisp. Sadly; Drake is in bury the villain mode since he refuses to sell the injury at all. Sparky HATES that even more and proceeds to shoot him with electricity. Pikachu would be proud and free if it wasn't for Ash Katchum. Drake sells better even though the shots clearly miss him by a foot. Drake falls off the bulding; but his cape saves him. Drake says that people wonder why he wears a cape. Oh boy! Can you smell the mental illness gag a mile away. I thought Len was above such a cheap shot.
Megavolt tries to go for the kill but makes the mistake of using a electrical pun and the thunderbolt head doesn't work. See; I knew anime purists would hijack an American cartoon to get cheap ratings boosts for anime sooner or later. Meggy tries to escape but Launchpad corners him as he wants the light bulbs. Meggy whines that he's doing it for a hobby. So now Megavolt's character involves adding Mad Dog and Meps as fodder? Although having a hobby of saving light bulbs is pretty funny so I'll let it slide. Launchpad tries to grab him; but he gets the X-RAY BEAM OF DOOM for his trouble and takes a wicked MAN-SIZED bump into a power grid. At least that spot hit this time around. Drake gets back into action as he pulls LP out of his Scooby Doo Snow Angel spot and they go inside the building from the top of the roof as LP calls Meggy a live wire. That would apply to most characters who love to blow someone up too, and it's not funny. We see them in a hallway which looks pretty jarring as Drake states that they got a psychological advantage. Well; it's a Darkwing Duck villian so he wins it be default. However; Drake would be pounded into silly putty if Baloo was around. Even Kit THE MIRACLE WORKER would crush him in a psychological match...unless you tickle him of course. LP responds that they are sane and he's insane. He's not insane; he's misunderstood. After all; you would be misunderstood if the only thing you did was steal a bunch of light bulbs and then be labeled as a terrorist since Drake LOVES to use that word.
Drake of course blows it off because Megavolt is afraid of him because he sent him to the electric chair. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! So it was the death sentence that made him. It's all perfectly clear now. That's just pure irony that writes itself. Drake and LP bust into the LAB OF DOOM complete with lame karate moves. You're not Ricky THE DRAGON Steamboat, get over it Drake! Megavolt must agree with me because Drake gets the ELECTRO MAGENTIC KNIVES OF ETERNITY. They all miss Drake and pin LP to the folding door which would swing in real life if LP was pinned to them. It's COMEDY BABY! Drake wants LP to hang this one out (Get it?!) since he's the one who wants to bury Sparky. Drake goes down the escalator telling Sparky that he cannot run forever. Megavolt states that Drake will run forever as he invokes the head lightning to make the escalator move faster than Drake can run. Well; with all the plugs in the mat, I guess Sparky plugged his head in one so there is no logic break there even though that is a disturbing thought to say the least.
Running stair gag continues for a bit which ends with Drake being flatten by the inside workings of the escalator. The stairs animation looks like something out of anime which means that one of the unknowns (to me at least) is doing the animation here. Megavolt goes into the laundry room because that makes him a complete bad dude I guess. He feels run down so he uses his charge pack on a toaster to power himself up. Oh come on! I like the idea of him plugging his head plug into the socket to charge up. I guess TaleSpin destroyed that idea after A Baloo Switcheroo. I don't know how Tad Stones can respect Jymn Magon since most of the great stuff can no longer be done due to BS&P. And of course; he draws power from the machines and does a lame Dragon Ball Z yelling spot to power himself up. The lightning effects are AWESOME though as Drake goes into his promo at 4:05:
Darkwing: I'm the terror that flaps in the night....
Oh wait; Megavolt stops it by using the POINTY FINGER OF DEATH! At least it shot out a laser beam this time making Bandit Keith from dub Yu-Gi-Oh look even more stupid than the original was already as is. It's to create the MONSTER APPLIANCES FROM HELL! They of course cannot stop Drake as Drake grabs the mutant vacuum cleaner and plays golf with it and of course; the kitchen sink gets involved. WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE KITCHEN SINK?! It has feelings too you know. Or maybe not. Megavolt uses it as a flying boat to get away as Drake wastes about five seconds to correct himself. It wasn't funny. Deal with it writers of the world. And the chase leads them to butt heads in a V-shaped hallway. Explain that spot kids?! They take wussy bumps off-screen which is par for the course with Drake and Drake accuses him of not being a well person. Then Megavolt blows him off by stealing his promo using a cold sore as a metaphor for being demented. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments...and Drake is ticked off now while carrying the double plunger. Only a demented freak would carry a plunger to a laser gun fight.
So Megavolt finds his way out by cutting a promo and invokes the POINTY FINGER OF DEATH on all of the lamps which light is really blinding on Drake. That is complete with the white screen ala Toonami's Outlaw Star. Launchpad finally gets the knives off of his clothes and is forced to run on the escalator. Now there's a spot LP needs to do since he's supposed to be the stupid one of this outfit. He of course takes an ultra pussy lame bump off screen to the floor. Why bother?! The bump was OFF-SCREEN. I can understand on-screen bumps; but off-screens bumps should be fair game. Launchpad tries to check on Drake; but Drake appears from the white light and bumps right into a woman dress model to prove that he is blind now and of course; this is the episode featuring that old-time cliche of all superheroes: blindness. Batman suffered it and it was pretty forced to say the least. However; this is COMEDY baby and this might actually make Drake funny. It still pains me to see that Len Uhley is resorting to cheap plot devices. I guess he ran out of quality plot devices because of his run with TaleSpin.
Anyhow; we head to Drake hideout as we hear Gosalyn's voice asking about the duration of blindness and LP and the doctors don't know since Drake's peepers got an overload. Gosalyn doesn't like this and since she's around, Honker is tagging behind. Honker tries to give praise to those whom did great things while they were blind like Johann Sebastian Bach. I hear he was an excellent musician too Honker which Gosalyn pushes Honker aside and Honker takes a wussy bump off-screen (UGH!). If Kit had heard this; he wouldn't shove Molly Cunningham or vice versa. This is why Kit and Gosalyn are different. Gosalyn states that Bach wasn't shot at and Drake only knows how to fight crime period. If that's all he can do then why is he Gosalyn's foster father now. At least Rebecca was around to give Kit guidance even if Baloo didn't want that kind of influence. Gosalyn sees this as a bad sign as we head to the Thunder Quack with Drake in the passenger seat still blind as Gosalyn tries to console him with a pillow. However; Drake doesn't want it because he's fine. If that means that the blindness will make him funny then I agree with him..and amazing enough; he actually starts in earnest as he wants to fight a stockbroker while squeezing the pillow tightly. UH OH! Someone screwed with Drake's money.
Gosalyn swears in DUBBED ANIME STYLE (Gosh!) as she sees this as a good sign that Drake's not going to MURDER himself. LP of course screws that plan by turning on the radio for a crime lead. Gosalyn hates that as LP turns the radio on. See; Drake is blind and Gosalyn believes that Drake cannot do his job without the eyesight and is afraid that Drake is going to MURDER himself. Then again; Drake has been burying villians so I suggest that this could be a real learning experience for him. K-DUCK is on as Drake hears something about presidents and whip cream which makes no sense but causes Drake to order LP to back up which allows a silly backup sequence that is OUT OF NOWHERE and ends up in the same place. K-DUCK News Weather commences as the weather news signal is cut and that's enough for Drake to deduce that Megavolt is jamming the signal of the ThunderQuack and therefore is at the automobile factory as we see a shot of said factory which is right beside power poles. How did Drake deduce that without seeing it? I guess that Logic Break#1 for the episode. Poor Len Uhley.....
We head inside the automobile power plant as Gosalyn gets in more Valley Girl talk (Way cool!) to show that this is not an outdated animation series like that pesky 1930 series TaleSpin was. That's sarcasm of course as LP is driving a go-cart inside the DeLoonian Lightning. Ooops; it's Megavolt driving it since the GANG OF BLIND MAN'S GAG is up on the catwalk. The DeLoonian Lightning is an electrical car for those who care about such detail. I don't because this is COMEDY BABY! Gosalyn seems to be slipping out of her hate Drake in dangerous places when blind selling for some reason. I'm sure she'll get it back somehow. Drake (who has dot eyes instead of circle eyes to show that he's blind) points to Megavolt spinning the car around. Well; with the environmental record of that baby; I would spin the car around too if it could in real life. Drake wants to sizzle Megavolt's circuits but Gosalyn sezs no dice because Drake is blind you see. Geez; Gosalyn can you let Drake be a funny jerk once in your lifetime? It's all about amusing me and this angle is actually amusing me for a change.
Drake has a MIMI JOKE ZONE PLAN as Launchpad is going to be Drake's eyes as they will talk to each other on headphones. Drake is also wearing orange rubber gloves which match his webfeet. Awww...isn't that cute?! And of course; Drake's plan is in trouble as he takes a MAN-SIZED bump into the steel pillar. Yeah; this is contrived, but as COMEDY BABY, Len Uhley is making an effort to make it entertaining though. Megavolt gets out of the car and he likes it since it has Cadmium batteries, Corinthian leather and it's electric of course...and that's what counts in a electrical car right?! Megavolt better be careful since complex speaking got TaleSpin axed. And of course; Drake appears from the smoke cloud (AND THAT'S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH!) talking about getting spare parts for it. Drake must be in league with the oil companies as this is the main event. You are not a wrestler Drake; get over it. He does some nice flips and lands perfectly without screwing up. He is in EGO TRIP mode without realizing that he should turn around. Drake calls Megavolt Dim Bulb which is a reference to Megavolt's original code name from pre-production (like Mr. Khan was fromally known as Mr. Downs in TaleSpin.). Drake then does some beautiful spots which would have been better if the anime like drawings weren't there. Megavolt backs away like a coward and then uses the HANDS OF BEAM to turn the car on.
That looked jarring for some reason and that's the second time I've said that. Which means; the animation is off model which is typical when four animation studios are sharing the same episode. The car rides around and notices Drake even though there's no footage to prove that he's going after Drake. LP calls for Drake to go left and Drake sells it, missing the car by three feet. Nice to see that taking away Drake's sight improved his listening rate 500%. Megavolt grabs a joystick and calls this a great arcade game. It should be called Whack Man; a reference cross between Pac-Man and Mario. I was half expecting Drake to pull out a SLEDGEHAMMER OF PLOT and do the Mario bopping Sledgehammer spot to MURDER the electrical car just to complete the anti-environmental message, but it doesn't happen sadly. More dodging from Drake as Gosalyn gets in her first Keen Gear phrase of the episode as Drake does ballet and takes a MAN-SIZED bump into another steel pillar. I was hoping for that to happen; if only to stop that stupid dancing spot of his. Nice to see Len Uhley is game to write here.
Sadly; the radio crumbles to dust and Drake is screwed completely (along with LP's hearing apparently). Now the fun can really begin as Drake just walks away from the menacing electrical car while trying to get a signal as the car takes a decent bump into the steel pillar causing damage to the pillar. That is one mean car! Megavolt goes into Baloo's talk to machine as a human being which is funnier with Megavolt for some reason...and now Sparky is ticked off and the urge to kill is rising now. Meggy invokes the laser beam hands to turn the car on again and now it looks like a monster (check the headlights which have badly drawn eyes) as it finds Drake as Drake is still waiting for LP. Drake walks away and the car does nothing. What were they thinking on that one?! The car then starts going into ROAD RAGE as Drake is to the right of a conveyer belt. The animation is off key here as Drake jumps backwards away despite the car not even being close to him and crashing into the conveyer belt complete with the worst impact stars I have seen this side of Mach One For The Gipper.
More funny kung-fu yells from Drake and more lame karate moves result in Drake invoking the POWER OF THE PUNCH on the red button. I know that making fun of a blind man is disgusting; but this is Drake we're talking about who is an offense to mallards everywhere. That starts up the pinchers and they grabs the monster electrical car and put it onto the conveyer belt. I think you can guess what happens next. This is really the first stupid spot in the episode. Everything else was merely lame and most of it in a good way. Megavolt is really ticked off now because Drake MURDERED his new wheels. That's both funny and sad at the same time as Drake is shoved by Megavolt to the pincher and it grabs Drake. Which means he's going on the conveyer belt. Megavolt leaves as there is a coloring mistake (check Drake's face) on Drake as he manages to miss everything as he heads to the chomping teeth to end the segment nine minutes in. Geez; that spot is stupid. Deal with it writers of the world.
After the commercial break as Drake is nearing his end as the GANG OF GAG goes to a locked chain-linked fence and try to open it; but no luck. Gosalyn finds some nuts in a toolbox and does a flicking spot to hit the red button to stop the machine although it takes nearly forever to stop it and the spot looked contrived. Drake runs free complete with Hanna Barbera running sound effect (all rights reserved) and looping animation effect into a giant bucket of gold paint. Now you know you are watching a classic as LP destroys the chain-link fenced door with the SLEDGEHAMMER OF PLOT (I think) and they enter inside to help Drake. Call me cynical; but that entire sequence looked pointless and contrived since there was no locked link fence door when I was watching this episode. Or maybe I missed Megavolt closing it. I don't know. That's Logic Break #2 for the episode. Drake drops out of the giant bucket of paintings as Gos cleans Drake's eyes with a cloth saying that she makes a bigger mess than he does. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments.
The police sirens beckon and the babyfaces is forced to jet despite Drake's attempts at protesting. Reason #42321 why animation fans hate The Loonatics: They say “Let's Jet” at least three times per episode. I mention this because Gos uses the term here in 1991. They leave the factory as Drake runs around to avoid being touched by Gosalyn's germs, I guess. Megavolt finally realizes that Drake is blind and has a plan to really sizzle him so to speak. I love that Wii-ish light above his head. It makes him look SO EVIL! Or not...We finally head into Drake's hideout or house. It's hard to tell which is which as Gosalyn enters the room listening to a Walkman. Sony lover! Don't ask me what music she is listening to because it's too soft to hear. She goes to the cookie jar and decides to play mind games with Drake to get her cookie. Which is funnier than that Monty Burn wannabe kid eating a cookie from Miss Finster's hands in Recess.
Sadly; Drake uses the plunger to prevent Gosalyn from eating said cookie. What a stick in the mud?! Gosalyn makes fun of Drake's new system of travel which is so lame that it's funny that I agree with her. Drake goes into EGO TRIP MODE (in regular clothes no less) as he adds self-sufficient to the list of words Disney found too complex for use in shows...and Honker is to thank for all the silliness too. I love you Honker Muddlefoot but Gosalyn doesn't. Gosalyn finally decides to admit that she doesn't want to see Drake get killed and that the police should catch crime. I thought the police were stupid in this series. After all; they arrested Drake for no real reason other than that he is annoying. However; that is not in canon so it's no real reason. Drake blows him off because he's DARKWING...DUCK! And nothing going to stop him.
Hey; if it means Drake does more silly spots to amuse me than it's A-OK with a cherry on top for me! Gosalyn is a stick in the mud which is funny considering the lack of restraint she shows in this and other episodes. LP comes into the house and Drake notices him because he can hear him while he attempts the complex speaking which is so funny that it's becoming silly. I shudder to think what LP's horror-scope is quite frankly as Megavolt starts jamming Gosalyn's Squack-Man. So; Megavolt is a Nintendo fan I see? Meggy calls him Darkwing Dork and THAT'S REAL BURTHA! Three blind mice promo follows that reveals that Meggy knows that Drake is blind. Gosalyn doesn't like this as Sparky wants Drake to find him at First Light as the radio returns to normal...I think. Drake deduces that this isn't dawn or sunrise and that it's his first light bulb.
We head to the SCHOOL OF HARD LIGHT KNOCKS...also known as the Hall of Invention according to LP as the Thunder Quack lands on the lawn. Drake wants the motor to be running as he walks out and does a cute thud spot onto the ground. At least the bump was decent this time. Drake will be back with Megavolt; but Gosalyn wants to join him. Drake accepts that (Huh?!); as long as they stay low since it might be a trap. Might be Drake?! I think you know that the GANG OF GAG are only there as bait for Sparky so why bother? We go inside the Hall of Invention which thankfully has no contrived rainbow spot. Hey; it's 1991, what did you expect? As Sparky is attending to a light-bulb encased in glass as Drake comes out of the suit calling him Blinky. Memo to Disney: The Aussies called; they want their mascot back. He of course screws up by knocking over one of the suits which provokes the Wizard of OZ reference. Problem is that he should have said tin man instead of scarecrow since the scarecrow has no brains. To say that he has no heart is slander if you ask me.
Sparky uses the POINTY FINGER OF BEAMING DEATH to bring alive the crop harvester. He calls it the grim reaper. Memo to Disney: WWE called; they want their zombie wrestler back. It starts up as Gosalyn goes for the spike mace; but Drake needs no help as he uses the plunger to shortcut Sparky and stop the crop harvester. Now that's really stupid as Sparky is SHOCKED..and APPALLED (in that order) as Drake tells them to rent the video. UH OH! Careful now Drake; that statement usually means that you are selling Darkwing Duck stuff to children and the FCC would ban you if you did that. He tries to flip the switch and it breaks which causes all FLAMING HECK to break loose! Funny moment as the telephone says that the number he dialed is not in service. I knew On Select was worthless; I just needed the episode to prove it. Drake backhands a gas lamp and it breaks which means a fire starts. You're supposed to be recording history, not making it. Megavolt escapes as the coughing commences since there's smoke..AND THAT'S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH!
Nice animation of the flames as Drake stupidity fans the flames with his cape and it burns to ashes. Drake tries to tell the babyfaces to get out of here; but a pillar falls down and Drake takes the ultra-sick MAN-SIZED bump off of it. The babyface finds three water sprayers on the shelf. Geez; this Hall of Invention must have loose regs to allow those in the building. They shoot them at the flames which MURDERS the human torch which someone made it despite being owned by Marvel. The babyfaces manages to get the pillar off of Drake who is crushed and knocked out. So Gosalyn suggest using a bi-plane just to remind everyone how cool TaleSpin really is now. The flames increase in intensity which is badly animated as they get into the bi-plane and LP gets in religious reference #2 of the series.
He of course flies the plane backwards (duh!); which causes them to shatter through the glass window (DUH!) and they clip a water tank (DUH!), which sprays water in the building and puts the fire out (DUH!) which results in the bi-plane flipping onto it's head (DUH!) and taking a real wussy bump onto the ground (DUH!). I hope you got all that; but that sequence wasn't badly done at least. They get out of the plane as Drake actually admits that his ego almost got themselves killed. LP agrees and Gosalyn hates that. Gosalyn; you're the one who didn't want Drake to do this gig. Drake decides to quit being DARKWING...DUCK as leaves for home as the segment ends sixteen and a half minutes in. Quick! Call the OUT OF CHARACTER DEPARTMENT! Drake's ego finally got deflated. I know that they were going for the angle that they used with Kit in Bullethead Baloo where Kit decides to give up flying to join Bullethead; but Baloo was funny enough and over to make the whole thing work. Sure Drake Mallard is a stupid duck; but the police in this series are even dumber than the ones in TaleSpin and Drake at least was in the right here since he was the only one gusty enough to take on those villains. Baloo on the other hand didn't need to impress Kit since Kit already liked Baloo as he is, so it was pointless and ultimately funny when Baloo got what he deserved for trying too hard to be something he was not. It works better in TaleSpin since it's dramatic, unlike Darkwing Duck because it's COMEDY BABY!
After the commercial break; it was a dark and stormy night as Drake continues to sulk on the blue sofa playing the harmonica which is what all stereotypical Woe is Me characters do. Gosalyn got some food and she's not happy with these events. Gosalyn just wanted his to quit crime fighting even though she said earlier in the episode that crime fighting is all that he can do. Logic Break #3 for the episode. Gosalyn is looking like an idiot which is something even TaleSpin didn't do with Kit, on that scale. LP tries to cheer up Drake but no go as death reference number three kicks in. Drake still won't bite because he's done...finished...toe-tagged. You know; Mallard Man sounds almost like Hungry Man...or Randy Man which Relm used in the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VI..I think...Anyhow; Gosalyn goes to Plan B by doing the what would Drake do spot and then guiding Drake to the flipping loveseats which actually debuts in this episode (the same one from the opening.).
Drake says that Megavolt use electrical power so he would tap into the computer of the Water and Power computer. Drake doesn't even realize that he's being setup to fight Megavolt. The writers better be thankful that this is COMEDY BABY because in TaleSpin, this would be absolutely stupid. Kit would never resort to that cheap heat. LP does the DUMPTRUCK SCREW PUNCH on a Mouse detective statue which looks similar to a certain move mouse for some reason, and the chairs do the flips as Drake is screwed by a couple of kids and a crash-happy pilot. We head to the Thunder Quack as Drake whines about how he has fallen. Gosalyn tells him to chill out because he's still got it. We head to the Lighthouse on Beaker's Point as the Thunder Quack lands in front of it and everyone except Drake gets out. Drake allows Gosalyn to check it out; but if Megavolt is in there, they should leave and call the Army. Gosalyn sells it and they head inside as we get the shot of the top of the lighthouse and the pan down as Gosalyn proclaims that it's time to get dangerous. So much for cut and run as we head inside to see the big ass magnet is hovering above Megavolt who is ready to get some shuteye while rubbing his new found friend.
We head outside as they break and enter the lighthouse. Honker goes into his usual “Is this a good idea” promo before Gosalyn blows him off. They go upstairs as Gosalyn trips the green alarm light and the babyfaces is forced to run upstairs. You would think that they would run backwards; but Gosalyn's too stubborn to realize that. Megavolt is forced to go back into action as he goes to his magnet machine and pulls the lever (WRONG LEVER!) which allows the big ass magnet to open a trap door and make the babyfaces stick to it. Wait a minute! I looked at the weapons they had and there's really NOTHING the babyfaces has to allow them to stick to the magnet. Logic Break #4 for the episode and I don't accept this one at all. Megavolt giggles as we return to the Thunder Quack as Drake moans about the Gangs destruction at the hands of Megavolt. However; he must do something as we return to Megavolt as he calls the babyfaces the Darkwing Duck Fan Club. I like my stupid pun better Sparky and of course Darkwing Duck appears complete with the cane. Goslayn tells LP so and LP blows her off because they are all going to fry. Hmmm...Fried Duck.
Make sure mine is baked like a donair pouch. Megavolt crackles gleefully because he has all the forbidden weapons of doom which he'll never use because he's got laser power and the home field advantage. I don't know how being in a lighthouse is a home field; but I'm game. Megavolt proclaims that Drake has lost his senses. Drake doesn't care because he's got other senses like touch and proves it by standing under a heat lamp. I know it's a heat lamp because it would have to be in order for Drake to feel it. Megavolt blows it off and gets the laser sword as he calls him a blind man. Drake of course no sells which is no shock to me as Drake uses the cane to destroy the light bulbs and eliminate the heat light to even things out. Megavolt plugs in his thunder blade and is ticked off and has the urge to fry Drake. Well that's what happens when you have a light bulb fetish. The sword fight begins as Drake is actually holding his own. You know what; Drake should stay blind because his work rate improves 1000% with this setup. They do the silly spot of Drake's cane being put down, Drake squats to pick it up and Megadolt's sword misses. Then Drake goes into EGO TRIP MODE as he swings wildly as the babyfaces cannot bear to watch. Some things never change; but the EGO TRIP works because he manages to get the sword out of Sparky's hands and tie Sparky up with it as the babyfaces almost gets fried by the runaway sword. Sparky then gets off this line which deserves to be mocked...
Megavolt: Blast you! You're Handicapped!
Oh come on Sparky. That's the best you can come up with?! You are a villain. You can say crippled because that was what the spot curtails. Instead; you said something so PC just to please BS&P even though blind is considered equally offensive and still allowed in the show since it was said several times. Kit got away with “Oh My God” so why not crippled? Drake blows it off with a term even more PC; but since he's the babyface, it is more apporos and bow to his master. His master says you're moves are ultra lame and you're ancestors are weeping. Sorry; Red Steel commercial promo cutting there. Drake then walks around like a fool towards...THE SWITCH as they warn him about bumping into it by calling him DARKWING...DUCK! I love it when they do my stupid puns on the air. It makes it all worth while. Drake of course is in EGO TRIP and sticks the end of the cane right into the socket and Drake gets fried for real.
All the lights go out as the babyfaces cover their eyes as Drake bounces around for a bit before finally coming to a stop. The lights completely go out as the magnet finally lets go of our babyfaces. Gosalyn demands for a flashlight and gets one as LP talks about fireworks at the country fair. Wow; those fireworks must be really terrible as Gosalyn shines the flashlight right into Drake's eyes...and of course; his eyes are now all right and he can see again. Now I know why I hate this plot device: The ultra-contrived way to finish it. I was hoping that they played along with this for five or six episodes and then having lightning strike him unintentionally to build it up to mean something in Drake's experience. Well; at least it was COMEDY BABY because I shudder to think if they did that in TaleSpin. Drake is back in the spotlight as usual as Gosalyn hugs him in a nice spot which shows that even Gosalyn has a heart. Sadly the lights go out on this episode as it ends at 21:11 . You know what; this was a pretty good episode which was pretty much on after the second act when the animators finally showed up. The comedy premise helped this plot device a lot since Drake was allowed to be a fool and have his ego deflate before our eyes. I still think TaleSpin did it better; but whatever. The bad animation in the first act and the contrived finish bogged it down though. **** ¼ ( 85%)
THE REVIEW LINE
I thought this episode would be an absolute pain in the neck to rant on due mostly to the blindness angle since I always found it insulting to my intelligence. However; it turns out that only one aspect of it was the problem and that was in full force with the contrived spot at the end of the episode. It was like Benny Himm was in the room because that's the only way that spot could have worked. That was really the only spot that offended me because the blind angle was going along so well and an extra few episodes of buildup would have worked wonders for the Darkwing character and make him a lot less stupid. Sadly; Disney cartoon must retain status quo and that's the reason for the contrived finish at the end. Also the logic break with the magnet was silly because there was no metal to stick too. At least no metal that would stick to a magnet. Plus; the animation by committee in the first act was a pain as well with jarring scenes and missed spots. Plus; I didn't like the lame attempt to look like Dragon Ball Z without the fighting. This is why you don't see this kind of animation stunts being pulled by Disney even in recent television animation, although the animation is worse there than here. Otherwise; Len Uhley made a great effort to make this episode not suck by playing Drake's ego to the hilt and improving his work rate so it was really enjoyable. The next episode is Comic Book Capers and that's it for Disc One of the DVD.
Thumbs up for this episode and I'll see you all next time.