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Just Us Justice Ducks Part One
Reviewed: 05/19/2007
Negaduck's debut is finally upon us and God help the Fearsome Four Lackeys!!
Well; it had to happen sooner or later. We have reached episode 20 which is the beginning of the only other multiple part episode in the entire series. It is also the debut for rant purposes of Morgana Mcawber, Gizmo Duck/Fenton Crackshell, Neptunia and Steggmutt the Dragon/Dinosaur for the babyfaces while it's the debut for The Liquidator for the good heels. And then there is the abomination known as NegaDuck who I bet my friend Koosh wants absolutely no part of. It's a good thing Neggy's a heel because if he were a face like Barney; we would all be in trouble from his torment. Also returning to action are Reggie Bushroot who needs all the help he can get after Drake has pretty much buried him, Megavolt who is still good in spite of Drake trying to bury him and Quackerjack who is really awesome; but hasn't had enough episodes to allow Drake to bury him. So let's rant on shall we...
The episode is written by Kevin Campbell and Brian Swenlin. The story has been edited by Duane Capizzi. This is Kevin Campbell's debut as a writer and get use to it since he's also writing that self-centered cartoon that makes Pepper Ann look like a friends cartoon: The Emperor's New Skool....and those nasty Disney people continue Disc Three with Sun Woo Animation (#13 in this volume). They love ticking me off with that hit or miss company...I betcha Part Two is a Sun Woo episode too.
We begin in the CITY OF SAINT CANARD at night as we head to DARKWING...DUCK's hideout (complete with sirens wailing) as Drake is humming to himself while combing his hair. Well; at least it's different from the usual full of himself VOICEOVER OF DOOM stuff from earlier so they are going up in that creative front at least. He creates his hair so it looks like Morgana's hair which she happens to be in the same room as Drake along with Gosalyn. Morgana (Kath Soucie) is a cross between the Addams Family character Tish and Beetlejuice goth character Lydia since she's completely creepy with the bat/spider thing on her shoulder. Morgana is a really interesting character because she's the first (female) character in DTVA to turn from heel (and do heel stuff) to face in the same series (and she's a face in this episode); and she's not the only one as a second face in this very episode will also be a former heel. And he can be classified as a child really. Up to this point; Kit Cloudkicker was the only one who went from heel to face in TaleSpin and he was merely a child albeit an excellent one at that. Morgana doesn't suck as a character either.
Drake does a lame Elvis impersonation while cutting his bad dangerous promo which Gosalyn gleefully blows off. Morgana offers to straighten Drake's hair a little which gets Drake all giddy inside. Morgana does some magic (she is a mage after all) as the sparkles effect is in effect which is typical of a Sun Woo episode. The magic turns Drake into a load of bull in the real sense of the world. Too funny as Morgana has that look that looks like she did that on purpose. The bat around her giggling adds creditability to that theory as Gosalyn gets in her Keen Gear of the episode in. Drake as a bull is funny because he is full of himself. I love symbolic moments like this. Drake looks into the mirror and screams...badly...and is ready to pound Morgana flat but thinks better of it. Nice to see that he still has some social skills left Drake asks to be fixed (Oh boy!) and Morgana decides to try again and Drake goes back to normal. Oh shoot! I wanted her to turn him into a toad too. I guess they don't want to wait until Neggy shows up to ruin the episode. Gosalyn wants her to zap him into pudding which is ironic since that's usually what most good villains do to Drake. Morgana ponders this moral question (the answer is yes) and the lights go out. HA! I knew Paul Hayman got his financial skills from this loser of a duck.
Sadly; it's not Morgana's fault as the entire city is blacked out. Geez; even this series is tackling issues that would happen 15 years later. Do the power companies watch this show and crib ideas from it? Anyhow; Gosalyn likes this and nearly falls off the bridge as a result. Drake then invokes the binoculars (complete with satellite and IR scanners!) on the city to find that it's clearly Megavolt doing it. Gosalyn of course suggests the power company is the trouble and Drake is forced to look that way. I should note just how much Sun Woo has stooped as far as a bad company goes when you go to the pan shot where Drake goes from left to right to see the power company. The left side looks like a city and then the power company side looks like a multitude of boxes with a small pink light shining through one of the windows and then it zooms right into the box. It's supposed to be buildings; but it looks like boxes. UGH! This is the first real sign of Disney's return to assembly style animation.
TaleSpin never really had this problem and even if it did was mostly due to Walt Disney Animation France of all studios doing Plunder and Lightning Part One. Really bad form there Sun Woo. And I was right about Megavolt sabotaging the Power Company. They didn't even bother to name it something witty which is a poor sign. Even TaleSpin would name it something as duty calls for Drake. Morgana still wants the date so Drake offers her to join in battle to replace the date. Gosalyn agrees as long as Morgana zaps Megavolt into pudding. MMMMMMMMM.....Megavolt pudding..slurp! We head to the Power Company which now looks professional which creates a good old CONTINUITY ERROR! Nice going Sun Woo as Megavolt is zapping wires to death. He loves to smell voltage in the evening which is pretty odd as the dreaded VOICEOVER OF DOOM beckons at 3:11:
Darkwing: I am the terror that flaps in the night. (To Morgana after the smoke cloud beckons (AND THAT'S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH AND MOVIE RATING)) Stand back. You might get blood on ya. I am the single career man all women want to date.
This is actually the second time in a DTVA series that I have heard them use the word blood and the first time in direct reference to a flesh wound. I suspect Drake doesn't want anyone to interfere with his dating or his work because he is SO full of himself. All women want to date you Drake?! Seriously; Rebecca Cunningham would love to MURDER you for destroying TaleSpin and thus preventing her love and future marriage with Baloo to be aired on television. Drake cannot finish the promo because Quackerjack's JAWS OF HALF LIFE THE DENTURE EDITION bite Drake right on the webfoot. Curses! Missed the butt again so Drake can be the butt of all jokes. Quackerjack appears in front of the window complete with his CHOMPERS OF DEATH! I so love this guy as Drake warns Morgana about him in DUBBED ANIME STYLE (dang); or maybe not. Megavolt joins him with the frying hands and thy shalt meet thy doom at the hands of two guys who actually have great chemistry since they will appear together in future episodes alone believe it or not. Megavolt hugs Quackerjack which is so funny to watch since it's almost a headlock. Oh; and everyone thinks Baloo and Kit are gay? I suspect that those sick perverted people are duck fans too. Drake decides to enter the fray; but gets nearly eaten by the CHOMPERS OF DEATH all over his face and arms.
Too funny as Morgana pulls them all off of his swearing in DUBBED ANIME STYLE (Oh my gosh.). It's funny because Kit got to say OH MY GOD and got away with it. Drake of course doesn't want any help because he's full of himself of course and goes into battle once again. He gets MURDERED off screen of course much to Morgana's horror as Sparky and Quacky strap Drake right into the electric chair. Oooooooo...Risque stuff there writers. Now Drake demands help as Morgana is still acting like she's helpless or something. Drake wants her to zap them into pudding and Morgana invokes the MAGIC SATANIC DUST OF DOOM on them and it misses everyone...except Drake as he is really a JELLO CAKE OF LAUGHS. BWHAHAHAHAHA! Hey; it was funny, get use to it. Now I understand why Drake works alone as Quacky tastes him and it's not too FOWL! Drake blows off Morgana for her bad aim and Morgana apologizes in kind.
If only Kit did that to Baloo as Sparky inserts the electrical slave device into the power socket to get set to make the boss happy apparently. Quacky wants to shake hands and Sparky foolishly does so as Quacky set him up for the ZAPPY HANDSHAKE OF DOOM which the black hole in the middle of his hand was a DEAD giveaway. Stupid animation there Sun Woo. Sparky fries Quacky to a crisp...Hmmmm Fried Jester Duck..slurp! They have a meaning of the minds and it isn't at the water cooler for obvious reasons before they laugh at each other and walk away. These two are so insane that they would never fight. I should note that the captions team screwed up here because the captions have Electrifying Team! twice and yet no one actually said the second one. The slave device starts up like a slave drive on a computer...
We return to DARKWING...DUCK's hideout as Gosalyn makes fun of Drake's situation and Drake blows it off because he's still in pudding mode. Huh?! Shouldn't Morgana had actually fixed her inside the building and then turned off the slave device? That's Logic Break #1 and #2 for the episode. I sense we are in for a long two part here. Morgana tries to fix him; but the MAGIC SATANIC DUST OF DOOM turns him into a bull again. This is too funny; but the CONTINUITY ERRORS are showing in this one. Okay; he's a yak but I don't care because he's still full of himself and that makes him a bull by proxy. We head to the police station which looks like an apartment building. If you are going to hide yourselves and full the criminals into trying to break and enter; it would better serve you to remove the police title from the building! We head into an alley where we see Reggie Bushroot nervous about attacking a police station; but a water puddle in the shape of a dog claims that DA BOSS (FAIRY...Ooops wrong pun!) wants it in slick ad talk. This would be the Liquidator (voiced by: Jack Angel); formally know as Bud Flood who will appear in furry form in a later episode on Volume 2. I like him too if only for his one joke ad talk and his silly water puns.
Bushroot runs forward hoping that he doesn't run into any policemen (his words, not mine) and yet he in fact runs into a dog policeman taking a decent bump into his in the process. They both scream..badly..call each other names (sadly; none of them bad) and run in opposite directions. Okay; that was pretty funny and ironic since Santa and the M&M candies did that spot in an ad 16 years later. The only difference is that instead of running; they both fainted. Bushroot runs right through the Liquidator and hides. He's water; what did you expect?! About 20 police officers (give or take about five or six) point their guns at Liquidator and Bud cuts his ultra funny ad promos on them before drowning them with his trademark attack: the home grown TERROR WATER OF DEATH! We head inside as the radio calls for all cars because the police station is being terrorized by a plant duck and a tidal wave formally know as Bud Flood. Oh wait; it's Drake's radio as Drake is still a bull.
The police need help and Drake is on the case. Gosalyn still wants Morgana to do some pudding action to the heels; but Drake wants her to shut up so he does the Baloo covering Kit's mouth spot which is more fitting when Drake does it. It's too late because Morgana enters to confirm that she wants to help him and Drake tries to convince her otherwise because it's too dangerous...Or really because he's full of himself and works alone. Morgana does manage to fix Drake back into his own self which is really just returning him to a mallard with a gay Zorro outfit. Drake sezs Later which is pop-culture talk before it became en vogue as he leaves. Morgana wonder if he still loves her. The answer would be unknown since the whirlwind scene changer beckons....
And we head into the CITY OF SAINT CANARD in broad daylight (for a change) as DARKWING... DUCK cruises on the Rat Catcher. Thank you Wikipedia for pointing out the motorcycle's name so I can make better jokes on it. If it was a Rat Catcher; shouldn't it look more like a cat since it's the natural enemy of rats and mice? Ouch! My head hurts on that one as we head to the alleyway where Steggmutt (voiced by Joey Camen who is Bosco in the Sam & Max video games and he has as distinct a voice as Lorenzo Music has it should be noted) the mutant dinosaur arrives now being a hot-dog vendor. Steggmutt is another example of a heel being reformed by Drake in a much later episode, plus we get to see him as a full fledged heel later on as he was the goon squad dinosaur for the mad scientist known as Doctor Fossil. I kinda like Steggmutt since he reminds me of that dragon hidden in Professor Buzz's cupboards in Bullethead Baloo. Oh; and he has matching color shorts to match his pants and his feet look like a bear; only green this time. Steggmutt is sooooo cute and has a so cute voice to boot!
He's stomping around and everyone scatters because he's a freaking dinosaur! Steggy doesn't care and wonders if burgers would sell. He walks into the street right in front of the Rat Catcher as Drake is SHOCKED as he rams right into Steggy and the Rat Catcher gets trashed while taking some decent bumps along the way while doing absolutely zero damage whatsoever to Steggy's tail. Drake is a tangled mess as he remembers Steggy as a duck that turned into a dinosaur. Steggy finally notices him because it merely brushed against him. This must be the in joke about all the wussy bumps Sun Woo has animated in this cartoon so far as Steggy wonders if Drake wants a hotdog. He's as powerful as he is dense. Just like Binky and Herb combined must to Drake's disgust. Drake refuses as he takes a really wussy bump (which the sound people used a really bad spring sound to cover it up) on the ground and walks away from Steggy. Steggy says please really nicely as he follows him.
That voice is so cute as Drake hates it and decides to finally give in because Steggy is trying so hard to be a babyface. Steggy gives him the hotdog in dramatic fashion much to Drake's disgust of his slowness. Too funny as Steggy asks for 75 cents and Drake give it to him while stealing the hotdog and pulling the Rat Catcher from the clutches of Steggy's tail (that was funnier than it sounds actually) and sputters away. One small problem: Drake gave him a dollar so Steggy demands that Drake comes back to get his change. Now you would think that Drake would have told him to keep the change; but then again Drake is REALLY STUPID so I expected him to do that gaffe. So Steggy runs after him; stomping so hard that he causes at least $50,000 in damages. It's too funny because he's no where near the buildings (and it has that awful box feeling that Sun Woo is animating) and they still cause more damage than an earthquake ever could.
We return to the police station as Bushroot is planting seeds in the ground and rooting for them to grow. I don't think planting seeds near a police station is going to work since the ground is about six inches thick tops and there's pavement underneath. Then again; he could be using those steroids that don't require seeds to grow roots taller than six inches so what do I know? The plant grows into the beanstalk and it carries the police station high into the sky as the police officer are still inside. They cause one million dollars in damage on that spot and pretty much get banned in Washington State..or maybe not. It just wouldn't be Reggie Bushroot without referencing Jack & The Beanstalk now wouldn't it. Buddy continues with his funny ad promos just to amuse me before you know who buries you know who times two. I think after 20 episodes; you know who is whom I'm referring to. They slap skin as the DREADED VOICEOVER OF DOOM beckons at 7:51:
Darkwing: Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum! I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am....
Thankfully; the lightpole thought the promo sucked beyond belief (YAY!) and bashes itself against Drake's skull taking a MAN-SIZED bump on the head in the process. How sad that it took a steel lamp post to shut Drake up?! Apparently; Steggy's stomping caused Drake's nasty bump to the head. I find that really hard to suspend my disbelief that it was Steggy causing Drake's misfortune. Liquidator cuts yet another good ad promo (with Bushroot hiding behind him because he doesn't want to get buried by Drake anymore of course.) on Steggy as Bushroot hides behind the trashcan which is filled with all the Disc three episodes that were thrown out by Koosh in protest of Negaduck's appearance. Or maybe not as Steggy continue to act like he's so dense. Just too funny as Drake blows him off with sarcasm talk that he shouldn't even try on Steggy because he's too dumb to get it. Drake is claiming that he's pretending and Buddy wants Steggy to pretend that he's setting Drake Mallard on fire. Why bother pretending; why not really set him on fire? That will get Steggy over as a dumb babyface.
Bushroot roots for death as Drake blows them off because Steggy's not that dense...and of course Steggy merely pretends that Drake is on fire so he invokes the ANKLE SMASHER OF DEATH on Drake (which is the foot version of the HANDSHAKE OF SMASHING DOOM Mangler used in the previous episode rant.). Too funny as always because Drake as an international object equals funny. Excellent bumping as always from Drake too. At least Sun Woo doesn't screw up that spot. Steggy's speaking of Put Out the Darkwing is too funny as well. Even Buddy's escape promos involve an ad promo as he and Bushroot scatter out of here while Steggy continues to bring on the funny at Drake's expense. Steggy lets go before it can really get good and wants to pretend some more as Drake really blows him off (pretend you have a brain) because he let the criminals get away. Hey; this is COMEDY BABY! Take your lumps and LIKE IT DRAKE FULL OF YOURSELF MALLARD. Anyone who thinks Mister T is an easy target has never watched this show. See Albert Walker. Steggy tries to apologizes and Drake won't forgive him as he storms off leaving poor Steggy to sob and hate himself as he pounds on the beanstalk as it tips over just as Drake is right in it's direct path. Ooops indeed Drake! Drake gets squashed of course...or not...
Because we quickly cut to a ship in the ocean where two dogspeople sailor claim that Pelican Season Three was awful and they throw videotapes into the ocean. WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT? I thought Drake was allowed to get squashed by a police station. It's not like any child could mimic such a spot anyway. Someone at Post-Production is getting a little bit paranoid here; but it doesn't really matter because we see Neptuina (voiced by Susan Silo) pop out of the water with her trident to slay the evil sailors who pollute her ocean with such trash. I still don't get the point of throwing videotapes into the ocean. Why not just sell them on E-Bay? Oh wait; the internet is still six years away from exploding into the monster that it is today; my mistake. Personally; I think Neptunia is a polluter since it was pollution that turned her into a mutated fish; but what do I know? It is her sea after all you see. I think she's a tweener turned face since she doesn't like heels either as she blows the couch shell to summon her warrior sea friends into battle. Considering that I don't like her as a character; it explains why she never got a part in the Little Mermaid. It's Hal the KRAKEN OF DEATH to help her as they swim towards the boat.
However; we then see the police station (still attached to the beanstalk mind you) free falling towards them. Okay; that explains why Drake wasn't squashed by it at least, so why not the actual beanstalk? It cuts them off as the tidal wave completely swamps the boat and the fish in the process. Nice bumping from the boat by the way as we return to the CITY OF SAINT CANARD as Steggy apologizes to Drake again. Don't bother Steggy; he won't forgive you because he's so full of himself. Besides; he made you cry and pound your fists against the beanstalk which caused it to squash him so he has no one but Drake himself to blame for that spot. Now that's a RUN-ON SENTENCE! Drake calls this the second most painful moment of his life. Steggy pulls Drake by the beak to free him from the beanstalk because he wants to know what is the most painful. I think we all know what that is: Put Out the Darkwing!
Too funny as Neptunia arrives with the two police officers attached to a stick and she's not happy about these events. Neptuina tries to explain why she's here and Drake blows her off because he assumes that she's going to help him and he doesn't want it...because he's full of himself. Neptuina is ticked off now (completely with CHEAP HEAT OF LAUGHS badly done by Sun Woo) and basically throws Drake about five thousand feet in the air and about 20 miles away and he does a pretty wussy bump right into the sidewalk like a lawn dart. Too funny as this is the third most painful moment of his life. It would have been the most painful if Sun Woo made it a MAN-SIZED sick bump like it was supposed to be.
We head to the yellow tower as we are in an office where the Fearsome Four Lackeys are talking to their boss and I suspect that the episode is finally going to take a down turn as this is the office of NegaDuck (Jim Cummings) as NegaDuck shows up in the chair ala Shere Khan. Buddy does his funny ad promo to put him over which is not what I had in mind of him doing. His next phase of attack is to destroy SHUSH central. Since FOWL has no luck; I guess the Fearsome Four Plus One Bad Guy couldn't be any worse. Bushroot wonders if Drake will show up and Nega invokes the flamethrowers to destroy a huge section of the wall which misses the Fearsome Four by inches. Oh sure; that'll make NegaDuck an EVIL villain...NOT! Negaduck tries to look evil as the segment thankfully ends exactly 11 and a half minutes in complete with the eyes in dark room spot. Now about Negaduck himself. I know that Kooshmeister doesn't like this character one bit because he's destroyed any chance for Taraus Bullba to be a bad villain. However; I have three reasons why NegaDuck is not a good heel:
[1.] He's wearing yellow and black clothes. Now the black clothes make no sense since Drake wears some black with his purple outfit; but yellow indicates that he is a coward and therefore is worse than Bushroot is acting as a coward.
[2.] He's supposed to be the opposite of Darkwing Duck. If he was then he wouldn't be as full of himself as Drake is. Plus; he would be wearing white and red clothes to indicate that he was actually a saint who uses divine items of a blessed nature. The problem is that this would be religiously offensive. Of course; he could have the mystical abilities of Una; but that's wasn't considered.
[3.] He's more violent than Drake is. Shouldn't it make sense to him to defeat Drake with his mind and not his body if he's the opposite of Drake?
The only thing that makes him make sense is that he's willing to use teamwork to win over the selfish and full of himself Drake; but he still merely using the Fearsome Four as pawns rather than being a true leader which would make him better than Drake and still make him a good heel. As he is; he's merely a duck dressed like Drake in different clothes. Why bother? Why not have just the Fearsome Four who have amazing powers work together to defeat Drake? I'm explain more about why Negaduck sucks as this rant and the next rant goes by. Thankfully; he's a heel so I'm hoping that Drake's selfishness does defeat NegaDuck as long as it's NegaDuck who getting buried and not Bushroot who didn't deserve it and got it anyway. Now on with the rant....
After the commercial break; we head to SHUSH central (Oh joy...NOT!) as J. Gander is talking with DARKWING...DUCK and Launchpad (as per in his contract of course) because he's concerned that NegaDuck will take control of SHUSH's weapons since the Fearsome Four have teamed up. Drake doesn't care despite being bored for no reason whatsoever as he finally cuts his usual full of himself promo. Launchpad of course blows him off because he cannot defeat four guys by himself and Drake pulls on LP's beak to shut him up. Oh please Drake. Leave LP's beak alone. It's suffering from pulling beak too far syndrome already as it is from Scrooge McDuck. Gander and Drake walk into one door and then come out the other door (minus Gander) as Sara Bellum enters to show Drake her new deadly toy: The SPOCKO 650 PIE GUN OF DOOM. Oh wait; that's NegaDuck's mask they show in an evil way which scared even me at this point. Sara tries it out as NegaDuck misses the gun everytime in an attempt to steal it. You would think that an bad villain would be able to steal it in one turn.
We then see Gander, Launchpad and Drake enter the room and they are SHOCKED..badly...to find NegaDuck in the room dressed like Darkwing Duck. Oh boy; this is going to make Double Darkwings look REALLY BAD now. Drake goes to him and accuses him of FOWL PLAY. Okay; maybe not as they proceed to confuse J. Gander as he doesn't get it. Gander's eyesight and glasses must be shot because Negaduck is clearly shown wearing his black mask. That spot is annoying me as Sara decides she has had enough and wants to kill both of them (Death Reference #1 for the episode). Atta girl Sara; maybe then we will never have to deal with either one of them being so full of themselves. Sara is only kidding of course as my respect level for her drops down a notch. It's a freaking PIE GUN! As if it could KILL ANYONE! The annoying spot MUST CONTINUE to my disgust so Drake sezs that there's a bunny in the room and Negaduck uses the rifle to shoot everything in sight as we approach 0.3 Trigun. That ends the annoying spot as we all know that NegaDuck is prone to violence. It still would have worked if he used a light touch to kill the bunny and look non-violent; but what do I know? Drake blows him off while the dust cloud hides Negaduck...badly..NegaDuck decides to stop the facade and steal the PIE GUN OF DOOM from Sara as Sara asks him to be careful because you could put an eye out. Oh come on! You said that PIE GUN OF DOOM could KILL a furry being?! I guess she realized how useless the weapon really was and Negaduck is screwed.
NegaDuck shoots and Drake takes the PIE IN THE EYES so to speak. It just isn't funny and it lacks the charm without Chief Little Running Gag around to come OUT OF NOWHERE to throw the pie so to speak. Drake looking at his own eyes was more creepy than funny as he puts them back in his head. Gander yells to Drake to watch out and almost gives the middle finger in the process (on freeze frame) because those pie are steroid pies. I see Larson and Gary have joined SHUSH now. Even after 18 episodes; I can still find bad jokes for those two losers who got whacked by Bushroot. The pie turn Drake into a messy pile of pie goo as NegaDuck fires more pies. The steroid pies destroy the security system of course which is a pretty unique way to destroy it. I'm just sad that it isn't Quackerjack doing it since it would actually be apporos. The alarm sounds beckons (thanks to a pointless scene of a dog furry security person at SHUSH pushing the red buttons just before getting creamed by the steroid pies) as everyone scrambles to get away from the steroid pies. I believe Larson and Gary will be fired from SHUSH after this episode is over.
SHUSH fills to the brim with the steroid pies as Negaduck scatters away just as Drake, Gander, Launchpad and Sara are forced out due to the STEROID PIE TIDAL WAVE OF DEATH! Hey; the spots before this were pointless so; I'm not mentioning them. NegaDuck then tackles Drake to the ground and bounces on him. Okay; that is pretty funny to watch. I just wish it was Quackerjack doing it because it would be apporos. Why bother using NegaDuck when Quackerjack's the master of psychology? Now do you understand why I don't like NegaDuck as a character now? And he's going to be around for many episode to come just to annoy me of course...and when in doubt; leave the scene for two seconds and then do it again; only make it even wussier than before. NegaDuck calls his group the Fearsome Five. Well; he's only four fifths right on that. NegaDuck scatters away as Drake blows pie out of his mouth in a cute spot.
We head to the Rat Catcher driving around the CITY OF SAINT CANARD as we see Steggy pedaling hot dogs again and he goes after Drake because he forgot his change. AGAIN! Too funny as Drake is full of himself because it's the biggest battle of his career. Geez; I wonder if NegaDuck being Drake's evil side in one episode was intentional or not. Launchpad points out the folly in Drake's plan of beating the Fearsome Four Plus One Dumbbutt as we see the National Guard is called in by none other than Tom Lockjaw (S. Scott Bullock) to restore order to the lawless city of Saint Canard while standing on the bridge in front of Drake's hideout. I thought the city was already lawless since the police are REALLY STUPIDITER than Drake; so why not do it from the start? Logic Break #3 for the episode. The Rat Catcher stops as Drake protests this outrage and thinks it cannot get any worse. It actually does get worse (for him anyway) as the leader of the guard is none other than that duck from Season Three of Ducktales: Fenton Crackshell; or as the crime fighting world knows him as Gizmo Duck. I love Gizmo Duck (Hamilton Camp RIP) since he brought a breath of fresh air after Bubba Duck nearly killed Ducktales' own creditability as a show all by himself. This should be good since Gizmo Duck is as much an egomaniac as Drake is; only funnier and of course Drake wants to bury him before Gizmo Duck buries him.
Well; you deserved that one Drake Mallard for the years of burying good characters for the sake of your own ego. Gizmo Duck does the so-bad it's funny victory spot. Launchpad suggest help because Drake did lose to Negaduck and SHUSH is wiped out for now while it was under his nose. Drake blows it off looking upset because he has to be reminded about how much his full of himself attitude has costed him dearly for the police and SHUSH. We head inside Drake's hideout where Gosalyn invokes the binoculars on them to prove to Morgana that Drake still loves him. Morgana isn't sure. It's not that Drake hates you Morgana; he just doesn't want people burying him while he's burying villains. Or something like it. Gosalyn pulls on Morgana's hand as they go downstairs. So; we see Drake now is blowing off Gizmo Duck and basically telling him to get lost. Gizmo Duck ignores him and just tells him that he's here to offer him help. I just love it when Fenton doesn't get the fact that Drake wants absolutely NO PART of him anywhere in THE CITY OF SAINT CANARD. ..and here comes Steggmutt with Drake's change. I say if you want to get rid of him; accept the change Drake. Then again; Drake is REALLY STUPID....Gizmo Duck thinks Steggmutt is here to lend a hand as Gosalyn and Morgana join in the fun. Of course since Gizmo Duck is single; he has the hots for her as well judging by how close he is to Morgana. Drake is in a stupor because he's trying to be nice to Morgana even though he doesn't want her help either. Morgana actually takes the hint and tries to leave which makes Drake change his mind...sort of...I believe that Neptunia will appear here at some point as Gizmo Duck gives Gosalyn cotton candy to tie her over.
Drake doesn't like that because he's her foster father after all. Gizmo asks if Morgana would lent a hand and Drake really gets all pussy inside as he blows everyone off because he can do it by himself because he's so full of himself. Launchpad tries to tell him something; but Drake doesn't want to hear it because he's still blowing everyone off. Sadly; the Fearsome Four plus NEGASLIME appears on the bridge and gives the order to Sparky to activate the slave driver device inside the power plant. Oy vey; that just makes the logic break even more stupid than usual. TaleSpin had bad logic breaks; but at least you could try to explain those away. This one cannot be explained away. That invokes the green projector beam which coats around the CITY OF SAINT CANARD which destroys an innocent boat (the same one from earlier on in the episode) and slices the bridge right in half which destroys the army. Drake and everyone else makes it safely though inside the barrier. Negaduck calls it a success as we see the far shot of the barrier around the CITY OF SAINT CANARD as the segment ends 17 and a half minutes in. Memo to NegaDuck: Wouldn't it make MORE sense to create the barrier so that Drake and company were outside of it instead of inside it so they were forced to take it to the air to beat you? NegaDuck should be thinking his plans through instead of acting like a doofus here as Drake would. Another sign of a bad heel.
After the commercial break; we head back to the bridge as the army is all right despite taking a fall that would have killed them or seriously injuried them. It's fuzzy cartoon logic; what did you expect? Launchpad notices that the National Guard is out and Drake blames the whole thing on his friends because he's so full of himself. NegaDuck is loving this and his gang scatters to tear up the town. Drake runs towards the side and sezs....well...sezs who? Even that joke is ceasing to be funny when Drake is around as we see the Fearsome Four plus NEGASLIME fly away in a vandalized version of the Thunder Quack. GizmoDuck threats them and they give him a really poor animated raspberry. Walt Disney Japan should teach Sun Woo how to do that spot properly as Gizmo Duck takes the bait and invokes the helicopter to go after them. Sadly; NegaDuck must get all the glory as he invokes the ANVIL OF NEIDHART and Gizmo Duck foolishly catches it. Well; he is as REALLY STUPID as Drake is after all and freefalls right onto Drake; taking a sick MAN-SIZED bump in the process. Atta boy Sun Woo! Drake is squashed into a stupor as the Thunder Quack escapes back towards the yellow bellied coward tower. Drake gets off of Gizmo Duck and Neptunia joins us again complete with army guards on a stick spot.
Now there's someone who Drake needs to blow off. Gizmo Duck even wants her to join as Drake is ticked off now. Gosalyn declares that they should team up as a superhero team known as the Justice Ducks. Okay; that sounds pretty lame if you ask me. Drake doesn't want it as he mocks the whole concept. One problem; one of them is a fish and one used to be a duck but is now a dinosaur. Gosalyn thinks Steggmutt should do it because he could get his comic book and be called the Uncanny Steggmutt (a reference to the Uncanny Valley which is basically something that causes us to hate photo realism models that we all know aren't real which is why most of the public are buying Wii's instead of XBOX 360's and PS3 right now.). Gosalyn is prepping up the gang in attempt to sell the angle which is fine except for the fact that Drake doesn't want any part of it. I got to admit that the singing monk's plan is really funny and they should try it. Sadly; Drake has had enough of these really funny antics and proceeds to bury everyone in one sentence complete with finger pointing. Everyone leaves hating Drake because they realized that he is full of himself and doesn't want help. Neputina calls Drake a martyr in the process which is the first time I've ever heard that on DTVA or children's television for that matter. Gizmo doesn't leave because it's his civic duty to fight crime regardless of what Drake thinks of him.
That's why he's better than Drake in every way. Sadly; his intelligence is lacking as Drake tricks him into finding an overdue book. Well; he is REALLY AS STUPID as Drake is as Gizmo Duck leaves to find the person responsible for the phantom overdue book as Drake cuts is usual full of himself promo while pondering where NegaDuck's secret hideout is as he wants a clue. NegaDuck of course give it to him as a black flag containing a picture of himself clearly hangs on a flagpole right in front of Drake's eyes. So what does Drake do? He looks down and sees a seed on the pavement and makes THAT the clue using the tweezers. Yeah; Drake is REALLY STUPID as usual. He invokes the microscope to discover that the hideout for NegaDuck as at the yellow building. You know; looking to your left would have been better since we have about 90 second lefts to the end of this episode part; so...
And we head to NegaDuck's office as NegaDuck continues to annoy because he put a crumb of bread to get him to come here since apparently a flag of yourself is clearly not enough. Reverse psychology maybe. The Fearsome Four plus NEGASLIME are waiting for Drake to arrive and of course Drake goes through the green door just to make himself look even more foolish. So NegaDuck trips Drake to continue the self-parody and Drake falls flat on his face. Forget about help; how about a MIMI JOKE ZONE PLAN Drake? At least that would have worked for awhile. NegaDuck blows off the stupid Drake Mallard and for once NegaDuck actually looks good. For once away which isn't hard when Drake is around. NegaDuck decides to let the Fearsome Four take over so they could MURDER him to show his generous side. If it means that Bushroot gets over; then that A-OK with a cherry on top for me. They then proceed to completely MURDER him off-screen as NegaDuck eats an apple from the fruit salad bowl watching on. Good; that's what NegaDuck should be doing...NOTHING. The dust cloud beckons which usually signals for the babyface comeback; but Drake is all tied up by Bushroot's vines.
About time Bushroot got his due as Drake does the whirlwind spot to amuse me further and then zapped by Sparky. Drake is absolutely getting slaughtered here as Buddy whacks him with the liquid golf club of doom which is funny but wouldn't make sense since Drake should go through the club. Logic Break #4 for the episode; but I don't care, Drake deserved it. I betcha he's regretting the day he buried his friends now doesn't he? Quackerjack invokes the rollers kate which sends Drake rolling so to speak as he rolls towards NegaDuck eating the apple the whole time and he invokes the red button which opens the trapdoor (DUH) and Drake free falls through the trapdoor (DUH) (complete with Warner Brother delay spot and NegaDuck pointing). Drake slides down the slide and it's so small that I am SHOCKED that Drake doesn't get stuck as a result and he falls out of the building (DUH) and basically free-falls to his death (DUH) (complete with Quackerjack saying see you next fall to amuse me) as the episode ends at 21:14. Not bad all thing considered as there was the usual logic breaks and NegaDuck screwiness; but it was fun enough to watch. Still; that first logic break really dragged this episode down. *** ½ ( 70%)
THE REVIEW LINE
Well; the first half of this two part actually was as good as the second half of the pilot episode which is fitting because they were enjoyable until it got really stupid. In this case it was during the very first logic break of the episode where Drake didn't remove the electrical slave device which would have destroyed the whole point of having the green barrier. Why not go back to the Power Company and disable it after Morgana fixed him again? Again; the Cartoon Duck Syndrome reared its ugly head in this one. NegaDuck sucks but at least his crap was kept down to a bare bones concept as the remaining villains finally had their time in the sun. The middle part with SHUSH should have been done with Quackerjack since it fits him a lot more than NegaDuck and it would have been psychological warfare at it's best. Then again; I'm a Quackerjack fan; so what do I know. The whole episode was about accepting help and it fits Drake perfectly because he's so full of himself and this episode would help in pushing him down four or five pegs at least on the ego scale. They are building it up nicely as Drake's burying of his own friends was simple and to the point. Anyhow the finish was silly but after seeing Drake bury Bushroot; it was high time that they buried him and they did it in about a minute give or take. Overall; this was a decent episode; however, I fear NegaDuck is going to take over in the second half and it's the debut of...THE SWITCH! Read it and have mercy for the Justice Ducks as they attempt to put Negaslime over with that spot.
Thumbs in the middle for this episode and I'll see you all next time.