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Hey Duggee #1 Rant

Reviewed: 04/20/2025

Gregory? Isn't It Time For... DUGGEE~!

Well, my hunt for some perverse entertainment struck again thanks to Family Junior up here in Canada. I had considered revewing "The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy", but the cross-dressing angle is just there and it's just a storytime segment show for the most part. It's a fun show, but it isn't qualified to be an Easter Sadism show. You need perserve, creative entertainment, where the creators just don't give an elf. That's when I saw our following subject from the UK, only this time it's a BBC show. This show is an awesome fun mess of an episode that intentionally is trying to get onto the trainwreck scale. Welcome to the Rant Shack, Hey Duggee! Just watching this show made me giggle in an amusing way because the characters and everyone making the show is fully committed to make this story stand out. Hey Duggee started out in 2014 as part of a Christmas special for the BBC and then was made into a show. The premise according to Wikipedia (DANGER! DANGER!):

The programme's characters are talking anthropomorphic animals, with Duggee communicating in woofs. The episodes are based around The Squirrel Club, an activity club for children that Duggee leads. The children – the club's Squirrels – take part in all kinds of activities, have adventures and earn badges for their accomplishments. Each episode shows the Squirrels completing an activity or adventure relating to a badge that they earn at the end of each episode. There is no set formula for every episode, with many referencing or parodying pop culture.

I disagree with the last sentence as there is a sort of set formula to the episodes, but they often would go off-script in certain ways. For example, there are always at least FIVE opening sequences in the series, each assigned depending on the Squirrel member. Like Peppa Pig, the endings are sometimes different, although more visual than audio this time around. The finishing sequences are mostly similar, but the middle is clearly like a Peppa Pig episode even with the structure of the stakes being exactly the same in all episodes: The Squirrels do stuff to earn badges. Then you have the narrator who is voiced by Alexander Armstrong, the voice of Captain Dog, who talks to Duggee, despite Duggee being a full on anthro dog with clothes on, doing human things, but talks literally like a real dog. It's Koi Fish from Fish Hooks all over again, and yes; everyone in the show somehow understands him. To be fair, at least it's not Molang where every character does the Duggee/Koi Fish speaking and you have zero way of understanding what the hell they are saying regardless of language. I've been wanting to review a bit of this show since it looks perversely entertaining to me and finding episodes on Family Junior is easy, but those episodes are more recent. I want to do the early episodes and finding them is another matter. It's not as easy as Peppa Pig, let me tell you. The episode titles speak for themselves, except for the pilot episode "Chop! Chop!" which I couldn't find partial footage of it. Believe it or not, there were supposed to be SIX Squirrels in the group, but that got cut down. Also, the hippo Squirrel was originally supposed to be an anthro pig. I wonder who was responsible for rejecting that one?! Anyhow, this should be a fun ride. How do these episodes fare?! Let's rant on shall we..?!

All episodes are directed and written by Grant Orchard; with the exception of "The Hair Badge" and "The Summer Holiday Badge", which were written by Myles McLeod. Also, "The Tinsel Badge" was written by Sam Morrison. I'm not going to do tributes here since this is an Easter Sadism episode. The animation is done by Studio AKA.

Opening Moment #1: The very first full episode features Roly, whom is a anthro hippo child. Fun fact: Originally, Roly was going to be a male child pig, probably to troll the more popular Peppa Pig series. Despite that, Roly is basically a much louder and more trollish version of Peppa Pig, which is hilarious considering Peppa Pig herself was toning down her trolling antics at this point. Since this was a Christmas special, Roly is decked out in Christmas gear along with decorations in his house. Basically, he's an elf. Considering his gimmick, he's a fan of Brad Marchand. It's sad to see that he left the Boston Bruins this year, but unlike most fans I knew the writing was on the wall since the team was really bad this year and change must happen. Roly is voiced by Leo Templar. The gimmick for the openings is that each squirrel literally had their own ten second opening sequence to themselves. It's pretty much the same sequence: The Squirrel is doing something and the narrator buts in asking "Name, isn't it time for...?!" and then the character looks to the hard camera, jumps high into the air, yells "DUGGEE~!" with such glee and ectasty before running out of the room stage right. I love it every time, it is so silly that it turns out to be funny. Next, the character is out of the house and runs to the vehicle of their parent ready to drive them to the barn where Duggee is. Then they show all the Squirrels in their respective vehicles in stereo. Jump cut to the barn with various weird animals -- including a giant sets of legs wearing roller skates and leg warmers -- as the narrator calls out for "Duggee!", and then we see a large brown dog wearing a scout's outfit on all fours no less. Then he stops selling like a dog and then does a dance on two legs, indicating that it's an anthro dog. TaleSpin called, they say we did this before in that series. Duggee is voiced by Sander Jones whom also voices Enid the cat, and one of the Hippy Rabbits in this very episode. The vehicles all arrive at the barn, then the parents all hug the kids in unison. Then the kids join in with several triangle built animals and Duggee, and end with them jumping up as Duggee acts with glee and the title of the show is shown above their heads. This episode does use the winter effects like Peppa Pig since it is a holiday/winter episode after all. From here on out, I'll only mention the parents and vehicles when the openings are shown. There is also a title card for each episode that is spoken by the narrator. In this case, the title card is a Christmas tree against a yellow background, circular in shape with green/white zigzag trim. The rest is snowing at night in the background. I don't think this is the greatest opening sequence of all time, but it is certainly one of the funniest ones I have seen, especially in a pre-school show.

The Tinsel Badge: I should note that this episode aired during a Christmas special before "The Drawing Badge" aired, but was technically Series 1, Episode 26. Short opens with the Squirrels playing in the clubhouse barn. Norrie and Happy are having a tea party which happens in every episode to varying degrees. Happy is a crocodile kid whom's gimmick is an obsession with water and splashing. I would like to say that repeating words over and over again is another one, but all the Squirrels do it to varying degrees. By the way, the club's name is in fact Squirrels. Ironically there is a real squirrel in the show later on. Happy also has eyes that deattach from the body. Happy is voiced by Duke Davis. Norrie is the mouse who got the honor of having the very first opening sequence. Norrie is a kind mouse who seems to be what Peppa Pig should have been, at least if you believe the writers of this show. Norrie's a perfectly acceptable character, voiced Poppie Boyles. Betty is reading a Christmas book. She is an octopi/squid anthro, which is rare in itself, and she has a cross between Edmond Elephant in the clever clogs gimmick and Danny Dog sort of since she lives on an island and her father is a sea captain who travels in a submarine. Unlike Captain Dog, the adults are just there to transport and returns the Squirrels home. At least early on in the series. Betty is voiced by Jasmine Bartholomew. Tag and Roly are building a really bad building block tower because of course. Tag is a rhino anthro who is hyperactive like most children, but cares about animals as "The Rescue Badge" demonstrate, poor finish aside. Later on, he'll be friends with a fruit fly. Tag is voiced by Alfie Sanderson. I'm pretty sure the kids were voiced by real kids and do not have much of a resume worth talking about, like most kid characters in Peppa Pig. I should also note that I ranted on this episode last for Easter Sadism simply because it was the only one that doesn't have a CBC Kids video, whom deserves kudos for airing the full episodes, what little was available. BBC seems to have a copyright maximal kick in them that even Hasbro doesn't. So, if you don't see me describe colors, it's because my source video is black and white to deal with copyright issues. Yeah, that sucks.

We see that the clubhouse is not decorated which is a clear giveaway of the plot within seconds since Roly's sitting room with fireplace was clearly decorated. The narrator asks what is Duggee planning today and the kids all bail stage left giggling. Cut to Duggee wrapping presents. The kids ask Duggee what he is doing and Duggee shows them as the narrator says it all. Roly claims that they are for him, and the narrator blows him off because they are for all the animals. Betty asks if they can help put the presents under the tree and Duggee woofs "yes". Cut to the tree standing up as the kids run in with presents, but the kids are not happy because this tree is too naked for them. Fair enough, I suppose. The narrator admits that this tree needs to be decorated. Happy bails and returns dressed up as a painter/wallpaperer. Okay, that was funny and the narrator blows him off for this. Happy is our GEEK OF THE WEEK~! Duggee woofs and then points to his chest to show off his "Tinsel Badge". I guess "Tree Decorating Badge" was too long, even for this show. The Squirrels are confused by this tinsel thingie as Duggee bails on all fours stage right. He goes into the attic as there is a winter box containing decorations as some animal wearing a part hat and a mini teddy hops off the box. I have zero idea whom that is, it might be delta frog, whom is voiced by Grant Orchard. Duggee grabs the box and slides straight down, the lid almost falls off. Like "The Rescue Badge" there is no evidence anyone kept the ladder sturdy. That was dangerous. Duggee is at ground level now as he opens the package to reveal plastic candy canes and tinsel complete with Microsoft Window opening sound effects. These kids are amused by shiny objects, so they have been brainwashed into believing that shiny stuff is good. God with two "O's" of course. Roly screams Christmas Tree because being loud is his gimmick. Okay, I missed one ornament in this sequence. Betty wants to tinsel the tree first and then changes her mind over and over. So much for being a clever clogs. Roly is screaming and throwing decorations onto the near top of the tree, which I admit was sort of funny. The presents are under the tree already as the narrator blows Roly off...AGAIN! Roly is confused as Duggee carefully pushes the tinsel down into their proper places. Roly gets it and then calms down as the kids want to decorate.

Scene change ensues which they do in very episode, sometimes more than once. This one they show a badge of an ornament with Duggee's face rotating while Jingle Bells is playing in the background. We return with Duggee handing out ornaments and the kids are decorating the bottom half of the tree, since they cannot be on ladders as per BS&P. More tinsel is added as Roly licks a candy cane stick and puts it on a tree. EWWW! GET HIM AWAY~! GET HIM AWAY~! More ornament are added via teleport and Roly is licking stamps so Norrie can make a paper chain link tinsel. Happy hangs stocking on the fireplace as there is more decorating. Roly eats the candy cane stick of course. More decorating and laughter as one of the delta chickens is watching and not amused. The tree topper is an angel version of Norrie, indicating that Norrie wants to be dead. The decorating is done, if I missed anything, too bad because there wasn't anything else of note worth talking about. The kids are in awe as Duggee has a candy cane of his own. Then Roly screams "LIGHTS!" as he pops out of the box covered in Christmas lights. He needs to tone down the volume of his screeching, he's dangerously going to be accused of being a MAGAT. Next up, the kids run with lights in a montage designed to decorate the tree, window, Duggee's doghouse, and outside tree, a CACTUS JACK OF DOOM and Enid The Cart himself. Your cat is not going to wear Christmas lights! The kids all yell finished and Duggee gets the lights treatment! Funny, but...Your dog is not going to wear that! Anyhow, Duggee turns on the switch and the barn is bathing with so much light that I was almost blinded. Even the narrator thinks this went too far. Duggee's house as a brightness knob to turn down the lights I should note. How very nice, how very evil. The narrator giggles, but Enid the Cat is pissed off as she shakes the decorations and runs away stage right. See, Jay Leno was right all along! Even Betty has to admit that. Enid didn't even like the winter hat she got. The Squirrels decide to give the animals their presents and they all cheer. Scene changer #2 is a badge of the top of the tree as Angel Duggee floats down and becomes the tree topper. That was funny. Cut to outside the barn with the Squirrels dressed up in winter clothes bringing presents and searching for Enid. They notice Naughty Monkey, whom debuted on "The Jam Badge" and is the only non-Squirrel to earn a badge on this show so far.

Naughty Monkey doesn't know where Enid is though as he comes down and accepts a wrapped candy cane as a present. Naughty Monkey is so happy and is voiced by Phillip Warner. The search continues west as Hippy Rabbit #1 pops out from a hole and Betty gives him a present, which is a squeeze box. Hippy Rabbit calls it cool as he is voiced by Sander Jones. Delta Frog shows up as Norrie gives it a present. Which is a scarf. Tag has a star like present to give and it's for rant purposes, the debut of Hennie, whom is literally a fifty foot ostrich with roller skates and leg warmers. You can see her in full profile in this episode and she debuted in "The Omelette Badge" about 13 episodes before this one. Hennie is usually voiced by Lucy Montgomery, although the claim is Grant Orchard in this episode. Hennie thanks Tag for the present in full winter gear. Yes, the delta chickens get presents from Happy, which are three crowns. Pfft, whatever. Everyone walks west, including I believe the square looking brown cow. I cannot tell who is who because the whole thing is in black & white, other than to say Enid is not among them. Then we hear meowing as Norrie and Tag run into the barn and find Enid licking her paws. Betty gives Enid a cat blanket for Enid to sleep on during cold nights as Enid demonstrates. Aw, my heart melted. Just like the Squirrels in this case. All the animals join in to watch the snow as the camera zooms out to show Hennie carrying the star in her mouth. The narrator calls this a Merry Christmas, probably because one of the character's names is Happy, and it would sound selfish. Anyhow, the narrator asks of the Squirrels did well and Duggee woofs "yes". Duggee bails on all fours and then returns with a giant "Tinsel Badge" as the kids are all happy that they earned the badge. Then the horn honks and here comes the parents in their vehicles. This leads to my favorite part of the show: The dreaded but always great DUGGEE HUG~! The kids all hug Duggee and one of the kids (and it's always different) would say with relief: Duggee Hug. That made this awesome. The kids all bail giggling as they meet their parents. They show off their badge and then the parents hug the kids in unison. The kids and parent leave stage left in their vehicles. Jump cut to outside the barn as the narrator asks if this was fun. Duggee comes out dressed up like Father Christmas/Santa and agrees hoing. Duggee then laughs and the narrator says "Do stop it, Duggee!" to end the episode at 6:48. The ending credits are the same at "The Drawing Badge" only in the snow. This was a really fun episode, but Roly's really starting to hurt me. *** 3/4 (75%).

Opening Moment #2: This sequence has Norrie playing a guitar in her room. When she yells "DUGGEE~!" she plays a riff on it before running out of the treehouse, ala Zeb and Maple from The Adventures Of Teddy Ruxpin. I should note that there is a piano in the background with six badges, despite in the show's storyline, there was only one badge earned. I should also note that she lost the guitar off-screen when she's outside her treehouse. Norrie's father is driving a car made out of a log. Her putting on the seatbelt is awkward I should note. The rest of this plays out exactly the same as the first opening, sans the winter effects. Another note I forgot to mention: The purple bear bus driver on the top left was going to be the sixth Squirrel before getting axed in the final product. Also, Happy's parent is in fact an elephant anthro since Mrs. Elephant does hug Happy during the stereo hugging sequence. I'm guessing this is an inter-spieces angle, which hasn't been done in Peppa Pig. I've seen Peppa Pig do an inter-racial couple with Mummy and Daddy Cat before. I'm also surprised they didn't write his name as "Happie" or even "Happee" to make the connection with Duggee even more obvious, but I guess the later was too close to a pissing reference. The title card badge is a pencil against a white background with green sweater-equse trim which is against a teal background.

The Drawing Badge: I should note that this episode is officially the very first episode in the show. Short opens inside the barn where all the squirrels are playing with various toys. Norrie and Betty are cosplaying having a tea party, Happy is building with blocks, Roly is playing with what appears to be a yellow top and Tag is playing with a model orange car. The clock in the background reads 11:10 am, although in this world it's more like Blue Triangle-Purple Pentagon. The hours on that clock represent colored shapes. The narrator says "Hello Squirrels! I wonder what Duggee has planned for you today." That sounds a little creepy, but the Squirrels don't care as they do their "DUGGEE~!" jump formation and run stage right. We see Duggee looking at the sun behind a window, which shows the triangle yellow chicken in the same area with two normally drawn yellow chicken. Either this is a logic break, or the animators are playing with us. I'm thinking the later in this case. The Squirrels and Duggee do the meet and greet and Duggee turns around to wave at them. I was half-expecting a jump scare, but this is a pre-school, so nope. They wonder what the weather is like and watch as we get the cheapest sliding grey cloud over the sun, complete with sliding whistle sound effects. We also get sound effects of thunder and it rains, but it's just the barn that gets it. Every other place is free from the rain. That was ridonkulous. The Squirrels are not happy with this as I say: "Just leave the barn, there is no rain outside the barn!". The narrator points out that the Squirrels can just wear rain gear like Duggee is. All well and good; but only the barn is getting the rain! The rain gear has red buttons, red stitching and red boots, but otherwise banana yellow. My favorite color to poop on when doing these rants. The fact that Duggee is a brown anthro dog makes the joke even funnier in hindsight. And speaking of continuity errors: The two regular yellow chickens are now the same model as the Delta Chicken, which should be their names. They should have them shaped like a triangle, a stylized "a" for "alpha and a stylized "b" for beta. Alpha, Beta, Delta Chicken. Anyhow, the chicks don umbrellas as the continuity error also includes the rain extending beyond the barn now. The umbrellas are so powerful that the foreground in front of them also has no rain despite being impossible to pull off in real life. The prespective should have the rain below their feet and shadow, otherwise it makes no sense.

The Squirrels return to the door with Duggee wearing rain gear. Their rain gear is rain hoods and Tag's hood extends to his nose, but his horn is sticking out as if there is a hole in the hood. I'm going to guess that Tag doesn't like cold noses, but Norrie, Roly and Happy do since their noses are bare. Duggee opens the door and goes outside as the Squirrels giggle. At first, I wondered why they were laughing at Duggee, until I realized that a giant wind storm blows Duggee back and Duggee gives up and bails stage left into the barn, closing the door. Those Squirrels are cheeky fellows and we blame Peppa Pig for this nonsense?! Moving right along, Duggee has leaves all over his body, is soaked and huffing, but otherwise all right. Betty asks if it's too wet outside, Duggee woofs and his body language indicates that Betty is being a troll despite Betty asking an honest question. There was zero indication from Betty's body language that she was being sarcastic. Tag wonders what to do now, and Duggee opens his coat to reveal his scout uniform front, which contains the drawing badge we saw in the title card earlier. Duggee reveal five colored pencils with the same color as the Squirrels are happy, but the chickens with umbrellas aren't since they get blown away by the wind. Fools! Jump cut back to the Squirrels at the table drawing and coloring with colored pencils and crayons, in the case of Roly. Roly isn't thrilled for some reason as we cut to Norrie drawing while saying drawing over and over and over again. Then Norrie makes a mistake we can't even see and Norrie says "rubbing out" over and over again. Thankfully, CBCKids actually has English subtitles that look to be a human script rather the AI subtitles I often see. Norrie is drawing a flower, Happy gasps and get it, Happy is drawing a puddle because we have to strike a blow against that evil elf known as Peppa Pig. Would have been better if Roly was drawing the puddle, since he's supposed to be the Peppa Pig of this outfit. Betty is humming a tune while drawing, Roly's drawing like someone is either using a knee slapping sound effect, like when Hanna Barbera uses it for running away, or a really bad gunshot sound effect. Tag is drawing and laughing, and that's all I got from him. More drawing and sound effects, at Roly's drawing sounds like chalk on a chalkboard sound effect, which is more believable.

Finally, Roly holds his drawing into the air and yells "Finished", like he just saw Mario Party and enjoyed it. Roly's picture is a ear of corn, I think. Tag is a soccer ball/football, Betty is an apple tree, Norrie is a flower and Happy has no idea how to finish, but we all know it's a puddle. Tag's soccer ball is really good, Roly's ear of corn is impressive, Betty's apple tree needs more detail, Norrie's flower is okay and Happy is happy. Happy says "snap" because crocodile make snapping sounds, I guess. The kids giggle and head stage left to a shelf/cupboard where Duggee is putting away stuff, I think. By the way, I forgot about this: During the sequence before Duggee goes out to check the weather, the Squirrels were supposed to be wearing their wellies, which is British slang for Wellington Boots, but they didn't. So, this is a continuity error or the summary people didn't have a clue, or both. Duggee has a jump scare as the Squirrels proclaim that they are finished. Duggee clap motion is hilarious, he might as well be in Super Smash Brothers and be done with it. The narrator decides it's time for a guessing game which is more designed for audience interaction than anything else, so I'm fine with it. Norrie shows off her picture with this beat music that sounds like something out of Super Mario Brothers 3's memory game now that I have thought about it. The Squirrels guess it is a flower seconds later, so much for audience interaction in this show. Next up is Happy and his puddle, everyone got that one right. He's so happy that he is acting like he won the Wrestlemania main event saying "splash" over and over again. He's a bigger simpleton than Norrie actually. To be fair, he is fully committed to his Happy, so he's making sure there's no false advertising. Although it would be funnier, if his name was Happy, and he was the saddest animal in the biz. Irony. Everyone giggles back as Tag shows off his picture, they are sort of correct in saying it's a ball. I'm guessing that they didn't want to open up the "Soccer/Football" can of worms, but honestly; too little, too late. Betty is next and it's also sort of right since it's supposed to be an apple tree and the writer had no excuse for this one like the soccer ball/football picture. Roly is last and no one speaks because they have either zero clue what it is, or they don't want to be wrong because it looks like an ear of corn. I think the later is in effect here.

Then the Squirrels say it's a banana and Roly says that's correct basically. Roly is a troll because it looks nothing like a banana. Duggee's reaction to this is stunning because he's not buying this crap. Join the club, Duggee~! The Squirrels just give Roly props anyway, like the cheeky kids that they are. This is so great that I was laughing my ass off, even more so as Duggee is scratching his head, he cannot process these kids thinking that Roly drew a banana instead of an ear of corn. Norrie then asks Duggee if he's going to draw a picture, and this causes Duggee to recoil and act all proud as he woofs to say "yes". The kids are in awe and we get for rant purposes (since I am ranting on The Tinsel Badge last for obvious reasons) the very first stylized scene changer of doom. It's basically the title screen without the title of the episode as it's the "Drawing Badge" is basically in a page of a coloring book that is being colored. I should point out that the colors do not match the title card at all, since the trim of the badge was mostly green in the title card, but rainbow colors in this scene changer. Cut to Duggee dressed up as an artist complete with white coat and black French beret. I would love to hear him woof with a French accent, I dare Duggee to pull this off. He's drawing a picture we cannot see as one of the Squirrel asks if it's done. Duggee teases saying "no" while admiring the picture we cannot see, and then says "woof" to indicate that he is finished the drawing. By the way, his coat has blobs of cyan blue, biege, purple and pink paint on the coat. In a shock, the continuity is pretty good here as Betty gasps and asks if they can see the drawing. Duggee nods and shows off his drawing which is a dramatic cartoon-equse style drawing of Duggee with a flag conquering a cliff. The detail here is awesome as the Squirrels have zero clue what this is. This my Squirrels, is art! Cue heavenly music! Betty asks what is it and Duggee reaction is like "Are you fucking kidding me?!". I laughed and I laughed and I laughed some more. Norrie's response was even funnier: It's a bunny. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Well, Duggee does look like one, so Duggee, that's your fault. Tag calls it a sausage, and now Betty thinks it's an elephant. Okay, the trolling is getting out of control now. You're not topping: It's a bunny, so stop now. They keep doing this and now Duggee is pissed off, he's literally face-palming himself and the way he does it made me laugh as well. Duggee is cooked!Then the narrator literally asks them "Do you not know what Duggee drew?!" and the Squirrels shake their heads, admitting that they were trolling Duggee all along. The narrator also seems to have no idea until Duggee points to the figure and the narrator admits it's Duggee looking like a bunny. The Squirrels tease remorse and confusion, and then they all giggle like the trolls that they are.

Then they claim that this isn't Duggee, and Duggee shows off the drawing like he don't care because it is Duggee! Okay, Duggee, I realize it's you, but the ears look like a bunny. You are not fooling the Squirrels on this one, sir. The clouds are more animated than they should be as the Squirrels bail laughing stage right. Duggee's chest bounces as we jump cut to the Squirrels drawing and coloring at their table. This time, it is a group drawing. The narrator -- who seems to be a bit annoyed -- asks the Squirrels what they are drawing. Tag claims that it's the real Duggee. I cannot wait to see that, it sounds like another troll move to me. The Squirrels yell that they are done and roll up the poster paper. They run in to a confused and maybe slightly miffed Duggee as the kids offer to show off the drawing of Duggee. Duggee closes his eyes and agrees looking frightened because he thinks this is a troll move. The kids show the drawing and it's the DUGGEE HUG OF DOOM~! Except Duggee looks like Duggee, completely burying Duggee's art skills. That was great. The narrator thinks it's lovely and Duggee almost sheds a tear of happiness. Duggee does the ROB Smash Brothers clap again. Jump cut to the window as the cloud making rain stops making rain, which means the clouds are lower in the windows than they actually appear. The cloud bails stage right with whistle sound effects as the sun is shining brightly. The pay off to this is the chickens floating down on umbrellas looking all right. The umbrellas disappear after being closed and the chickens peck and cluck. Very anti-climatic compared to the main story methinks. The Squirrels are running outside as Duggee admires the picture. The narrator asks if the Squirrels have done well and Duggee agrees. As the Squirrels come back, Duggee bails on all fours this time and then returns with a giant "Drawing Badge", that is bigger than the Squirrels. The narrator praises the Squirrels for earning their badges and the Squirrels jump up and down in victory. We hear a horn blaring and it's the parents in their vehicles as it is now home time. However, there is time for one more thing and they have built this up so well because it's the DUGGEE HUG~ for real! Duggee Hug~! Then the kids all giggle and bail stage left to show off to their parents their drawing badges, and then get hugged by the parent as per the opening sequence. The kids get into the vehicles and the parents drive away stage left. The narrator then asks if this was fun to Duggee as one of the Delta Chickens (the one with the red umbrella with white spot) is fencing at Duggee and Duggee laughs. The narrator is like "Will you stop?!" and that ends the episode at 6:47. The ending credits is basically the same song as the opening with Duggee literally sleeping in his doghouse until the kids yell "Hey, Duggee!" and then Duggee wakes up. Okay, that was neat. This was a really fun episode with a lot of continuity errors, but Duggee's drawing was the ace of the base both ways. *** 3/4 (75%).

Opening Moment #3: This is Happy's first sequence which is him spying on his goldfish in a bowl while wearing a yellow snorkel pipe. Happy lives in a normal house, but his guardian is an elephant anthro I should note. Either this is an inter-spieces relationship, or the elephant is his foster parent. The title card features a slice of strawberry cake with white icing, against a blue background, circular in shape with white and pink trim.

The Cake Badge: Short opens outside the barn with Duggee watering the carrots, Norrie and Betty playing soccer, and Happy, Roly and Tag running around being all annoying and such. Oh, wait; Happy is hopping and repeating the word. I stand corrected, Betty and Norrie are playing volleyball. More hopping, watering and chasing as Tag falls down flat on his face and the result is making a fart sound, for no reason. Tag gets up and bails stage left as the narrator asks if this is a great time to be outside and Duggee agrees. Happy continues to hop and then notices holes in the ground, which are good for hopping. Happy hops over holes and then cleans his glasses, which are attached to his eyes I should note. Then Happy notices a giant strawberry cake. Stop right there! Okay, the guise of this is that it's not Happy's cake, it's the hippy rabbit's cake and Happy should have not eaten it. However, why would you put the cake there?! There is no reason to put the cake there, unless you are trying to entrap someone into eating said cake. Which means I would have sympathy for Happy and hate the rabbits in this one. You were stupid enough to leave the cake there, knowing that this is dumb and you did it anyway. You are just as responsible for the cake's demise as is Happy and I have more sympathy for Happy because he doesn't know any better. Stars abound just to make it even more tempting as the narrator asks why it's in the field and Happy has zero clue, which is understandable because putting a cake in the middle of the field is stupid. Happy jumps in off-screen and eats the cake off-screen. The narrator is shocked and appalled by this as it's someone else's cake. Why didn't you tell him before he jumped into the cake, you bloody moron?! Now the narrator knows that this is bullshit and is more concerned about Happy being ill. Again, too little, too late you moronic narrator! Happy is green to the grills even though he's a shade of green already. He just had an upset stomach as his shade of green goes darker. Yup, he's fine. His lime green color indicates shame more than illness. And speaking of the entrappers, here comes Hippy Rabbit #1 out of the ground, with white nipples and a biege headband with a red zigzag pattern acting like Swiper after getting soundly defeated by Dora and Boots in Dora The Explorer. This proves my theory that the Hippy Rabbits were in fact trying to entrap Happy into eating that cake.

Two more Hippy Rabbits pop out cutting the same promo as the first one and then a mole with glasses and blue stocking cap with blue pjs comes out. 2:1 odds that was actually the mole's cake and the Hippy Rabbits were using it to frame Happy. The mole giggles and pops down as the Hippy Rabbits hop to the eaten cake and that don't like it. Then there is NINE more Hippy Rabbits, further cementing my theory that it's the mole's cake. That cake looks like it serves eight, not ten. Oh wait, it's eleven as Happy realizes that he just screwed himself as the eleventh Hippy Rabbit sniffs the cake to further gaslight me. The rabbit calls this terrible, in French no less, and then Hippy Rabbit covers it's eyes and cries. The narrator and Happy don't know what to do at this point and we hear Duggee's woof and here is Duggee to make sure zero violence occurs. Don't worry Duggee, I can only point out how awful the Hippy Rabbits are in their gaslighting. Duggee agrees to help the gaslighting rabbits anyway as his idea is to point to his chest and show off his "Cake Badge". This causes everyone to be in awe, including the mole. The mole rolls his eyes, smirks and then bails down the hole. The narrator asks if Duggee is going to make a new cake, and Duggee acts like he's is trying to have a dump, but it makes a chef's hat on his head. Nice one, Duggee, nice one. The Hippy Rabbit cheer as Hippy Rabbit #1 calls it cool, and hugs Happy; the one who ate the cake in the first place. Clear evidence of the entrapment. Happy is smiling like he's the Joker without the two tears as we scene change to a badge as someone is putting icing in said badge and then it transforms into Duggee. Cut to Hippy Rabbit #1 smelling a orange/yellow/white rainbow. It's coming from the chimney of the barn as the Hippy Rabbits -- all sixteen of them -- watching outside a window where Duggee in his chef's gear is making a cake. Then we get a scene changer featuring a egg cracking up against a blue background. The egg contents plop into a conveniently placed white pink striped bowl. I think this was the bowl Duggee was shown with in the zoom out shot earlier. Duggee breaks a second egg into the bowl as he's at the kitchen counter with a container of flour, a wooden spoon, a bowl and a scale. The narrator calls this exciting in the same manner as if there is lovely weather outside. Which is funny in a cartoon, but not on a wrestling program.

Despite having a wooden spoon on retainer, Duggee brings out the out of nowhere whisk and whisks the bowl of eggs. SUZY SHEEP~?! Even more amusing, we hear cracking and the Squirrels are baking their own cake, making a much bigger mess than Peppa and George ever could in Peppa Pig. Half of the stuff looks like they were making cookies. Of course, they trust Norrie to stir the bowl I should note. Roly shouts as usual as we get a montage of six colored square, all containing the ingredients needs to bake a cake according to the narrator: Three eggs, flour, sugar (which is a triangle pile), butter, raisins and carrots. Wait, stop! The cake Happy ate was not a carrot cake. So, the Hippy Rabbits were mad at Happy eating a strawberry cake when they wanted a carrot cake. No, this is bullshit. The Hippy Rabbits set up Happy so they could get the cake they wanted. Those Hippy Rabbit can go pound sand. Betcha the strawberry cake belonged to the Mole. By the way, the kids all think veggies in a cake is an abomination. They are wrong as the narrator points out, but in this case it's also wrong to entrap someone into eating a cake you don't want, just to make them bake a cake that you do want. All the Hippy Rabbit call it cool. I think it's disgusting myself, given the angle. Jump cut to a egg timer ticking and DING! Sadly, no muddy puddles are involved. Jump cut to Duggee with oven mitts on near his oven. The narrator tells the kids to stand back as Betty tries to be a clever clogs, but Roly screams to cut her off. Betty does the Gruffi pose and sits down looking mad. Compared to the Hippy Rabbits, Roly is merely annoying and I can take his crap. Betty stops selling and the kids all back up anyway. Duggee opens the oven and takes out some carrot cupcakes. Not exactly what I expected, but more believable than Mummy Rabbit's carrot cakes, that is for certain. Everyone gets a cupcake as Happy serves the Hippy Rabbits. Which makes sense in storyline, but the rabbits deserve nothing. If anyone should get a cake, it's the mole. Everyone enjoys carrot cupcake as Tag is eating and crumbs fall on the delta frog because why not?! Delta frog is fine with it as he eats a piece and loves it. This eating goes on for a while as the narrator asks if the cakes are good, and everyone cheers under the pink/cheese/white rainbow this time.

By the way, the further this episode goes on, the Hippy Rabbits are littering even more than Ma Beagle ever did. At least 40 rabbits in this scene alone, along with a delta chicken, delta frog and a very square brown cow. The narrator asks if the Squirrels did well and Duggee woofs "yes". Duggee bails stage right on all fours and then returns with the giant "Cake Badge". The kids all love it. The car horn beeps as the parents arrive, which means it's time for the DUGGEE HUG OF DOOM~! Duggee hug. Betty was the one who said it according to the CBC Kids subtitles. The kids all giggle and bail stage left to present the parents with the badges. The parent do the hug in stereo and then leave with the kids in their vehicles. The narrator asks if this was fun and Duggee agrees. Hippy Rabbit #1 pops up from the hole, agrees with Duggee and we have a hearty laugh. The narrator tells them to stop to end the episode at 6:48. This would have been a really fun episode if the Hippy Rabbit left a carrot cake instead of a strawberry cake because it made them look like they were daring Happy to eat the cake and entraping him into getting the cake they really wanted. I betcha the strawberry cake was for the mole. Sadly, the mole didn't stand up for itself making this somehow worse. Call this ** 1/4 (45%).

Opening Moment #4: This short features Roly admiring a rainbow pinwheel outside in the garden. His eyes are twirling like the pinwheel. By the way, Roly doesn't scream nearly as loud when he yells "DUGGEE~!" as he does during the episode. There's no excuse to not tone down the volume in the episodes. He still has to come out of the house instead of just running around the house until he's at the front door. By the way, Roly's guardian doesn't take public transit, but does a duo-bicycle riding gimmick, so Roly has to put on his bicycle helmet like his guardian does for obvious reason. Hopefully this show also puts lifejackets on the adults in this show. I should note that there is a continuity error: When they do the hugging in stereo, the Hippos do not wear their helmets during the hug. I mention this because the adults leave off-screen after the hug and I believe that this extends into the ending sequence as well. The title card feature a circular badge featuring a red back hairbrush with a blue handle. This is againest a yellow background with three small white five pointed stars and a blue/orange trim.

The Hair Badge: Short opens with the Squirrels playing in the clubhouse as Norrie is having a tea party with a plush penguin and plush polar bear. Happy is playing with a toy truck, Betty is playing with a parking lot set, Roly is drawing "Duggee" which is a neat nod to "The Drawing Badge" episode, that was great. Tag is reading books, and probably going to get first degree murder charges on Al Khan if the police can get them to stick. Or maybe not. The narrator asks what Duggee has planned, and the kids bail stage left. Jump cut to Duggee combing his "hair" on his head. He combs his left ear, and that causes a hair to pop up to annoy Duggee. Try combing in reverse Duggee, maybe the hair won't pop up this time. Duggee is looking in the mirror, obviously. The kids run in and we exchange notes for a while. Duggee is having a bad hair day, so of course the kids giggle at his expense. It's so bad, even the narrator is laughing. Duggee is not amused by this. Then four more hairs pop up just to make it worse for Duggee. Norrie wants to help make his hair better, and at this point I think she meant it making it look even worse. Happy asks how and Duggee points at his chest, because it's time for the Squirrels to earn their "Hair Badge", because we cannot say "Hair Grooming Badge", lest someone thinks this shows is for pedos, or something. Betty asks what to do first and Duggee brings out a bottle of yellow bottled shampoo because the narrator points out that the first step is to wash Duggee's head of hair, all four strands. Which has now reduced to one strand. SUZY SHEEP~?! The kids agree to help him and they cheer. I smell trainwreck as we get a scene changer featuring a morning sky with a meadow. The sun rises and Duggee's face is the sun. I swear this will be the new angry sun when the new Mario game comes to Nintendo Switch 2. Prove me wrong, Nintendo. Jump cut to outside as the kids run out and find a puddling pool. Narrator claims this is a great idea to wash Duggee's hair. They are trying to make him sick. Even sicker: Tag's attempt to inflate the puddling pool. His lung cap sucks! Oh, TAG~! Duggee comes in stage right and inflates the puddling pool with ease. Okay, that makes sense; but shouldn't he be out of the barn on the left?! SUZY SHEEP~?!

The kids thank him as the narrator confirms the next step: Filling the puddling pool with water. By the way, Tag needs to be behind Norrie because his horn could pop the puddling pool where he is now. Happy is giddy that he gasps in excitement over anything water related. He might be Mrs. Crocodile's son for all I know. Happy goes to the barn and finds the conveniently placed hose, sprayer and faucet already set up. Happy sprays water with glee, as he is so happy. Happy runs in with the hose as the narrator talks about a lot of shampoo needed for this operation. Roly brings in the bottle of shampoo and screams. Luckly, it was only a half of a second this time. Shampoo and water are added, yee-haw! They have a shampoo/water sequence exchange for a while, with the sole purpose of Roly screaming in order to annoy me. Duggee woofs that this is enough as Duggee is now wearing blue striped swimming trunks with a yellow draw string. I don't know why I mentioned it, but I thought it was amusing. Narrator agrees with Duggee on this one Roly as we see the delta frog float up into the sky and no one cares, most of all, the characters on this show. I should note that Duggee literally has chest hair on his belly. Delta Frog's bubble pops and it gets encased in another bubble. The frog ribbits, voiced by the producer of course. Duggee relaxes in the puddling pool with his feet up, like he's in bed. The kids all asks if everything is fine, Roly asking if he wants more bubbles of course. I think you can guess Duggee's responses to this without my help. Norrie tells him to relax in a calm voice, and Roly screams "RELAX~!", giving Duggee a shock! Sod of Roly, Duggee could have injured himself there. Duggee looks at the hard camera and the kids all giggles. That was very mean of the Squirrels. The narrator decides that it's time to wash his hair. Wait, isn't this show suppose to be about Duggee since the title...Oh wait, this is a children's show and the children are the main event. But wait, what is the narrator's excuse then?! Duggee decides to get this over with and washes his hair, lathering the top of his head with soap. Norrie is laughing at his expense because Duggee is literally turning into a soap bubble monster before our very eyes. That was funny, I won't lie.

The kids all bail because Duggee is getting out and he does, and he does the dog shaking spot Daddy Pig did in Swimming. Somehow, none of the water makes contact with any of the kids. That was cowardly. Even Peppa and George got wet by Daddy Pig in Peppa Pig. I club BS&P! Then Rolly, Tag and Betty get wet anyway while laughing. SUZY SHEEP~?! The narrator proclaims that the washing part is over and it's time for Duggee to get dry for real. Jump cut to a shot of the barn where the three delta chickens do their usual. The banjo music plays as we jump cut to inside the barn as the kids are there. Tag asks how does Duggee get dry. The kids ponder this over for five seconds before Happy waves his arm into the hair and has a plan. Duggee stands there all wet as Happy walks in with a giant fan connected to a cord. Could be worse, I guess. Yes, the kids come in, turn on the fan, Duggee looks like he's being tortured when he's not. Norrie asks without any hint of irony if Duggee is dry. Duggee woofs "yes" and they switch off the fan. Somehow, Duggee is back in uniform and his head is completely fuzzy circles. The kids all giggle at his expense of course and the narrator don't care. This leads to another scene change of a badge. This time Duggee is checking his watch as it's ticking. Jump cut to the clubhouse as Duggee on a stool (NOT THAT ONE~!) with a barber's apron on as the narrator asks the Squirrels about giving Duggee a hair style. Uh-oh! This is going to be a trainwreck now. There is a step block ladder ready for it as Betty wants funny hair, Roly wants big hair, Norrie wants curly hair, Tag claims straight hair and Happy wants no hair! Ironically, Happy's choice is closer to Duggee's choice than you would think. Norrie goes first, and the result is nothing like curly hair. It's basically a black hair hairstyle with a hook trim look. Basically, she dyed the hair and made it into a gross mullet. Narrator praises the look, Duggee is like "you serious?!" Umm, yes they are Duggee. Roly is next and despite all those paint colors, he basically does two braids of twisted hair with pink and yellow fasteners. Duggee is more confused than miffed at this point as the narrator points out that everyone gets a turn. Then we HIT THE MONTAGE~! Betty combs the hair and makes it curly even though she wanted funny hair. The continuity is so bad here, but the kids probably don't know what they are talking about, so it makes sense.

Duggee gets a legit mullet, then horn like Christmas lights treatment which doesn't amuse Duggee at all, purple anime hair that Duggee is not thrilled off, the angled buzz cut which miffs Duggee a bit, then the Charlie Brown look which makes him channel Homer Simpson. Now that I think about it, this was likely a Homer Simpson reference. More thin curly hair, more hook hair and more bad hair decision that are going to make Duggee something-something. Go crazy?! Probably. There is rock and roll music in the background that sounds similar to Peppa Pig's rock and roll music and the Squirrels concede that this is not right. Duggee is literally having a tooth stick out in his mouth on the last hairstyle as the narrator wonders what is the right style. I say it's Happy's decision, which is no hair. Tag has a plan as he noticed Duggee's picture and takes it off the conveniently placed wall. The kids all have a whisper conference and then run in and brush and blow dry Duggee's hair off-screen. The kids say that they are done and Duggee's worried, but zoom out and he's himself basically as before. The kids love that one, you see. Duggee is relieved and does the ROB Smash Brothers clap to amuse me. The narrator thinks this suits Duggee as the narrator asks if the Squirrels did well. Duggee woofs "yes", bails on all fours and returns with the Hair Badge. The kids all love it as the horn blares and here comes the parents in their vehicles. DUGGEE HUG OF DOOM~! Duggee Hug~. The kids present the badges to the parents and then we get the parent hug in stereo. The kids and adult leave stage left as the narrator asks if this was fun to Duggee. Duggee woofs yes, and then a bubble pops off-screen and the delta frog lands on Duggee's head. Everyone laughs to end the episode at 6:48. Just an average episode. ** 3/4 (55%).

Opening Moment #5: Basically this is the same Norrie sequence as "The Drawing Badge" only it's winter time. By the way, none of the kids nor adults have winter clothes on during the opening sequence. Also, I missed this earlier: The delta frog takes public transporation. I don't know why, but that was funny. The title card features a sunny day on a sandy beach with a sandcastle and an umbrella tree of rainbow colors. The badge is circular with pink and yellow trim.

The Summer Holiday Badge: Short opens in the Squirrel's clubhouse as the kids are playing. Norrie's having a tea party with the plush polar bear, Happy and Roly are building the wobbly building of blocks and Tag and Betty are taking out blocks from the CHEST OF DEMONS as the narrator wonders what Duggee has planned for the kids. Roly and Happy bowl over their building blocks as the kids bail stage right giggling. Duggee is dressed up with a coat, gloves and earmuffs using a black/red cross stitch pattern. Oh, so they now care about winter clothes after wearing none in the opening sequence despite it clearly snowing. Even Peppa Pig was more self-aware than this show. The kids are ready, but the earmuffs muffle the sound, if you know what I mean. The kids scream louder, at least Roly's shouting loud is understandable here because the earmuffs are making sure Duggee cannot hear anything. Just turn around to your right, Duggee! By the way, Happy does the spot where his eyes separate from his head while jumping. The kids ask why he is dressed like that and Duggee woofs and show the window as the outside is covered in snow as it's still snowing. The kids ask what Duggee is doing and Duggee shows off his sledge/sled to prove to everyone that he's doing a sleigh/sledge ride. The kids all dress up in winter clothes as Tag shows off his wellies/wellington boots, Roly shows off four hats, only two of them are winter hats, Betty shows off her yellow gloves because she loves gloves you see, Norrie shows off her mouse ear warmers and scarf in matching colors. Happy looks like he's ready to go to birthday party with balloons. The narrator says it all as Happy releases the balloons to show that they are helium filled. Duggee has lost his earmuffs and gained a winter hat for no reason. The kids and Duggee run off stage right anyway as we get the scene changer of doom. This badge contains a snowman version of Dougee who blinks. We head outside the barn with the kids on the sledge as Duggee is of course, the mush dog because even though he's an anthro dog, he can act like a real dog. Besides, BS&P will never allow the kids to be the mush dogs anyway.

The narrator tells them to hold on tight, because there are no seat belts on the sledge. Duggee mushes stage left and he's very fast according to the narrator. Maybe, but he's not going to be so fast that the kids get dumped off the sledge. Duggee's holding back here, and he's not going to go faster according to the Squirrels whims here. Then we hear a whistle sound and even the kids hear it. Then we see a travelling briefcase fall from the sky and splat in the snow, forcing the briefcase to open right in front of Duggee. Norrie and the kids are confused here as then a white object thingie is nose diving and splats into the snow which both create a snow bird and splats snow right into Duggee's kisser. Not as funny as Daddy Pig becoming a snowman by going through the snow, sadly. The kids all laugh at their expenses as the snow falls off to reveal a white seagull with red trim glasses and a camera around it's neck. Roly screams "BIRD!" because he has to be annoying. Roly then points and yells just to be more annoying. The seagull wipes it's glasses and indentifies itself as Mawk. And yes, it can speak English. The Squirrels and Mawk exchange notes for a while. Mawk is trying to migrate for the winter by going somewhere warmer, although the narrator calls it migration, he uses the word hot. I don't think birds like that much heat, sir. Mawk also does the Peppa Pig-ism of making the noise that fits it's spieces, sounding like a bad horn. The Squirrels finally get it since Mawk is basically on summer holiday/vacation so to speak. The kids all bring his suitcase when Mawk asks for it, which is funny because it was buried in the snow when Mawk entered. SUZY SHEEP~?! Mawk opens it and is sad because the suitcase is empty. Mawk apparently had a toothbrush inside and that's it. The kids agree to search and find it, so we HIT THE MONTAGE~! Tag is looking inside a hole and this causes a naked squirrel to panic. Har Har! The squirrel was taking a bath, you see. Tag is about to be cancelled after that one. Too bad, I wanted Roly to get this spot so I would have better eardrum protection listening to this show. Tag apologizes as Roly is screeching for the toothbrush. Listen, as annoying as this is, I would rather take this than hearing MAGA screeching about literally anything at this point. After all, at least Roly got his comeupperance as the snow on the tree buries him. HAHA!

Betty digs up snow and buries herself, while Duggee just stands there with a Father Christmas/Santa white beard made of snow. HAHA! His smile is to let you know that this is bullshit. Happy jumps in the snow and now he's stuck. Norrie than discover that there is a toothbrush used as a nose on the snowman. WHAT?! That makes no sense since the suitcase was in front of Duggee when Mawk did it's nosedive. No way that's Mawk's toothbrush. The narrator approves as the kids run in with the toothbrush and Mawk accepts the toothbrush. This episode was doing so well until they had to break logic for whatever reason I cannot think of. Mawk puts the toothbrush in the suitcase and proclaims that everything is in order. Betty then states that this is not enough for a summer holiday/vacation. Mawk is confused and the kids are confused because Betty didn't think her accusation through. Happy then says "balloons" just to turn this into a joke now. Duggee arrives to point at his chest because he has his "Summer Holiday Badge". Betty asks Duggee if he's an expert on summer holidays and Duggee woofs "yes". The kids and Mawk cheer and honk in that order and we jump cut to the barn as Mawk just honks. You know, the creators might have missed the boat here: I expected this to be a scene changer where this scene is zoomed out to reveal a badge containing a snow globe. That would have been money. Jump cut to inside the clubhouse as the narrator asks the obvious question here and Duggee takes out his summer holiday picture on the beach from the conveniently placed wall. There is sunglasses, pink t-shirt, beachball, hat and more as the Squirrels proclaims that it's time to pack up. The kids giggle and bail stage right as we cut to the suitcase. Norrie puts in sun cream first, which is hilarious since it's not needed in the case of Mawk. Birds produce gadusol, which is great in protecting themselves from the sun and skin cancer. Even though Mawk is an anthro, it's feathers do a good enough job for protection. Roly puts in a ball, Betty puts in sunglasses, and Happy brings in swimming trunks. Roly brings in lots of hats and Tag brings in lots of games. Okay, this is overkill and Mawk cannot carry this stuff. Happy wants the balloons, and the narrator apologizes to Happy because the suitcase is overloaded. Mawk don't care about the overweight suitcase because Duggee demonstrates that the suitcase has TARDIS powers and it closes up perfectly.

We head outside as Happy still has his strings of balloon on standby in case Mawk cannot handle the TARDIS suitcase of doom. Mawk thanks them, the kids wave goodbye and Mawk tries to fly into the sky, but the suitcase of doom screws him over and Mawk splats onto the snow with the suitcase. If you cannot guess the finish right now, you have no business reading this rant. Norrie just realizes the problem as Mawk asks what now. Happy sees his balloons and gets inspired. Cut to Mawk flying stage right as the string of balloons are attached to the suitcase and that is that. Duggee and the kids wave goodbye as the narrator asks if the Squirrels have done well. Duggee woofs "yes" and bails on all fours stage left and returns with the giant "Summer Holiday Badge". The kids all cheer as the parents all arrive honking their horns. This leads to the DUGGEE HUG OF DOOM~! Duggee hug. The kids all giggle and bail stage left. They show off the badges to the parents, then parental hugs in stereo ensue. By the way, the kids are in winter clothes, but the parents are in their regular gear. SUZY SHEEP~?! The kids and parent all leave and the kids winter clothes are off in the sequence. Sigh. The narrator asks if this was fun to Duggee as we get some aloha music with the three delta chickens wearing Hawaiian gear dancing like complete fools. Duggee laughs as the narrator is like "Will you stop?!" to end the episode at 6:48. The aloha music plays throughout the credits as Duggee is sleeping in his doghouse while it's still snowing. Instead of "Hey Duggee", it's Mawk honking instead. This was a perfectly acceptable episode with an obvious finish that was more logical than finding a toothbrush at least. *** 1/2 (70%).

Opening Moment #6: This opening features Tag with a conductor hat playing with an actual toy train in his bedroom. Remember that Miss Rabbit, Grandpa Pig was more on the nose about Gertude than you were. Tag's "DUGGEE~!" jump looks stage right with one eye to the hard camera and the conductor hat goes flying off. He lives in an apartment building with his dad as the gimmick is that they take public transportation with a bus driver who is a purple bear. The title card has a rectangle badge with red trim, yellow background and either a fire truck, or a electrical power truck.

The Rescue Badge: Short opens with the Squirrels playing in the clubhouse room. Norrie and Roly are having the tea party this time. Happy, Tag and Betty are driving toy vehicles, with Tag using the fire truck from the title card! How about that for continuity. The narrator wonders what is up for the Squirrels today as all the kids leave, except for Tag, do the siern gimmick from Freddy Fox in Peppa Pig. The narrator has to inform his of this and Tag is confused, and then he laughs and joins in taking his fire truck. Then he stops and sees a mouse squeaking and running stage right. Tag claims that the mouse is in a hurry and I should note that Tag actually is friends with a literal fruit fly much later on in the series. We then see a yellow cat chasing said mouse. Tag indentifies it as Enid, in his first official debut if you discount "The Tinsel Badge" that aired first, but was episode #26 in storyline. I'm guessing the mouse is one of the "naughty mice" in this series. Their personalities are stereotypes of their spieces simply because they are a literal legit cat and a literal legit mouse. Well, one of them anyway. The narrator says it all and Tag is like, okay. Jump cut to Enid chashing the mouse for a while. The chase is nothing unusual, except for them literally playing hopstoch in the middle of it, that was funny. The music is a rock and roll chase music that sounds really generic. The chase ends with the mouse running underneath a giant branch of a tree and climbing down, while Enid is forced to stop because he cannot do that spot, and thus becomes stuck in a tree. By the way, the mouse can actually speak as it says "so long, pussycat" and the tree has a lift inside of it complete with door. Okay, that was a funny payoff to the chase. Not only that, there is a female voice operator for that lift. Oh, come on now! Enid goes to the lift door and pushes the button to open it, but the door is too small and Enid is now stuck in the elevator door. The three naughty mice come together and the one that fooled Enid in the tree actually has a name: Johnny. The one who id's him looks like a punk with a black vest and black curly hair that he combs on-screen, the third one has the pants of Johnny in a different color, but wears a white shirt. They make small talk for a while, apparently the mouse with the white shirt and shades which he puts on is a German national, since they were on the "autobahn" which is not a British word, but German word for "freeway".

They have a purple car that is more cooler than any vehicle in this show and they even do the "seatbelt light blinking" spot, forcing Johnny to recoil and put on his seatbelt. They are naughty, but not naughty enough to break the law nor their bodies. Enid looks like our GEEK OF THE WEEK~ as it meows for a while. Head inside the clubhouse as Tag is heading stage left as he hears the sounds. Instead of going to Duggee to inform him for this, Tag goes outside to the tree and asks if Enid is okay, still holding his toy fire truck. Enid shakes it's head no and meows some more. They talk for a while and then Tag bails to get Duggee and loses the fire track in the process. Now, he's doing the same spots in reverse that Enid and Johnny were doing earlier. This would have been funnier if Tag did the chase spot before he met Enid at the tree. Also better, if he did it backwards while doing it in reserve. That would have been money! Then Tag trips over some rocks and rolls into a ball stage left. Oh, TAG! Oh come on, now! You should have seen this coming 2.5 kms away! Jump cut to inside the clubhouse near the window as Duggee is showing off a graph on an easel to the Squirrel. If this is a finance meeting, the investors are way too young to learn this. Since Duggee speaks in dog woofing so to speak, the Squirrels have zero clue what is going on and I cannot help them, because I have no idea what is going on. This is so stupid. The kids are in awe because they have no other response to it. Tag goes throught the doggy door of doom to enter in ball form and the show cannot even throw a bone in a bowling pin spot, they just have Tag splat on his kisser. Oh, TAG! Everyone gasps as Tag tells the truth as I discover Enid is a female cat. Okay, good to know. The narrator has to repeat what he said, despite Tag being 100% clear in his statement, outside of trying to catch his breath. The kids wonder what to do and Duggee is prepared as he shows off his scout uniform to reveal "The Rescue Badge". Betty asks if they can help, Duggee woofs "yes" and the kids all cheer. This brings up the scene changer of doom which is a circular badge with Duggee rising up with a siren on his head. Freddy Fox jusrt had a boner somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the shows in Peppa Pig is this one. The siren uses red and yellow colors and we jump cut back to Enid stuck in a tree. Tiddles is like "first time"?! The Squirrels and Duggee do a run in as Tag proclaims that they will rescue her.

Considering the Squirrels are the same size as Enid, the elevator spot is out of the running to rescue her. Tag ponders this over and then bail, Tag returns with a giant purple mushroom because you see, the mushrooms in this show have awesome trampoline properties. Ummm, this is a bad idea because Enid will simply either bounce off high and either land back in the tree or splat onto the ground killing her. The narrator thinks this rocks, Roly yells "JUMP" and Enid no sells because Enid is not that stupid. She's stupid enough to get outwitted by mice, but not by Squirrels. Betty's idea is for them to jump up to get Enid and then jump down with Enid safely in her tentacles. Better idea, except: Roly is jumping on the mushroom and there is no chance in hell of them succesfully getting into the tree. Have I mentioned Roly's gimmick of being annoying and loud?! Well, it's on full display here and it's clear that this is a giant middle finger to Peppa Pig. I'm sorry show, Bluey does a much better job than you do. Betty does the Gruffi pose and instead of admitting that this plan doesn't work anymore, she angry that Roly STOLE her "brilliant" plan, which was not brilliant. It sucked. The bouncing noise was the funniest thing about it, it sounds like a gulping frog. Roly thinks he has it made, and then the mushroom top pops, it deflates with balloon deflating sounds and Roly is stuck! Okay, that was funny. Roly, you got your comeupperance, you Peppa Pig clone troll! Roly don't care and he farts. Thankfully, the mushroom covers up any odor that might have come. Norrie blows off this plan and Happy agrees with her. Duggee then sees the toy fire truck Tag left and Duggee gets inspired. The Squirrels and Duggee bail stage left. Tag tells Enid to stay put like the troll that he is. Did he assume Enid was going to go back toward the tree?! Jump cut to the barn as the narrator is wondering what the hell is Duggee and the Squirrels up to now. Let me answer that one to you, narrator: They are going to ride a fire truck with a ladder to rescue Enid. That's the only finish that makes a lick of sense as Betty offers the narrator to see what they are making. Now, we HIT THE MONTAGE of the Squirrels and Duggee making a makeshift fire truck. Happy cannot handle glue properly as his foot, arm and face are stuck with glue, white photos and a glue brush. To be fair, Roly blowing bubbles is probably for the best. Duggee's body wobbles at one point as the Squirrels throw stars into the air to finish up.

Betty proclaims that they are finished. Yup, it's a makeshift fire engine with music and bells. Why didn't they just take the wooden ladder with them? Answer: So they could give Freddy Fox a boner with making siren sounds silly. It's so obvious! Duggee drives the fire engine while the Squirrels provide the siren. Jump cut back to Enid licking her paws. Duggee and the Squirrels do a drive-by...Oh wait, it's Roly being loud again. The Squirrels bring out the wooden ladder doing the siren sounds, Roly is so lazy that he hangs on the ladder not running in. The Squirrel set up the ladder off-screen and I didn't like this spot: I would have booked this as Duggee holding the wooden ladder since it would give the most support and have Tag rescue Enid for real since the entire episode was focused on him noticing Enid up a tree. Nope, Duggee climbs up, grabs the cat and comes down without any support from the Squirrels on the ladder. That is not only stupid from a storyline angle, it's so dangerous from a safety angle! This was a bad finish. Duggee puts Enid down as we wrap up this episode with Duggee giving them the Rescue Badge despite Duggee doing the actual rescue! Probably the easiest badge Roly has even gotten. Parents arrive, DUGGIE HUG OF DOOM, present badges, parent hugs abound. The parents leave with the children, narrator asks Duggee if this was fun. I should note that Enid was licking her paws the whole time. She didn't give an elf and I don't blame her. That rescue was bad! The naughty mice show up in their cool cars having the time of their lives as Enid chases then again like a moron. Duggee and the narrator laugh to end the episode at 6:48. I should note that Enid and the Naughty Mice are voiced by the same voice whom does Duggie's woofing effects. This was a perfectly acceptable episode until the bad finish. ** 1/2 (50%).

Opening Moment #7: This opening features Betty reading a comic book called Power Puppy in her bedroom which has a chemistry set and a world globe just to demonstrate that Betty is literally the second coming of Edmond Elephant and Danny Dog, sort of. She yells "Duggee!" and head out as the gimmick is that Betty lives on an island and travels by submarine by her dad, whom I assume is a navy captain judging by the captain's hat he wears. Like the SeaDuck, the submarine has a landing wheel structure as well. I thought Betty would live underwater like Spongebob Squarepants, which makes more sense, but she lives on land, sort of. The title card features a red S encased in a golden seven pointed star with a shield shape badge in a red background with yellow trim.

The Super Squirrel Badge: Short opens with the Squirrels inside the clubhouse playing. Lorrie and Happy are having the tea party this time. Tag and Roly are building the most unstable block building ever and Betty is reading Power Puppy. I thought it was "Police Puppy", but the puppy is a superhero, so that makes no sense. Anyhow, the narrator wonders what Duggee has planned for today and all the kids bail stage left except for Betty, who is still reading the comic book. Betty chants that she will be there in a minute, over and over again. The Squirrels return to ask what Betty is doing. Ummm, she's reading and you should learn to read, too. Betty explains what she is doing and introduces Power Puppy via a dream sequence with a slightly different artstyle than the rest of the show. It shows Power Puppy who is female by the way with a bone in her mouth. She's a cute puppy by day, but she's a cute puppy superhero who defeats babbies and helps people, as she stops a robbery in progress with what looks to be Duggee in jailstripes shirt and blue pants with a black mask and hat. Indicating that Duggee is a mild-mannered dog by day, but a burgler at night, explaining the upkeep of the barn. Okay, maybe not. There is an old lady with grey hair and a cane as Power Puppy helps her with her groceries. What a sad day that the Squirrels aren't doing this to earn their Empathy Badges?! Apparently Power Puppy and the old lady, who apparently is named Lady Log in the credits are voiced by the same voice who does Duggee, but the robber dog voice is the producer. Yeah, Duggee has been alibied out here. The kids are in awe and Duggee has just arrived to be in awe, too. Betty continues her spiel with the new art style as Power Puppy has super strength, amazing eyesight and great sense of smell. It's a freaking dog Betty, outside of the super strength, this sounds like a normal dog that is immune to COVID-19, or something. By the way, the Robber Dog uses the same promo Swiper The Fox uses when it caught swiping after Dora and Boot tell him "Swiper, no swiping" three times. Although in this case, the robber dog is not thrilled because Power is literally sniffing the dog's ass. We return to reality (no, not really) as Tag is so giddy to be a Super Squirrel that he is running on the spot way too much to be healthy. Roly once again yells just to annoy me and the kids laugh with him. Duggee woofs and then bails on all fours into a dark closet which is clearly open. Then we get a light flash indicating that Duggee might have shocked himself off-screen. Duggee returns wearing a blue superhero bodysuit with red pant legs and a yellow cape tied around him. On the front he shows of the "Super Squirrel Badge".

One obvious problem: None of the squirrels have super powers and there's only one heel and that heel is a work of fiction within this very show. Now, you can say: Just help people. My counter is: Why do you need the cinematics and outfit then?! Because just helping people is not heroism, it's doing your civic duty. It's common human deceny and a job, not a hero's act. Hero's act is something that a hero can do that no one else either can do, or the rest of the world is so busy that a hero is needed to clean up the stuff that falls between the cracks. I cannot wait to see what they book here, it might be hideously hilarious. Tag is giddy. His superhero identity should be Oh, TAG~! Betcha it's not. Betty proclaims that they cannot just be Super Squirrels because they require a costume to work. Betty just takes her headbands and makes a mask out of it, just to kill the gimmick dead within seconds, and Happy has the golden shovel on standby as he takes his shirt and wears it as a cape. 25 years before this episode, Disney wouldn't let Kit Cloudkicker wear pants due to costs of animation and the fact that some believed that Kit didn't wear a shirt and that was a perverted taboo. Anthro males not wearing pants is fine, but wearing pants without a shirt is like being a groomer, or something. Yeah, no one's fooled anymore. Might as well say it was costs, that's more believable at least. The narrator praises this, not because of Happy's outfit, but because the dressing up box is RIGHT THERE and that is where they can find some costumes. All the kids bail stage left, and throw stuff on-screen like a bunch of Wuzzles. Everyone is done according to Roly. Betty didn't change her outfit any, Happy merely added a yellow snorkel pipe, Norrie dresses up like a magical girl which is classy. Then you have Tag and Roly, whom have no shame whatsoever. Roly is wearing a strainer on his head and cyan blue/yellow trim underwear, looking like a Jungle Ace member than a superhero. Tag's is the dirt worst: his mask is basically a grey sock and the cape is probably a sock as well. He looks like a poor-rhino's robber to me. There is no way I can take him seriously as a babyface, let alone a superhero. Betty proclaims herself as Brilliant Girl. Sadly, TAG has no clue and picks "Super Tag". Oh, TAG~! Norrie is Mega Mouse, which is fine since Sailor Mouse I think is trademarked. Happy is named Splash because of course.

Roly is like wants to be Roly. Betty has to point out that it cannot be Roly. Oh please Betty. There's zero way you kids can keep secret even if you are lit on fire, so let him by ROLY. Which is Roly, only louder since being loud is part of Roly's gimmick. So, Roly calls himself "STEVEN" and gets the full hexastar background treatment. Okay, I still think "ROLY" is better. The kids all laugh as Betty calls them the Squirrel Squad, or SS. Not a good idea there, Betty. The kids bail stage right as the narrator asks if this is super fun. Duggee woofs "yes" and bails to a scene change of a badge with Duggee in the middle of a sunny with cloudy periods day. He spins around and he's Super Duggee complete with purple/lavendar lollipop background. What a sucker, Duggee is?! I'll get my coat...Everyone is outside as Super Duggee is sniffing flowers, the three delta chickens do their usual, and the Squirrels run around doing nothing. Betty is frowning because there is no one in distress yet. No, I'm not going to refer to their superhero names because they suck, outside of Happy's. Happy and Roly are chasing a butterfly, so they don't know how heel/babyface dynmanics, which means they would be perfect cartoon and pro-wrestling writers today. Norrie and Tag are practicing their super hero moves, which is classier by the way. Betty is frowning as the narrator asks what is the matter. Betty states the obvious to us, which is there is no one who wants their help. Then we hear a duck quacking and the quacking sounds like they are crying. Betty rushes over to the yellow duck who is in tear via the magic of an anime-equse background to simulate distance. Betty and the little duck exchanges notes for a while as the little duck cannot find it's mummy. Betty agrees to find mummy duck as she does the Squirrel Squad assemble spot, which changes the background into a purple/lavendar sucker. I would have called them the Squirrel Team. I'm just saying. Super Duggee and the kids arrive as Betty explains the situation. Everyone thinks this is cute.Ummm, the emotion is not love; you'll supposed to say "awww" in a sad voice, not an adorable voice. Norrie is told to check on Mummy Duck with her super hearing powers. Okay, mice can hear high frequencies that humans can hear, up to 100 kHz in some cases, but they cannot hear lower frequencies humans can hear, which is between 1-20 kHz. Not a logic break, just an observation since Norrie is supposed to be a superhero in this episode's storyline and is part human, part mouse in the show's storyline. Tag becomes the super flyer, which is basically Duggee holding Tag high into the air as he notices the duck pond.

The babyfaces all run stage left, but wait?! They stop because there is a giant puddle in the way. What a bunch of puny gods, cannot handle a mere little water puddles. If you listen closely, you can hear Peppa Pig laughing all the way to the bank. Happy must use his splash powers, which he just jumps up and down in the puddle to spread the puddle thinner, so it makes them less wet. What a bunch of cowards?! The puny gods all run stage left as the puddle is drier than Happy ever was. They make it to the pond and that is one huge pond, it's almost a small lake with rocks exposed and everything. Mummy Duck is with three little ducks. We have 45 seconds before the usual finish, so here's what happens: The ducks cannot see them. Logically, you would go to the other side of the pond and release the duck from there. Easy. Only this is Hey Duggee and that would be a boring finish. So what happens here?! Betty tells STEVEN to screech in order to get their attention. Of course, the finish has to involved Roly shouting out loud. Maybe it's time to put this childish revenge fantasy of burying Peppa Pig and just make your show better. One way is to tone down Roly's shouting gimmick, it's actually getting on my nerves now. Mummy Duck sound effects are like something out of the 1960's sound effect library. Anyhow, the ducks get the message and the duck family reunites and that is that. If you are going to shout, run to the other side of the pond and then have the Ducks turn around before they see the little duck. The squad is in awe, at least this time the emotion fits. The narrator calls it super, the ducks agree. Duggee bails on all fours and returns with the "Super Squirrel Badge". The kids all love it...and then Betty asks what is Duggee's super power. I think you know what it is, it's the Super DUGGEE HUG~! They all hug complete with hearts popping out. Duggee Hug said by Betty this time. Parents arrive as the kids giggles and bail stage left. They show off the badges, the parents hug and then everyone leaves in their proper vehicles. Narrator asks if this was fun to Super Duggee. I should note that when they enter the vehicles, they took off their costumes. Not a logic break, just odd. Duggee agrees and then legit flies into the air making his own rainbow after image. Okay, that was amusing and that ends the episode at 6:48. The ending credits is a night sky with Super Duggee still in costume sleeping and floating in midair. That was neat. Episode was really good outside of an annoying finish and some stupid booking names. *** 1/2 (70%).

Opening Moment #8: This opening features Tag eating toast on jam, drinking milk and making a mess on his face. His "DUGGEE~!" spot almost made him choke on his own food. Bad narrator, BAD! BAD! BAD! The title card featuring a jar of strawberry jam with a pink background with red/pink trim. Yup, the mess on the face was wiped off by teleport.

The Jam Badge: Short opens outside near some fruit trees Norrie is offering Betty a dead flower, Roly is running around a tree, and Happy and Tag are looking at I believe is a strawberry. The narrator greets the kids and asks what Duggee is planning today. Roly is of course making bouncy sound effects just to annoy me as the Squirrels all bail, except for Roly because he's a bad clone of Peppa Pig, I guess. Guys, Peppa Pig has redeemed herself as a character at this point, the joke doesn't work anymore. Then he laughs and runs to join the Squirrels with Duggee as Duggee is checking the fruits in the barrel. We exchange notes for a while as Duggee catches a red apple as it breaks off from the tree. Narrator asks if they all come from this garden, Duggee woofs "yes", and I believe him. Roly has the worried look on his face. Does he seriously believe that Duggee is going to poison him?! Duggee is not going to allow apple seeds in whatever jam he's making because that would be lethal dangerous, not injury dangerous like with the finish to "The Rescue Badge". The narrator asks the Squirrels about what to do with all that fruit, and the Squirrels ponder this over. None of them saying, "eating" them before they ponder it over because to me, that would be way too obvious. You know, you lose credibility when you make bee sounds. Here, they are kids who has no credibility to lose, so it's just annoying. Roly is so lazy that he just lets the wind lose credibility. Okay, that was funny. Suddenly, Tag's jam is written in by teleport and the narrator spots it. SUZY SHEEP~?! Why not?! It's not like this show couldn't be an alternative universe for Peppa Pig anyway. Roly runs in, takes his finger, takes the jam and slurps. Roly yells "JAM!" as Tag finally gets it. The Squirrels agree and Duggee laughs. I should note that Duggee laughs like a human being does, which kind of kills the gimmick for Duggee. Duggee has a plan and takes the barrel and walks away stage right. The Squirrels follow him as this logically leads to a scene changer with a badge with the same trim as the "The Drawing Badge", same shape, except it's a strawberry that is eaten and apparently someone either lost a tooth, or it's a strawberry seed. Cut to Duggee with the barrel of fruit and what appears to be a pressure cooker with a teal base.

Betty asks what is going on as Duggee is wearing a kitchen apron that looks like it was cut from a pair of jeans. Duggee shows off the "Jam Badge" to show what they are going to try to earn today. Narrator asks if all the fruit is being used and Duggee woofs "yes" and the kids all cheer, except for Betty who is shocked. Betty wonders how this all works as Duggee demonstrates and manages to put a giant strawberry into the pressure cooker just to show that there are strawberries in the garden and maintain continuity with the opening sequence. Betty has a notepad set to profits, although I don't think she's vain enough to sell the recipe to someone. I don't why she bothered, it's basically put in, stir and cook until done. Also, there is a cheeky monkey in the background hiding during this sequence, which I believe is the signal for the monkey to steal the barrel of fruit. Oh, the irony. The narrator asks how long and Duggee woofs a lot, the narrator says "that long?". I died. For reference it's around 20-40 minutes, which roughly 3-5 episodes of this show. By the way, how could anyone not hear the monkey coming in and then I realize, this makes storyline sense: Roly uses the same sound to bounce around. So, logically, when they discover the barrel being stolen, they'll blame Roly for eating all the fruit, even though Roly is with the Squirrels the entire time, so he's alibied out. He's literally looking at Betty taking notes. This is so dumb. Then Betty opens her eyes and sees the monkey anyway and instead of panicking, they are all happy to see the monkey steal the barrel of fruit. Duggee finally turns around and doesn't see anyway. Duggee is now confused because he now sees the money in a banana yellow shirt. HAR HAR! Norrie says that the fruit has been stolen, and she and the Squirrel are smiling when this happens. They do not care about a monkey stealing their fruit. I howled with laughter. The narrator calls it a naughty monkey. You don't say! I don't doubt you for a second. The Squirrels decide to help Duggee get the fruit back, which is hilarious considering that they acted like they didn't give an elf. The Squirrels all chant "naughty monkey" as they leave, Duggee looks at the narrator like he is amused and we get video game sounding music, so I betcha this will turn into a video game now.

The chase is on now as it looks like something out of BC's Quest For Tires, only with a lot less hazards. The Squirrels are told to be careful and the Squirrels don't care because video game sounds rule! Then the naughty monkey puts the barrel down and it's time to be Donkey Kong BABEE~! Fruit gets thrown down the hill and if you thought they were not reference Mario and Donkey Kong, their jump sounds are exactly like Super Mario Bros. This is funny, but it's a time waster. I should note that some of jumps also had yellow hexagrams fully colored in. It ends with a blueberry as the monkey is out of fruit. So, it's also a dumb monkey in addition to being a naughty monkey. The narrator asks the obvious and the naughty monkey bawls his eyes out ala George. I have a lot less sympathy for naughty monkey than I do with George. Memo to writers: George bawls when Peppa bullies him or when he's in mourning, or when he sympathies with another bawler. Almost never bawls to get his own way and when he does it's either for something that they have lots of, or he fails completely, or for no reason that I can deduce. Naughty Monkey cried because he was stupid. Doesn't work for sympathy heat. Jump cut to Duggee smiling, so he doesn't give an elf that all the fruit might have been destroyed due to this Donkey Kong clone game. Why should he?! There's lots of fruit on the trees already, he could just pick some more and be done with it. Sure, it would be nice if he didn't have to because of this thieving naughty monkey, but for goodness sakes! Duggee gets the fruit back, including the blueberry, apparently a good portion of it rolled away never to be seen again. Jump cut to the stupid monkey crying his eyes out as the kids all laugh, sadly they didn't laugh in his face since naughty monkey probably earned that at least. The kids then show sympathy for the stupid monkey. Pre-school show, they aren't going to let them bully the monkey, and don't need to because that's my gimmick. They offer the stupid monkey to help make some jam and the naughty monkey accepts. Okay, that works fine. The kids and the monkey run down as the rest of the fruit is written in by teleport. SUZY SHEEP~?! Duggee has most of the fruit in his arms as everyone takes a protion of fruit and bails stage left. Except for stupid monkey, and probably for the best. For rant purposes, this is the first time they used a second scene changer. This one features a peach badge with Duggee's face on it. Whatever.

The peach woofs and we jump cut back to the pressure cooker as the narrator asks what fruit are they going to make jam out of. Happy has a strawberry, Tag has a lemon (he's a sourpuss then?!), Norrie has an orange (which is usually marmalade), Betty has a mango (which I'm certain doesn't grow in Duggee's orchard in real life, but whatever), Roly has a banana (Yes, there is such a thing as banana jam) which the naughty monkey is giddy right on cue. While it is true that monkeys eat bananas, that is not the only fruit that is part of their diet. In fact, they eat a lot more than just bananas. I guessing Duggee loves apples and pears and blueberries since those go into the pot as well. Time to stir and it just does it without a spoon. SUZY SHEEP~?! It ends up being layered colored jam as Duggee seals up the jam bottle to let it cool and turn into jam and that is that. The jam is so magical that when it's done and they put the jam on the toast, the jam flavors are 1:1 with the character's tastes, especially with the stupid monkey getting the banana jam. The Squirrels and the naughty monkey have their toast and eat it as well. Time to wrap this episode as Duggee bails on all fours after the narrator asks if the kids did well, and returns with the giant Jam Badge. The kids all cheer as the parents arrive and the naughty monkey completely oversells it. I think stealing fruit would disqualify the stupid monkey from getting his first badge, but whatever. The monkey is excited as the toast is written out by teleport, and it's the DUGGEE HUG OF DOOM~! Duggee hug~! Betty said the second half of this according to the CBC Kids subtitles. Yes, the naughty monkey got the hug, too. The kids laugh and bail stage left to present the badges to the parents and do the parent hug. The parents and kids leave in their vehicles as the narrator asks if this was fun. In a word, yes. Duggee agrees and then the naughty monkey arrives complete with Super Mario Brother coin sound effect, and everyone laughs to end the episode and Easter Sadism 2025 at 6:48. The video game sequence was absolutely funny, the naughty monkey not so much and the episode was really awesome. **** 1/4 (85%).

THE REVIEW LINE

Well, that completes the first eight episodes of Hey Duggee and it was mostly good to very good. The Cake Badge I was not impressed with, mostly because the entire Hippy Rabbits angle was supposed to make me feel empathy for the rabbits and all it actually did was make me feel bad for Happy for being entrapped more than anything else. The Rescue Badge might have been better if the finish wasn't so dangerous and made more sense for Tag to rescue Enida. The Jam Badge was great and the Donkey Kong reference was so great. Ironically, the best episode involved someone earning a badge who is not really a Squirrel in storyline too. The remaining episodes were fun, although The Hair Badge was a little to hairiffic for my liking. Overall, a decent set of shorts to start the series.

That ends Easter Sadism 2025. This was a fun series with continuity errors and a few problematic elements sprinkled here and there. Roly's screaming gimmick needs the voice turned down, it is getting to loud for my hearing tastes. Duggee is funny, Lorrie is just there, she looks like the sane one of the group. Happy's chaotic, Tag is okay Betty is perfectly acceptable. The problem with the earlier episodes is the lack of chaos and most of the episodes are pretty tame at this point. None of them are ridonkulous like I expect in the most recent seasons shown on Family Junior; but only one or two are not good. The Drawing Badge is great just to see the kids reaction to Duggee's drawing, it was glorious. The only character who is ridonkulous is Hennie and she's a one joke gimmick at best. Furthermore, without CBC Kids, I probably wouldn't have been able to rant on these episodes. Yeah, I might come back to this series, maybe the second batch will be Father's Day Specials; but otherwise, I'm surprised that it's so tame thus far compared to the later series which featured a marble run that even Peppa Pig couldn't have topped for instance. So...

Thumbs up for The Jam Badge. Thumbs down for The Cake Badge . Thumbs in the middle for the rest, and I'll see you all next time.

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