Review of Count Duckula: The Complete First Series

Introduction

In the heart of Transylvania,
In the Vampire Hall of Fame - yeah!
There`s not a vampire zanier than Duckula...

He he he, Count Duckula!

Another classic cartoon from childhood makes its way to DVD. This vegetarian vampire duck first appeared in an episode of the second series of Dangermouse in 1982, and then got his very own series. The other main protagonists here are the dour butler Igor, and the dim-witted housekeeper Nanny. Castle Duckula is very special, as it is the only castle in existence equipped with a teleport device that transports it all over the world.

Every good character needs a nemesis, in this case Doctor Von Goosewing, a reference that will fly over children`s heads, since most don`t know much about famous vampire hunters...

The first series of this classic is presented here in full on this DVD. Here are a few of my favourite episode titles:-

No Sax Please, We`re Egyptian
Transylvanian Homesick Blues
The Vampire Strikes Back
A Fright at the Opera
Duck and the Broccoli Stalk

Video

The episodes on offer here were made in 1988 and are all presented in full frame. The actual quality varies almost all of the time, but they have survived pretty well, and no-one is going to scrub them up anyway.

Audio

All episodes are presented with their original soundtracks, and all of these usually sound as good as can be expected. There is some distortion evident in a few places, but everything sounds good for the most part.

Nothing really ground-breaking about the sound, although it is good to hear the vocal talents of David Jason (Count Duckula) and creator Brian Trueman (who voices Nanny).

Conclusion

A cracking collection of nostalgia. Duckula is still funny and there are so many jokes that you would have missed as a child that are funny now. Some of the stereotypes may be a bit politically incorrect, but these were cartoons made for children nearly 20 years ago.

I keep on harking on about this, but the key to a great cartoon is a great voice, and David Jason proved with Dangermouse that he could do the job. He`s great in Duckula too. There`s also a neat little reference to Dangermouse in one episode where he appears in the background. Kids will probably miss it, but smug adults can watch it with a smile.

Recommended for nostalgic types everywhwere.