Sitting Ducks (TV Series)
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''Sitting Ducks'' is a children's animated television series based on the 1977 "Sitting Ducks" lithograph and the 1998 children's book of the same name, created by the poster artist Michael Bedard. ''Sitting Ducks'' first appeared in 2001 in Europe, later debuting in the United States on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
, in Australia on
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and
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, in Canada on
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
, in the United Kingdom on
CITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
and
Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
, and on the Japanese version of
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
. The show lasted for two seasons each comprising thirteen episodes, with the last episode shown on July 5, 2003.


Background

''Sitting Ducks'' takes place in a 1970’s-style town called Ducktown, and stars the duck Bill who likes to drink milkshakes, play “bucket-ball” (basketball), and hang out with his best friend Aldo, the alligator. Bill (Ian James Corlette) likes to live a more laid-back life, such as his peaceful hobby of painting, and his affinity for flight, and ponders about ducks taking flight. He shares the building with his next-door neighbors, the three duck brothers Ed, Oly, and Waddle (Louis Chirillo, Phil Hayes, and Jay Brazeau respectively), who like to pilfer Bill’s fridge looking for snacks. Bill also shares his building with Fred (Phil Hayes), a melancholy penguin who is an immigrant from Antarctica, who now lives in Ducktown. Aldo (Dave Squatch Ward) lives in the neighboring town of Swampwood, who is Bill’s best friend. He likes to spend his leisure time by bowling, working at the bowling ball factory, and spending time with Bill. He sometimes has an urge to eat ducks that turns up every once in a while. He constantly tries to turn down other gators’ offers for duck-related meals, even getting pressured to terminate his relationship with Bill.


Episodes


Characters

*Bill (voiced by
Ian James Corlett Ian James Corlett (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, animator, and author. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series ''Being Ian'' and ''Yvon of the Yukon''. One of his best-known animation roles was the first En ...
) – An
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
diminutive
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
who waddles to a different beat. A very kind-hearted, good-natured fellow who is always there when needed. One of his dreams is to fly. With the help of his friend Dr. Cecil, he tries again and again to fly, and eventually is told that the reason he cannot is because ducks became too terrestrial. Bill's main appearance difference, apart from his smallness, is his bow tie which he changes every year at the Ducktown Picnic. Bill lives in an apartment with his pet
parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...
, Jerry. He has been called a "gator lover" for his rare efforts to turn alligators into allies of Ducktown. *Aldo (voiced by Dave Ward) – A lumbering but kind-hearted
alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
from the town of Swampwood. He is Bill's best friend, though he often receives grief from his fellow gators on being a "duck lover". Has a blind uncle named Artie and a younger cousin named Andy. Once was the cook at the bowling ball factory, he transferred to the assembly line after he befriended Bill, as he did not want to cook any more ducks. He also fights urges so he will not eat ducks. *Bev (voiced by
Kathleen Barr Kathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is best known for voicing Marie Kanker and Kevin in ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' and Trixie Lulamoon and Queen Chrysalis in '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic''. She also voiced Henri Richard Maurice D ...
) – Owner of the Decoy Cafe, where many ducks go to eat. She is a sweet duck who also has an alias, Madam Bevousky, as whom she offers
fortune telling Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical w ...
services to the residents of Ducktown. She is also the focus of Bill's romantic interests. *Ed, Oly, and Waddle (voiced by Louis Chirillo, Phil Hayes, and
Jay Brazeau Jay Brazeau is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Sam Fisher in ''Cold Squad'', as Harlan in ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and for voicing Uncle Quigley in '' Sabrina: The Animated Series''. He is also known for his role as Bobby in ...
respectively) – Three brothers and friends of Bill who live next door to him. These three goofy and lazy freeloaders are similar to
The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
and tend to scheme their way into things and are usually the ones behind some plot or a practical joke, from which they always try to distance themselves when things go awry. Ed wears a tropical shirt and speaks with a
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
accent. Oly wears a green
beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret remains ...
, has big, soft feathers (as seen in "Fowl Weather Feathers") and speaks with a "
beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...
" accent. Waddle is the shortest, fattest, and youngest and has a childish voice. *Cecil (voiced by Ian James Corlett) – Ducktown's only
dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...
and an
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
, Cecil speaks in a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
accent and is always there to offer advice to Bill or the others. Naturally, Aldo is typically his only customer, being the only person in town who actually has teeth. He also provides beak adjustments for the ducks. *Claire – Cecil's wife who was scared of alligators, just like Aldo in the first episode. *Fred (voiced by Phil Hayes) – a melancholy, but sometimes nervously hyper
penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
, who migrated from
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
to Ducktown, in which he has citizenship. He's somewhat of a loner most of the time, always seen surrounding himself with bags of ice or air conditioning to remain comfortable in the intolerable (to him) heat. Has a duck girlfriend, Dot Cable, and a stylish cousin, Gelata. *Raoul (voiced by
Michael Benyaer Michael Benyaer is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his roles as Bob in the Canadian CGI series ''ReBoot'' and Hadji Singh in season one of ''The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest''. On playing Hadji, Benyaer stated, " eis one of the ...
) – A Latin-accented
crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...
who tends to be the freeloading troublemaker in Ducktown, and likes trading insults with Bill. He especially enjoys mocking Bill's attempts to fly. *Drill Sergeant Duck (
Cathy Weseluck Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian actress and comedian who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia and is known for her roles as Near in '' Death Note'', Cybersix/Adrian Seidelman in ''Cybersix'', and Spike in '' My Littl ...
) – A tough police duck who makes it hard for Aldo to come into Ducktown, as she also is the leader of the ''Duck Defense League,'' an anti-gator organization, and the Ducktown Scooter Shop and Driver Station. *Other characters that have appeared in the show have been voiced by Dale Wilson, Brian Dobson,
Sylvia Zaradic Sylvia Zaradic ( ) is a Canadian voice actress. She has worked primarily with The Ocean Group in Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in B ...
,
Chantal Strand Chantal Strand (born October 15, 1987) is a Canadian voice and stage actress as well as former stunt performer known for her vocal roles in animation, anime and video games. Her vocal role credits include those for little female human character ...
,
Chiara Zanni Chiara Zanni (; born July 19, 1978) is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for her roles as Amy Ryan on The N series '' About a Girl'' and Maggie Buckman on the CBC series '' Edgemont''. She is also known for her voice-work as Hahli i ...
,
Pauline Newstone Pauline Newstone is a Canadian voice actress best known as the voice of List of Beast Wars characters, Airazor in the computer animated series ''Beast Wars'' and as Frieza in the English Ocean and Westwood dubs of ''Dragon Ball Z''. Voice credits ...
, Paul Dobson,
Lee Tockar Lee William Tockar (born 1969) is a Canadian voice actor and visual artist who works for several studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is also a writer of children's literature, a musician, sculptor, illustrator and collected painter ...
,
Garry Chalk Garry Chalk is a British-born Canadian actor. He has provided the voices for Optimus Primal of '' Beast Wars: Transformers'' and '' Beast Machines'', as well as Optimus Prime in the anime English dubs of '' Transformers: Armada'', '' Transform ...
, and
Scott McNeil Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the best-known Canadian voice actors of all time, McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notabl ...
.


Home media


VHS releases


DVD releases


Merchandise

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


Print

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


Video games

In May 2003, Light and Shadow Production and Asobo Studios picked up the rights from Universal to create games for ''Sitting Ducks''. Then, during 2004, ''Sitting Ducks'' was released for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
and
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
. An
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
version was also planned to include a multiplayer racing option, but was quietly cancelled.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sitting Ducks 2000s American animated television series 2001 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings 2000s Canadian animated television series 2001 Canadian television series debuts 2003 Canadian television series endings American children's animated comedy television series American television shows based on children's books American computer-animated television series Canadian children's animated comedy television series Canadian television shows based on children's books Canadian computer-animated television series Animated television series about ducks Animated television series about reptiles and amphibians Animated television series about penguins Animated television series about birds Television series by Universal Animation Studios Cartoon Network original programming English-language television shows Qubo Fictional crocodilians