Favorite Episodes: DuckTales

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

As I sat there this morning trying to decide what to write about today, my mind drifted over several options. However, I feel like we've done a lot of heavy ones lately (and, by heavy, I mean long-running, so there's a lot in them), and I wanted something lighter. And, just like that, DuckTales struck me. It ran for four seasons, and really captivated me as a youngster. The movie-turned-five-part-episode, "Treasures of the Golden Suns," is probably my very very favorite. I thought it was awesome the first time I saw it, and enjoyed the different aspects it brought, like major globetrotting, a big role for Webby, winter coats, and genuine danger. But, since it's kinda a kick-off to the show, I'm not going to count it here today as a favorite.

Season 1 is ridiculously larger than the subsequent seasons, and by the final season there's only a handful of episodes. Season 2 consists of two movies, really. Each is shown as a 5-parter in syndication, and for this reason I'm forced to choose my favorite of those ten segments below.

Season 1: "Scrooge's Pet" (S01E35). Not really a pet, per se, since it doesn't last beyond this episode, but Scrooge befriends a lemming. He loses the new combination to his vault when the lemming takes it, and Scrooge is forced to try and hunt it down. I think that this episode particularly stands out to me because of the ton of lemmings flooding town, and they get led out again, kinda like the Pied Piper, which was a favorite story of mine when I was little.



Season 2: "Super DuckTales 3: Full Metal Duck" (S02E08). This is the segment where GizmoDuck is really new and popular, and Ma Beagle and her smart son use a remote control to gain power over him. They are planning to use GizmoDuck to rob Scrooge blind.



Season 3: "Allowance Day" (S03E02). The boys really want another allowance so that they can buy a scooter. So, they decide to trick Scrooge into thinking it's the next day so he'll pay them. Well, that works... except Scrooge is so important that if he thinks it's the next day, then it is... and the whole world believes him. The boys have to eventually confess to their uncle what they did, in order to set the world right again.



Season 4: "New Gizmo-Kids on the Block" (S04E04). Fenton's mom goes to wash the GizmoDuck costume and accidentally shrinks it. She tries to build him a new one, and it's horrible. Meanwhile, Huey, Dewey, and Louie find the real suit and take turns wearing it. They end up having to stand-in for the real GizmoDuck when crime doesn't stop in Duckberg. There's also a mini-storyline going on with Ma Beagle and Fenton's mom vying for Mother of the Year.