COUNT DUCKULA
Real Name: Count Duckula
Identity/Class: Vampire duck
Occupation: Dilettante
has tried his hand at being detective, mountie, farmer
Affiliations: Nanny, Igor, Tremendous Terrance, Baron Greenback, Dr.Frankenstoat
Enemies: Dangermouse, Von Goosewing, McDuckula, How Fat, the Egg, the Crow brothers, Maurice the Strongman, Charlie the Clown, the Mutinous Penguins, Gaston, Pierre, Cruel, the Phantom of the Opera, Dr.Quackbrain
Known Relatives: Cousin (mentioned in Episode #2, Vampire Vacation)
Aliases: Sid Quack
Base of Operations: Castle Duckula
First Appearance: Dangermouse "The Four Tasks of Dangermouse" (Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television, 8th February 1982)
Powers/Abilities: All the traditional vampire powers. Additionally, Duckula could be revived even if destroyed by a means that would normally eliminate a vampire for ever. Castle Duckula could teleport itself and it's occupants anywhere in the world instantaneously, though it would also automatically return home at dawn, Transylvanian time, whether the residents were back inside or not.
History: "Castle Duckula, home for many centuries to a dreadful dynasty of vicious vampire ducks the Counts of DUCKULA. Legend has it that these foul beings can be destroyed by a stake through the heart, or exposure to sunlight. This does not suffice, however, for they may be brought back to life by means of a secret rite, which can be performed once a century, when the moon is in the eighth house of Asparagus. The latest reincarnation did not run according to plan..."
The latest in a long line of vampire fowl, Count Duckula live in Castle Duckula, deep in Transylvania. The Count desired to be a star, and his villainous schemes to achieve this goal led him into conflict with top British secret agent Dangermouse on a number of occasions. Eventually, under unknown circumstances, the vampire was destroyed. Luckily for Duckula though, that was not the end of his story; once a century a mystic rite could carried out which would revive him, and the timing worked out fairly well. Duckula's faithful manservant Igor initiated the ceremony, but at a vital juncture, when blood was meant to be added to the mix, the castle's incredibly dim maid servant Nanny handed Igor a bottle of tomato sauce instead. Duckula revived anyway, but to Igor's chagrin, he was a vegetarian, with a much less villainous demeanour. No longer a threat to the world, Duckula's eccentricity and desire for fame and wealth remained, leading his servants and him into a variety of adventures. Not everyone accepted Duckula's reformed nature; not only did Igor constantly scheme for ways to return his master to his former evil path, but vampire hunter Von Goosewing was a regular thorn in Duckula's side.
Comments: Voiced by David Jason.
Duckula began his career as a villain in the Dangermouse episode "The Four Tasks of Danger Mouse". His impact was sufficient to bring him back for a handful of rematches, before he was launched in his own show. Presumably deciding it would be difficult to sustain the show if Duckula remained a bad guy, he was reformed (literally) as described in the opening sequence of the show.
Duckula appeared in 4 episodes of Dangermouse,
The Four Tasks of Danger Mouse
The Return of Count Duckula
The Great Bone Idol
Duckula Meets Frankenstoat
before being spun off into his own show.Cosgrove Hall produced the series in association with Thames Television, making 65 episodes in total between 1988 and 1993.
No Sax Please - We're Egyptian
Vampire Vacation
One Stormy Night
Transylvanian Homesick Blues
Restoration Comedy
Mutinous Penguins
Dr. Von Goosewing's Invisible Ray
Down Under Duckula
All in a Fog
Castle Duckula: Open to the Public
The Ghost of McCastle McDuckula
Igor's Busy Day
Autoduck
The Vampire Strikes Back
Hardluck Hotel
The Hunchbudgie of Notre Dame
Dear Diary
Rent a Butler
Jungle Duck
Mobile Home
A Fright at the Opera
Dr. Goosewing and Mr. Duck
Town Hall Terrors
Sawdust Ring
Duck and the Broccoli Stalk
Family Reunion
Ghostly Gold
Ducknapped
The Lost Valley
Incredible Shrinking Duck
Hi-Duck
Prime-Time Duck
Bloodsucking Fruit Bats of the Lower Amazon
The Count and the Pauper (I Don't Wanna Work on Maggots Farm No More)
In Arctic Circles
Transylvanian Take-Away
Who Dunnit?
No Yaks Please Were Tibetan
Beau Duckula
Mississippi Duck
Amnesiac Duck
Mysteries of the Wax Museum
Return of the Curse of the Secret of the Mummy's Tomb Meets Franken Duckula's Monster ...
Lost City of Atlantis
Bad Luck Duck
Private Beak
Astro Duck
Unreal Estate
Bombay Duck
There are Werewolves at the Bottom of My Garden
Duck Ahoy
The Great Ducktective
Dead Eye Duck
The Show Must Go On
A Christmas Quacker
The Rest is History
O.O. Duck
Mystery Cruise
Around the World in a Total Daze
Manhattan Duck
Alps-A-Daisy
Prince Duckula
Venice a Duck Not a Duck
A Mountie Always Gets His Duck
The Zombie Awakes
Marvel Comics also released a Duckula title which ran for a couple of years, as part of it's short lived children's line, Star Comics.
Website devoted to Cosgrove Hall, including excellent stuff on this character here. You can watch episodes of Count Duckula for free online at Joost.
CLARIFICATIONS: Not to be confused with
any other Counts
any other Duck characters
Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.
All images and characters depicted are copyright their respective holders, and are used above for informational purposes only. No infringement is intended and copyrights remain at source.