Search - Sitting Ducks - Season 1 Quack Pack on DVD

A former bright spot on cable TV comes home

Joseph Ekaitis | Southern California | 04/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In a satellite/cable TV universe where originality is a sure-fire formula for obscurity, "Sitting Ducks" was one of the brightest spots on the Cartoon Network schedule. Now banished indefinitely, it comes home in a double-sided DVD that delivers over 5 hours of animated hilarity.

"Sitting Ducks" strikes just the right balance between cuteness for the children and sophistication for grown-ups. The friendship between Bill, an amiable self-assured duck who lives in Ducktown and Aldo, a towering 'gator from neighboring Swampwood is at the heart of the series. And what heart!

Bill and Aldo's friendship begins in an unlikely manner (without divulging too much, one was hoping to eat the other) but grows into a partnership that offers no end of comic possibilities. Aldo, we find out over time, is not just another mindless green duck-eating machine but often displays wisdom, ingenuity and even morality.

The series' setting of Ducktown is populated with an assortment of other feathered folks who are as quirky as Bill and Aldo's friendship, including Dr. Cecil, a general practitioner and aspiring dentist in a burg where not a single citizen has a tooth! To him, Aldo is a godsend, a king-size chance to ply his long unused dental craft.

The cuteness of the series is pierced from time to time by the dangers of alligators and ducks living at each other's doorsteps. Though a truce exists between Swampwood and Ducktown, 'gators regularly plot to make a meal out of Ducktown's citizens. In an episode poking fun at reality TV, a duck cameraman is eaten (off-camera) by alligators. In another, Aldo is trying to curb his appetite for duck by wearing duck hormone patches prescribed by Dr. Cecil. The patches give him a hankering for duck fare. When he chomps a fly right out of the air, the insect's dying cry reverberates all the way to the next spoken line. There are also a few instances of potty humor but that's probably what sold the show to Cartoon Network.

The DVD begins with previews for movies and other home video programs from Universal but if you put your player (set top or software) into fast-forward, the disc resumes normal playback speed at the end of the previews without any intervention. The previews are only on side 1.

"Sitting Ducks" may have gone dark on cable and satellite TV but it shines brighter than ever on DVD."

Worthy of 5 stars!

T.E. | New Mexico,USA | 02/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I didn't think much of the series when in first came out,but slowly and surely,I started to like it. And became a fan of the show ever since. Sitting Ducks is awesome!The DVD is packed with tons of episodes,a lot from Season 2 (2003) put in,and some of Season 1's (2001). My only tiny complain was it didn't include some other episodes from Season 1,but this DVD is excellent! A worthy buy for sure!"