The Duck Factory (TV)
Page 6 of 6
| Episode 1: | Goodbye Buddy, Hello Skip | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 12 April 1984 | |||||
Midwesterner Skip Tarkenton, a young, aspiring artist-animator, arrives in Hollywood to find employment at the Duck Factory, headed by Buddy Winkler. However, Skip finds the Buddy has died and he joins the mourners. Among them are: Mrs. Winkler, Buddy's shapely, dizzy widow, who doesn't take mourning seriously since she only knew Buddy for two weeks; Aggie Aylesworth, the business manager who is determined to take over the Duck Factory; Brooks Carmichael, an aging but gifted cartoonist who sleeps a lot; Andrea Lewin, film editor looking to do greater things in life and who has a crush on Skip; Marty Fenneman, a writer who'd rather be a comedian; Roland Culp, a talented animator who has a degree in dentistry; Wally Wooster, master of 600 voices who forgets which of the 600 is his own.
 When Aggie's first meeting with the television network causes the Duck Factory's cartoon, "Dippy Duck," to be cancelled, Skip is drafted by the staff to be producer in order to save the firm and the employees' jobs. Gene Reynolds director from a script be Allan Burns.
 |
||||||
| Episode 2: | Filling Buddy's Shoes | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 19 April 1984 | |||||
Aggie pretends to be Mrs. Winkler's best friend while angling to be named producer of the cartoon series and, when someone else is given the job, she's in for a big surprise.
 It is Aggie's position that the late Buddy Winkler should not continue to be listed as the show's producer. She hints thats she should be named the new producer but Winkler's widow gets other ideas after Skip spends the weekend at her mansion. Rod Daniel directed from a script by John Steven Owen.
|
||||||
| Episode 3: | The Annies | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 26 April 1984 | |||||
The Annies Awards for animation find the staff members of The Duck Factory with high hopes, and strange dates.
 Marty boasts that Veronica Hamel is his date for the awards ceremony. Roland asks neighborhood beauty, Ginger, not realizing she's a prostitute. Aggie smothers Mel Kemper, an executtive from a cable station, and Andrea is in the process of asking Skip when Mrs. Winkler interrupts with the same request. Victor Lobl directed from a script by Barbara Hall.
|
||||||
| Episode 4: | No Good Deed | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 3 May 1984 | |||||
Roland wants Ginger, the hooker, to find a respectable job and asks Skip to audition her for a position as a voice-over actress. Marty thinks his screenplay is great and is trying to get it produced.
 Andrea challenges Skip to start being honest -- even if it hurts others -- after he tells Marty his mediocre screenplay is great, and encourages Ginger to try to become a dramatic actress. Harry Winer directed from a script by Steve Kline.
|
||||||
| Episode 5: | The Way We Weren't | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 10 May 1984 | |||||
In a rare moment of tenderness, Aggie confess to Skip that she was in the navy and very much in love with Hubbell Browning, who abruptly ended the relationship, leaving her devastated. Now, Hubbell is coming to their naval unit's reunion and Aggie is afraid to see him unless she is escorted by a handsome young man -- like Skip.
 Victor Lobl directed from a script by Katherine Green.
|
||||||
| Episode 6: | Can We Talk? | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 17 May 1984 | |||||
Everybody at The Duck Factory is suffering from fear of confrontation and an inability to be completely honest.
 Skip thinks that Marty is stealing the jokes of a famous comedienne for his cartoon dialogue but he, Brooks and Roland are afraid to confront him with their suspicions. At the same time, Mrs. Winkler's mother, Debbee, thinks she is a wonderful singer who just missed her opportunity at fame, and her daughter not only fails to tell her she's terrible but gets her a nightclub gig. Peter Baldwin directed from a script by John Steven Owen.
|
||||||
| Episode 7: | The Education of Sheree Winkler | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 24 May 1984 | |||||
Mrs. Winkler is tired of being a 'dumb blond' so she enrolls in night school and talks 63-year-old Brooks Carmichael into being her tutor in math -- which works okay until the relationship strays from academics.
 Brooks is worried and perplexed about which women he should choose -- his wife or Mrs. Winkler. Mrs. Winkler is also worried about how to get out of the illicit affair. Both ask Skip to solve their problems. Rod Daniel directed from a script by Jordan Moffat.
|
||||||
| Episode 8: | Ordinary People, Too | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 6 June 1984 | |||||
Film Editior Andrea needs $800 to complete the film she is making, so Skip talks all of the employees of The Duck Factory into making contributions -- and is surprised by Andrea's hostile reaction to the money.
 Kim Friedman directed from a script by Bob Stevens.
|
||||||
| Episode 9: | It Didn't Happen One Night | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 13 June 1984 | |||||
Marty introduces his macho friend, Brett, to the young gang and the fellow sets out to have a whirlwind romance with Sheree Winkler, the girl of Marty's dreams.
 Also, the gang starts teasing Andrea about having an affair with Skip and, while she and Skip deny the rumor, it turns out that she has to spend the night at the office -- where Skip lives! Burt Brinckerhoff directed from a script by Jordan Moffet.
|
||||||
| Episode 10: | The Duck Stops Here | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 20 June 1984 | |||||
Because of a late-night romance, Wally oses his ability to do the voice of Dippy Duck, but would rather lose his job than his girlfriend.
 Wally is doing what he always dreamed of -- acting in a Shakespearean play with a lovely women like Rosalind. But because of doing the play at night, he finds that during the day he's lost the voice of Dippy Duck. And Aggie loses no time in finding a replacement duck voice. Victor Lobl directed from a script by John Steven Owen.
|
||||||
| Episode 11: | The Children's Half Hour | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 27 June 1984 | |||||
Brooks tries to help his 34-year-old son, Bumps, to become a comedian while Wally attempts to keep his daughter from coming to work to do voiceovers.
 When Bumps' career in the circis fails, he tries a standup comedy act which his cartoonist father bought. Skip hires Wally's daughter, Wendy, to do voiceovers even though Wally says she's bad news. Skip, enamored of the girl, finds out for himself. Rod Daniel directed from a script by Thad Mumford and Dan Wilcox.
|
||||||
| Episode 12: | You Always Love the One You Hurt | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 4 July 1984 | |||||
Roland gave up his dental career because he couldn't bear to see people experience pain and Skip is trying to get him to confess this to his father, a second generation dentist.
 While Roland is contemplating the difficulty of telling his father, Skip and the Duck Factory employees are attacked by a parents group that thinks the Dippy Duck cartoon show is too violent. Jim Drake directed from a script by Thad Mumford and Dan Wilcox.
|
||||||
| Episode 13: | Call Me Responsible | |||||
| Original Air Date: | 11 July 1984 | |||||
The network is about to cancel the "Dippy Duck" cartoon series unless the staff can come up with some fantastic new ideas.
 Aggie insists she should head the appeal to the network but Mrs. Winkler prefers Skip for the job. Gene Reynolds directed from a script by Stuart Silverman.
With thanks to Cotton |
||||||
