Monday 6 June 2016

The Ducksters

“And let remind you again, folks, that you’re listening to ‘Truth or ...’”

Quiz show host Daffy then screams. It looks like he pops from one pose to the next, but there are actually some in-between drawings. The first in-between is animated on two frames, the rest on ones. It takes a quarter of a second.



Mike Maltese’s story in The Ducksters parodies radio quiz shows “Truth or Consequences,” “Take It Or Leave It” and “Dr. IQ” (the “lady in the balcony” line at the end). The cartoon may have been funnier in the radio days when it was released, unless you like to see innocent Porky Pig deliberately abused.

7 comments:

  1. Ralph Edwards' other creation, "This is Your Life," would later be parodied as "This is a Life?" (sponsored by "the Wishy Washy Washer Corporation of Walla Walla, Washington").

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    1. IMO, the one good WB "cheater" cartoon, due to 1) the new footage actually being funny, and 2) the TIYL format made for a more organic way to introduce clips.

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  2. "Dr. IQ" was parodied a few years earlier in the Sid Marcus Color Rhapsody "The Cuckoo IQ."

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    1. George Ansbro, the "Dr. IQ" announcer who spent decades at ABC, titled his autobiography "I Have a Lady in the Balcony."

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  3. Thematically, this cartoon feels like a 1950s McKimson effort, albeit with sharper dialogue from Maltese than what most of Bob's TV-related efforts would sport.

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  4. VEry funny cartoon...though I was not aware of "Take It or Leave It" and "Dr.I.Q." being parodied.....AAAAAAAAHHHH!:)SC

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  5. This cartoon is also noteworthy for being one of the few from the "classic" era to be showcased in The Daffy Duck Show, NBC's answer to CBS's Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show. The rest of the program's rotation mostly consisted of the godawful DFE/Seven Arts shorts, so "Ducksters" stood out like a sore thumb.

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