Ghostly Gold

Ghostly Gold

September 12, 1989 TV Episode Count Duckula

Studio
Cosgrove Hall Productions
Distributor
Thames Television, Nickelodeon

Synopsis

Duckula discovers a newspaper declaring that there is gold in the hills of some far-off town. Accompanied by Nanny and Igor, he finds the town, only to find that it is a ghost town and that the newspaper was dated over a hundred years ago.

Characters

Count Duckula, Igor, Nanny, Emma, Von Goosewing, Von Gänseklein, Dimitri the Bat, Sviatoslav the Bat

Credits

Directing

Director
Chris Randall, Keith Scoble
Animation Directors
Carlos Alfonso, Jean Flynn

Producing

Producer
Brian Cosgrove, Mark Hall
Executive Producer
John Hambley

Writing

Writer
Peter Richard Reeves

Voices

Voice
David Jason (Count Duckula), Jack May (Igor), Brian Trueman (Nanny), Hartmut Neugebauer (Nanny, Emma), Jimmy Hibbert (Von Goosewing), Jochen Busse (Von Goosewing/Von Gänseklein), Barry Clayton (Narrator), Ruby Wax (Additional Voices)

Crew

Production Coordinator
Chris Woods

Production notes

Count Duckula was a centuries-old vampire who also happened to be a duck. While trying to revive him, the Count's assistant Igor accidentally injected him with ketchup instead of blood. This mishap resulted in the canard's refusal to eat meat and his becoming a strict vegetarian. Another side effect was that the ancient bird had a driving desire to become an entertainer instead of a longing to bite the necks of unsuspecting swans.

Following his new wanderlust, Count Duckula took Igor along to all his old haunts (a new location each week), traveling inside his castle itself. Following close behind the duo was Dr. Von Goosewing, who was determined to deliver a stake to the breast of the fine-feathered fiend. Through it all, Count Duckula's nanny was the cheerful voice of reason, regardless of the circumstances.

Count Duckula was produced in England and appeared on Nickelodeon along with another English series, Danger Mouse, both produced by Cosgrove-Hall. The Count's quirky humor was a hit with American audiences, the Monty Python-esque alternative to contemporary fare like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This was technically the first animation project for Nick, preceding Ren & Stimpy by a couple of years.