History Trivia / Duckman

* CreatorsApathy: Creator/JasonAlexander only took the part because he assumed his role would have been a one-off thing, so he did a voice that he thought would be fine for a one time role. However he subverted this trope when he grew to enjoy the show and his character, but nearly damaged his voice from trying to do the voice so much.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://duckman.wikia.com/wiki/Duckman_Wiki The Duckman Wiki]].

** In ''Duckman: The Graphic Adventures of a Private Dick'', Jason Alexander is the only one who doesn't reprise his role. Instead, Duckman is voiced by Michael J. Gough, who is better known for his roles on the ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' franchise as Gopher and ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon'' as BigBad Gnasty Gnorc. This is because the game had so much more dialogue to record than a typical episode of the show, and Jason was concerned that he would blow out his vocal cords from all the extra work.

* ExecutiveMeddling: The reason Bernice is CommutingOnABus for most of the fourth season and is replaced by her LongLostRelative Beverly is that the network requested a LighterAndSofter character for Duckman's household. Not that it helped; thanks to AnimationLeadTime, the network canceled the series after Beverly's first episode aired.

* AcclaimedFlop: While it was critically acclaimed since Day One, the ratings were pretty low, partially because it was on Creator/USANetwork, (which was still in its infancy at the time) and the content being far too edgy for the mid 90s. Thanks to a devoted cult following and acclaim, it managed to at least get four seasons before being cancelled for good.

* CreatorsOddball: While this isn't the first adult animated project from Creator/KlaskyCsupo (having done the first two seasons of WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons and the Music Video for Music/BeastieBoys song "Shadrach"), this is easily their most adult work they've done before or since (the only adult work they've done since being the first season of WesternAnimation/StressedEric, and ''Immigrants'', a compilation movie of the finished episodes of a show that would have been for Creator/SpikeTV).

* AcclaimedFlop: Being a Creator/USANetwork show, it didn't get very good ratings, especially after it was [[ScrewedByTheNetwork shafted to early morning airings in the final season]]. Critics, as well as the viewers that managed to see it, ''loved'' the show and to this day is revered as an underrated gem that was ahead of its time.

** Played straighter with several episodes of the show that featured copyrighted music, which were either edited or had said music substituted on the DVD release.

* ShrugOfGod: Michael Markow refuses to say why [[spoiler:Beatrice]] is still alive and says he won't reveal it unless the series gets revived, although he DID mention that the proper ending would have involved [[spoiler: a government coverup of aliens and the truth about Roswell and Area51: the 1947 aliens were evil, and formed the modern GOP]] in a 2015 tweet.

* CreatorsOddball: While this isn't the first adult animated project from Creator/KlaskyCsupo (having done the first two seasons of WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons and the Music Video for Music/BeastieBoys song "Shadrach"), this is easily their most adult work they've done before or since (the only adult work they've done since being the first season of WesternAnimation/StressedEric, and ''Immigrants'', a compilation movie of the finished episodes of a show that would have been for Creator/SpikeTV.

* PlayingAgainstType: Not a specific actor, but ''studio''; so this cartoon, a raunchy, crudely-drawn ''Simpsons'' clone that aired on USA Network, was brought to you by... [[Creator/KlaskyCsupo the same people]] who created the Nicktoons ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'' and ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger''?! [[note]] This wasn't the first adult thing they've done, doing a music video for Music/BeastieBoys, and the first 3 seasons of WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons, and in the late 2000s, producing an adult animated movie called Immigrants [[/note]]
** Paramount, ''Duckman'''s production company, and Nickelodeon have shared a parent company since 1994. Paramount has even made movies of the former two Nicktoons, one of them being a crossover between the two.

* A cameo appearance of WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead was planned for one episode. It was dropped because the episode prominently featured fire, and MTV was still embroiled in the controversy that ensued when ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' was blamed for a real-life mobile home fire.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: While USA treated the first three seasons fairly well (even though it did air on Saturday evenings, which is when TV ratings aren't really sky-high), most of season 4 aired in the wee hours of the morning. Is it any surprise it was canceled after that?

* ShrugOfGod: Michael Markow refuses to say why [[spoiler:Beatrice]] is still alive and says he won't reveal it unless the series gets revived, although he DID mention that it involved [[spoiler: a government coverup of aliens]] in a 2015 tweet.

** In the original draft, Duckman and ''Bernice'' were actually written as husband and wife, with Duckman as the HenpeckedHusband. Beatrice wasn't his presumed deceased wife, she was originally written as his easy going sister-in-law. Beverly is actually the left over concept of Beatrice. Even when the idea was abandoned, one of the main twists that the writers were planning towards the end of the series, was to have Duckman and Bernice end up together romantically.

* ShrugOfGod: Michael Markow refuses to say why [[spoiler:Beatrice]] is still alive and says he won't reveal it unless the series gets revived.

* ValuesResonance: Duckman's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knIroVvPZU4 rant on comedy]] is actually ''more'' relevant today than when it originally aired.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In the original draft, Duckman and ''Bernice'' were actually written as husband and wife, with Duckman as the HenpeckedHusband. Beatrice wasn't his presumed deceased wife, she was originally written as his easy going sister-in-law. Beverly is actually the left over concept of Beatrice. Even when the idea was abandoned, one of the main twists that the writers were planning towards the end of the series, was to have Duckman and Bernice end up together romantically.

** In ''Duckman: The Graphic Adventures of a Private Dick'', Jason Alexander is the only one who doesn't reprise his role. Instead, Duckman is voiced by Michael J. Gough, who is better known for on the ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' franchise as Gopher and ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon'' as BigBad Gnasty Gnorc. This is because the game had so much more dialogue to record than a typical episode of the show, and Jason was concerned that he would blow out his vocal cords from all the extra work.

** In ''Duckman: The Graphic Adventures of a Private Dick'', Jason Alexander is the only one who doesn't reprise his role. Instead, Duckman is voiced by Michael J. Gough, who is bether known for on the ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' franchise as Gopher and ''WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa'' as Zazu. This is because the game had so much more dialogue to record than a typical episode of the show, and Jason was concerned that he would blow out his vocal cords from all the extra work.

* TheDanza: Ben Stein had a recurring role as a psychiatrist named...Ben Stein.

* ActorAllusion:
** Wilbur Nelson who appeared in the "American the Beautiful" episode was voiced by Creator/AlanYoung, who previously played two other characters sharing the first name: Main character Wilbur Post from ''Series/MisterEd'' and Wilbur Bowser in an episode of ''Encounter''.
** Duckman is said to have had a relationship with a ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''-obsessed blind woman who thought he was Creator/JasonAlexander in a duck suit. As a BrickJoke, said woman has kidnapped Jason, who is wondering who this woman is, and why she's talking about him having a duck suit.
** In the finale ("Four Weddings Inconceivable") [[Creator/TimCurry King Chicken]] proposes to Bernice, asking "In the movie ''{{Film/Clue}}'', what was your favorite ending: A, B, or C?" to determine if they're truly compatible.[[note]]She answers "Why choose [[BetterOnDVD when the video-cassette has all three!?]]"[[/note]]
** "The One with Lisa Kudrow in a Small Role" is a reference to [[Series/{{Friends}} her show's]] IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming.
* CreatorsApathy: Jason Alexander only took the part because he assumed his role would have been a one-off thing, so he did a voice that he thought would be fine for a one time role. However he subverted this trope when he grew to enjoy the show and his character, but nearly damaged his voice from trying to do the voice so much.

* CrossDressingVoices: Creator/BrianDoyleMurray plays Agnes Delrooney. Amusingly, he doesn't even attempt to sound like a woman at all.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Not the show itself, but the LicensedGame ''Duckman: The Graphic Adventures of a Private Dick'' had very limited distribution and no rerelease, although Creator/DevolverDigital did express interest in possibly re-releasing it.

* TheOtherDarrin: When Dana Hill (the original voice of Charles) died while in a diabetic coma, Pat Musick was hired to replace her.
** In ''Duckman: The Graphic Adventures of a Private Dick'', Jason Alexander is the only one who doesn't reprise his role. Instead, Duckman is voiced by Michael J. Gough, who is bether known for on the [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh]] franchise as Gopher and[[WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa]] as Zazu. This is because the game had so much more dialogue to record than a typical episode of the show, and Jason was concerned that he would blow out his vocal cords from all the extra work.