If you can even remember this somewhat obscure adult comedy cartoon from the 90s then it’s safe to say that you’re one of the few since Duckman was among the shows that were constantly being pushed out during that era despite the fact that they were the ones that tried to do the pushing on a constant basis. In short, the character was a private detective that had a horrible life and could just barely deal with the many issues he had while at the same time trying to support the same family that was responsible for driving him so crazy in the first place. But throughout all that Duckman was still the kind of character that TV needed since the show managed to highlight a number of different societal issues that many shows wouldn’t even touch let alone consider using in their program. Perhaps it’s because Duckman was getting closer to the truth than people wanted to hear that he was eventually taken off the air, but now it would seem that we need him back more than ever. Here’s a few reasons why.
He didn’t pull any punches.
If you’ll remember he was voiced by none other than Jason Alexander from Seinfeld, and as a rule Alexander is just the nutty crazy guy that a show needs when they really have to have someone that can freak out and tell it like it is, or at least how he sees it. He was one of the best guys around when it came to a rant and Alexander still is so it seems easy to believe that he’d be able to pull of this role once again if he was called upon to do so. Duckman wasn’t known for being polite or even considering the feelings of others all the time so it’s safe to assume that he wouldn’t be as PC and afraid to voice his opinion as other shows seem to be in this day and age. In other words, we really need another cartoon that can be abrupt and abrasive without having to apologize every other minute for his act.
It was easily years ahead of its time.
Duckman did the kind of things that people would expect, but the show did them in a way that wasn’t quite going with the times, as the innovation that was required for this show was something that people just weren’t ready for back in the 90s, which is odd since the 90s were a crazy decade that was still trying to find its identity by the time the year 2000 rolled around. But for all that Duckman did for TV the show was still relegated to obscure time slots and half the time didn’t even start when it was supposed to because of other programming. It became a giant mess just to keep up with and was a bad deal for the show when it finally got pushed to the side in favor of other shows that would do as they were asked and not cause a lot of controversy. We need that controversy back at this point since 1) it’s more allowable now thanks to the censors lightening up just a bit, and 2) it’d be a much-needed reprieve from the touchy-feely adult cartoons that have been rolled out throughout the years. Something raw and in your face could be a definite benefit.
Jason Alexander needs to come back to the part.
It’s not like he went anywhere since he’s been insanely busy before and after Duckman went off the air. But no one else can possibly give this level of crazy that Jason Alexander brought to the character. His voice helped to pull it off since he was the king of the epic rant back in the day and was able to translate that to a character that was hard to like but easy to love after a while. You could argue that the character needs him more than he needs the character because honestly Jason has done so much in his life that this one character didn’t define him. But being as we need Duckman to come back even if for just a limited time it’s necessary then to bring Jason Alexander back to the part since he was the only guy that seems able to exemplify the famous duck and give him the voice he needs. It’s hard to say if such a thing would ever happen but it’s easy to state that if it does then there should be no one else that would fit the bill for Duckman rather than the original voice that made him so great.
Don’t hold your breath, but it would be an awesome thing to see this character come back for even a limited engagement.
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