Duckman - Seasons 3 and 4 (part VI of VII)

Ebony, Baby (w: Gene Grillo; d: Steve Loter): In seeking a better class of women, Duckman gets entangled in the world of private investigator Ebony Sable. Entertaining, if unremarkable, mix of blaxploitation tropes, helped by some good meta jokes.

Vuuck, as in Duck (w: Brett Baer & David Finkel; d: Jeff McGrath): The dying owner of a minor league baseball team bequeaths the ball club to Duckman, who (surprise, surprise) becomes more concerned with business than the joy of the game. Amusing, especially the scenes with the new players.

Crime, Punishment, War, Peace and the Idiot (w: Howard Margulies; d: Stig Bergquist): Grandma-ma remembers how, as a young woman, she was torn between two lovers and how she came to America. Hilarious takeoff of Russian literature (as if you couldn't tell from the episode title). I especially loved the names of the townsfolk.

Kidney, Popsicle and Nuts (w: David Silverman & Stephen Sustaric; d: Jaime Diaz): Duckman's in need of a new kidney, but the only person who can provide a new one is his father...who's a paranoid hermit hiding out in the Midwest. Not too bad, though what was with the James Brown cameo?

The Tami Show (w: Eva Almos & Ed Scharlach; d: Anthony Bell): Duckman accidentally backs over a cute young woman who, while staying at the house to recuperate, takes over the family. In other words, Sleeping with the Hand that Rocks the Unlawful Fatal Attraction. No classic, but immensely enjoyable.

My Feral Lady (w: Dan Gerson; story: Gerson & Reid Harrison; d: Peter Avanzino): Duckman gets a mail-order bride, who proves to be a little too wild. (Not in the good way.) The scenes of adjusting "Kathy Lee" to society are terrific, as is the song at the end.

Westward, No! (w: Jed Spingarn; d: Steve Loter): Duckman and Beverly go with Cornfed to help his Aunt Jane with her catfish(!) drive. There's no easy way to say it, but this episode sucks. The problems begin and end with the moronic decision to have Duckman act so unbearably jerkassy, ruining the progress of the drive and making time with Beverly (not coincidentally, Spingarn would go on to put "Johnny Bravo" through these same paces in that show's second season). Sure, Duckman isn't exactly Mr. Personality, but I've never wanted to reach into the screen and give him a Bernice-like beatdown like I did here. A few stray gags (including an amusing - if incredibly pointless - cameo from Ron Palillo) do not make up for the bad taste left by this misfire.