The show's theme song (arranged bythe Flaming Lips) is sung byTom Jones, in a style reminiscent of the theme from theJames Bond filmThunderball.[4] Daffy once played a caricature of Jones, who was his singing voice in the second-season episode "Talent Show A Go-Go", singing his signature song, "It's Not Unusual".
Duck Dodgers was nominated in 2004 for anAnnie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production Produced For Children, Music in an Animated Television Production, Production Design in an Animated Television Production, and Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. It won the Annie award in 2004, for Music in an Animated Television Production, music by Robert J. Kral. It was also nominated for anEmmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing – Live Action and Animation and Special Class Animated Program in 2004,[5] and again in 2005.[6] It later won forOutstanding Performer in an Animated Program—Joe Alaskey.[7] The series ended production in 2005 after its third season.
Duck Dodgers (voiced byJoe Alaskey) – A hapless soul that was accidentally frozen for over three centuries for unknown reasons. He was later revived by Dr. I.Q. Hi in the 24½th century. Dodgers is arrogant, lazy, gullible, and not particularly intelligent. However, throughout the series, he occasionally displays surprisingly high levels of heroism and competence, suggesting that he is not quite as daft as he appears to be, although he usually succeeds through sheer dumb luck and the work of the Eager Young Space Cadet. Though he doesn't show it often, Dodgers cares deeply for his cadet, even though he often demeans and puts him through humiliating situations. He is played byDaffy Duck.
The Eager Young Space Cadet (voiced byBob Bergen) – Looks up to Dodgers, seeing him as a father-figure in many ways. He is utterly loyal to Dodgers and doesn't doubt a word he says. Despite being much smarter than his so-called hero, he lets him give all the orders. Dodgers cares deeply for his Cadet though he rarely shows it, and often tries to take credit for the Cadet's work. Dodgers relies heavily on the Cadet's assistance and would likely fail most missions without it. The Cadet is also fairly successful as a ladies' man, often being the one who ends up with the woman Dodgers swoons over. He graduatedsumma cum laude from the Protectorate Academy. The Cadet is played byPorky Pig.
Dr.I.Q. Hi (voiced byRichard McGonagle) – The overweight scientist that revived Dodgers after being frozen for three centuries. Serious and hard-working, he is often irritated and frustrated with Dodgers' incompetent side, and doubts that Dodgers truly was a 21st-century hero. In addition to being a hard-working scientist, he constantly wears gloves that stretch up his arm, ending at his elbow and leaving a gap between his fingertips and the glove's tips (which he did not wear in the 1953 short).
Captain Star Johnson (voiced byJohn O'Hurley) – Johnson is a rival captain of Dodgers' in the Galactic Protectorate. Gifted with auniversity education, Johnson has aFlash Gordon-like personality about him, and once took Dodgers to court over his incompetence. Since then, Johnson has been involved in freeingMars from the military coup by General Z9, and searching forgangsters when Dodgers went missing for a brief period of time. He also played rocketball in college.
Bigfoot (voiced by Michael Patrick McGill) – In "The Six Wazillion Dollar Duck" (a parody ofThe Six Million Dollar Man), it was revealed that Bigfoot worked for the Protectorate as a Maintenance Supervisor and was also the first (thing) to receive cyborganic implants (Steve Boston was the first man to receive them, but before The Protectorate tested it on someone with a similar anatomy). These implants enhanced his combat abilities, as he is able to hold off several centurions before they bait and trapped him with pie. He is seemingly very uneducated as the only two words he says are "Duck" and "Stereo".
Martian Commander X-2 (voiced byJoe Alaskey) – The confident commander of the Martian military who is Dodgers' archenemy and the antagonist of the series. He is infatuated with the Martian Queen that he serves, and considers Dodgers more of a nuisance than a true enemy. He once essentially created Duck Dodgers by going back in time and making him a hero so as to not be proven wrong by the Queen (the Queen did figure it out and punished him). He is played byMarvin the Martian.
Queen Tyr'ahnee (voiced byTia Carrere) – The beautiful ruler ofMars and Dodgers' love interest. Just like Cadet, she believes him to be a true hero. Her outfits are reminiscent of Martian Princesses in theJohn Carter of Mars book series.
Instant Martians – Strange bird-like Martian beings with purple hair. They are occasionally used by Commander X-2. They emerge from minuscule seeds that are activated upon contact with water. They first appeared in the 1958 cartoonHare-Way to the Stars, in which the Martian Commander ordered them to captureBugs Bunny.
Martian General Z-9 (voiced byCorey Burton) - the treacherous general of the Martian military. He started off as a seemingly loyal confidante to the Martian Queen, but later betrayed her by holding her hostage to take over Mars for himself. He later attempted to initiate a full-scale attack on Earth, though his plan was foiled by the efforts of Dodgers, Cadet and X-2.
Warner Home Video releasedDuck Dodgers – The Complete First Season: Dark Side of the Duck toDVD on February 19, 2013,Duck Dodgers – The Complete Second Season: Deep Space Duck on July 23, 2013, andDuck Dodgers - The Complete Third Season on January 28, 2020. Unlike the previous 2 seasons released onDVD the 3rd was released on aDVD-R. The complete series was released on Blu-ray on March 28, 2023.[9] The Blu-ray set also includes the original 1953 shortDuck Dodgers in the 24½th Century as a bonus feature.[10]
^Erickson, Hal (2005).Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 290–291.ISBN978-1476665993.
^Perlmutter, David (2018).The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 169–170.ISBN978-1538103739.
^Mallory, Michael (August 22, 2003)."They dare to 'Duck'".Los Angeles Times. RetrievedMarch 9, 2020.
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