Episode 23: The Lucky Duck

The Lucky Duck is the 23rd episode of Season 1 of Between the Lions.

Plot
A cute duck comes out of his book and wants to be bad. So he sings a song but it did not work because his author wrote him cute. So Lionel writes a book called "The Yucky, Yucky, Yucky Duck" (which sounds similar to his original title "The Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Duck"). But Leona wants him in his own book (because there's no cute duck in the original book).

Segments and Songs

 * Barnaby B. Busterfield III: cute little ducky, Why not?
 * Martha Reader and The Vowelles with the short "u" sound in their hit "mud".
 * Fred Says: mud
 * Rectangular Bugs: mud, mug, bug
 * Arty Smartypants: Bug, But, Butter, Butterfly
 * The Adventures of Cliff Hanger: Cliff Hanger and the Big Flying Rug
 * Seesaw: rug, mug, muck, duck
 * I'm the Big Bad Duck
 * B.B. the King of Beasts sings Troubled by the Letter Y (EKA: Episode 15: There's a Fly in My Soup)
 * Information Hen tells the chicken and the egg
 * What's Your Name?: Short u (intro redubbed) (EKA: Episode 09: Fuzzy Wuzzy, Wuzzy?)
 * Reporter Lionel with Stephon Marbury: dunk (EKA: Episode 18: Hug, Hug, Hug!)
 * Stage: dunk, duck, puck, pup
 * Grubby Pup (with words) (EKA: Episode 09: Fuzzy Wuzzy, Wuzzy?)
 * Gawain's Word: stuck
 * Tiger Words: A Trick or A Truck [trick or truck] (EKA: Episode 14: Lionel's Great Escape Trick/Episode 17: Something Fishy)
 * Barnaby B. Busterfield III: cute little duck

Featured Story
The Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Duck by Ernestine Darling

Notes and Trivia

 * "The Lucky Duck" is available as a book by the same name, written by Sarah Durkee.
 * This is the second time Lionel's shirt has orange stripes instead of green stripes. The first was in Touching the Moon.
 * This appears to have been the first episode produced, as it begins with Leona introducing herself and her family to the audience. In addition, Leona's hair on her head and Cleo's eyes are noticeably different, presumably for the same reason.
 * The boy from the Sam Spud: Par-Boiled Potato Detective segments makes a cameo appearance in this episode.
 * The Adventures of Cliff Hanger segment is later seen in the Season 2 episode Humph! Humph! Humph!.
 * This episode and The Fox and the Crow we're the first 2 episodes that we're likely produced first, with all the Lion Family looking different from all the other episodes.
 * This episode was released on VHS on June 12, 2001, along with The Lost Rock.
 * This episode was released on reprint VHS on October 1, 2002, along with other four episodes. They are:
 * The Ram in the Pepper Patch
 * Red Hat, Green Hat
 * Little Big Mouse
 * The Lost Rock
 * This episode was released on the Complete First Season 5-Disc DVD Boxset on January 8, 2008. Along with Season 1's other 29 episodes. They are:
 * Episode 01: Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West
 * Episode 02: The Lost Rock
 * Episode 03: Little Big Mouse
 * Episode 04: Farmer Ken's Puzzle
 * Episode 05: Shooting Stars
 * Episode 06: The Hopping Hen
 * Episode 07: Touching the Moon
 * Episode 08: The Boy Who Cried Wolf
 * Episode 09: Fuzzy Wuzzy, Wuzzy?
 * Episode 10: Lionel's Antlers
 * Episode 11: To the Ship! To the Ship!
 * Episode 12: The Chap with Caps
 * Episode 13: Pandora's Box
 * Episode 14: Lionel's Great Escape Trick
 * Episode 15: There's a Fly in My Soup
 * Episode 16: The Popcorn Popper
 * Episode 17: Something Fishy
 * Episode 18: Hug, Hug, Hug!
 * Episode 19: The Ram in the Pepper Patch
 * Episode 20: A Peck of Peppers
 * Episode 21: Sausage Nose
 * Episode 22: Red Hat, Green Hat
 * Episode 24: The Old Man
 * Episode 25: A King and His Hawk
 * Episode 26: The Roar That Makes Them Run
 * Episode 27: Piggyback, Piggyback
 * Episode 28: The Fox and the Crow
 * Episode 29: Giants and Cubs
 * Episode 30: Be Bop
 * This episode was last broadcasted on PBS in November 2008.
 * This episode aired the same Day as Sesame Street Episode 3908 (With Elmo's World Episode: Drawing).

Allusions

 * The Big Bad Duck is an allusion to "The Big Bad Wolf" from "Little Red Riding Hood", "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" and "The Three Little Pigs" which will be read in a season 3 episode that features the same vowel.
 * At one point of "The Big Bad Duck", he impersonates the late Chuck Berry's and currently living Angus Young's famous "duck walk".

Gallery
This page has a limited amount of images in the template. For extended images, see The Lucky Duck/Gallery.

Quotes

 * Busterfield: All right, that's enough. I don't want a cute little duck on my mind, anymore. Good-bye, duck.
 * Duck: 'Not as cute' is good enough. Thanks, Lionel.
 * Duck: Good-bye, three-dimensional world!
 * Gawain: And this is Gawain saying 'don't you get stuck.'
 * Duck: Oh, I am doomed to be cute forever.
 * Leona: Don't be sad, little duck. I'm really glad you're still cute.
 * Duck: (singing) I was a cream puff / Now I've got power.
 * Duck: (singing) Instead of nice, I'm being rude / And look who's back, the duck in black / And you'd better watch out / I'm in a 'fowl' mood.
 * Lionel: You've heard of the big, bad wolf. Well, stand back and get ready for the big, bad duck.
 * Boy: Mom, there's a statue with a duck coming out of the top of his head!
 * Mom: Why a duck?
 * Busterfield: (wearing Groucho Marx mustache and glasses) Why not?! Ha ha ha ha. Come on, yuk it up! This is classic comedy!
 * Duck: I want power. I want respect.
 * Lionel: It's over! It's over! The cuteness is over!
 * Duck: It's over, all right. I am sick and tired of being nothing but cute. Cute all the time, cute!
 * Leona: I like cute duck books!
 * Leona: Shh. I'm sneaking up on my brother, Lionel. I'm gonna jump on him, and he doesn't even know it.