I toyed with the idea of a combined list, taking episodes from both the original 1987 "Ducktales" and the 2017 version, but there are enough strong episodes of the new series to fill a list all by itself, so best not to muddle things. So, get out your exclamation points. Here are my top ten favorite episodes below, unranked, and ordered by airdate. All the spoilers ahead!
"Woo-oo!" - Introductions are always fun, and this double episode does a lot. We've got Donald set up as a loveable, overprotective father, Scrooge as a selfish curmudgeon, the triplets as separate personalities, and the new Webby as a brilliant eccentric. The new mystery uncovered at the end of the hour promises the series is ready to go places that no other Duck media has gone before. And the best part is, it does!
"The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!" - The idea of Scrooge having his own secret bin underneath the real one, to keep his most dangerous discoveries safe, is also such a cool, spooky idea. While darker is not always better when it comes to kids' cartoons, you've got to admire how creepy and alarming the appearance of Magica here is, tormenting poor Lena and Webby. Some of the imagery with Lena pushes right up against being disturbing.
"The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!" - The high point of the season, where everyone hits their emotional low. As the Ducks work themselves out of a tricky situation balancing act with the stranded airplane, they also finally confront the big secret the show has been dancing around the whole time - Della's disappearance. The ending, where we see exactly what happened to Della and what happened to Scrooge in the aftermath, is a stunner.
"The Shadow War!" - At last, the full force of Magica De Spell is unleashed in a truly epic finale to the first season, bringing together all the McDuck allies and friends that we've met over the course of the series so far. We get to see everyone, including Scrooge, in full battle mode against Magica and her shadows as Duckburg descends into full scale crisis. Also, Don Cheadle's surprise appearance, via "Barksian modulator" is fabulous stuff.
"Last Christmas!" - Occasionally "DuckTales" gets too carried away with its numerous references and homages. The first "DuckTales" Christmas episode indulges in this a lot, patterning itself after "Mickey's Christmas Carol," and having nods to the old Donald Duck shorts and Uncle Scrooge comics. At the same time it also gives us priceless kid versions of Donald and Della, reworks a couple of familiar characters, and sets up the next episode with Della.
"What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!" - Della's big episode gives her the entire story to herself, which is unorthodox, but absolutely necessary for a character introduction as monumental to the Duck universe as this. She is such a poignant and tragic figure, and if "DuckTales" is remembered for nothing else, it should be remembered for debuting Della. The vocal performance by Paget Brewster does a lot of the heavy lifting, and deserves all the kudos I can give.
"Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!" - And of course, we have to have the big reunion episode when Della finally comes home. Of course she has trouble readjusting after all this time, and of course there's a bumpy road to reconnecting to her loved ones and learning to be a mom. It's sentimental as anything, but also totally hilarious, because Della is such a tough customer with an irrepressible attitude. The nephews' reactions to their intended names are amazing.
"The Duck Knight Returns!" - "Darkwing Duck" passes the torch from one voice actor to another, and does this neat trick of merging what was originally a meta joke into a full origin story for the character. There's some not-so-sly commentary on reboots and legacies and the nature of fandoms. However, the highlight for me is that Jim Cummings goes full, raging egomaniac for his final Darkwing performance, and that they still leave the door open for more.
"Astro B.O.Y.D.!" - While I enjoy the plethora of anime references, which are often nerdy animation things like the Zenigata walk and an Itano circus sequence, what I love this episode for is that it adds some shadings to the one character in the reboot that I was not happy with the new version of: Gyro Gearloose. B.O.Y.D. is a great new addition to the show, and tying in his story to the disillusionment of cynical Gyro pays off in such a satisfying way.
"The Last Adventure!" - I'm a little sad that we didn't get another season with May and June, to say nothing of the rest of the characters, but this is as good an ending as we're probably ever going to get for any Disney show. I'm so glad the creators carved out room for Webby and Launchpad to have big moments, and nearly every major character got some sort of resolution. The credits sequence acting as a big curtain call was especially sweet.
Honorable Mentions: "The House of the Lucky Gander!" "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!" "Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!" "Timephoon!" "Moonvasion!""Quack Pack!" "Louie's Eleven!" and "Escape from the ImpossiBin!"
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