Rewatching DuckTales! The series is a full-on ensemble by this point, so Gyro gets an episode of his own in “Sir Gyro de Gearloose.”

Here’s what happens: Gyro is overworked, repairing his malfunctioning gizmos he’s sold to various Duckburg citizens. He begins to resent his status as the towns “gadget man.” The next day, Huey, Dewey, and Louie discover he’s built a “sub time tub,” a time machine. He wants to go back to a time when his genius can be appreciated.

There’s an accident in the lab, transporting Gyro and the boys back in time to the Arthurian age. They run into King Artie (not Arthur). Gyro uses his smarts to save Artie from the Black Knight, and Artie invites him back to the castle. Gyro lives the high life while the court magician Morloon is jealous.

Artie’s brother Lesdred and the Black Knight plot against Artie, summoning a dragon to attack. Gyro and the boys develop an anti-dragon device, gaining more favor with the king. Gyro continues to dislike being a gadget man, and wants to be a knight for real. He tells the boys he’s never going home.

Lesdred betrays Morloon and lays siege to Artie’s castle. Gryo tries and fails to fight back, while the boys convince Morloon to go back to Artie’s side. The boys reunite with Gyro, convincing him that they need a gadget man where the knights have failed. He builds a giant electromagnet powered by Morloon’s magic, which stops Lesdred’s army. Gyro decides he’s needed more back in the present, with renewed interest in gadgetry.

Junior Woodchucks: Huey, Dewey, and Louie have fun in the past at first, enjoying the Arthurian-era hotdogs, but then get homesick later in the episode.

Best brains: Gyro keeps not wanting to be an inventor, but fate keeps drawing him back to what he’s meant to be. He gets a date with a lady at the end of the episode, but this character’s name is never revealed.

Foul Fowl: Lesdred is a pretty generic villain, motivated only by jealousy. I like how the Black Knight is a skinny, wimpy guy under his huge armor.

Down in Duckburg: Background character Vacation Van Honk reappears, and first-time viewers get to learn his name this time.

Reference row: The inspiration here is clearly Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. But the two are different in a lot of ways. The original is heavy on satire, poking holes in the ideals of monarchy and chivalry. Further, it ends where the hero, despite his knowledge of the future, fails to prevent the fall of Camelot.

Thoughts upon this viewing: Once again, it’s impressive how the creators pack so much story in 22 minutes. This has a lot of twists and turns, plus a whole character arc for Gyro. It’s odd that the characters take time travel in stride, but they’ve discovered aliens and magic in previous episodes, so they’re seasoned adventurers now.

Next: Let’s everybody get Jurassic.

****

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