Duck-tective is a show that Mabel and Dipper Pines watch at the beginning of "Headhunters." It is a TV show involving a crime-solving sleuth duck, very similar to Sherlock Holmes. The titular duck speaks only through a series of quacks which are translated in the subtitles though the constable that he is speaking to seems capable of understanding him at certain points. The animals' limbs move not by choice but by sticks taped to them.
It is said by Stan to have humor that goes over kids' heads and a great mystery element, referencing Gravity Falls itself, while breaking the fourth wall.
History[]
Season 1[]
Mabel and Dipper watch Duck-tective in "Headhunters." In the episode, once Duck-tective solves a murder the Constable comments that he's "Really quacked the case." Duck-tective replies with a quack which appears as a subtitle at the bottom translating to "Don't patronize me."
Stan Pines watches it later and calls the duck stupid, despite Duck-tective having just solved the case of the murder. The constable is heard in "Little Dipper," telling the duck that he's gone too far this time. Mabel thinks of the duck as a genius, whereas Dipper feels he could outwit the Duck-tective and that it's easier for the duck to find clues because it's closer to the ground.
Shorts[]
In "TV Shorts 2," a clip of an episode is shown as Stan flips through the channels on Gravity Falls Public Access TV.
In "Mabel's Scrapbook: Heist Movie," it seems the series has been adapted into a 3D-stereoscopic live-action film, as a poster at the local cinema reads Duck-Tective 3D.
Season 2[]
In The Golf War. a duck resembling Duck-tective was trying to eat one of the Lilliputtians during the fight.
In "Soos and the Real Girl," a Duck-tective t-shirt is for sale in Edgy On Purpose in Gravity Malls.
In "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons," it is revealed in the show's season finale that Duck-tective has a twin brother, who had shot him earlier and came to finish the job. Mabel and Grenda think of it as an anticlimactic turn of events, and Soos says he predicted that a year ago.
In "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality," Ducktective is seen among the crowd at the trial in the Prison Bubble. He grabs Soos' shirt with his beak, much to the latter's distress.
Characters[]
Sightings[]
Season 1
- 103. "Headhunters"
- 104. "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel"
- 111. "Little Dipper"
Shorts
- 12. "Fixin' It with Soos: Golf Cart" (pictured)
- 15. "TV Shorts 2"
- 16. "Mabel's Scrapbook: Heist Movie" (pictured)
Season 2
- 203. "The Golf War"
- 205. "Soos and the Real Girl" (pictured)
- 213. "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons"
- 219. "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality" (likeness)
Games
- PinesQuest (pictured)
Trivia[]
- According to Alex Hirsch in GravityFalls' AMA, the spin-off to Duck-tective is AMC's Better Call Saul.
- Duck-tective may be a parody of Perry from Phineas and Ferb.
- Mabel and Soos saying about Duck-tective having a twin brother allude to the fan theories of Stan having a twin before the latter was actually revealed in "Not What He Seems." What's more, how he was shot by his brother may have foreshadowed how Ford uses the Memory Gun on Stan in order to defeat Bill Cipher.
- Duck-tective was mentioned in "Comix Up" in Gravity Falls: Lost Legends. Apparently, he got pregnant.
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