Alfred J. Kwak production episode list

The original production episode list is a list of episode names based on the character height charts from the Character- and Color-Designs for Alfred J. Kwak book. This book featured character designs by Harald Siepermann and Hans Bacher based on all the episode outlines written by Herman van Veen and was presented to TV Tokyo. The production team reviewed the episode outlines and concluded that several things needed to be shifted, specifically some longer arcs needed to be shortened, which called for extra episodes to be written to fill in the gaps. The comparison production episode list and the eventual episode list tells a lot about how the production of these stories went.

Episode names comparison

The episode names listed here are presented in Dutch as they are in Character- and Color-Designs for Alfred J. Kwak with their final counterparts on the right. For clarity, every title has been given a literal translation into English.

Original production names	Final Dutch episode names
Season 1
1. De Eieren (lit. "The Eggs")	1. De eieren (lit. "The eggs") 2. Het verjaardagsfeestje (lit. "The birthday party") 3. Het kroonjuweel (lit. "The crown jewel")
2. Achter Tralies (lit. "Behind Bars") 3. Het Kroonjuweel (lit. "The Crown Jewel")
4. Op School (lit. "In School") 5. De Kater (lit. "The Tomcat")	4. Op school (lit. "In school") 5. De kater (lit. "The tomcat")
6. De Olympiade (lit. "The Olympiad")	6. De olympiade (lit. "The olympiad")
7. De Trip (lit. "The Trip")
8. Bij de Marine (lit. "In the Navy") 9. De Spion (lit. "The Spy")	7. De zeeverkenners (lit. "The sea scouts") 8. De spion (lit. "The spy")
10. De Geest in de Fles (lit. "The Genie in the Bottle") 11. De Heilige Tulband (lit. "The Holy Turban")	9. De geest in de fles (lit. "The genie in the bottle") 10. De heilige tulband (lit. "The holy turban")
12. Het Cirkus (lit. "The Circus")	11. Het circus (lit. "The circus")
13. Het Schaakspel (lit. "The Chess Game") 14. De Witte Kroon (lit. "The White Crown")	12. Het schaakspel (lit. "The chess game") 13. De witte koningin (lit. "The white queen")
15. Vissen in Troebel Water (lit. "Fish in Cloudy Water") 16. De Ontploffing (lit. "The Explosion")	14. Vissen in troebel water (lit. "Fish in cloudy water") 15. De ontploffing (lit. "The explosion")
17. Rang Pang	16. Rangpang
	17. Vrienden vanuit de ruimte (lit. "Friends from outer space")
18. De Poolster (lit. "The North Star") 19. Professor Paljas (lit. "Professor Buffon") 20. De Walvis (lit. "The Whale")	18. De poolster (lit. "The North Star") 19. De walvis (lit. "The Whale")
21. De Nachtmerrie (lit. "The Nightmare")	20. De nachtmerrie (lit. "The nightmare")
22. De Bijen (lit. "The Bees")	21. De bijen (lit. "The bees")
23. De Kraaienpartij (lit. "The Crow Party") 24. De Slag om Polderstad (lit. "The Battle for Poldertown") 25. Het Plan (lit. "The Plan") 26. De Bevrijding (lit. "The Liberation")	22. De kraaienpartij (lit. "The Crow Party") 23. De slag om Polderstad (lit. "The battle for Poldertown") 24. Het plan (lit. "The plan") 25. De bevrijding (lit. "The liberation")
	26. De lieve sneeuwman (lit. "The sweet snowman")
Season 2
27. Verliefd (lit. "In love")	27. Verliefd (lit. "In love") 28. Een geschenk van de koning (lit. "A gift from the King") 29. De boerenganzen (lit. "The domestic geese")
28. De Boerenganzen (lit. "The Domestic Geese")
29. De Lieve Sneeuman [sic] (lit. "The Sweet Snowman")
30. Op Vakantie (lit. "On a Holiday")	30. Op vakantie (lit. "On a holiday")
31. Booreiland (lit. "Drilling Rig") 32. Atlantis 33. Verdwaald (lit. "Lost")	31. Het booreiland (lit. "The drilling rig") 32. Atlantis
	33. Cowboys en indianen (lit. "Cowboys and indians")
34. De Schat van Toet Kat Kammon (lit. "Top Cat Cammoon's Treasure") 35. De Slang (lit. "The Snake")	34. De schat van Toet Kat Kamon (lit. "Top Cat Cammoon's treasure") 35. De slang (lit. "The snake")
	36. Michael Duckson
36. Gekaapt (lit. "Seized") 37. Neven en Nichten (lit. "Nephews and Neices") 38. De Watersnood (lit. "The Flood") 39. De Redder (lit. "The Saviour")	37. De ontvoering (lit. "The abduction") 38. De burenruzie (lit. "The neighbour quarrel")
40. De Heks (lit. "The Witch")	39. De heks (lit. "The witch")
41. Het Stuwmeer (lit. "The Dam")	40. Het stuwmeer (lit. "The dam")
42. De Vulkaan (lit. "The Volcano") 43. De Draak (lit. "The Dragon")	41. De vulkaan (lit. "The volcano") 42. De draak (lit. "The dragon")
	43. Groot Waterland krijgt een president (lit. "Waterland gets a president") 44. De watersnood (lit. "The flood")
44. Het Land van twee [sic] (lit. "The Land of two") 45. De Monsonen (lit. "The Mosons") 46. Pierrot 47. Eind goed, al goed (lit. "All is well that ends well"	45. Het Land van Twee (lit. "The Land of Two") 46. Pierrot 47. Eind goed, al goed (lit. "All is well that ends well")
	48. Een partijtje golf (lit. "A game of golf")
48. De Regenboog ("lit. "The Rainbow") 49. ZwartWit (lit. "BlackWhite") 50. Het Casino (lit. "The Casino")	49. De regenboog (lit. "The rainbow") 50. Het casino (lit. "The casino")
51. Op Water (lit. "On Water")	51. Het regenwoud (lit. "The rainforest")
52. Nog Lang en Gelukkig (lit. "Happily Ever After")	52. Nog lang en gelukkig (lit. "Happily ever after")

Analysis

Pacing issues

After receiving the episode outlines and the character design book, the production team likely asked for changes based on how well they perceived the pacing of the episodes was going to end up like. A good example of this is the first episode. The episode outline would cover events all the way up to Alfred and Henk reaching Waterland and Henk's grandfather's mine house. Episodes 2 and 3 would be the self-contained two-parter about Alfred's birthday, the visit to the King's castle up to and including the trial. However, the first outline seemed to cover quite a stretch of the story and the production team likely considered that too much for one episode, so some of the story bled into episode 2. This would've also made sure that episode 1 didn't end on an emotionally low point in the story, which would've been more suitable for children.

Likely something similar happened to the episodes 'De Poolster', 'Professor Paljas', and 'De Walvis' (18, 19, and 20 respectively in the original production order). The plot that originally became episode 18 and 19 was likely based off of three episode outlines, but was spread too thin according to the production team. Similarly the original four-parter set in the Land of Two, turned into a three-parter, the three-parter featuring Atlantis turned into a two-parter, and the three-parter about finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow turned into a two-parter as well.

Inversely, one storyline was expanded into more episodes. The Wana family looking to emigrate to Waterland starting at episode 27 was expanded to a second episode. Notably, Character- and Color-Designs for Alfred J. Kwak marks a clear split between the episode the Wana's arrive in Waterland and the episode that Alfred joins Kwa Wana to Atrique. Eventually this storyline turns into a full three-parter contained in episode 27, 28 and 29.

Episode order changes

The episode regarding the abominable snowman was likely shifted around to account for a one-episode shortage in season 1. This explains why it is placed at the end of season 1, instead of the original intended four-parter Crow Party storyline, which makes more sense as a season climax.

Another notable change is that according to the original production order, the story that would become the two-parter featuring Yale and Salam, was originally a four-parter. Interestingly, though, the original character designs for the Princess of Yale and the Prince of Salam are not sheep and goat respectively, but instead are caterpillars like

Censorship

Specifically one episode was cut whole-sale, namely episode 7, 'De Trip' (lit. "The Trip"), as it centered on smoking and recreational drug use. This was likely deemed improper subject material for a children's cartoon. This is corroborated by the fact that several of the characters in Character- and Color-Designs for Alfred J. Kwak are seen smoking, but don't smoke in the actual animated series.