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Given that the vast majority of TaleSpin's episodes are very well-written, it takes a special episode to rise above its usual high caliber. "The Old Man and the Sea Duck," written by Libby Hinson, is one of those.

When Baloo gets injured during a cargo run, he suffers amnesia and forgets how to fly. On the next day's run, he flies into a thunderstorm, which takes out one of the Sea Duck's engines. Unable to escape, Baloo hears a voice on the radio guide him down to an airfield. He meets Joe Magee, who he later learns is a retired flying ace turned flight instructor. He tells Joe he's forgotten to fly, and Joe offers to give Baloo a refresher course on flying.

What makes this story special is that we see a different side of Baloo than his carefree, easygoing side. It's clear that flying is his life, as he becomes visibly lost and shaken when he forgets how to fly. Not only that, it takes a special instructor like Joe to rekindle not just the skills to fly, but the joy of flying, in Baloo.

Ed Gilbert does a great job as Baloo, but just as equally good is Hal Smith, who does a phenomenal job as Joe. Smith is also known for his work as John Avery Whittaker in "Adventures in Odyssey," and "Odyssey" listeners/watchers may even hear bits of Whit in Joe's voice.

Animation is good, but not great. Wang Studios handles the animation for this episode, and though it's generally good, at times it appears to draw the characters slightly off-model... not enough to be problematic, but enough to notice.

Overall, though, a very well-done episode.

A good chunk of the episodes in this series have focused on Goofy and especially Pete. This is the one episode where the parents are all notably absent, focusing completely on Max, PJ, and Pistol.

Max narrates the episode in Dragnet-like fashion, talking about how he and PJ became part of the school safety patrol after PJ accidentally takes out school bully Tooth. Wanting more action, Max and PJ go to the local pizza parlor, where they go after Tooth and another bully, Nails.

Though somewhat formulaic, the story is refreshing because Max and PJ's friendship and partnership forms the core of this episode. There's no reliance on either Goofy or Pete to carry the episode, although the absence of the parents also means that Peg is noticeably absent, while Pistol only plays a peripheral role.

The animation suffers a bit, as Kennedy Cartoons animates the episode. There's a bit of bounce and stretch in the characters as well as a couple of odd animation blips in the beginning of the episode.

Overall, an enjoyable and watchable episode. Not as good as some of the other episodes in this series, but definitely nice to see the focus entirely on the kids for a change.

Goof Troop's episodes have run the gambit in terms of story, animation, and characters, from all three being very good to where one or more, for lack of a better word, suck. This one, fortunately, excels in all three, as well as a fourth, music.

When Max and PJ see a TV ad for a new Mutilator movie, Max is gung-ho about seeing it, but PJ would rather pass. Chiding his son for not wanting to go, Pete eggs him on, even offering to pay for them to see it. Meanwhile, Max has to convince his dad to let him see it, even though Goofy warns Max that it'll give him nightmares. Though PJ enjoys the movie while Max gets the hiccups, they both become overly jumpy and paranoid when they get home.

Story writing is good and well-paced. Its focus on Max and PJ lets us see their personalities and how they contrast with those of their parents. Max is smart, adventurous, and outgoing, while PJ is much more reserved and introverted. Goofy and Pete's personalities have been established in previous Disney fare, so their behavior isn't too far from what we'd expect based on their previous appearances.

Animation is top-notch. Disney TV's Australia department handles the animation for most of the episodes, including this one, and seems to do the best work with drawing the characters on-model without some of the quirks that other studios do. For example, Kennedy Animation tends to add plenty of bounce and stretch to their characters, and has been notorious for drawing their characters in Popeye-esque fashion, where they're speaking out of the sides of their mouths.

The biggest plus for this episode, however, is the music. Unlike the rest of the episodes in this series, Robert Irving composes the music, which gives the episode a more appropriately ominous feeling from the beginning. Unfortunately this was never carried over to the other episodes, but given the direction the show seemed to take, it may not have worked as well either.