a 20-year-old modified Conwing L-16 (a fictitious twin-boom cargo plane using elements from the Fairchild C-82 transport, Grumman G-21 Goose amphibian, and a Consolidated PBY-3) named the Sea Duck. The series follows the ups and downs of Higher for Hire and its staff, sometimes in the vein of old action-adventure film serials of the 1930s and 1940s, like the Tailspin Tommy movies, and contemporary variations, such as Raiders of the Lost Ark. Their adventures often involve encounters with a gang of air pirates led by Don Karnage, as well as with representatives of Thembria (a parody of the Stalinist Soviet Union inhabited by anthropomorphic Warthogs), or other, often even stranger obstacles. In deference to contemporary sensitivities, there is no equivalent of the Nazis in the series, although one story in Disney Adventures Magazine, "The Dogs of War!", had the heroes encounter members of the "Houn" nationality, a menacing militaristic nationality of dogs from "Hounsland" who wear uniforms that are clearly based on German ones and who speak in a mock-German accent. The relationship between Baloo and Rebecca owes something to the screwball comedy films of the Great Depression. More precisely, according to Jymn Magon (co-creator of the series), the two characters were fashioned after Sam Malone and Rebecca Howe from the then-popular sitcom Cheers. Characters and cast Episodes Home media VHS releases Eight VHS cassettes containing 15 episodes of the series were released in the United States. Australia and New Zealand releases Eleven VHS cassettes containing 21 episodes of the series were released in Australia and New Zealand. DVD releases Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has released the complete series on DVD; three volumes have been released in Region 1 featuring all 65 episodes of the series. The first volume was released on August 29, 2006 (containing episodes 1–27) and the second on November 13, 2007 (containing episodes 28–54). Volume 2 includes the controversial episode "Last Horizons", which never re-aired on broadcast syndication although it did re-air on The Disney Channel and Toon Disney. On June 25, 2013, the third and final volume was released on DVD via the Disney Movie Club Exclusives. TaleSpin: Volume 3 is also for sale on DisneyStore.com. TaleSpin: Volume 3 received a wide retail DVD release on January 13, 2015, and has been seen as a Wal-Mart Exclusive in Canada since October 12, 2014. Southeast Asia and in the United States since October 14, 2014.