19th
Sad But True
Called in sick today, so I got the chance to sit and watch some cartoons this morning with the kids. First up was Hanna-Babera’s WACKY RACES on Boomerang. And I noticed something I never saw as a kid in the seveties, something kids today maybe still aren’t catching… Dick Dastardly and Muttley should have won every single one of those races! I’m not kidding. Each half hour has two races and in both of them they take the lead three times only to stop (!!!) and set up one of his bound-to-fail famously traps in an attempt to slow down the other racers. That’s right: he takes the lead only to stop and allow the other racers to catch up. And it’s usually a HUGE lead as Dastardly has to stop and set up all these intricate traps with Muttley’s help, which has to take some time. And when the first one fails, they catch up and pass everyone. Then the second one fails and they catch up and pass everyone again! Only to have their third attempt fail and not have time to pass everyone again, and lose. It’s just sad really, but the creators stayed true to the old adages 1. “Cheaters never win” Dick Dastardly and 2. “You can’t teach an old dog” named Muttley, ”new tricks”.
