Back in the sixties with just three TV channels and children's TV being broadcast at tea-time on both the BBC and ITV the whole family would sit down and watch these programmes together. A habit long lost I fear. One of those programmes was the delightful Wacky Races from the Hanna-Barbera studios.
This cartoon featured a number of really strange vehicles with equally odd drivers and passengers but the real stars of the show were the villain Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley whose laugh was often imitated in the playground.
Given the number of times these cartoons were shown you'd be surprised to learn that were just seventeen 20 minute episodes in 1968 . However the programme had some memorable spinoffs.
This cartoon featured a number of really strange vehicles with equally odd drivers and passengers but the real stars of the show were the villain Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley whose laugh was often imitated in the playground.
Given the number of times these cartoons were shown you'd be surprised to learn that were just seventeen 20 minute episodes in 1968 . However the programme had some memorable spinoffs.
The annual also contains strips from two other related cartoons the first being Dastardly & Muttley In Their Flying Machines. This show with it's memorable Stop That Pigeon theme tune also only had seventeen episodes originally broadcast from 1969 to 1970.
and the other being The perils of Penelope Pitstop. This also ran in 69/70 for a total of seventeen episodes.
There were a total of five annuals in this series with the last two featuring The Harlem Globetrotters who were famous at the time and given their own cartoon show.
The annuals main source material was from Gold Key comics who published a short seven issue run of Wacky Races and featured Dick Dastardly in one of it's anthology humour titles. Otherwise the annuals were filled with "guest strips", puzzles and of course the inevitable text story.
The annuals main source material was from Gold Key comics who published a short seven issue run of Wacky Races and featured Dick Dastardly in one of it's anthology humour titles. Otherwise the annuals were filled with "guest strips", puzzles and of course the inevitable text story.
loved wacky races , i,ve got the board game somewhere.
ReplyDeleteWacky Races was one of my favourite cartoons as a kid. My pal at the time Alan, religiously kept a note of every winner and top 3 place each week, I think the Slag Brothers won. Those Gold Key comics look cool
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