h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dick Dastardly always magically gets in front of everyone else by quite a sizable lead, enough to set up any of a wide variety of odd traps for the rest of the bunch. If he can do that, why doesn't he just proceed to the finish line at magical speed? It could be argued that he's just trying to kill the other racers, but if that were the case he wouldn't say "Drat, drat" all the time when he loses.

Also, in one episode he actually did win (verified by frame-stepping with VCR), but in the instant replay they had the front of his car telescope out, which disqualified him. (Why? The creepy coupe has won by virtue of the longness of the dragon's neck before.)

Just a bunch of stuff I've been dying to spout about for a long time.

The first question was pondered here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A567191
but no-one's come up with a satisfactory answer yet. I suggested it was because he likes cheating, though I haven't heard anyone come up with a real hypothesis yet.

The second? I have no idea. I can't remember if I've seen that episode or not. *shrug* Of course, letting him win would defeat the whole principle of the matter.

I was unaware of that entry; it's good. Another argument might be that this is a world where logic does not exist, but the cheating hypothesis sounds more plausible. Of course, one would think that he'd notice after a while that his modus operandi always backfired, which hearkens to the no-logic idea.

That's true, letting Dastardly win would be horribly out of keeping with the rest of the series.

I've always thought that the Wacky Races was much more logical than other cartoons- everything seems to happen roughly as it would for real life, with a bit of exaggeration.

Maybe the actor who voiced Dastardly was demanding higher pay than the others so they gave him more lines to make him work for the extra money

Was it Don Messick?

It was Paul Winchell. I should have looked it up before posting
Don Messick was in it though, so I think I get 1/2 a point?

Well, I'm no trivia buff, I've just watched it a lot. So since you're the one making the test, you can grade it however you like.

Yes, Wacky Races has surprisingly few violations of the laws of physics. Even Dastardly's magical speed could theoretically be explained away via the rocket on the rear of his car.

I forget, does the bouldermobile have foot slots a la the Flintstones, or do they have to get out and push?

I'm not a trivia buff either . And I don't get to see the races much anymore, which is a shame. Blame horrible telly companies And I never saw the Perils of Penelope Pitstop(but I see Dastardly and Muttley in their flying machines a lot, and love it).

I suppose the Dragon could be seen as a violation now I think of it, but I suppose that would be biology.

Hey, there's a hair to split: Is the dragon considered part of the car, or a passenger? Assuming that the rules remain constant from the Dastardly attempt, it would have to be a passenger. This would imply that merely getting someone over the finish line constitutes a finish. Ergo, somebody with a co-pilot could merely use a catapult, rocket, or somesuch to chuck their mate over the line for a win if they were behind. In theory, at least.