Wacky Races: The Complete Series

The DVD release of Wacky Races (1968-70) may well rev the engines of those who grew up with Peter Perfect, Penelope Pitstop, and Dick Dastardly and his snickering dog Muttley, but those who outgrew Hanna-Barbera's limited animation after Top Cat will not be so nostalgically inclined. As with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, once you've seen one Wacky Races episode, you've seen them all. "A daredevil group of daffy drivers" vies for the title of "world's wackiest racer," with each team driving its own funny car (Penelope in her Compact Pussycat, the Gruesome Twosome in the Creepy Coupe, etc.), and being constantly bedeviled by Dastardly and Muttley, whose schemes always backfire with Wile E. Coyote inevitability. Long before these 34 episodes have run their course, Wacky Races runs out of creative gas. DVD extras on this triple-disc set include a 20-minute featurette chronicling the history of the series, a profile of two spin-off series', sputtering commentary on four episodes, and optional on-screen factoid pop-ups. Very optional. (D. Liebenson)