The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

Generations will remember him as Gilligan, and that one-gag show did have some funny moments, but Bob Denver better deserves recognition for playing Maynard G. Krebs in this little gem of a series. Although the show never did precisely represent the Zeitgeist of the times it portrays, and, in this post-modern age of irony, more than a little of it seems dated, it really was memorably funny.

It's remarkable to realize that Dobie – the quintessential pre-hippie teenager – is working awfully hard to convince girls to do something that's really pretty innocent. This is a guy looking for love, first and foremost – in the form of affection and caring. It's not as if he were trying to talk the beautiful Thalia into bed, mind you. "Dobie," in the words of the show's theme song, "wants a girl to call his own. Is she short, is she tall, is she fat, is she small, is she any kind of dreamboat at all? No matter – he's hers and hers alone; 'cause Dobie has to have a girl to call his own." How sweetly corny! And chaste, too! Not a hint of sex!

A good cast helped this show succeed. Tuesday Weld was more than just a pretty face; she was a surprisingly good actress. The young Warren Beatty was good, too. Dwayne Hickman created Dobie as a likable cipher, and Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus (her real name, not a Max Schulman creation) were convincing and comical as the 1950s parents from hell. Perhaps Sheila James' take on Zelda as Miss Walking Encyclopedia was a little over-the-top, and that nose-wrinkling shtick got a little old, but it worked. The superb character actor William Schallart shone as the English teacher Mr. Pomfritt (recalling the European nomenclature for French fries, "pommes-frites"), who never got to lecture about his favorite poet, William Wordsworth, because the end-of class bell would ring.

And then there was Maynard.

Dobie: "Zelda, I don't think that will work." Maynard: "Work!?!" Dobie: "Maynard!" This oft-repeated exchange became something of a catch phrase in certain circles (mine included), as the beatnik Krebs made America realize that it's much more important to play the bongos in a coffee house than hold down a job of any sort. Without Maynard, there would have been no Fonzie, no Bob Dylan, no Allen Ginsburg, no Beatles – well, maybe that's an overstatement. But Bob Denver was the one of the first actors to show the TV audience that people can be hip and likable at the same time. And what a natural he was in the role.

Of course, none of these characters existed in real life. Real beatniks, like Jack Kerouac's Dean Moriarty, were far less likable and wholesome than Maynard. Tuesday Weld's troubled private life was much closer to a real-life situation than her portrayal of the gold-digging beautiful blonde. And nobody could be as non-libidinous as Dobie. These characters are of the same generation as the lusty characters portrayed in the movie "Animal House," after all. But this show was a fine, amusing and memorable little TV confection.

This is a classic, classic show. Nick At Nite used to show it 15 years ago, but I guess it is too intelligent for the types who run TVLand and Nick now, & who refuse to show any comedies unless they got big Neilsen's. Hey, TVLand, I've got your Big Neilsen right here!!

Bob Denver is far better in this than in the hideously over-rated "Gilligan's Island". This may have been Dwyane Hickman's last really good role. I seem to remember him in a Civil War series with his brother, Daryl. Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus were wonderful as Mr & Mrs Howard T Gillis. Who'd have thought watching Warren Beatty(as Milton Armitage) that he'd give us a masterpiece like "Bulworth"? Tuesday Weld as Thalia Meninger in her best work until "Falling Down".

DVD's & VHS tapes of Dobie Gillis are available, but for $20 for a 2-episode, 1 hour disc or tape, it ain't worth it. We need someone to bring out some season sets.

On 29 Jan 2010, Dwayne Hickman(using his wife's account)posted the following on a Dobie Gillis Facebook page: "...As for the DVD question, the estate of Max Shulman has agreed to make a deal to release the show, however, with the current economy the studio does not want to release it. That is what I have been told. When and if I hear anything I will post it on my web site www.dwaynehickman.com"

It can't be too soon for me. Heck, I might even pay list price.

It's a grand shame that very few people these days remember this fine sitcom about teenage life in the early 60s. Dwayne Hickman is endearing as simple-minded Dobie Gillis, the typical American teenager, who just wants a girl. Bob Denver is brilliant as his buddy, Maynard Krebs. Who needs Gilligan? Sheila James is fantastic as Zelda...always chasing after Dobie. Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus as Dobie's parents are too-oft forgotten for their parts on this show...they couldn't have gotten a better pair of actors.

There was some really sharp, funny writing on this series, and that, mixed with the snappy editing, jazzy soundtrack and over-the-top situations, made for some very funny episodes. Plenty of hip, jazzy lingo to go around. Lovely Tuesday Weld was also around for a number of episodes during the first season (and a couple later on) as Dobie's object of affection, Thalia Menninger. It's too bad that they couldn't keep her on for more sporadic appearances, because it is the episodes that she appears in, which I consider to be the zenith of the series. The show started to get a little too silly during its last season, when the focus went towards Maynard and Dobie's cousin, Dunkie, but it was still unique.

Without question, one of the high points of 1960s TV, and one of the most winning sitcoms of all time. It's a shame that it hasn't gotten the same kind of exposure in recent years as some of the other shows of the time. Hopefully it gets picked up and restored for a full DVD release sometime soon. It's just waiting to be rediscovered.

i enjoyed this show in middle school and junior high (first runs)and it's still funny now. the writing is clever (max shulman is brilliant), the actors are good comedians, and the issues of looking for love but being too shy are still pertinent. (it's an idealized version. this is about the 50's. but the goofiness is deliberate, and it works.)

Now all you Wodehouse fans don't have a cow...

Dobie is not a copy of Bertie. Bertie comes from money, Dobie's parent run a Mom-an-Pop grocery store. Bertie has a continental charm, Dobie has a corn-fed earnestness. Bertie spends all of his time running from women, Dobie spends all of his time chasing girls. Bertie has Jeeves, Dobie has Maynard G. Krebs, and I think that says it all.

Though I enjoyed the series when I saw it as a kid (first run), I didn't really get much of the sweet heartache of the show until I was in high school and trying to catch the attention of my own Thalia.

Thing that I loved: Episodes opening with Rodin's "The Thinker" and Dobie trying to think his way out of his current situation...Dobie addressing the camera...Maynard's reaction to the word, "Work!"

Let me encourage anyone who can to get the short story collection by Max Schulman. It is a complete delight and gave me a real appreciation for how well the TV show adapted the tone and snap of the book.

Shulman also wrote "Rally Round the Flag, Boys" and "The Tender Trap" both made into enjoyable movies.