Dilbert

A clever and imaginative cartoon based on the popular comic strip, Dilbert was aimed at an educated adult audience. That's why it failed: Most people who would have enjoyed it probably never saw it. After all it's ratings, not quality which keep a show running. Unfortunately so, because Dilbert is not your mindless everyday sitcom stultification.

I just recently had the opportunity to watch Dilbert. My brother came home with the DVD Collection. It took me about a week to watch all 30 episodes but I was hooked from the very first one.

When I was about to start high school, I applied to a special business high school and got in. But turned them down to go to regular high school with my peers. For years since I was so grateful that I decided not to go to that business school, I didn't want a office job when I got older, I didn't want a 9 to 5. But after watching Dilbert, I'm craving that experience. That life seems so exciting for some strange reason. So now coincidently I had made up my mind to be a Public Administration major before the show and its Cubical life and opted out. I'm so happy that I found Dilbert. Its weird but I look forward to it.

Well my brother left, and took the collection with him. So I, on Sunday, scoured my newspaper and found the comics, searched for Dilbert and ripped it out. It's now hanging on my wall. I love the humor of Dilbert because its so honest. But my favorite thing of all is the opening sequence, it took me a while to figure it out, but Dilbert is what we become in life.

I'll treasure my Dilbert learning experience for life.

Stars: Daniel Stern as Dilbert. Chris Elliot as Dogbert. Kathy Griffin as Alice. Gordon Hunt as Wally. Larry Miller as the Boss. Jackie Hoffman as Dilmom. Tom Kenny as Ratbert and Ashook. Jim Wise as Loud Howard. Jason Alexander as Catbert. Maurice La Marche as the Trash Man.

This was one of those gem shows that for some reason only picked up a select cult audience. Because of that it was canceled, even though it was a great show. It was about workaholic Dilbert and his life in his cubicle. His closest friends are Dogbert, his talking pet dog that's smarter than him, Alice and Wally, his buddies from work and the mysterious trashman who always disappears after giving advice. I highly recommend you buy the DVD because this was a great show, and its a shame only 2 seasons were produced.

My rating: 9 out of 10. 30 episodes. TV PG.

The attractiveness and charm of the Dilbert comic lies in the ability of the white collar masses to relate to everything that goes on. As absurd as Dilbert's life at work is, it's often not far from the truth.

That said, it made a very amusing and underrated animated TV show. The people chosen to do voice overs for the characters were absolutely perfect: I can think of nobody better to voice the pointy haired boss than Larry Miller.

It seems that most people have a love/hate relationship with this series. I suspect that there is something lost between the comic strip and the show: most of the fans of the comic strip like it because they can relate to it, not because it's universally entertaining, like Popeye or Peanuts. That said, the movie is almost never as good as the book, so many people may feel the same in this case. For years, I hated the Dilbert comic strip. But after I finished college and got a white collar job very much like Dilbert's, in an office very much like the one on the comic, I finally "got it" and haven't stopped laughing.

The show was perhaps meant to be a bit more mainstream? Who knows. I thought it was very entertaining and deserved a longer life than it got.

The show was a non stop laugh riot, much like the comic strip. The show perfectly captured the spirit of the comic strip, which is why it was so good. Unfortunately, the show got axed and taken off the air. Despite what people who didn't like the show would say, it was not cancelled because of the writing. Lousy programming is what really did the show in. When U.P.N. moved the series to that terrible time slot for it's second season, ratings dropped hard and fast. The show really was worth watching.