TVparty is Classic TV on the internet! Dobie Gillis on DVD Flintstones on DVD Looney Tunes Golden Ed Mr Peabody on DVD  
TV on DVD/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / Punk Book/ / / / / Holiday Specials on DVD / / / / / Commercials / / / / / / Classic TV Blog


The Many Loves of
Dobie Gillis now on DVD

by Billy Ingram

Dobie GillisOne of the greatest sitcoms of all time has arrived on DVD, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-1963), starring Dwayne Hickman and Bob Denver. This is one of the rare comedies of the early-1960s that holds up today, a solid production in a first class DVD package.

This was a radical departure for sitcoms, teens on TV had always been portrayed with a distinct 1940s worldview, a ubiquitous anachronism. While the culture was undergoing an evolution, a revolution, TV teens were represented by guys dressed in sport coats, sweater-vests and ties, and gals in flouncy dresses sporting bobby socks and patent leather heels.

It could be argued that Dobie broke the mold in a radical way, more animals than teens had a meaningful role on a television series in 1960. There hadn't been many shows (I can't think of any off-hand) that had been about someone other than an adult unless it was a little kid, think Leave it to Beaver - or Dennis the Menace which debuted the same year as Dobie.

More than any other series of the period Dobie reflected the youth culture as it existed - the casual dress, beatnik scene, the emerging me-first generation in full flower - all punctuated with a jazzy score.

maynardLook for an oddity early in the first season, Maynard disappears replaced by his dippy cousin, the severely miscast Michael J. Pollard. Bob Denver had been drafted but was soon declared 4F and returned to the production after 2 missed episodes. Pollard was no more to be found.

A young handsome Warren Beatty was a semi-regular early on as the alpha male who, with good looks and charm, thwarts Dobie's every desire. Beatty's character was replaced by the uber-wealthy Chatsworth Osborn, Jr. who served the same purpose on an even more shallow level. Tuesday Weld was one of Dobie's first attractions, but Beatty's and Weld's stars soon eclipsed episodic TV and were gone.

Frank Faylen as father Herbert Gillis is hilarious, often the funniest moments in the series are centered around his frustrations with the changing culture in general and his slacker son in particular.

I asked Dwayne Hickman about his experience as Dobie: "The best part was learning how to play comedy from the masters, Benny, Burns and Cummings. The worst - I never had time at school to make any close friends and I was a teen star to them."

Season two The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis really shines, toward the end of the year the gang enrolls in the Army. If the idea was to make this a military sitcom, ala The Phil Silvers Show, the notion was abandoned after less than a dozen episodes, before the season ended. Possibly because the Vietnam War was not as universally supported as the conflict Sgt. Bilko found himself in?

That diversion makes the second season my favorite, the Army episodes are loaded with laughs as are the plotlines dealing with show business, it's like creator Max Schulman and the other writers were reinvigorated.

Dobie GillisDobie and his classmates started out in high school then graduated to Junior College for season three, a transitory period where the nation's focus was shifting from the wisdom of the elders to the peregrinations of the teen generation. There is a simple directness to the storylines; the Gillis parents' constant confoundment, Maynard's naive but sunny outlook, Dobie's light-hearted attempts at unrequited romance.

One of the signature elements throughout the seasons are Dobie's monologues in front of the statue of The Thinker. For season 4 the background, while retaining the sculpture, goes to pitch black giving off a Twilight Zone effect. The music got zippier too while the plots revolved more around Maynard in some crazy situation - like, becoming a teen idol, getting involved with a torch singer, ensnared in a net of spies. Very Gilligan's Island-like, but even with a more typical sitcom-y approach the series remained entertaining.

A plethora of familiar faces pop up over the four seasons including Yvonne Craig, John Banner, Jo Anne Worley, Michele Lee, Susan Watson, Marlo Thomas, Sally Kellerman, Ellen Burstyn... a who's-who of 1960s TV.

The fan base for this show is huge, folks who watched when it originally aired, people like myself that caught Dobie Gillis in syndication in the '70s and reruns were very popular for years on Nickelodeon, earning the series another generation of fans.

The quality of the masters, the restoration on these episodes is absolutely superb, series' fans will be very pleased. Extras include episodes of Love That Bob and The Stu Erwin Show that featured Dwayne Hickman playing a similar character to Dobie.

Dobie Gillis on DVDAll 4 seasons of
Dobie Gillis on DVD!

If you were to buy only one
season of Dobie Gillis I
would start with season 2.

 

 

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

The Many Loves
of Dobie Gillis

 

ORDER NOW!
Dobie Gillis on DVD

Shout Factory Storead

 

 

 

 

Lost Kid Shows / Movie Stars on TV / Saturday Morning Shows / Video Vault / Classic Christmas Specials / Fabulous Fifties / Unseen Scenes / Game Shows / Requested Forgotten TV Shows / The Super Sixties / More Modern TV Shows / The New * * Shows / 1980's Wrestling / TV Blog

TVparty is Classic TV on the internet!
Classic TV on the Internet!

TV's Embarrassing Moments / Action Shows of the Sixties / TVparty Mysteries and Scandals / Variety Shows of the 1970s / The Eighties / The Laugh Track / 1970's Hit Shows / Response to TVparty / Search the Site / Add Your Comments
1960's TV Seasons: 1961 / 1964 / ABC 1966 / 1967 / 1968 / 1969 / Fall Previews / Sharon Tate on The Beverly Hillbillies / Dark, Unseen Monkees Pilot / Pistols 'N' Petticoats / Best Episodes of Every 'Lucy Show' Season / How Lee Meriwether Became Catwoman / The Star Trek Spinoff That Didn't Happen / Why Ginger Was Almost Fired From Gilligan's Island / Every Batman (1966) Fight Scene / Whatever Happened to the Beverly Hillbillies' Mansion? / Remembering "Mary Ann" - Dawn Wells Interview / Catching Up With Lucy & Desi's 'Son' / Please Don't Eat The Daisies / The Ronny Howard Show?!? / Death of Bonanza's Dan Blocker / Broadside / The Tammy Grimes Show / David McCallum on the Legacy of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. / In Defense of Bewitched (and Jeannie) / Sad Ironic Death of Crazy Guggenheim / Larry Mathers (Beaver Cleaver) on the Rumor That He Was Killed in Vietnam / The Monkees / Jimi Hendrix 1967 Tour - The Only Night It Clicked Was In Greensboro! / William Shatner on the Origin of Star Trek / Brother Dave Garner / Remembering Newton Minow / The Nurses / / Glynis / The Debbie Reynolds Show / The Riddler Was Batman's First TV Super-Villain / Betty Lynn aka Thelma Lou / Remembering The Rifleman's Johnny Crawford / Clu Gulager Obituary / Leonard Nimoy on NBC Hating Spock / Sinatra Wanted To Play Joker on Batman? Yes! / Directing the Batman Pilot / Elinor Donahue on The Andy Griffith Show / Lucy After Ricky / Robert Clary on His Hogan's Heroes Co-stars / Jeopardy! in the 60s & 70s / Stunts Gone Wrong on The Wild Wild West / Whatever Happened To Lost In Space's Guy Williams? / Best of Julie Newmar Catwoman Season 2 / The New People / Dark Shadows Director Lela Swift / Pioneer Newswoman Lisa Howard / The Jim Nabors Hour / The UN Goes to the Movies / Stories About Filming Batman from Burt Ward / Life With Linkletter / The Green Hornet / Best of The Joker / Matt Weiner Interview / Lost in Space: Mark Goddard Interview / 1961 CBS Fall Season / Bette Davis TV show: The Decorator / The Hathaways / He & She / Eartha Kitt as Catwoman / The Good Guys / James Drury of The Virginian / The Ron Hicklin Singers / Man From U.N.C.L.E. on DVD / Behind the Scenes at The Andy Griffith Show / Pat Buttram & Green Acres / TV's Tarzan / 1960's Nightclub Comic Rusty Warren / Johnny Carson Tonight Show 1964 / That Girl / The Amazing Randi / TV's Greatest Car Stars / Best of Batgirl 1967-68 / TV Shows to Movies / Batman Season 2 / Supermarionation / The Virginian's Clu Gulager / William Windom / New Bewitched Book / Court Martial / Cast Changes on Bewitched and Green Acres / Sammy Davis Jr. Show / Sunday Morning Cartoons / Naked City / Joe E. Ross / Alan Young Interview / Sherwood Schwartz Interview / Walter Cronkite Moon Landing / The Farmer's Daughter / Petula-Clark /
Classic TV Commercials / 1950's TV / 1960's TV / Punk Book / / 1970's TV / Groucho vs William F Buckley / / TV Games / Honey Boo Boo / Lucy Shows / Classic Cars / John Wayne / Gene Roddenberry / Rockford Files / Sea Hunt / 1970s Commercial Jingles / Superman on DVD / Toy Gun Ads / Flip Wilson Show / Big Blue Marble / Monty Hall / Carrascolendas / Mr. Dressup / Major Mudd / Chief Halftown / What's In Oprah's Purse? / Baby Daphne / Sheriff John / Winchell & Mahoney / Fireball X-L5 / Mr. Wizard / Captain Noah / Thanksgiving Day Specials / Disney's First Christmas Special / Saturday Morning Cartoons / The Magic Garden / Amahl & the Night Visitors / Holiday Toy Commercials / Lucy & Desi's Last Christmas Show / Joey Heatherton / Fat Albert / The Virginian / Bewitched / Death of John Wayne / 1974 Saturday Mornings / Chuck McCann / Rudolph Collectables / Shrimpenstein / Local Popeye Shows / New Treasure Hunt / 1966 ABC TV Shows / 1967 TV Shows / 1968 TV Shows / Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes & Baby Doll / Fridays / TV Moms / Red Skelton / Star Wars / KISS / Lancelot Link / Saturday Morning Cartoons / The Magic Garden / Wonder Woman / Classic Comic Books / Andy Griffith / Cher / TV Shows on DVD / Outtakes & Bloopers / 1967 TV Shows / Romper Room / ABC Movie of the Week / The Goldbergs / Daws Butler Commercials / Saturday Morning Commercials / Captain Kangaroo / Chicago Local Kiddie Shows / Boston Local TV / Philly Local TV / NYC Local Kid Shows / Amos 'n' Andy / Electric Company / Bette Davis / Judy Garland / Christmas Specials / Redd Foxx / Good Times / Sitcom Houses / What's Happening! / Winky Dink & You / Sonny & Cher / Smothers Brothers / Commercial Icons of the 1960s / Soupy Sales / The Carpenters / Route 66 / Bozo / The Carpenters Christmas Specials / Local Kid Shows / Death of TV's Superman / Wonderama / Sesame Street / Bob Hope Specials / Little Rascals / 1980's Retro Gay T-Shirts / 1980's TV Wrestling / Fess Parker / Howdy Doody / TV Blog / Lost In Space / Pinky Lee / 1980's LA Punk Rock / Alex Toth Book / TV Terrorists / Irwin Allen / The Untouchables / Carol Burnett Show / Batman TV Show / Green Hornet / Today Show History / Our Gang / Doris Day Show / 1970's Commercials For Women / Bill Cosby in the 1970s / The Golddiggers / Lola Falana / 1970s TV Shows / David Bowie on TV / Hudson Brothers / Jackie Gleason / Hollywood Squares / Match Game / Bob Keeshan / Gumby / The Flip Wilson Show / Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour / The Bobby Darin Show / The Richard Pryor Show / George Burns / Lucy's Lost Christmas Special / Classic Christmas Toy Commercials / Cricket On The Hearth / 1950's Holiday Shows / Amahl and the Night Visitors / A Christmas Carol on TV / The Yule Log / Celebrity Commercials / Rudolph / Movie Posters & More! 
TVparty is Classic TV on the internet!
TV on DVD/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / Punk Book/ / / / TV Shows on Blu-Ray/ / / / / Holiday Specials on DVD / / / / / / Classic Commercials / / / / / / Classic TV Blog
Looking for classic TV DVDs?/See below:
TV Commercials on DVD Wrestling DVDs Classic TV Books