One 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 still 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 1940's 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 shoes.
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.
Read the entire review of Dobie Gillis on DVD and
why Maynard was almost written out after episode 4!
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