“Oh, Mr. Graaaaannnt…”

In the fall of 1977, television viewers were clued in as to what became of former WJM-TV news director Lou Grant (Edward Asner), a memorable character from the Emmy Award-winning sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  Sacked from his Minneapolis gig due to the station’s low ratings, Lou made his way to the City of Angels, where, thanks to his old pal Charlie Hume (Mason Adams), he was hired to be city editor of the Los Angeles Tribune—a paper published by the patrician Margaret Pynchon (Nancy Marchand).  After a brief period of adjustment, boob tube fans were relieved to learn that Grant was going to make it after all.  (Yeah, I couldn’t resist.) 

Lou Grant was a critically-acclaimed dramatic series that aired on CBS-TV from 1977 to 1982, winning not only thirteen Emmy Awards (with Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series trophies going to star Asner in 1978 and 1980) but such prestigious recognition as a Peabody and two Humanitas Awards.  It’s been acknowledged by television scholars far wiser than I that Lou Grant remains the only fictional character to have leading roles on both a popular comedy and dramatic series.  Created by Mary Tyler Moore co-creators James L. Brooks and Allan Burns (with an assist from Gene Reynolds), Lou Grant earned a reputation for courageously tackling controversial social issues weekly—essentially functioning as a modern-day The Defenders.

I always had a special affinity for Lou Grant.  The series ran during the time I was in high school, and at one time I had ambitions of going into journalism as a career—I was the feature editor for our school paper in my junior year, and co-editor in my senior.  It didn’t take too long for me to realize that I lacked the necessary inquisitiveness to be a proper journalist…but that didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the profession.  I love good journalism (and movies and TV shows on the subject), and those people inside my immediate social media circle are aware that I have a bottomless reservoir of disdain for how it’s practiced today (with much broadcast media obsessed more with ratings and stroking the establishment than fulfilling its duty to inform the public).

The news that Shout! Factory was releasing Lou Grant’s inaugural season to DVD in May of this year was most welcomed in the House of Yesteryear; my memories of the show are foggy ones (despite my devotion to it during its original airing), and the last time I tackled reruns was when they aired on GoodLife TV (or as I used to refer to it, “the channel where old TV shows go to die”).  That was when Comcast carried it in Savannah, and we left The State of Chatham back in 2008.  (A cable station that’s used as many aliases as the former GoodLife—it’s gone by The Nostalgia Channel, American Life, and its latest, Youtoo America—makes me concerned that someone is on the run from creditors.)  The buzz for Grant’s first season on disc must have been tres positive, because Shout! announced that Season Two would be around the corner in August even before Season One hit the stores.

So after judiciously shopping around for a good price for Lou Grant: The Complete Season (I’ve also got Season Two on pre-order), the set arrived and I spent a weekend soaking in nostalgia (not Palmolive).  How does the show hold up?  Well, my fondness for the series is going to color my appraisal with a generous application of the bias crayon…but I still believe it to be one of TV’s finest dramatic shows.  (Really…whenever you see that putty tat at the end of the closing credits, you may rest assured you chose wisely.)  Granted (sorry about that), it took the program a while to find a solid footing; I discovered that in revisiting those episodes some of them activated my wince reflex.

The best example is an entry entitled “Housewarming,” which features an amazing performance by Rhoda’s Julie Kavner as a battered wife.  Her heartbreaking tale is paired with a Plot B, in which a Tribune reporter (played by Edward Winter, a.k.a. “Colonel Flagg” on M*A*S*H) is also guilty of spousal abuse, and at one point during the action makes creepy sexual advances to fellow Trib employee Billie Newman (Linda Kelsey).  Billie is able to convince Kavner’s character to kick her hub to the curb (a courageous decision, since the woman has kids to take care of and not much experience in the work arena) but Winter’s character’s fate is that he is assigned a story on spousal abuse.  It really does leave a bad taste in your mouth, though I can certainly see the side of the argument that the issue was kind of in its infancy, coming-to-light wise.

A few other episodes I’m not too crazy about are “Hoax” (Lou and Joe Rossi [Robert Walden] are conned by an old friend of Lou’s [Eugene Roche] into a wild goose chase involving a missing millionaire), “Henhouse” (Lou shows his sexist side when he feuds with the woman [Claudette Nevins] who oversees the paper’s “Lifestyle” section), and “Scoop” (Lou is reluctant to pursue a promising lead dug up by Billie after being burned twice by dicey stories covered by Joe).  “Scoop” allows Rossi to continue working at the Tribune despite his two f**k-ups…and yet, later on, a college student working as a stringer/intern in “Physical” is given the heave-ho after pulling an inappropriate prank in a news article.  Joe really must have been a great reporter to have Lou looking out for him (well, in the same episode we learn he’s in the running for a Pulitzer for his reporting); my mother used to derisively refer to me as “Rossi” while I attended high school because I was a bit obnoxious and full of myself like my namesake.

Rossi does figure in the some of the best episodes of Lou Grant’s premiere season.  “Psych-Out” (the episode features the story for which Joe gets his Pulitzer nom) finds Rossi going undercover as a patient in an asylum to investigate questionable practices after Lou chews him out for “phoning in” his stories.  This one nicely balances out the grimness with a little dark humor; towards the end, when Lou and some of the other members of the Trib staff track down Joe’s whereabouts he’s higher than a kite on medication…and a query is made as to whether they can take some of it to go.

I’m also a big fan of “Poison,” in which a friend of Joe’s (Guy Boyd) has information that a nuclear power plant in a small town is playing fast and loose with regulations and jeopardizing the safety of not only its workers but the townspeople as well.  Joe’s pal is killed in a hit-and-run accident, and there’s an amazing moment when Rossi—portrayed as a bit of an asshole despite his journalistic talents—breaks down in grief on the phone while conversing with Lou.  (Having grown up in a one-industry town, I also identified with the locals in “Poison” who are reticent to talk to Joe, not wanting to rock the boat.)

Many of my favorite first season episodes feature nice guest star turns.  I really like “Judge,” which features Barnard Hughes as the titular character—a magistrate who appears to have outlived his usefulness on the bench (the issue is whether his erratic behavior jeopardizes his rulings).  He jails Lou on contempt charges, and the reaction of his co-workers once he’s sprung is uproariously funny.  I also enjoyed “Sports”; TDOY fave John Randolph is a veteran sports columnist who spikes a young reporter’s (David Ackroyd) exposé on an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations by a local college coach (Keene Curtis).  “Spies” is a seriocomic tale of the discovery that there’s a CIA operative working on the Tribune undercover (a practice not uncommon on real newspapers at that time)—only no one knows who it is.  I liked this one because character actor Michael Strong (whom I have seen in many things, but his performance as a hood who rules a tiny burg in The Fugitive episode “A Clean and Quiet Town” always stands out in my mind) plays the spook who tips Lou off as to what’s going on in the newsroom.

In addition to great writing, Lou Grant boasted of one of TV’s finest ensemble casts.  I knew of Mason Adams’ old-time radio history (he was the titular hero of Pepper Young’s Family, and “Atom Man” on The Adventures of Superman…but you can hear him in many other vintage broadcasts as well [Suspense, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, etc.]) and as the pitchman for Smucker’s (every time I see him or listen to his voice I get a craving for a PB&J) but he was pitch-perfect as the Tribune’s managing editor.  Adams’ Hume is a solid family man, and gets nice showcases in “Airliner” (Charlie’s daughter [Laurette Spang] is flying back from Paris when her plane experiences trouble) and “Sect” (his son [David Hunt Stafford] becomes a Hare Krishna).

My ClassicFlix compadre Rick Brooks asked me to make special mention of his favorite character, assistant city editor Art Donovan (Jack Bannon).  I remember reading a TV Guide article once on Bannon, where it was revealed that he was the son of Bea Benaderet and Jim Bannon, both OTR veterans.  (I was very impressed by this.)  Donovan always reminded me of a guy I went to high school with who was quick with a wisecrack (he didn’t dress as stylishly as Art, probably because we were still in high school).  The beauty of the Donovan character is that although he was primarily there for comic relief, he had a human side (shown to nice effect in “Airliner,” when he worries about the woman he’s currently dating…though not her grotesque son, played by a no-longer cute Robbie “Cousin Oliver” Rist) that was nicely developed in later episodes.  (I’m glad the Billie-Art romance was nipped in the bud early on, though—that kind of weirded me out.)

There are so many wonderful moments in the episodes on this set, particularly those involving the starchy Margaret Pynchon: I like the small talk she makes with staff photographer Dennis “Animal” Price (Daryl Anderson) at Lou’s get-together in “Housewarming” (Animal is clearly “herbed” up, and loving everyone who crosses his path), and the nice bit when she gives Lou an emotional hug after he undergoes thyroid surgery in the season closer, “Physical.”  At the center of it all is Ed Asner, who masterfully made the Grant character a living, breathing individual; the inaugural episode, “Cophouse,” allowed him to transition from the sitcommy version of Lou to the more realistic Grant of this long-running series (truly one of the best pilot episodes in TV history).

I’m counting the days, hours, minutes, and seconds before Season Two arrives in the mailbox outside Rancho Yesteryear.

A Very Merry MeTV Blogathon: Christmas with the Gillis Family

The following essay is Thrilling Days of Yesteryear’s contribution to A Very Merry MeTV Blogathon, an event sponsored by The Classic Television Blog Association to promote MeTV’s stellar lineup of Yuletide programming airing from November 16th to December 25th (Christmas Day).  For a list of participating blogs and the shows and episodes covered, click here.

Since 1959, TV’s The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis has been making fans both old and new laugh uproariously at the misadventures of a bewildered teenager (played by Dwayne Hickman) as he stumbles and fumbles his way through this wacky thing we call life.  Many of Dobie Gillis’ episodes focused on the conflicts in his family (parents courtesy of Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus) and amongst his circle of friends; unconventional beatnik Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver), snooty millionaire Chatsworth Osborne, Jr. (Steve Franken)…and the two most important women in his life: greedy, grasping Thalia Menninger (Tuesday Weld) and plain, practical Zelda Gilroy (Sheila James Kuehl).

Dobie Gillis always had a bite to its humor…but it also possessed a strong sentimental streak—as Maynard would often say as he dabbed his wet eyes on the cut-off sleeve of his sweatshirt: “Gee, Dob…I’m gettin’ all misty.”  Nowhere is this more evident than in the four episodes the series telecast to celebrate the spirit of Christmas (one for each season).  Three of these installments will be included in MeTV’s holiday celebration of Yuletide and Thanksgiving programming from November 16-December 25, 2015.

The first time Dobie and his family invited us to spend Christmas occurs in the first season (natch), with “Deck the Halls”—which originally aired December 22, 1959.  (This episode didn’t make the MeTV Holiday Programming cut—if the poor quality print of the episode on the Shout! Factory Dobie set is any indication, it’s no surprise they nixed it—still, I thought we’d get it out of the way.)  We find the family patriarch, Herbert T. Gillis, sitting forlornly on Christmas Eve in a cell in what I like to call The Gray Bar Hotel…and even though the police chief (Jack Albertson) and presiding judge (Milton Frome) have told him he’s free to go, Mr. Gillis is determined to stay put until Christmas is over.

Herbert's fellow lockup denizen is played by Alan Carney, best remembered as one-half (the other being Wally Brown) of RKO's attempt to create an Abbott-and-Costello-type comedy team in the 1940s.

JUDGE: Gillis…be reasonable…look at it this way…you’re not really mad at me…

HERBERT: No?

JUDGE (clapping him on the back): Or the chief here…

HERBERT: No…

JUDGE: You’re really mad at Christmas!

HERBERT: No!

JUDGE: What was that?

HERBERT: I am not mad at Christmas…I am mad at people!  People at Christmas!

So who are these “people” with whom Mr. Gillis is frustrated?  Well, his wife Winifred is dithering over who should receive a Christmas card from the Gillis’ grocery store.  Son Dobie, in a rare burst of enthusiasm, offers to help out in the store…though soon revealing his motive for doing so is to cadge five bucks from his father so that he can get his girl a Christmas gift: baton-twirling lessons.  The Gillis’ elder son Davey (Darryl Hickman), home from college, also needs a little spending money for the holidays—fifty dollars in order to tip “the help” at an exclusive resort at which he’s vacationing with a college chum.  Mr. Gillis is even agitated at Dobie’s friend Maynard—though it doesn’t take much effort for Mr. Krebs to get on Herbert’s bad side—when he leaves an inflatable raft he bought at the Army-Navy Surplus (a gift for the senior Krebs) and it’s activated inside Gillis’ store.

Dwayne Hickman's brother Darryl in the second of his three outings as Dobie's older brother Davey.  Davey would later succumb to the same fate that befell such boob tube siblings as Chuck Cunningham, Eugene Barkley and Mike Douglas (not the talk show host...the older brother on My Three Sons).

But the individuals who really get on Herbert T.’s wick are his loyal grocery patrons—and having worked in customer service in the past, I sympathize with the man.  Mrs. Muller orders the same salami at Gillis’ Grocery every week of the year, but on Christmas she insists on having one gift-wrapped as a present for her sister-in-law in Detroit (the old dame really just wants to score some free wrapping paper).  Mrs. Kenney has ordered a gi-normous candy cane for her husband to commemorate the first Christmas the couple spent together long ago…only she paid $1.50 for it then, and can’t understand why the price is now $3.00 (to add insult to injury, Herbert even had to have it made special).  But it’s Mrs. Lapping (Verna Felton) who really takes the cake: she won’t need the turkey she bought for Christmas because she’ll be spending the holiday out-of-town with family…so she insists Gillis take back the bird he previously sold her.  She also contends that he’s short-changing her by refunding her the forty-nine-cents-a-pound she paid for the turkey in June (when they were on sale)—why, the sign outside says sixty-nine cents!  Mad as hell, and not willing to take it anymore, Mr. Gillis heaves the turkey through the store’s plate-glass window as a startled Mrs. Lapping begins to shout out loud for the police.

Herbert’s mind is made up: he’s going to channel his inner hermit during Christmas, because he’s fed up with humanity.  But he hadn’t counted on his family—Winnie, Dobie and Davey—showing up to be with him in jail on Christmas Eve; even though the boys had other plans, they insisted on cancelling them to help Winnie with the store.  Herbert realizes that Christmas is all about family, and quietly tells his clan they’re going home.  Later, while trimming the tree inside the grocery, the Gillises are serenaded outside by a group of carolers: the police chief, the judge, Mrs. Kenney and Mrs. Lapping.

In Season Two, Dobie Gillis reworked Charles Dickens’ classic short story A Christmas Carol into “Jangle Bells” (originally telecast December 20, 1960); in fact, the episode begins with Dobie, Zelda and Chatsworth re-enacting the story (Chatsworth is Scrooge, appropriately enough) in front of the class taught by the kids’ favorite schoolteacher, Leander Pomfritt (William Schallert) (“That, my young gluttons-for-punishment, was Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol…forgive us, Charlie…”):

POMFRITT: Class, as you have seen…Dickens ingeniously employs ghostly spirits to show Ebenezer Scrooge just how lonely his future Christmases will be unless he changes his ways…now tell me—how would you describe the character of Scrooge at the beginning of the story?

ZELDA: A pitiful creature!

CHATSWORTH: A wretched clod…

DOBIE: A miserable wreck…

MAYNARD (entering the classroom): You rang?!!

Honest to my grandma...it never gets old.

By the time Maynard takes off several layers of clothing, class is through for the day (Pomfritt: “Somewhere between the second muffler and the mackinaw”).  Once again, Maynard plays the fool—but Mr. P is going to give him some advice on how to turn it all around:

POMFRITT: Now look, Maynard my boy…has it ever occurred to you that perhaps you’re trying too hard to please everybody by being a clown…a Pagliacci?

MAYNARD: Polly-who?

POMFRITT: Pagliacci…he was a character in an…never mind…what I’m trying to say, Maynard, is that you don’t have to attract attention to yourself by being odd and different…why not just try to be one of the gang?

MAYNARD: How can I do that, Mr. Pomfritt?  I mean…they go out on dates…and they go to dances…and they throw parties and that…I couldn’t do none of them things…

POMFRITT: Who said you can’t?

MAYNARD: Me!  I just said it—didn’t you hear me?

POMFRITT: Maynard…I mean…what’s to prevent you from, say, uh…giving a party…inviting your friends over…giving them some refreshments?  Show them that you, Maynard G. Krebs, are just as good as the next fellow!

MAYNARD: Me?  Maynard G. Krebs throw a party?  Yeah…I could do it!  A swingin’ Christmas party, with popcorn…and a tree…and like (Sings) “Deck the Halls”…and bobbin’ for apples and settin’ off firecrackers…and…and…

POMFRITT: Firecrackers?  At Christmas?

MAYNARD: Yeah…that’s Halloween…

So the groundwork on Maynard’s Yuletide bash is underway…but there’s one small problem.  His best friend, Dobie, has been invited to a shindig at Chatsworth’s (Chatsworth: “You know, we aristocratic Osbornes traditionally rub elbows with the peasantry once a year at this outing—something to do with democracy, or some such”) and while his loyalty is with Maynard, Zelda insists the two of them attend the Osborne soiree so that Dobie can make those all-important contacts.

ZELDA: Are you a scholar?  No…are you a businessman?  No…are you talented?  No…are you ever going to be a whopping success?

DOBIE (dejectedly): No…

ZELDA: Yes!

DOBIE: Yes?

ZELDA: Yes!  Because you have one hidden quality—people like you!

DOBIE: They do?

ZELDA: I do…and I’m highly perceptive!  Together we will turn Dobie Gillis—the formless blob of mediocrity—into Dobie Gillis…the whopping success!

This means Dobie is going to have to bail on Maynard’s rager, which is being held in his garage.  (Maynard: “I talked to my father…it’s the only part of the house he’ll let me have.”)  Dobie tries to break it gently to his pal, but Maynard is so jazzed about his party that he’s not really listening to anything his buddy is saying.  Dobie’s dilemma: friendship or establishing solid contacts for his future?  He asks his father what he should do, but Father Gillis is of no help, merely spouting forth empty platitudes and clichés.

Like...boo!

Taking a nap before the Osborne affair, Dobie is visited by a ghost who looks strangely like Maynard.  As the Spirit of Christmas Past, the Maynard-like apparition shows his friend a distant memory of when they spent Christmas together when they were only four-years-old.  As the Spirit of Christmas Future, the ghost offers up a hilarious peek at Dobie’s future: he’s married to Zelda and the two of them are filthy, stinking rich.  The couple are seated at each end of a comically long dining table, and at one point in their conversation Zelda does her patented nose-wrinkle at Dobie, hoping he’ll reciprocate—but since he’s too far away to see it, she has to send their butler, Tremblay (David Bond), to the other end to nose-wrinkle.  (Actor Bond played “Tremblay” in several episodes of Dobie Gillis…though he was usually in the service of the Osbornes.)  Outside, a pathetic wretch (Maynard) scratches at the window and asks to come in…but the warped Dobie (who cares about nothing but money) has the butler send Maynard away.

Against his better judgement, Dobie goes with Zelda to the Christmas party…while lonely Maynard is forced to entertain himself in his garage…with only an alley cat for company.  Dobie keeps seeing Maynard’s miserable mug on the various party guests (he even see Maynard-as-Zelda, wearing a party dress) and finally decides he won’t sell his soul for a mess of pottage; Zelda also realizes she was wrong to advise Dobie not to go to Maynard’s wingding, and leaves with him.  The two of them—along with Mr. and Mrs. Gillis—turn up at Maynard’s…and then the throng from Chatsworth’s shows up as well.  “You observe how the Christmas spirit overwhelms the average citizen,” Chatsworth explains to Dobie.  “So you can imagine the shattering effect when it strikes an Osborne!”

“Jangle Bells” is probably my favorite of the Yuletide Dobie Gillises, only because I have a tendency to gravitate towards those episodes that feature the entire Dobie cast (I love the characters, and enjoy watching them interact).  There’s only a tiny hiccup: to promote his Capitol Records LP Dobie, Hickman warbles I Pass Your House…and let’s not beat about the bush: the man simply could not sing.  (Granted, this didn’t stop Shelley “Johnny Angel” Fabares…or Paul “My Dad” Petersen, now that I think about it.)  MeTV will air “Bells” on Sunday, November 29th at 5am EST…with an encore performance on Sunday, December 20th at 5:30am EST.

“Have Reindeer, Will Travel”—a punny title inspired by the TV western Have Gun – Will Travel—was Dobie Gillis’ third season Christmas show, originally telecast on December 19, 1961.  It features a simple premise: Maynard, in his capacity as treasurer, is transporting $55.78 raised by his fellow classmates for a school dance…which he proceeds to hand off to a little Mexican boy (Michael Davis) who’s barely eking out an existence shining shoes in the streets of Central City.  Now—I know what you’re thinking: for this episode to work, we have to believe that the students in Dobie and Zelda’s class at S. Peter Pryor Junior College have experienced temporary insanity in electing Maynard the Manchild treasurer.  I spotted this logical flaw right off the bat, but in their defense it is addressed in the episode:

WALTER: How much money do we have in the fund to spend on the dance?

DOBIE: Er…we’ll know the exact money as soon as the treasurer for the Christmas fund gets here…

WALTER: Who’s the treasurer?

DOBIE: Uh…Maynard G. Krebs…and now then…on…

WALTER: I move we get a new treasurer!

ZELDA: Dobie—you appointed Maynard to be treasurer?

DOBIE: Yes—by virtue of the power vested in me as chairman…

WALTER: Well, I move we get a new chairman!

(The group murmurs in agreement)

DOBIE: Now just a minute…

ZELDA: Yeah, just a darn minute…you kids ought to be ashamed of yourselves!  Now, look—we all voted to make Dobie chairman…now let’s stand behind him and back him up instead of picking on him!

DOBIE: That’s right—I’m doing my darndest to do a good job!

ZELDA: And you’re succeeding, Poopsie—you’re doing a fine job…

DOBIE: Thank you, Zelda…

ZELDA: So how come you pulled a lame brained stunt like appointing Maynard treasurer?

DOBIE: Because Maynard’s changed, that’s why!  Now that he’s a college man, he’s mature…grown-up…and resourceful…and self-reliant…and…am I really talking about…

ZELDA (finishing his sentence): Talking about our Maynard…no…

Maynard returns to a hearty welcome from his fellow matriculators…and that’s when they learn he doesn’t have the dough.  Now you and I—because we were not raised in a sitcom—would immediately ring up the gendarmes to have Mr. Krebs detained for theft…but the class gives Maynard a break on that score (Walter: “Of course he didn’t steal the money—he’s too stupid to be a crook”).  What goes unexplained is why Maynard won’t reveal to his best friend—or anyone else, for the matter—what’s happened to the missing cabbage; surely he shouldn’t be embarrassed that he was struck with a sudden case of altruism?  Dobie’s bright idea is for Maynard to secure a part-time job in order to earn the money needed to replace what’s missing…and the first person he thinks of who might employ young Krebs is a man not known for his unselfishness:

HERBERT: Look…he couldn’t carry fifty-five dollars and seventy-eight cents for the class dance across the street without losing it—and you want me to trust my hard-earned cash to him?  You gotta be kidding me…

MAYNARD: Yeah, Dob…you gotta be kidding…

DOBIE: Maynard…

WINNIE: Herbert, I’m ashamed of the way you’ve been talking about Maynard…

HERBERT: So am I—but with a lady present, it was the best I could do…

WINNIE: Dobie…as I understand it, Maynard has done something to let you down…and now he wants to make up for it…

DOBIE: That’s right, Mom…

WINNIE: Well then, Herbert—how can we possibly refuse to help him?

HERBERT: Easy!  (She gives him The Look) Winnie…I hope you understand what you’re letting us in for…it means that Maynard will be here in the store…with us…hour after hour…day after day…week after week…

WINNIE: I understand that perfectly and Dobie—isn’t there some other way that we could possibly help Maynard?

Maynard’s career as an associate with Gillis Mart is a brief one; he does a funny bit of physical comedy where he falls off a ladder and on top of Herbert, but what really tanks his career is that the same Latino shoeshine boy shows up to buy groceries with twelve dollars…and when the bill comes to $11.45, Maynard feels guilty that the little urchin will have nothing with which to purchase Christmas presents.  So he makes the groceries a present, but is oblivious to the fact that his supervisor is watching:

HERBERT: Maynard?!!

MAYNARD: Present…uh-oh…

HERBERT: What’s my name?

MAYNARD: Your name is Herbert T. Gillis, and you’re a veteran of WW2…

HERBERT: Right! Not J.P. Morgan…not John D. Rockefeller…not the Aga Khan…just plain, everyday Herbert T. Gillis…your former employer…

Bloodied but not bowed, Maynard finds another job—more suitable for a man Dobie describes as “a warm-hearted, lovable, human being.”

Like...ho ho ho!

Yes, Mr. Krebs gets a job as a department store Santa and demonstrates that he’s perfect for the job, particularly when he presents a little girl (Debbie Megowan) and her mother (Edith Loder) with some gifts (teddy bear, dollhouse) they don’t have to pay for.  (I think it goes without saying a person like that would be the most popular Santa ever—whether or not this comes out of Maynard’s paycheck is never addressed.)  On Maynard’s last day, Dobie and Zelda arrive to make sure the money doesn’t disappear a second time…and that’s when “Pepe” shows up.  Maynard hands him his paycheck even though the kid is clearly telling him “I don’t want your money” in Spanish (hey, nice to know I retained something from all that Spanish I took in college).  Maynard takes off in the store to elude his friends, and that’s when Dobie and Zelda encounter Pepe:

Maynard in Toyland.

DOBIE: Who are you?

ZELDA: What are you doing here?

PEPE: Por favor, señorita…no comprendo…

DOBIE: Wait…wait…did you see a thin fellow with a beard run past here?

(Pepe looks at him puzzledly)

ZELDA: Dobie, I think he only speaks Spanish…

DOBIE: Yeah…uh…el señor…skinny…avec le beard…?

ZELDA: I said Spanish—not gibberish…

Fortunately for the purposes of quickly wrapping up the plot, Zelda speaks Spanish (“Pure Castilian—none of those regional dialects”) and she’s able to communicate with Pepe…bringing The Case of the Captured Coinage to an end.  Dobie, Zelda and Maynard wind up at the home of Pepe’s family, where his mother (Argentina Brunetti) explains that while the family may be down on their uppers they don’t need the class dance money.  Dobie insists that she take it: “I’m a very stubborn caballero—I don’t hear a word you say.”  The dance does go on as planned—it’s held in the same classroom where the kids were holding their meeting earlier, and the soiree is catered by Herbert T. Gillis, “your friendly neighborhood grocer.”  The Latino family also arrive, bringing with them musical instruments to play so that all those WASP kids can get down with their bad selves.  “Have Reindeer, Will Travel” airs tonight (November 17) on MeTV at 9pm EST.

By the time of the fourth and final Dobie Gillis Christmas caper—“Will the Real Santa Claus Please Come Down the Chimney?” (12/19/62)—the show had added a new character in Duncan “Dunky” Gillis, Dobie’s younger cousin.  (Dunky was played by Bobby Diamond, who did a pretty good job as the kid hero of the series Fury…but sadly, possessed none of Dwayne Hickman’s first-rate comedic timing.)  “Real Santa Claus” finds Dunky and his “Uncle Herbie” filled with the Christmas spirit as they sing “Deck the Halls” while trimming the tree.  But Winifred Gillis—the kindly, lovable mother who served as the series’ supportive center—has a simple message for the season: “Christmas? Bah humbug!”

How did the gentle, compassionate Mrs. G reach this sorry state?  Well, it all begins with Maynard as the show’s resident manchild stops by the grocery store:

WINNIE: …why don’t you tell us why you’re here before Mr. Gillis forgets he’s filled with holiday cheer…

MAYNARD: I brung you a letter from my mother…

WINNIE: Oh?  From your mother? (She takes a slip of paper from him)

MAYNARD: Or my father…I forget which…they both look alike…

HERBERT: Winnie…you do me an injustice…with all this Christmas spirit in the world…forget… (Scoffs) I’m filled with holiday cheer!

WINNIE (after reading the note): Maynard is moving in with us!

HERBERT: I just got unfilled… (Threatening) Maynard…

WINNIE: His folks would like to know if we can take care of him while they’re visiting relatives in Cleveland…

MAYNARD: See how they love me?

HERBERT: They love you?

MAYNARD: Sure!  This is the first time they told me the name of a real place—always before they made ‘em up so I couldn’t find them…ain’t that heartwarmin’?

HERBERT: Oh, that’s just what it is, heartwarming—but you ain’t stayin’ here, boy…

MAYNARD: Name me one good reason…

HERBERT: Because I couldn’t stand to see you around the house…

MAYNARD: Name me two good reasons…

WINNIE: Herbert, dear…be generous…what would be so terrible about having Maynard around with us for a few days?  Joining in the family fun…eating with us…talking to us all day…and all night…Maynard, I just had a wonderful idea—why don’t you go to Cleveland with your folks?

Despite Mrs. Gillis’ reservations, Maynard ends up being a guest at the Gillises—and that’s when the episode’s plot is set into motion: Maynard—despite being free, white, and 21—still stubbornly clings to the belief that Santa Claus is real:

WINNIE: Maynard dear…we all believe in Santa Claus just as you do…we believe in him as a symbol, as a warm, wonderful example of goodness and kindness and goodwill to everyone…

MAYNARD: Santa believes in them things, too!

(Herbert rolls his eyes)

DUNKY: Let me take a stab at straightening the boy out…Maynard—you’ve seen the Santas in all the department stores, haven’t you?

I would hope so—he previously played one in “Have Reindeer, Will Travel”…

DUNKY: He’s just a man dressed in a Santa Claus suit—right?

MAYNARD: Right!  Didn’t you know that—a kid your age?  Dunky, the man in the suit is one of Santa’s helpers…I mean, Santa himself can’t be everywhere…so Santa’s helpers give kids laps to sit on…next question?

Maynard has an explanation for all the Santas on the street corners and in the movies, and for the Santa that showed up at school (Maynard knows that’s Dean Magruder, the major domo at S. Peter Pryor Junior College played on occasion by Raymond “Milburn Drysdale” Bailey).  But as for the real Saint Nick—well...

WINNIE: Then you have never seen the real Santa Claus—true?

MAYNARD: True!  But then I never seen the real Marshal Dillon, neither—and I know he’s real…of course…I’m not too sure about Chester…

Poor Dobie.  He's reduced to being the narrator of his own self-titled sitcom...and modeling terrible Christmas sweaters.

Despite his substantial lack of evidence for the existence of Kris Kringle, Maynard is unshakable in his faith—so much so that he arranges for a construction crew to come in and put in the pipes needed for a new automatic washer and dryer, because he knows Santa is going to bring that for Mrs. Gillis as a present.  (They also work upstairs on a surface suitable for Dobie’s new ping-pong table.)  Herbert is livid, and he wants to introduce Maynard to his pal Louis…short for Louisville Slugger.  But Dobie—who finally turns up in this episode, by the way—convinces his dad that a Plan B is in order.  Herbert will dress up as Santa, come down the chimney and plant Maynard in his lap.  After Maynard tells the old gent what he wants for Christmas, Mr. G will rip off the beard to reveal his true self…and Maynard will be so shocked he’ll stop with the Santa Claus nonsense.

For Herbert to play Santa, there must first be rehearsals down the Gillis chimney…

…well, that could have happened to anybody.  Herbert winds up stuck, and finds himself coughing up more dinero to make the chimney bigger and wider so his ruse to fool Maynard will be a success.  On Christmas Eve, Mr. G successfully navigates the new chimney and Maynard, clad in footy pajamas, hops up on his lap to tell him what he wants for Christmas:

MAYNARD: First…I want a ping-pong table for Dobie…he’s that fellow over there…the one who’s flabby and has a weak chin…I know he don’t look like much, but he’s my good and best buddy…and whatever will make him happy will make me happy, too…and then I want a brand-new sports jacket for Dunky…he’s the little one over there with the weak chin…I know he don’t look like much, too—but somebody he’s going to grow up and be as sweet and lovable and flabby as Dobie…

HERBERT: But what do you want for you?

MAYNARD: An automatic washer and an automatic dryer…

HERBERT: For you?

MAYNARD: No…for Mrs. G…sloshing around in those suds and dirty water all day, the poor old thing…

HERBERT: All right—I’ve got it all now…except…what do you want?

MAYNARD: A fishing rod…

HERBERT: A-ha!  A fishing rod!

MAYNARD: For Mr. G…you know him, don’t you?  He’s that loudmouthed fellow who’s all the time screamin’ and hollarin’…

HERBERT (interrupting): I know him, I know him…

MAYNARD: …but underneath that mean inside there’s a good outside…and maybe if he had a fishing rod he’d take a couple days off from work…and he wouldn’t be so mean no more…

HERBERT (quietly): You know…maybe you got a point there, Maynard…but what do you want?

Maynard wants for nothing, explaining:  “I’m one of them lucky fellows—I got everything I want!  I got the biggest ball of tinfoil in town…I got a petrified frog…and I got a stuffed owl, all paid for and clear!  I also got the best friends in the whole wide world…or anyplace else…so you can skip me this year—but you’re true blue for asking.”

Mr. Gillis is so taken aback that he just can’t shatter Maynard’s illusions—but his family presses him to do it, reminding him it’s for Maynard’s own good.  It doesn’t matter anyway—Maynard knew it was Mr. G the entire time…and as he snuggles into bed, he runs over to the window to see a silhouette of the jolly old guy hisself and his reindeer:

So why was Mrs. Gillis acting like a female Scrooge at the beginning of the episode?  Well, it turns out her husband spent so much money on the renovations to the home and chimney and the presents that he decided to cut his losses by allowing the neighborhood women to use Winnie’s new washer and dryer…for a nominal fee, of course.

“Will the Real Santa Claus Please Come Down the Chimney?” airs on MeTV Sunday, November 29th at 5:30am…with an encore performance on Sunday, December 20th at 5am.  It’s all part of the network’s A Very Merry TV, which will feature such TDOY favorites as The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Our Miss Brooks, Petticoat Junction and many, many more!

Why are these men smiling?

Well, it’s very simple…they've just learned that with the bummer of a week movie and television fans have been experiencing—not only the tragic death of Robin Williams and the passing of a film icon, Lauren Bacall, but the demise of Ed Nelson and Arlene Martel—Shout! Factory has announced that all 143 episodes of a TV sitcom classic, The Phil Silvers Show, will be released to DVD on November 4th.

I mentioned briefly on the blog back in May that a Region 2 version of this release was in the works for September, and after that announcement I heard scuttlebutt from both Rick Brooks and Stephen Bowie that there would be a Region 1 version, too.  From what I have gleaned on the Book of Face, each set will have its own distinctive collection of bonuses and extras, which will kind of suck if you’re into that thing.  Me, I’m just happy to have all of Bilko on DVD—after The Dick Van Dyke Show (which I recently purchased in its entirety on Blu-ray) it’s my favorite situation comedy of all time.

Speaking of just being happy to have a show on DVD (okay, that segueway needs a little work), TVShowsOnDVD.com has announced that Timeless Factory Video is re-issuing M Squad: The Complete Series, which the Timeless people gifted us with in 2008.  If you already own this collection, there’s not a whole lot on here that’ll be new to you (the re-release does have a cheaper SRP, though)—I thought there might be a chance that Timeless would improve on the video quality of the previous release but it’s essentially same wine, different bottle.  There will be a bonus disc of Lee Marvin’s guest appearances on The Virginian, Checkmate and Wagon Train (plus an episode of Lee Marvin Presents Lawbreaker, which Timeless brought to disc in March of last year) to go along with the reduced pricing.

Once again, I apologize for the fallow fields on the blog of late: I just finished up a project that was not only rewarding financially but just a heck of a lot of fun to do…and no sooner had I completed that when I was offered a follow-up.  (I feel kind of bad choosing these tasks over entertaining the TDOY faithful…but in my defense, they are rather large checks.)  I have some staggering good news to pass along, however: after many months of dragging my feet, I finally found the initiative to hook the old Toshiba DVD recorder up to the AT&T U-Verse Total DVR-for-Life® in order to copy some of the flicks I’ve grabbed off The Greatest Cable Channel Known to Mankind™ and after a few trials-and-errors, took a victory lap when I got the various apparatuses (apparati?) to work.  So I’ll be able to whittle down the substantial amount of movies I’ve saved, and have some reviews of movies to offer up in the bargain.  More to follow soon!

“…’cause Dobie has to have a girl to call his own…”

Next Tuesday (July 2), Shout! Factory is officially releasing what I have often referred to here on the blog as my Holy Grail as far as DVD collections go.  It’s the complete series of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-63), a TV sitcom classic that I have also often talked about at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear.  Ever since I was introduced to Dobie and Maynard and the rest of the Central City gang on CBN back in the 1980s, I have been a devoted fan of a show that, while I admit hasn’t aged as well as other sitcoms of the same vintage, still resonates with me as both pointed social satire and a loving paean to nonconformity.

Premiering on September 28, 1959 on a Tuesday night (so the Shout! Factory Tuesday release date is kinda like kismet), The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was created by Max Shulman, an author-playwright who had released a collection of short stories about the character under that same title in 1951.  The book had first been adapted as an M-G-M film in 1953 (starring Bobby Van as Dobie and Debbie Reynolds), The Affairs of Dobie Gillis; when Shulman brought the character to TV he decided to put Dobie in high school (he was a college student in the original book and film) to appeal more to teenaged viewers.  (Later, Shulman penned a novel featuring Dobie and the gang, 1959’s I Was a Teenage Dwarf.)

And for the most part—that’s what set Dobie Gillis apart from most of the family/domestic comedies still on the air at that time.  Shows like The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show, etc. featured teenagers as characters…but they often seemed more like mere extensions of their parents than genuine teens.  Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hickman) was television’s first realistic teenager.  He chased girls; he wasn’t a bright student; he avoided work and schemed for money; he rebelled against his father (who most assuredly did not know best); he hung around weird kids (like our mothers were always telling us: “I don’t want you associating with so-and-so”).  And he talked to himself—well, technically the television audience, in one of the best examples of “breaking the fourth wall” in TV history.  He would sit in the city park underneath a statue of Rodin’s The Thinker, and contemplate where he was in life and what his future would hold—as well as commenting on whatever predicament he had gotten himself into of late.

He was the simple son of a grocer, Herbert T. Gillis (Frank Faylen)—whose store at 285 Norwood often provided a backdrop for Dobie’s escapades.  The social satire of the show was particularly pungent for sitcoms of that era: it was stressed that Dobie, because of his low intellect and even lower status, had precious little prospects in life; all Dobie knew was that he did not want to end up a grocer like his father.  Herbert loved his son, but in the early years of the show (primarily the first season), there was a prickliness to their relationship: Dobie was always exploiting his Dad to cadge money despite the senior Gillis being a tightfisted cheapskate.  After skirmishes with his son, Herbert would stare at the camera and say: “I gotta kill that boy…I just gotta.”  CBS wasn’t particularly wild about this aspect of the series and in the second season (with the episode “You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Houn’ Dog”), the Herbert Gillis character was toned down and made more sympathetic.  It didn’t necessarily ruin the series, but it kind of muted its edginess a bit.

Dobie’s mother, Winifred (Florida Friebus), doted on her boy (often slipping him money behind his father’s back for dates) and occasionally could be a little smothery.  But she was also his fiercest champion; the only one capable of calming her husband down after Dobie had done something to drive him to distraction.  Amusingly, both Herbert and Winnie, despite their imperfections, were one of TV’s most loving couples—you often got the idea that the two of them snuck into the back storeroom for a little what-have-you from time to time, as much as they hugged and cuddled and danced and sang.  Dobie also had a brother Davey (played by Dwayne Hickman’s real-life bro Darryl) who turned up in a few episodes during the first season (he was away at college) but he soon vanished, never to be heard from again.  (In the fourth and last season, Bobby Diamond turned up in several episodes as Dobie’s cousin Duncan “Dunky” Gillis—a younger version of Dob who was added when his older cousin’s girl-chasing escapades had become a little stale.)

Dobie’s best friend was TV’s first beatnik, Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver).  (Incidentally, the “G” stands for “Walter.”)  A nonconformist regularly clad in a dirty, torn sweatshirt and sporting a goatee, Maynard loved jazz, playing the bongos and collecting esoterica like petrified frogs and tinfoil.  In the early episodes of the series, there was a teensy hint of menace about the character (he’s picked up and briefly jailed for vagrancy in the premiere episode, “Caper at the Bijou”) but as the series went on, he morphed into a naïve manchild merely at odds with the world, with no one to lean on but his “good buddy” Dobie.  He hated work almost as much as his best friend did (often reacting to the mere mention of the word with a screechy “WORK?!!”) and would frequently make his entrance after a character commented (as an example) that something was “vile, disgusting and low.” (Maynard: “You rang?”)  This gimmick was later “borrowed” for whenever Lenny & Squiggy would burst into the apartment of TV’s Laverne & Shirley.

As for “the many loves of Dobie Gillis”—two female characters that would appear on multiple occasions made their debut during the first season: “Love is a Science” introduced Dobie’s nemesis Zelda Gilroy (Sheila James Kuehl), whose devotion and love for the Dobster wasn’t quite reciprocated by the man for which she had set her cap.  Zelda, the smartest girl in the school, explained to Dobie that there was “propinquity” between the two of them: it was no use for him to fight it…they would eventually end up together.  (And they did…but I’m kind of getting ahead of the story.)  Zelda’s pet name for Dobie was “Poopsie,” and she would often wrinkle her nose at him like a rabbit while he helplessly wrinkled back.  (“Now cut that out!” he would yell in a dead-on impersonation of Jack Benny.)  Although Zelda was not the most attractive of girls, she was sensible, down-to-earth and knew what was best for Dobie; in one episode (“Dobie, Dobie, Who’s Got the Dobie?”) a girl also decides that Dobie is worth chasing after simply because Zelda wants him…and Zelda wants only the best.

The other frequent female character was the woman that Dobie would give his life, his love, his all—the money-hungry blonde temptress Thalia Menninger (Tuesday Weld).  Thalia’s obsession with money—for that was the only way she could see herself spending the rest of her life with a pauper like Gillis—fueled many of the program’s plots in the first season…though it would do Thalia a disservice to call her greedy, because the money wasn’t for her, you understand.  Her father was sixty years old and had a kidney condition and her mother wasn’t getting any younger; her sister had married a loafer (who daily ate his weight in groceries) and her brother was on his way to becoming a public charge.  Thalia owed it to her family to be their salvation, and when Dobie would protest that because he loved her money shouldn’t matter she would dismiss him with “Love won’t butter parsnips.”  The Thalia character disappeared after the first season (Weld and Hickman apparently had difficulty getting along) but returned for guest appearances in Season 3’s “Birth of a Salesman” and Season 4’s “What’s a Little Murder Between Friends?”

Dobie’s rival for the attentions of Thalia, BMOC Milton Armitage, appeared in five episodes during the first season—it was one of the first notable acting gigs for Warren Beatty before his breakthrough film role in Splendor in the Grass (1961).  It also wasn’t Beatty’s finest hour—he pretty much slept-walked through the role (he later dismissed the part as “absurd”) though one or two people have suggested to me that he was distracted by Weld, whom he had hoped to make one of his romantic conquests.  (The fact that Beatty only comes to life—doing a hilarious Marlon Brando impression—in “Dobie Gillis, Boy Actor,” the only installment in which he appeared that does not feature Weld’s Menninger would seem to support this.)  They replaced Milton Armitage with another privileged rich boy, Chatsworth Osborne, Jr. (Steve Franken), who proved to be a funnier antagonist for Dobie with his exaggerated Darien accent and frequent references to his “Moms” (“Moms will ship me off to military school faster than you can say ‘federal reserve note’”).  “Moms” was played by Doris Packer, who had also played Milton’s patrician matriarch—the first name, Clarice, remained the same.

Thanks to Shout! Factory rep Tom Chen, I was the beneficiary of a review copy of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis: The Complete Series.  It is a handsome box set, containing all 147 episodes from the program’s four-year-run…and a bonus disc in the Season 4 case has some interesting curios including the CBS pilot for the series (which is the same as the inaugural episode, “Caper at the Bijou,” except with extended footage at the end featuring messages from the cast urging on sponsors), three episodes of The Bob Cummings Show (a.k.a. Love That Bob) which Dwayne Hickman co-starred on from 1955-59 and an episode of The Stu Erwin Show (a.k.a. The Trouble with Father), which was one of James Kuehl’s early gigs.  There are clips from a 1960 telecast of The Dinah Shore Chevy Show featuring Hickman (a Dobie Gillis skit in color!) and from The Coke Time Special (also from 1960), hosted by Pat Boone and featuring Bob Denver and Edd Byrnes in their Maynard and Kookie (from 77 Sunset Strip) personas.  An interview with Dwayne Hickman (in which he does admit that he did channel Jack Benny often playing Dobie) and some PDF files from Max Shulman’s “vault” round out the goodies (the pilot for the potential Zelda spin-off is included in these).

Some of the episodes are a little rough.  20th Century Fox didn’t seem to be too dedicated to cleaning up some of the shows (I’ve noticed the same issues in watching reruns of Dobie on Me-TV) but I’ve noticed this mostly occurs in the first season (and Shout! issues a disclaimer on one of the episodes, “Rock-a-Bye Dobie,” that the elements aren’t completely up to snuff).  Diehard fans are going to overlook this; I know I am because I’m just giddy that the show has finally made it to DVD, and in spending a few days watching selected episodes I’ve discovered why I fell in love with the show in the first place.

I mentioned at the beginning of this review that Dobie Gillis was a unique sitcom because it looked at life through the eyes of a teenager—that and the snap, crackle, pop of the series makes it so refreshing to watch today.  And by “snap, crackle, pop” I mean the innovative editing of the series, the punchy, funny dialogue, the fresh characterizations.  You always expected the unexpected on Dobie Gillis; people popped up out of nowhere and the characters’ dialogue exchanges had a rhythm that was almost like jazz.  There was also a sentimentality about the show, which would always be cut with a lemon-like tartness to keep it from being too gloppy (Maynard’s frequent admission of “I’m gettin’ all misty, Dob”).

One of my favorite episodes is a first season installment entitled “Room at the Bottom”: Thalia, discouraged that Dobie is not going to amount to much in life, is nevertheless convinced that because her paramour is so likable he might be able to muddle through by making the right contacts…especially if his father allows him to attend an exclusive preparatory academy, Willoughby Hall.

Dobie is secure in the knowledge that his father will never agree to an extravagance…but he hasn’t counted on the persuasive powers of Ms. Menninger.  Herbert has a vision of his son becoming the BFF of the wealthy Winthrop van Money (Steve Franken, before he started playing Chatsworth) and the senior Money bestowing a chain of grocery stores upon Herbert T. in grateful acknowledgement of Dobie being a pal to young Winthrop.

So Dobie is going to be packed off to Willoughby…but there’s a chance for a stay of execution.  If he can get a perfect grade on his mathematics test (scoring 100), it will prove to Thalia that he’s is not a complete clod and that Dobie might be able to get ahead in life without having to schmooze.  But Mrs. Menninger did not raise any foolish girls; Thalia knows Dobie can’t pass that test.

Dobie and Maynard go over to the home of their math teacher, Mrs. Ruth Adams (Jean Byron), to ask for a little tutoring help.  Mr. Adams (John Bryant) takes advantage of the situation by asking the boys if they’ll baby-sit their son (Ronny Howard) while he and Mrs. A go out to the movies (to see The Monster That Devoured Cleveland, one of the show’s running gags in that it always seemed to be the only movie playing at Central City’s theater).  Disgruntled that they’ve been shanghaied into sitting, the two of them find a copy of the test they’re supposed to take the next day…and though they know it’s wrong, they agree to copy down the answers so Dobie can get a perfect grade and not have to go to Willoughby.

The next day, Ruth confesses to her husband that she suspects Dobie and Maynard cheated on the exam after she hands out the papers to the class and Thalia is delighted with Dobie’s perfect score.  She acknowledges it’s possible Dobie could have done that well but Maynard…anyway, Ruth is disillusioned and vows to her husband that she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to trust Dobie and Maynard again.

And then Dobie and Maynard return to the classroom…to confess their vile deed.  Mrs. Adams is overjoyed (“You’ve made me very happy”), and while she will have to flunk both of them (Maynard: “This makes you happy?” ) her faith in her students has been restored.  She tells Thalia as she and her husband leave: “You have a fine, sweet, sensitive, wonderful boy.”

Thalia responds: “Yes, I have a fine, sweet, wonderful, sensitive boy…who’s never going to make a dime!”

“Room at the Bottom” was later recycled into a third season episode, “Dobie Gillis: Wanted Dead or Alive,” with Leander Pomfritt (William Schallert) the instructor and his poetry exam the test Dobie and Maynard cheat on.  Pomfritt was another great character on the show; a cynical-around-the-edges teacher (he often greeted his class with “Hello, my young unemployables…”) whose dedication to his profession often trampled on his pessimism.  (He’s the subject of another favorite Dobie episode of mine, the second season closer “Goodbye, Mr. Pomfritt – Hello Mr. Chips.”)  Pomfritt taught at Central High School in the first two seasons of the show, then became the gang’s instructor at S. Peter Pryor Junior College when the series shifted gears in Season 3 (Dobie and Maynard also served a temporary hitch in the peacetime Army in the latter part of Season 2).  Jean Byron returned to the show in the guise of a different professor, Imogene Burkhart (the in-joke was that this was Byron’s real name)—and it always amused me that after Dobie Gillis ended its run Schallert and Byron played husband and wife on The Patty Duke Show.

By its fourth and last season, Dobie Gillis had sort of lost its mojo; interestingly, Hickman’s Dobie started to recede into the background as more of a straight man while Denver’s Krebs took center stage in many of the episodes (some with a surrealistic, fantastical bent like “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Gillis” and “Requiem for an Underweight Heavyweight”).  I remember reading one time a critique of Gilligan’s Island in which the author tried to argue that while Denver made a great second banana on Gillis he simply wasn’t capable of carrying the star load on Gilligan (I get the feeling he didn’t watch Dobie much…and as Peter Nellhaus suggested to me on Facebook, there’s a reason why Shout! features Denver prominently on the cover).  There was an attempt to rekindle interest in the series in 1977 with a half-hour pilot entitled Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis?—I never saw it; our CBS affiliate in Charleston, WV refused to air it for some reason or another—and in 1988, a reunion TV-movie aired entitled Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis that brought back most of the still-living cast with the exception of Beatty and Weld (Connie Stevens played Thalia, and I thought she did rather well).

If you’re a fan of the show, you are going to move Heaven and Earth to get a copy of this box set; despite imperfections in some of the episodes (hey…you work with the tools you get) Shout! Factory has done a bang-up job on bringing one of the essential cult TV sitcoms to DVD.  (Did you know Frank Zappa was a big fan of this show?  Honest to my grandma!)  I’m just grateful that it’s here at long last, and I hope the clips I included in the essay (heck, even the essay itself) have stoked your interest to make The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis: The Complete Series your very own.  (“Dobieeeee…”)