Talk:The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

Comment
RIP, Maynard. ... "Gilligan's Island" was junk, but "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" was comedy art. Bob, you did far better work (WORK?!!) as Maynard, because "Dobie" was a far better show. 65.54.155.46 03:42, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Can anyone remember a short story featuring Dobie Gillis? I read it in an anthology back in elementary school (1970s) and can't recall title of either the story or the book. Jeffr 21:52, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Max Shulman wrote two Dobie Gillis books. One was titled I Was a Teenage Dwarf. WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 12:59, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Maynard did NOT fail his physical for his first tenure in the army. In season 1 he mistakenly thought he was drafted. Her mis-read the letter. He and all the kids from school joined up at the malt shop for his farewell. Then Maynard found that he has mis-read the letter but joined the army- yes joined- and for a short time - within that one episode- he became a Corporal and by the end of the episode- was discharged. Maynard had done well but the army eventually didnt want him. So...he was already in the army at one point - he did not fail a physical. Maynard was actually a good guy and his first army stint was - perhaps- a way to show viewers that "beatniks" are not bad people. I love Maynard. He was my crush when I was like...10. lol -"jen"

The Show
I don't feel qualified to edit this article, but I have to mention a few things.

The camera work was very inventive. In one show Maynard and Dobie are walking on the top of a low wall, and the camera tracks on their feet, while their voices are heard off camera. Is there any camera movement at all in modern shows?

On the surrealism topic, I remember distinctly there was a show with a giant chicken, obviously done with model shots with a real chicken walking around. Also, characters, especially Zelda, would sometimes make an entrance by standing up from behind a bush, instead of walking into the frame.

And in my memory, Dobie's father's best line was, "I'm a citizen! And a taxpayer! And a veteran -- with the Good Conduct Medal!!" In sitcoms up until Dobie, the father was always a wise, kindly guy who knew best, in the words of one title. Dobie's father was the first to break away from the mold.

Tex 23:19, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

The giant-chicken episode is "The Chicken from Outer Space". Not knowing what cc meant, Maynard injected the bird (a science project) with two cups of hormone.

I liked the program very much, but as an adult I became aware of the variation in quality among the scripts. Those written by Max Shulman were consistently good -- he created Dobie and knew how to write appropriate scripts -- but those by other writers are rarely up to Shulman's quality. They just didn't "get" the character or the series. WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 13:07, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Could someone clear this up?
I've never seen the show, but some statements in the article seem somewhat contradictory--could somebody please correct/clarify/reconcile them? Specifically:


 * "Dobie's father would lie, cheat, or steal for money..."


 * versus


 * "...[Dobie's] father Herbert (Frank Faylen), a grocer, was a very proud, somewhat belligerent World War II veteran who would often, on the slightest provocation, remind his listeners, "I was in the Big One—W W Two!" or declare "I've gotta kill that boy! I've just gotta!", but was deep down a good and decent man."

Even assuming that the threats of filicide were made in jest, I would consider lying, cheating and stealing money to be rather at odds with "good and decent". Grammaticus Repairo 06:21, 17 October 2007 (UTC)


 * The lying, cheating and stealing were all minor incidents, and always ended badly... The father was indeed "deep down a good and decent man", but with character flaws (such as greed and stinginess) and temptatios that sometimes overcame his basic good character. In other words, he was human. Jimtrue (talk) 12:15, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

All in the Family influence?
Taking a look at the article, Dobie's father's declaration "I was in the Big One—W W Two!" is eerily close to Archie Bunker's also frequently-spoken line, "I was in WW Two - the Big one!". Is there possibly a connection between the shows somewhere? --Kelseigh (talk) 03:07, 6 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Norman Lear, like all artistic creators, undoubtedly had many influences, and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that he was influenced in some way by Dobie Gillis. However, calling War World II "WW Two" and "the Big One" is very common, and it is more likely that it is just coincidence both characters used the phrase. Jimtrue (talk) 12:10, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

Episode Guide
I realize that my Episode Guide takes up quite a bit of space but this was a show that had 39(!) episodes a season. The brilliantly witty episode titles alone are worth preserving and, in most cases, I have kept the plot summaries to a single line. I have included guest stars only when they seem especially noteworthy. The text of this guide is not taken from any other website. It is original, based on the episode guide published by Twentieth Century-Fox for syndicators and by viewing every episode. I will attempt to clean-up the structure of the whole page in the near future.Rarmin (talk) 20:35, 17 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I like it, but it might be better to create a separate page for it. 172.132.3.163 (talk) 03:12, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Not on DVD?
I do remember there being LEGITIMATE DVDs which contained two episodes per disc. You could get them off Amazon, among other places, so I assume they weren't pirates. (199.88.143.1 (talk) 17:09, 5 August 2008 (UTC))

you rang?
I see:

'a previously unseen Maynard would appear (entering the scene in close-up), saying "You rang?" '

I never heard of this before, not having watched Dobie Gillis in a long time (although I liked the theme music I heard). "You rang?" reminded me immediately of the Lurch character on "Addams Family" TV show (produced 1964-1966, starting the year after Dobie Gillis stopped production). The story regarding that show was that Lurch was to be nonspeaking, but Ted Cassidy said in his deep voice "You rang?", and it was funny and was thus incorporated in that show. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.63.16.20 (talk) 18:12, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Missing a "Notable"
Warren Beatty was a semi-regular during the first season. His page here mentions it, but does not name the character. Mfwills (talk) 14:49, 21 December 2014 (UTC)

First teens?
The article says, "Dobie Gillis is significant as the first American television program produced for a major network to feature teenagers as leading characters." It then goes on to mention Meet Corliss Archer, saying it "aired in syndication". But according to that article, Meet Corliss Archer ran in 1951 on CBS, which completely contradicts the claim. --jpgordon&#x1d122;&#x1d106;&#x1D110;&#x1d107; 04:04, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

Usage of interrobang‽ opportunity or best left alone?
Upon responding to hearing the word work 2600:8800:700F:C500:FD8D:5A9B:7C75:89B7 (talk) 23:05, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

Zelda a main character
I know she started off as a minor character, but by the end of the series, wouldn't she be considered a main????