Words cannot describe how absolutely BRILLIANT this show was! I mean think about it like this. In the 60's, Sitcoms tended to be divided into two very finite categories. You had your incredibly unrealistic disgustingly "picture perfect" clean and wholesome pleasentville family sitcoms that bared absolutely NO resemblance to real life whatsoever (My Three Sons, Donna Reed, Hazel, Ozzie and Harriet, Leave It To Beaver, etc) or you had these incredibly stupid sitcoms with outrageous premises that were so out of touch with reality that they aren't that watchable now because they appealed to the lowest common denominator of intelligence amongst American people (Mister Ed, Hogan's Heroes, Gilligan's Island, Beverly Hillbillies, etc).
But then you had a show like The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis that was ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT in every sense of the word, mainly because the characters were so believable and realistic and the family conflicts Dobie and his Dad Herbert and his mom would fade would face I'm sure MANY American families faced at that time, and the relationship between Dobie and his dad Herbert was perfect because it was a well represented take on the wide generation gap between the silent generation parents of the baby boomer kids.
And on top of that Herbert T Gillis was NOT your Steve Douglas OR your Ward Clever AT ALL. Herb was tough as nails and loud and obnoxious but also very loving and sensitive but his temperaments he developed from his years as a WWII vet never really wore off on him. Herbert was probably the most realistic TV dad of the late 50's early 60's, and he probably represented the dads of many baby boomer teens of that time who also served in WWII in real life (smart on them to make Herbert T Gillis a WWII vet, again adds to the realism in the show).
And then you had Dobie, who was one of THE MOST girl crazy young teenage boys of the late 50's early 60's, but like many guys of that time, he had his issues trying to get girls and I'm sure many teenage boys of the early 60's could relate to the trials and tribulations Dobie went through to try to get the girl of his dreams, and probably THE BEST part of the show is Dobie's Beatnik friend Maynard (player by a pre Gillian Bob Denver) and let me tell you something, the fact that the show actually had a Beatnik character on it just shows you how much in touch the writers of this show were with real America at that time (Beatniks were SO MUCH apart of American Society at that time of the show, and good on them for having a beatnik character on the show, totally adding an extra texture of realism to the show).
Zelda who was the girl Dobie never wanted to begin with but Zelda wanted Dobie so bad also added great chemistry to the show along with Dobie's Rivals Milton Armitage and Chatsworth Osborne Jr. who he was always competing with either for popularity status or for a beautiful girl (Milton was played by a young Warren Beaty just before his career took off). Thalia Menninger (player by Tuesday Weld before her career took off) was the perfect girl Dobie had a crush on but she always seemed way unobtainable and "out of his league" and I'm sure many young guys Dobie's age had a girl like that in real life.
The show had it's charm and it was smartly written and not completely stupid or unbelievable. And it was really ahead of it's time and the first show to really focus on the teenagers and not on kids or pre teens. and I would HIGHLY recommend this one, not just because of how hysterically funny the show is, but for it's lovability and how down to earth the characters are. Max Shulman did an incredible job with the creation of this show, and I hope it NEVER gets remade and people will enjoy it for years and years to come (and it helps that despite how little known the show is, that it's available in it's entirety on Prime Video, that will help it keep the show alive for a long time and for younger people to discover it and enjoy it even though it's 60 years old).
But then you had a show like The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis that was ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT in every sense of the word, mainly because the characters were so believable and realistic and the family conflicts Dobie and his Dad Herbert and his mom would fade would face I'm sure MANY American families faced at that time, and the relationship between Dobie and his dad Herbert was perfect because it was a well represented take on the wide generation gap between the silent generation parents of the baby boomer kids.
And on top of that Herbert T Gillis was NOT your Steve Douglas OR your Ward Clever AT ALL. Herb was tough as nails and loud and obnoxious but also very loving and sensitive but his temperaments he developed from his years as a WWII vet never really wore off on him. Herbert was probably the most realistic TV dad of the late 50's early 60's, and he probably represented the dads of many baby boomer teens of that time who also served in WWII in real life (smart on them to make Herbert T Gillis a WWII vet, again adds to the realism in the show).
And then you had Dobie, who was one of THE MOST girl crazy young teenage boys of the late 50's early 60's, but like many guys of that time, he had his issues trying to get girls and I'm sure many teenage boys of the early 60's could relate to the trials and tribulations Dobie went through to try to get the girl of his dreams, and probably THE BEST part of the show is Dobie's Beatnik friend Maynard (player by a pre Gillian Bob Denver) and let me tell you something, the fact that the show actually had a Beatnik character on it just shows you how much in touch the writers of this show were with real America at that time (Beatniks were SO MUCH apart of American Society at that time of the show, and good on them for having a beatnik character on the show, totally adding an extra texture of realism to the show).
Zelda who was the girl Dobie never wanted to begin with but Zelda wanted Dobie so bad also added great chemistry to the show along with Dobie's Rivals Milton Armitage and Chatsworth Osborne Jr. who he was always competing with either for popularity status or for a beautiful girl (Milton was played by a young Warren Beaty just before his career took off). Thalia Menninger (player by Tuesday Weld before her career took off) was the perfect girl Dobie had a crush on but she always seemed way unobtainable and "out of his league" and I'm sure many young guys Dobie's age had a girl like that in real life.
The show had it's charm and it was smartly written and not completely stupid or unbelievable. And it was really ahead of it's time and the first show to really focus on the teenagers and not on kids or pre teens. and I would HIGHLY recommend this one, not just because of how hysterically funny the show is, but for it's lovability and how down to earth the characters are. Max Shulman did an incredible job with the creation of this show, and I hope it NEVER gets remade and people will enjoy it for years and years to come (and it helps that despite how little known the show is, that it's available in it's entirety on Prime Video, that will help it keep the show alive for a long time and for younger people to discover it and enjoy it even though it's 60 years old).