This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Instant Favorite.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Brilliant writing by Max Schulman, "The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis", not to be confused with the earlier movie versions, centers around the exploits of Dobie Gillis(Dwayne Hickman) and Maynard G.(Walter) Krebs.The story basically takes place at the local high school in Central City , where Dobie fantasizes about his gal pal relationships, and encounters coming of age adventures.This IS "Classic" TV, it works on many levels, youth , angst, changing American cultures,Generation Gap,even before anyone knew it existed.Maynard G. Krebs(Bob Denver) delivers wonderful performances as the sidekick, and eternally loyal friend to Dobie. More often a hindrance than a help, Maynard can be trusted to be the difference.All-Star Cast of Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus as the loving and somewhat disciplinarian parents, Herbert T. and Winfred are timeless.They own a local grocery store, but have trouble making ends meet. The rest of the Cast shine just as brightly Tuesday Weld, Steve Franken, Warren Beatty, Jean Byron, William Schallert, Sheila James, and Doris Packer all help to stir this delicious offering.Underrated for having adolescent themes, Dobie Gillis transcends its' generational limitations, and provides solid enlightenment and entertainment, to all who see it as more than situation comedy. 10 stars out of 10, has it really been 50 plus years.I remember when it went off the air,that they would surely bring it back, because it had been such a terrific show....Then came Gilligan's Island...ouch

I was a teenager and saw "...Dobie Gillis" when it first came out, at a time when I was a teenager myself! Others have commented how this was ahead of its time. If silly, mindless, fantasy (not reality)-based comedy is your cup of tea, then please help yourself. The characters are over-the-top (as are most so-called "sit-coms"). The circumstances are ridiculous. The characters are not developed. "Family Affair" is one of the worst ever. I also saw "Private Secretary," "My Little Margie," "Topper," and others when they were first broadcast. How about "December Bride"? The others were not great, but at least they were not so mindless. Ahead of its time? Yes, today's sitcoms are silly and shallow, too... so in that respect it was. "I Love Lucy" was zany but the characters had some depth and they interacted with one another in a logical way. "All in the Family" has to be one of the best-written, best-acted, most thoughtful series of all time. Dobie Gills and sit-coms in general are mindless entertainment. I do recall that, as someone commented elsewhere here, that "...Dobie Gillis" was edited in a "snappy" way.

The "Dobie Gillis" series has impressed me a bit more, looking back on it, with a few things that were definitely ahead of the time for early 60's TV. Besides Maynard always scat-singing to himself, they also used his character to refer to some jazz greats out in the real world. He'd often talk about Dizzy Gillespie, and one episode had him preparing to play bongos for Thelonious Monk (although there's no evidence Monk actually hired pickup bongo players when on tour). Later in the series, when Dobie went to college, I notice that whenever there were other students in background shots, a few of them were usually black (the term back then would've been "colored", or any of a few other vile terms). A bit adventurous, when a lot of schools were putting up a vicious fight against integration.Since moving to Utah, I've been wondering if the show had any Mormons (or ex-Mormons) on the writing staff. In the episode where Maynard met the caveman, I think they called the place the Wasatch Caves - Wasatch is the name of the mountain range just east of Salt Lake City. Also, it's a tradition in the Mormon church to include a person's middle initial, such as a few recent church presidents - Spencer W. Kimball, Gordon B. Hinckley, and so on. Could this be an inspiration for Herbert T. Gillis or Maynard G. Krebs?

It's a grand shame that very few people these days remember this fine sitcom about teenage life in the early 60s. Dwayne Hickman is endearing as simple-minded Dobie Gillis, the typical American teenager, who just wants a girl. Bob Denver is brilliant as his buddy, Maynard Krebs. Who needs Gilligan? Sheila James is fantastic as Zelda...always chasing after Dobie. Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus as Dobie's parents are too-oft forgotten for their parts on this show...they couldn't have gotten a better pair of actors.There was some really sharp, funny writing on this series, and that, mixed with the snappy editing, jazzy soundtrack and over-the-top situations, made for some very funny episodes. Plenty of hip, jazzy lingo to go around. Lovely Tuesday Weld was also around for a number of episodes during the first season (and a couple later on) as Dobie's object of affection, Thalia Menninger. It's too bad that they couldn't keep her on for more sporadic appearances, because it is the episodes that she appears in, which I consider to be the zenith of the series. The show started to get a little too silly during its last season, when the focus went towards Maynard and Dobie's cousin, Dunkie, but it was still unique.Without question, one of the high points of 1960s TV, and one of the most winning sitcoms of all time. It's a shame that it hasn't gotten the same kind of exposure in recent years as some of the other shows of the time. Hopefully it gets picked up and restored for a full DVD release sometime soon. It's just waiting to be rediscovered.