by Moe Zilla

Created on: February 21, 2008   Last Updated: February 22, 2008

There was something unusual about this half-hour situation comedy: it was surprisingly intellectual. It was based on some funny but thoughtful short stories about its title character, which eventually inspired not only a movie but also a novel before the TV series launched in 1959. Its sophisticated opening credits featured a "modern" jazzy song complete with saxophones and a harmonizing vocalists, with reprises played between its scenes. And most episodes began with Dobie talking philosophically to the camera, sometimes standing in front of a statue of Rodin's "The Thinker." He sets up the philosophical stakes of the upcoming scene - and then the sitcom continues.

Dobie's literary origins meant that each story was complemented by a complete set of characters that were already developed before the series. Dobie's hard-working father - Herbert T. Gillis - ran a grocery store, and supplied a rough and authoritative rejection of his son's loftier ambitions. Often arguing the other side was Dobie's mother, and these fast, funny conversations took place at the counter of Herbert's store, which appeared in nearly every episode. But his most important confidant was his friend, Maynard G. Krebs. The gentle, excitable beatnik - played by Bob Denver - brought a childish enthusiasm to their conversations (often interrupting with his own crazy observations).

Utlimately Maynard became a televison icon, the classic example of a sidekick becoming such a popular character that the show later expands his part. With his t-shirt and scruffy beard, he was a kind of television beatnik. One running joke had his voice rising to a high-pitched squeal - "Work?!" - whenever someone suggested he get a job. (This was often accompanied by the jazz soundtrack hitting a bad note.) His boyishness suggested its own wisdom, in the way he remaining genuinely baffled by the complicated customs of society. In one episode involving a fancy banquet, Maynard lurks in the bushes, stealing food - but eventually wins the acclaim of all for wearing the best "costume" of the evening - his beatnik t-shirt!

Dobie's concerns were ultimately universal - women, work, and fulfillment. Tuesday Weld played Thalia Menninger in the first season, the rich but unattainable love interest - but for the next three seasons Dobie's main love interest was Zelda Gilroy. Zelda was convinced that Dobie would inevitably marry her someday - despite Dobie's insistence to the contrary. They'd been friends since childhood, and if she wrinkled her nose, Dobie would instinctively wrinkle his own nose as a counter-sign. Thirty years later, a 1988 TV movie showed that Dobie had, indeed, grown up to marry the reliable Zelda - and that Thalia (now played by Connie Stevens) had decided she wanted him after all.

And the success of the original show inspired the networks to create a starring vehicle for Bob Denver. He would again be facing an assortment of society's customs, but this time in an even more complicating setting - a deserted island.

For better or worse, "Gilligan's Island" would never have happened without "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis."

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