Compared to the Dennis comics, I've always found the TV show to be a bit subdued and ordinary. I think the TV show would have been better if they chose to make it animated as opposed to using human actors. I don't know why they chose to go this route, one problem they might have had is the censors may have put a limit on how mischievious Dennis could be on TV. Anyhow, as a fan of the Dennis comics I've always found the books to be better and funnier than the TV show. Not saying that the TV show is bad, but it could have been a lot better. They missed the boat on a lot of things, potential was wasted.

Unfortunately, creator Hank Ketcham's only involvement in the sitcom appears
to have been in the selection of the actor who played the title role (as related
by star Jay North in an interview on Gary Collin's daytime TV program).

However, it should be noted that certain adjustments had to be made to
stretch a daily cartoon panel to a half-hour format, as was also the case
with Ted Key's Hazel.

Of course, an animated sitcom based on the longer Sunday strips (or the
comic books) might have worked in prime-time (many animated series were
tried on the networks' nighttime schedules in the early sixties following the
popularity of The Flintstones). Dennis did star in a prime-time
Mother's Day TV cartoon special (NBC, 1981), which ultimately led to the syndicated Dennis cartoon which
debuted in 1985.

yes, the early Dennis comic books (1953-1964) drawn by the amazing Al Wiseman (Written by Fred Toole) , were truly works of art, and were so popular that they spawned several imitations (ex: Pat the Brat) for a time during the 50s and 60s....Sadly, when Hank Ketcham fired his former friend in 1964, the artists who took over the Dennis books never seemed to have the same talent, or passion for the character.
http://alwiseman.com/archive/2007_07_01_archive.html <Archive page, Al Wiseman Blog

An example of Al Wiseman's impecable Dennis the Menace comic book art

Compared to the Dennis comics, I've always found the TV show to be a bit subdued and ordinary. I think the TV show would have been better if they chose to make it animated as opposed to using human actors. I don't know why they chose to go this route, one problem they might have had is the censors may have put a limit on how mischievious Dennis could be on TV. Anyhow, as a fan of the Dennis comics I've always found the books to be better and funnier than the TV show. Not saying that the TV show is bad, but it could have been a lot better. They missed the boat on a lot of things, potential was wasted.

The comics were funny that's true but there was nothing wrong with adding a human touch to it. I've been watching these uncut over the last 2 months and almost every episode has had me in hysterics. The casting was perfect and the acting top notch. Ronny Howard is very good as Stewart but Billy Booth (Tommy) is probably my favorite among the child actors. Jeannie Russell was also great as Margaret.

Quote: LeeG
I think the TV show would have been better if they chose to make it animated as opposed to using human actors. I don't know why they chose to go this route, one problem they might have had is the censors may have put a limit on how mischievious Dennis could be on TV.
I would think the more likely reason was that live-action shows are much cheaper to produce, and the state of US animation in the late 1950s was at a very low ebb, being that the old studio system animation co. were all closing down, and nothing had yet really come in to replace them, at the time.

yes, the early Dennis comic books (1953-1964) drawn by the amazing Al Wiseman (Written by Fred Toole) , were truly works of art, and were so popular that they spawned several imitations (ex: Pat the Brat) for a time during the 50s and 60s....Sadly, when Hank Ketcham fired his former friend in 1964, the artists who took over the Dennis books never seemed to have the same talent, or passion for the character.
http://alwiseman.com/archive/2007_07_01_archive.html <Archive page, Al Wiseman Blog

Yep, those Dennis books with the Wiseman art are the best ones. After Wiseman left, the artwork quality of the Dennis books really went downhill. The books still had funny stories, but the artwork was crap compared to Wiseman's. I have a collection of the bonus magazines, I think #48 is the last one to contain any new Wiseman art.

I had most of the specials as reprints, but, I gave most of them away when I got into manga......wish i hadnt!!!

Yep that's the problem with those Dennis specials/bonus magazines. Many of them (the travel ones especially) were reprinted numerous times. And what made it worse, as time went on they were getting cheaper and the books had fewer pages than they used to. So a late 60's/early 70's reissue of an original Dennis special from the late 50's/early 60's is not the complete book because there is stuff missing. I skipped all the reissued ones, I just have the original complete versions. They reprinted the Hawaii one a number of times, in 1968 they issued one with half of the book original with the Wiseman art and the other half new stories and new art. The difference between the art work is like night and day, Wiseman's is so much better. When they started issuing the Dennis specials in the mid 50's, those books had 100 pages. The number of pages were gradually reduced over the years, and by the time the last ones came out in the late 70's, the volumes were reduced to 32 pages.

I wasnt aware they'd be edited like that 0.o~~!!!!!

I seem to remember a cartoon in the late 80s.

I wasnt aware they'd be edited like that 0.o~~!!!!!

The 80s cartoon aired weekday afternoons. Added to the cast of characters was a brainy kid who one time made Joey invisible. I don't remember Tommy ever being seen on the cartoon. When the Dennis the Menace movie came out in the 1990s, the cartoon began airing on Saturday mornings, but with the kid from the movie's voice instead of the voice actor from the 80s cartoon.

I was thinking about differences between the comics (the single panel newspaper ones) and the TV show:

1. In the comics Dennis has a dog, Ruff. No dog for him in the TV show.

2. In the comics Mr. Wilson has no dog. In the TV show George Wilson has a dog, Fremont.

3. In the comics Dennis has a girl he likes, Gina. Not in the TV show.

4. In the comics Dennis' mother is lampooned as a lousy cook. Not in the TV show.

5. In the comics Dennis has a best friend, Joey. The Joey character was in early TV episodes, but was dropped.

6. In the comics Dennis has no friend named Tommy; in the TV show, the Tommy character is Dennis' best friend.

7. In the comics all panels are about Dennis; the TV show has scripts about other adult characters, usually with Dennis' involvement.

8. On occasion the comics refer to Dennis having a cat--no cat in the TV show.

Any others?

For as much as I love the TV show, I've maybe read the comics twice in my entire life. I'm not sure I ever understood why the Joey character was phased out of the TV show, especially within the first few episodes. I guess there's only so much one can do with a character that doesn't talk! Was that the case in the comics, too?
In any case, Joey wasn't really missed, even though there were sporadic references all the way up to the final few episodes in 1963. Tommy, and later Seymour plus other random friends, more than capably filled the buddy roles.

It might have made more sense to have Billy Booth play Joey from the start. I'm thinking there must have been some problem with the kid actor who initially played him. You'd think that would have shaken out in the auditions.

I've never read comic books, as this old thread was talking about. I just read the daily comics, and DTM is one of them.

I was thinking about differences between the comics (the single panel newspaper ones) and the TV show:

1. In the comics Dennis has a dog, Ruff. No dog for him in the TV show.

2. In the comics Mr. Wilson has no dog. In the TV show George Wilson has a dog, Fremont.

3. In the comics Dennis has a girl he likes, Gina. Not in the TV show.

4. In the comics Dennis' mother is lampooned as a lousy cook. Not in the TV show.

5. In the comics Dennis has a best friend, Joey. The Joey character was in early TV episodes, but was dropped.

6. In the comics Dennis has no friend named Tommy; in the TV show, the Tommy character is Dennis' best friend.

7. In the comics all panels are about Dennis; the TV show has scripts about other adult characters, usually with Dennis' involvement.

8. On occasion the comics refer to Dennis having a cat--no cat in the TV show.

Any others?


Sorry to bump…

Not being much of a DTM fan, ISTR Gina might have been introduced in the comics in the 1970s. As I recall, she was originally from Italy. I think I read the comics around that time.

I do remember a one-panel DTM with Dennis and Gina playing. Dennis turns maybe to Margaret, who was watching. The caption, Dennis speaking: “We’re not playing house. We’re playing CASA!”

Edit: Miss Cathcart wasn’t in the comics either AFAIK.

cd

An example of Al Wiseman's impecable Dennis the Menace comic book art

I have to say, visually, the television series really nailed the look of the father and mother, although Jay North is always just a little too clueless for the part, blame the writers for that, I'm sure.

:)

Unfortunately, creator Hank Ketcham's only involvement in the sitcom appears
to have been in the selection of the actor who played the title role (as related
by star Jay North in an interview on Gary Collin's daytime TV program).

However, it should be noted that certain adjustments had to be made to
stretch a daily cartoon panel to a half-hour format, as was also the case
with Ted Key's Hazel.

Of course, an animated sitcom based on the longer Sunday strips (or the
comic books) might have worked in prime-time (many animated series were
tried on the networks' nighttime schedules in the early sixties following the
popularity of The Flintstones). Dennis did star in a prime-time
Mother's Day TV cartoon special (NBC, 1981), which ultimately led to the syndicated Dennis cartoon which
debuted in 1985.

The casting from the comics models was inspired, I regret that Jay North had such a tough time during the series run, though.

I was thinking about differences between the comics (the single panel newspaper ones) and the TV show:

1. In the comics Dennis has a dog, Ruff. No dog for him in the TV show.

2. In the comics Mr. Wilson has no dog. In the TV show George Wilson has a dog, Fremont.

3. In the comics Dennis has a girl he likes, Gina. Not in the TV show.

4. In the comics Dennis' mother is lampooned as a lousy cook. Not in the TV show.

5. In the comics Dennis has a best friend, Joey. The Joey character was in early TV episodes, but was dropped.

6. In the comics Dennis has no friend named Tommy; in the TV show, the Tommy character is Dennis' best friend.

7. In the comics all panels are about Dennis; the TV show has scripts about other adult characters, usually with Dennis' involvement.

8. On occasion the comics refer to Dennis having a cat--no cat in the TV show.

Any others?

I haven't watched the series closely for decades, I wasn't aware that the Joey character was phased out of the later episodes.