Comic books vs. the TV show

[cd637299]

Originally Posted by stevea

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

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by Mikado

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.

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by tv star collector

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.

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by stevea

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.