This was one of the only comedies I've ever seen that has ever been able to successfully blend such ridiculous premises with such clever humour. Especially for a cartoon, most of which are so mind-numbingly idiotic that you feel insulted watching them.
The characters, all outlandish and over-the-top, are well developed and larger-than-life in their own individual ways, as opposed to clones of one weird character that might make the show boring and repetitive. Dogbert in particular stands out as a shining example. Even guest characters like Bob Bastard (one of my personal favourites) and Lena the Warrior Engineer are superbly fleshed out and captivating.
The plot lines are all so far-fetched and zany that they could easily slip into the 'Family Guy' genre but the writers, goofy as their ideas may be, infuse the madness with smart jokes, witty dialogue, and even some well-executed slapstick. And they can pull off both kinds of comedy in such a way that they compliment, rather than clash with, each other.
Unfortunately, this sort of humour was just too much of an acquired taste for the average audience to grasp. The failure of Dilbert and the success of cartoons such as Family Guy are proof that there really isn't much of a future for intelligent comedy - the general TV- watching masses are simply, sorry to be so blunt, too thick.
Too bad. I miss this show a lot.
The characters, all outlandish and over-the-top, are well developed and larger-than-life in their own individual ways, as opposed to clones of one weird character that might make the show boring and repetitive. Dogbert in particular stands out as a shining example. Even guest characters like Bob Bastard (one of my personal favourites) and Lena the Warrior Engineer are superbly fleshed out and captivating.
The plot lines are all so far-fetched and zany that they could easily slip into the 'Family Guy' genre but the writers, goofy as their ideas may be, infuse the madness with smart jokes, witty dialogue, and even some well-executed slapstick. And they can pull off both kinds of comedy in such a way that they compliment, rather than clash with, each other.
Unfortunately, this sort of humour was just too much of an acquired taste for the average audience to grasp. The failure of Dilbert and the success of cartoons such as Family Guy are proof that there really isn't much of a future for intelligent comedy - the general TV- watching masses are simply, sorry to be so blunt, too thick.
Too bad. I miss this show a lot.