"Dilbert" (1999)TV series 1999-2000

Directors:

Rick Del Carmen
James Hull

Writer:

Christina Chahal (staff writer) (1999-2000)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

25 January 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Plot:

Cubicle denizen Dilbert toils away at Path-E-Tech which makes undefined products. The focus is on his survival amongst a moronic boss, hostile co-workers and his malevolent pet, Dogbert.

Plot Keywords:

Office Politics | Evil Cat | Sitcom | Workplace | Based On Comic

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win

Cast

Daniel Stern	...	Dilbert (14 episodes, 1999-2000)
Gordon Hunt	...	Wally (14 episodes, 1999-2000)
Jim Wise	...	Loud Howard (14 episodes, 1999-2000)
Chris Elliott	...	Dogbert (13 episodes, 1999-2000)
Larry Miller	...	Pointy-Haired Boss (13 episodes, 1999-2000)
Jackie Hoffman	...	Dilmom (13 episodes, 1999-2000)
Tom Kenny	...	Asok / ... (13 episodes, 1999-2000)
Kathy Griffin	...	Alice (13 episodes, 1999-2000)
Gary Kroeger	...	Various / ... (12 episodes, 1999-2000)
Tress MacNeille	...	Various / ... (12 episodes, 1999-2000)
Maurice LaMarche	...	Garbage Man / ... (7 episodes, 1999-2000)
Jason Alexander	...	Catbert (6 episodes, 1999-2000)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Columbia TriStar Television

Trivia:

Dilbert and Dogbert don't have mouths in the comic strip, but the animators needed to give them mouths for their dialog. They compromised by giving them mouths only when they spoke. Since the series went off the air, a mouth has occasionally been drawn on Dilbert in the comics, usually to show either surprise, screaming, or anger.

Quotes:

Dilmom: Standard Scrabble rules apply: no kicking, biting or slapping. No projectiles of any kind.
Dilbert: Name calling?
Dilmom: Only on your own turn.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (#19.4)" (2007)

Why does this look so much like my life?

The attractiveness and charm of the Dilbert comic lies in the ability of the white collar masses to relate to everything that goes on. As absurd as Dilbert's life at work is, it's often not far from the truth.

That said, it made a very amusing and underrated animated TV show. The people chosen to do voice overs for the characters were absolutely perfect: I can think of nobody better to voice the pointy haired boss than Larry Miller.

It seems that most people have a love/hate relationship with this series. I suspect that there is something lost between the comic strip and the show: most of the fans of the comic strip like it because they can relate to it, not because it's universally entertaining, like Popeye or Peanuts. That said, the movie is almost never as good as the book, so many people may feel the same in this case. For years, I hated the Dilbert comic strip. But after I finished college and got a white collar job very much like Dilbert's, in an office very much like the one on the comic, I finally "got it" and haven't stopped laughing.

The show was perhaps meant to be a bit more mainstream? Who knows. I thought it was very entertaining and deserved a longer life than it got.