atlasmb
Starring Jay North as Dennis, this comedy series dealt with the daily adventures of a young boy. Dennis is a whirling dervish of enthusiasm. He is not a bad kid, just the personification of boyishness. He likes slingshots, baseball, frogs, camping, toy guns, etc. Most of the episodes concern Dennis' interactions with his next door neighbor, Mr. Wilson (Joseph Kearns), his antagonist. While Dennis genuinely likes Mr. Wilson, Mr. Wilson is ambivalent about the young boy's charms. Wilson is the perfect foil, being someone who likes order and quiet. His hobbies include gardening and bird watching. And he loves public recognition. Dennis' very nature threatens the orderliness of Wilson's world. This series might be seen as a one joke comedy, but no more so than "Bewitched" was a one trick series. North is a fine child actor who really embodies the Dennis character. Despite the naïve carelessness of Dennis, the episodes often resulted in Dennis saving the day or somehow aiding Mr. Wilson.After the death of Kearns in the middle of season three, the show's formula altered slightly. Those who think Kearn's acting was over the top might prefer Gale Gordon, who stepped in for the remainder of the series.
Chris Morrow (morrowman2)
It was a great TV show! I watch it every chance I get. When I first discovered the show about 12 years ago on Nickelodeon, I thought it was very funny and very unique, A bright boy with a lot of energy who is always wanting to help people out, especially his next door neighbor Mr. Wilson who Dennis drove crazy and quite often got him in trouble. I just could never figure out why his parents didn't punish Dennis more often for some of the trouble he got into. Never theless, The TV show was funny up until the end of the 3rd seasonwhen Joseph Kearns who played the 1st Mr. Wilson passed away. Joseph Kearns was the best, he played his role as Mr. Wilsonwith a real inspiration. Gale Gordon, Who played Mr. Wilson towards the end of the 3rd season and all of the 4th season was good, but he just was not the character that Joseph Kearns was. Another thing you could tell is that Herbert Anderson (Henry Mitchell) got along with and worked better with Joseph Kearns then he did with Gale Gordon. I think it's quite obvious that Herbert Anderson liked working with Joseph Kearns a lot better then he did with Gale Gordon, it comes clear throughout the last season.
jeffy-3
I was thrilled when I saw TVLand was running this old sitcom this summer and have been taping episodes daily. They give me a good laugh and I am thankful they are only showing the early episodes featuring Joseph Kearns as Good Ole Mr. Wilson. To me he is the second funniest sitcom actor/character ever (next to Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker). His anguished cries of "Great Scott" or "Fiddle Faddle" and his easy-to-stroke ego are hilarious. In my opinion, it's one of the most underrated performances in sitcom history.
raysond
Even when I was a young child,I wasn't that much crazy about the program until years later. The last time this series was on was back in the mid-1980's on cable's Nickelodeon children's network plus was seen in some local TV stations late at night or early Sunday mornings and most recently on Nickelodeon's sister station TV Land. Anyways,this little boy got on people's last nerves and for good reason since it was based on Hank Ketchum's classic comic strip of the same title that produced an astounding 146 episodes,all in black and white and ran in prime-time on CBS-TV from October 4, 1959 until July 7, 1963 and was produced by Harry Ackerman for Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures Television. Hard-headed and all mischievous annoying brat Dennis Mitchell(played by Jay North)was always getting into trouble and getting into all kinds of mischief,especially annoying his next door neighbor Mr. Wilson. He was a cute kid who wore overralls and carried a sling shot in his back pocket was a walking chaos including those who were in the path of his way. The only problem I have with Dennis is this...His parents were always the nice couple,but I wish there were times when Mr. Mitchell gave Dennis a GOOD spanking! How could a kid like that could start mischief but was never whipped? In the real world he could have gotten it good cause no parent if their right state of mind would let him get away with that. Great show,but execptionally hilarious. However,I can remember,there were two actors who played Mr. Wilson on the show....(1)Joesph Kearns(Anatomy Of A Murder)played Wilson during the 1959-61 season,and then the changing of the guard(2)Gale Gordon played him during the 1961-63 season(long before his long collabration with Lucille Ball).