KIBBLES AND TOOBITS - A LOOK AT "WILFRED"

FX has a new sitcom based on an Australian show by the same name - 'Wilfred'. The premise is certainly... different - a guy named Ryan befriends a dog belonging to his sexy neighbor; but whereas everybody else sees Wilfred as the dog he should be, Ryan sees him as a rough, bong-toking Australian in a dog suit.

I have a feeling that, like 'Lost' and other shows with a strange, mysterious premise, I'll have to wait until the show finally ends its run before I can make sense of what it all means and how it can fit into the mosaic of Toobworld.

Normally, I'd just say that the American 'Wilfred' was just a remake and so had to be put down - er, dumped into the Land of Remakes. (Somebody! Help me with a name for that TV dimension!) But since the co-creator of the original series is playing 'Wilfred', just as he did in the Australian original, we could say that they both belong in Earth Prime-Time. Wilfred's the same man-dog (or whatever he is) but know living in America. Just tormenting somebody new.

Like I said, we probably won't know until the series' end, if then. But we could make a few guesses as to who - or what - Wilfred is.

1] WILFRED IS A DELUSION FOR BOTH ADAM AND RYAN
That he should look the same to both men on separate continents? Maybe they both drew inspiration from a picture book for kids or a TV-within-TV show aimed at kids with an international audience.

Do you think it strange that grown men would talk to a dog and follow its advice? Tell that to David Berkowitz....

2] WILFRED IS A DEMON
To the rest of the world, he looks to be a dog, but to the souls he torments he's a humanoid canine. Maybe he's only tormenting Ryan because he already drove Adam to suicide Down Under. When we first meet Ryan, he's making the attempt to kill himself, and that may have drawn the demon to him.

And speaking of souls.....


3] WILFRED HAS BEEN REINCARNATED AS A DOG
It's the natural transition in Toobworld - when a human dies, and they have unfinished business, they come back as a dog. (But don't tell the Minbari that!) If so, he probably died again while hanging out with Adam, only he didn't advance to the next level but instead he came back as a dog again. (We even have precedence for that, with Buck Bundy dying and being sent back from Animal Heaven as Lucky Bundy on 'Married... With Children'.)

Usually when we as the Trueniverse audience see a reincarnated dog, they look like a dog but we can hear their voice and/or thoughts - Cleo of 'The People's Choice' and 'Poochinsky', for instance. But in this case we see the human embodiment of Wilfred's soul blended with the trappings of fur.

Fur trappings. Heh heh. Heh heh.....

And the reason Ryan can see this is because he had been so near to death himself when he tried to kill himself.

4] WILFRED IS A QUANTUM LEAPER FROM THE FUTURE
There was an episode of 'Quantum Leap' where Dr. Sam Beckett leapt into the life of a chimpanzee. The same situation may have happened here, where a leaper from Sam's future, when they can specifically target a "leapee". (Why he would choose a dog on both occasions is unknown, but must be instrumental to his research project.)

Now, supposedly only children, animals, and people with "special needs" can see a leaper. So maybe there's been some damage to Ryan's brain after his suicide attempt......

5] WILFRED IS FROM THE PLANET PARENTHIA
Parenthia is a planet in the Sirius system, which is probably why Sirius is known as the Dog Star. Two of their astronauts, Alpha and Orvis, were brought to Earth by Aunt Clara's magic in an episode of 'Bewitched'. The humanoid canines were mentioned in an episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and they were present at the Restaurant At The End Of The Universe in 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy'.

Wilfred could be observing human life on Earth in preparation for an invasion by his homeworld. His presence is masked by either a glamour device or by a magical spell cast by another practitioner of the dark arts. First he checked out life in Australia and is now living large near Venice Beach in California.

His dedication to the operation may be compromised because he's revealed his true identity to Adam and Ryan.

I've just read that last one back. It made a lot more sense when I was popping Puppy Uppers with my neighbor's dog.....

BCnU!