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Tuesday 13 September 2011

Wilfred (Mainstream Surrealism)

'Wilfred' is one of the many fantastic things that as soon as you try to sum up the basic premise, it sounds too extraordinary to try to watch and understand on a basic level. Basically Ryan (Elijah Wood) has a neighbour (Fiona Gubelmann) who he naturally is attracted to. However after he attempts to commit suicide, he has the bizarre ability to see her dog Wilfred, not as the dog everyone else sees, but as a man (Jason Gann) dressed in a dog costume, which is doomed to be imitated at any fancy dress party.

Well I warned you. What is most peculiar abut this set up is how it is used for essentially a basic buddies-getting-into-scrapes sitcom. Considering it's ridiculously short running time of just over 20 minutes (no doubt due to American adverts) this was a sensible move. None of the plots outstay their welcome and through their simplicity allows the characters to develop and revel in the absurdity of it all. While Wood plays a terrific straight man, it is Gann who completely steals the show, although considering he is the titular character this is perhaps not surprising. Even more so considering he's been playing the character since it began in it's original Australian format. While there is plenty of crude humour to find in a swearing, drug-taking talking dog, the best jokes are when we see Gann's physical talent in convincingly being a dog. Watching him chase his tail and running into the sea screaming "It's a pelican" are hilarious but surprisingly capture what it looks like dogs in such situations are desperate to say. I know that sounds bizarre but to be honest, you can't discuss this show with much rational thought, hence why I'm reviewing it...

Now from the premise, you would assume that Wilfred in human form doesn't actually exist and is just a figment of Ryan's imagination. Well the programme doesn't deny this but also greatly enjoys toying with the viewer of whether this is actually the case. The morals that Wilfred gives Ryan clearly chime with this idea, but the coarse explanation from Gann's rough Australian tones prevent these moments being too heavy-handed. And yet there is a distinct sense that most of what Wilfred does could only occur in the form of a human . Like Ryan we do not expect explanations for his action  but that won't stop us theorising.

This attitude is perfectly encapsulated in the closing moments of the latest episode 'Respect' as Wilfred flips into admitting if he was the cause of the events or not. The fact that these regular epilogues usually involve one or both taking drugs adds to the insecurity of reality. Whether by the end of the series there will be an answer I'm not sure, but I highly doubt that even the creators know the truth if there is any.

I say all this and yet like the best comedy and surrealism, trying to analyse and explain it's magnificence fails in comparison to the real thing. It's on tonight, 10.30pm, BBC 3. Go with it or don't, either way you will be completely baffled by this implacable show.

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