Remembering Scott Adams: Checking Out Top 5 “Dilbert” Episodes

“Dilbert” creator Scott Adams has passed away at 68. The comic strip writer and show producer had been ill with prostate cancer, which had unfortunately metastasized to his bones. Although Adams was a controversial figure, he was well-known for the successful, long-running comic strip based on his time working in corporate America. The comic strip was launched in the 90s, accompanied later by books, and ultimately it was adapted into a two-season TV series. Adams won the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist and Best Newspaper Comic Strip in 1997.

Scott Adams’ “Dilbert” Hits the Small Screen 

Because of its successful run as a comic strip — syndicated in many papers across the US — Adams was approached to be a writer and showrunner for a television show based on his comic. In 1999, the comic strip came to television screens on UPN. It had its run from January 1999 until July 2000. With the show, fans got to see the characters from his beloved comic strip brought to life.

Adams used his own work and life experiences to create both the comic strip and the television show. There was Dogbert, Dilmom, and even Catbert. Producer for “Seinfeld,” Larry Charles, was involved in the animated show’s production and was a writer as well. The series featured the voice talent of Daniel Stern, Chris Elliott, Larry Miller, and Tress MacNeille. Stern voiced the titular role, while Elliott portrayed his dog, Dogbert. Guest stars included Jerry Seinfeld, Kathy Griffin, Jason Alexander and Jon Favreau, to name a few. Let’s take a look back at some of the best episodes that aired during its two-season run. 

“The Virtual Employee” 

Ahead of its time, this episode deals with office waste, bureaucratic processes and virtual work. Dilbert and his coworkers try to store some obsolete office equipment (since it takes a mountain of paperwork to dispose of old equipment), and they find an office cubicle to store it in. Catbert, the director of HR, finds out about the coveted storage area and creates a “virtual employee,” named Todd. Todd soon becomes a huge success in the company. This was way before virtual work!

“The Fact”

Dogbert (Dilbert’s dog) writes a book – his second book in the series! It’s titled “Chronic Cubicle Syndrome,” about — yep, you guessed it — life at the office. It turns out Dogbert is quite the author, writing this book and a previous one in the series. Dilbert’s boss catches wind of the huge success of the bestselling book and comes up with a business strategy to market new products. Dilbert must learn to cope with both work and the success of his dog. 

“The Trial”

Admittedly, Dilbert’s life isn’t the most exciting. In fact, it’s pretty boring. He works, he goes home, does chores, runs errands, and plays with his dog (when his dog isn’t writing). So, he is deemed safe to donate blood. The office has a blood drive, and his blood is misplaced. It ends up being used to frame him for murder! He goes to the “big house” (jail) and actually thrives. He teaches fellow inmates about commodities trading. 

“Company Picnic”

Dilbert’s office has its annual company picnic, where their boss must procure some, umm, highly questionable hot dogs. Dilbert ends up wearing yoga pants to the picnic, thanks to Dogbert. He is then appointed pitcher for their baseball game. The teams are the marketing division vs. the engineering division. Juliet, a “marketing guru,” captures his eye, and he finds out the hard way not to get involved with interoffice dating. Camryn Manheim voices Juliet.

“The Shroud of Wally”

This episode has some very dark humor to it. After a near-death experience, Dilbert ends up back at his office having an existential crisis. His coworker, Wally, is getting ready to celebrate his birthday, which ultimately results in some of Wally’s belongings and party trash being sent to outer space. After more chaos ensues and Wally’s trash is misinterpreted as a religious movement, Dogbert and Dilbert pause and take time to ponder the meaning of life. 

Navigating the Corporate World and Living on in Our Hearts 

One thing that always rang true was Adams’s nuanced satire of the workplace. He easily illustrated the satiric humor of office politics and the trite daily routine. Many of Adam’s comics and television shows incorporated other themes, like Romeo and Juliet (in “The Office Picnic”) and Harlan Ellison’s groundbreaking novella, “A Boy and His Dog.” A rip on “pathetic,” his company is named Path-E-Tech. 

Scott Adams will be remembered for his razor-sharp wit and often humorously exaggerated take on the world. He adeptly blended boring office procedures with incredulous or unusual events well, and it consistently kept his loyal viewers and readers interested. Although Adams has passed away, we still have the Dilbert comics, books, and television series to keep us amused.