History Series / Wilfred

* ABoyAndHisX: A young man and his neighbor's (talking?) dog.

* ABoyAndHisX: The basic premise.

* ImAHumanitarian: Wilfred and other dogs are not averse to the taste of human flesh. In the course of one episode, he eats [[spoiler:the brains of Ryan's dead boss and Kristen's placenta]].

* TorchesAndPitchforks: Wilfred has a torch in "Isolation": "I say string up [[LonersAreFreaks the weirdo]]!"(Oh, and that's Ryan. Of course.) He doesn't understand why [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight he's the only one with a torch]].

* ImAHumanitarian: Wilfred and other dogs are not adverse to the taste of human flesh. In the course of one episode, he eats [[spoiler:the brains of Ryan's dead boss and Kristen's placenta]].

* SecondEpisodeMorning: Technically occurs in the first episode, but after Ryan meets Wilfred and wakes up after a minor [=NyQuil=] coma, he sees a normal dog in his yard, causing him to write off the man-in-a-dog-suit weirdness as a dream...until he looks in another direction and sees that there's a man in a dog suit in his house.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Sensitive Guy and Manly Dog

** In episode 3, when Wilfred is taken away by animal control for attacking a neighbor, he is wearing [[SilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]]'s mask.
** Episode 13 [[DeadAllAlong casts doubt]] on whether Ryan actually [[BungledSuicide bungled his suicide]]. Cue ''Series/{{Lost}}'' references from Wilfred.
** In "Dignity", Wilfred pulls a stupid stunt, holds his arms wide, and exclaims, [[Film/{{Gladiator}} "Are you not entertained?!"]]
** In "Sincerity," Wilfred shows Ryan a picture of himself on a mountaintop with his "arms raised in a V" in front of a "lemon-yellow sun." These are from the lyrics to PearlJam's song "Jeremy."
* SnapBack: Most of the MindScrew revelations in the first season finale are snapped back in the beginning of the second to the point that the basic structure of the show continues.
* SoreLoser: Jenna's boyfriend Drew, to the point of throwing the Wiimote through the window after losing to Jenna's dad at [[WiiSports Wii Golf]].

* TheStoner: Wilfred gets high pretty often, but he doesn't fit the rest of the stereotype very well; he's too much of an asshole. Ryan is also an example, especially once he gets a medical marijuana recommendation in episode 2.

* AnArmAndALeg:[[spoiler:Wilfred loses one of his legs after getting hit by a car. Though it appears to Ryan he lost an arm.]]

** Ryan has pretty big concerns about ending up crazy like his mother, who had a mental breakdown around his age. [[spoiler:TheStinger reveals that she sees her cat Mittens as a woman in a cat suit.]]
*** The series finale lends more weight to this, as Ryan discovers that [[spoiler:his birth father Charles also suffered from hallucinations and is now medicated. When Ryan asks if his dog talks to him, Charles says, "Not for a long time."]]

*** Also, Kristen and her mother [[spoiler:both committed adultery and conceived sons out of wedlock]].

* ABoyAndHisX: This show is about the misadventures of a young man and his neighbor's (talking?) dog.

** [[spoiler:Ryan is not actually the son of Henry Newman; his biological father was Charles Smith, who founded a cult called the Flock of the Grey Shepherd. Catherine Newman ran away to join the cult, where she and Charles conceived Ryan. Before Charles was tried and convicted of tax fraud, Henry agreed to defend him on the condition that Charles gives up custody of Ryan to Henry. Ryan was raised to be oblivious of his true parentage.]]
** [[spoiler:"Wilfred" (the man wearing a dog suit) is merely an imaginary friend, who has been hallucinated by Ryan for the whole series. His appearance is based on memories of Richard (a cult member who dressed as a dog god named Mataman), while his personality is actually based on Ryan's secret alter-ego. This image was then projected onto a real dog named Wilfred, who had always been a completely normal and non-anthropomorphic animal.]]

** [[spoiler:"Wilfred" (the man wearing a dog suit) is merely an imaginary friend hallucinated by Ryan. His appearance is based on memories of Richard (a cult member who dressed as a dog god named Mataman), while his personality is actually based on Ryan's secret alter-ego. This image was then projected onto a real dog named Wilfred, who had always been a completely normal and non-anthropomorphic animal.]]

** Ryan has pretty big concerns about ending up crazy like his mother, who had a mental breakdown around his age. [[spoiler: TheStinger reveals that she sees her cat Mittens as a woman in a cat suit]].
** [[spoiler:The series finale lends more weight to this, as Ryan discovers that his birth father Charles also suffered from hallucinations and is now medicated. When Ryan asks if his dog talks to him, Charles says, "Not for a long time."]]

** [[spoiler:Ryan is not actually the son of Henry Newman; his true biological father was Charles Smith, who founded a cult called the Flock of the Grey Shepherd. Catherine Newman ran away to join the cult, where she and Charles conceived Ryan. Before Charles was convicted of tax fraud, Henry agreed to defend him on the condition that Charles gives up custody of Ryan to Henry. Ryan was raised to be oblivious of his true parentage.]]
** [[spoiler:"Wilfred" (the man wearing a dog suit) is really an imaginary friend, all part of a very complicated hallucination that Ryan is experiencing. His appearance is based on Ryan's memory of Richard (a cult member who dressed up as a dog god named Mataman), while his personality is actually Ryan's secret alter ego. This image was then projected onto a real dog named Wilfred, who was never anthropomorphic in the first place.]]

** [[spoiler:Ryan is not actually the son of Henry Newman; his true biological father was Charles Smith, who founded a cult called the Flock of the Grey Shepherd. Catherine Newman ran away to join the cult, where she and Charles conceived Ryan. Before Charles was tried and convicted of tax fraud, Henry agreed to defend him on the condition that Charles gave up custody of Ryan to Henry. Ryan was raised to be oblivious of his true parentage.]]
** [[spoiler:"Wilfred" (the man wearing a dog suit) is actually an imaginary friend, all part of a very complicated hallucination that Ryan is experiencing. His appearance is based on Ryan's memory of Richard (a cult member who dressed up as a dog god named Mataman), while his personality is actually Ryan's secret alter ego. This image was projected onto a real dog named Wilfred, who wasn't actually an anthropomorphic being at all.]]

* AndYouWereThere: Ryan's interpretations of [[spoiler:Mattdamon and Krungle]] are implied to be derived from people he vaguely remembered while he was still an infant.

* GreatGazoo: [[spoiler: Season 4 reveals that Wilfred is actually a god known as Mattdamon. Subverted as it turns out to be a RedHerring.]]

* RedHerring: [[spoiler: Everything to do with Dog Gods. Wilfred is just Ryan's hallucination.]]

* TheGreatGazoo: [[spoiler: Season 4 reveals that Wilfred is actually a god known as Mattdamon. Subverted as it turns out to be a RedHerring.]]

''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' showrunner David Zuckerman adapted the show into an American version with a much darker and psychological edge. This time, Wilfred is seen by Ryan, a depressed former lawyer who [[BungledSuicide attempts suicide]], only to be interrupted by his beautiful new neighbor Jenna and her dog Wilfred. Ryan and Wilfred form an tumultuous friendship as Ryan attempts to work through his problems and find a love life. Wilfred's motives and origin are a recurring mystery, and show frequently teases various answers as to whether Wilfred is real or Ryan is insane.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wilfredisadog_488.jpg]]

See [[Series/WilfredAustralia this page]] for the original Australian show.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Wilfred usually escapes an episode without getting his comeuppance, but "Responsibility" has karma catch up to him when [[spoiler:a car runs him over and he loses a leg. After spending an entire episode mocking a three legged dog.]]

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight

** Episode 13 [[DeadAllAlong casts doubt]] on whether Ryan actually [[BungledSuicide bungled his suicide]]. Cue ''{{Lost}}'' references from Wilfred.

->''Don't worry, I ain't gonna bite you. I can smell your fear like I can smell the sour milk in your fridge. I'm seven years old, and too wise for lies.''

* IHaveNoMouth: Done with Ryan's tongue, in "Isolation"

* ManChild: Ryan, sort of. His personality isn't very childishm however a lot of his actions stem from him acting against things he's held grudges against since he was a child. Drew might be this moreso than Ryan, though...

--> '''Ryan:''' You've lost your mind. It's like you've got some kind of...God complex.\\
'''Wilfred:''' I'll let you in on a little secret, Ryan. I don't have a God complex. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY4jAcmey8k I AM GOD! THUNDER!!]]\\

'''Ryan:''' How did you do that?!\\
'''Wilfred:''' [[ChewingTheScenery Lucky coincidence!]]