{alltv} 'Wilfred': Fetching yet far-out

Welcome to FX's odd dog days of summer.

If odd is what you're after, you won't find much stranger than Wilfred, a remake of an Australian hit about a man who sees his next-door neighbor's pet as a guy in a dog costume. A darkly funny twist on Mister Ed, Wilfred satirizes our tendency to anthropomorphize our pets while riding the wave of our affection for them.

And as creator and star Jason Gann proves, there's just something amusing about an ungainly Australian in a cheap dog suit chasing after a laser pointer light.

Granted, that "something" won't work for everyone. Wilfred is willfully scatological, crude sometimes beyond reason, and clumsy at times when a defter touch would be beneficial. But in a sea of summer (and spring, and fall, and winter) sameness, it's refreshing to find a show that is content to go its own way — and wag its own tail.

While Gann is clearly the comic driving force, the emotional center is artfully upheld by Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood as Wilfred's damaged neighbor, Ryan. In his reluctant acceptance of his unusual situation — only Ryan can see and hear the humanized Wilfred — Wood blends wonder with just the right undertones of insanity. Face it, if the neighbor's pooch started alternating between worshiping you and threatening to kill you in your sleep, you'd look a little wide-eyed, too.

And that's one of the clever keys to Gann's approach: We're never quite sure what Wilfred is up to. Wilfred is the reverse of every owner who's ever wanted his dog to act like a person; he wants people to act like dogs, and he's not above manipulation, trickery and threats to get what he wants. Ultimately, he also wants what's best for Ryan — but only when it's also best for Wilfred.

What you're left with is a bizarre update on the traditional buddy comedy, as the wilder friend tries to get his more restrained compatriot to loosen up. In this case, that loosening just happens to mean violating the laws against dogs on beaches, sneaking your pup into a stripper bar, and indulging your canine friend's fondness for marijuana.

By now you've realized it's an off-kilter premise, but Gann and Wood sell it, with Gann being particularly good in those moments when Wilfred is most conventionally doglike, as when he's determined to take doggie-revenge on a passing motorcycle. In the first three episodes, most of the stars' support comes from Fiona Gubelmann as Wilfred's beloved owner and Ethan Suplee as Ryan and Wilfred's neighbor nemesis, but if you hold out, there's a parade of big-name guests to come.

Still, in essence, this is a two-person show that threatens to be a one-joke one. It's a good joke, when Gann doesn't take it too far or make it too vulgar, but it may not be the kind of joke you necessarily want to hear told every week. Luckily, the last thing many of us need in summer is another show that demands our weekly attention. Entertainment we can dip in and out of will do.

And if that's what you want, Wilfred is a good dog indeed.

FX, Thursday, 10 ET/PT
* * * out of four