Murry Wilson, their tyrannical father, tore into all of his sons but it was Dennis he would attack physically.
It was Dennis the Menace, The Bash Street Kids and Lord Snooty that inspired him to pick up a pen, as he lovingly copied out their adventures.
By the 26.4km mark it was Dennis who had the advantage and at the final check he led Thomas by four seconds and Dowsett by five.
Mostly, it's a self-portrait in black and white that is subsequently colored in by a Greek chorus of journalists and biographers and a narrator who sounds omniscient because it's Dennis Haysbert, who once played the president on "24" and is the voice of Allstate Insurance.
Rodman would act out, and Jordan would roll his eyes and helplessly shrug, as if to say, "That's Dennis being Dennis".
As the Beach Boys descended into a parody of their former selves it would be Dennis who would twist their trademark sounds into new shapes.
It's in Dennis' impractical signage that his neurology remains immanent.
So apparently lovable was Dennis that the show's fans are probably complaining already about my characterization of him as evil.
There was Dennis from Chippewa Falls High School.
