Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist

This is one of the funniest animated series ever. I started watching Dr. Katz in 1998, early in the year when I got my satellite dish. Our cable company doesn't carry Comedy Central. The show had a good run, and many of the episodes were downright hilarious. The characters are so loveable, how can you not watch? You have Dr. Katz, a psychologist, who studies the minds of celebrities, mostly comedians. Then, you have Ben, ah Ben...the loveable kid who isn't really a kid at all. He's in his 20's, but he doesn't have a job, and he spends most of his time sitting around the house with two different colored socks on...the kind that are white and have colored stripes at the top. Ben has a thing for his dad's secretary, Laura, who for an animated person is stunningly beautiful, I have to say, and he always gets laughs when he tries to ask her out or flirt with her. Dr. Katz was a great show, and it's a shame Comedy Central didn't renew it. I guess they have better things to air like 18 episodes of the not- so- funny SNL a day. According to a form letter I received via e- mail, Katz was supposed to run on the weekends for good in reruns, but that never happened, because they replaced it with Duckman, and Comedy Central no longer owns the rights to the series. You can, however, pick up tapes of the show at amazon.com. You can also find people online who have episodes on tape who are willing to copy them for you, some for free, some for a price. I know that's illegal, but when they don't have every episode available for sale, how else do they expect you to see it? Check it out if you can, you won't regret it.

I watched this show from time to time in the late-90's, but I didn't get Comedy Central at home until around 2001. When I was flipping through the shows that were free with on demand, I was pleasantly surprised to find episodes of "Dr. Katz". This show is basically a half-hour animated sitcom/ stand up comedy showcase. Dr. Jon Katz is a therapist who anaylizes stand up comics and actors/actresses. Various elements of the conversations are literally animated out to make for an often hilarious story. In addition, H. Jon Benjamin plays Dr. Katz's son, Ben who is a loser who often hangs at his dad's office because he has a crush on the receptionist. And in case this wasn't enough, the show is presented in the acid-tripping animation style, Squigglevision, which can also be seen in the first few seasons of "Home Movies" (occasionally on Adult Swim). This show is a hidden gem, so if you happen to find it on on demand, watch it because chances are it won't be released on DVD.

I adore Dr. Katz, there was no darker day than when I heard the series was going to end. I have every episode they showed on Comedy Central. My tapes are so worn they are getting hard to watch. I should have made tapes of my tapes. I wish they would release the whole series on DVD. The animation, which seems to have annoyed some people, never bothered me at all. I enjoyed the show on every level, and every time I watch it. It is a fantastic series, with brilliant acting and perfect comedic timing, a must see for anyone who truly appreciates good comedy.

This is the most amazing animated series on TV at the moment. It's not just the humor, but the characters are ones that you can identify with and the animation is amazing. The surroundings are completely static (black and white and unmoving). The people are the only animations that move. It's like their outlines are permanently set to "vibrate". This is annoying to some people, but I think it's really great. Laura HAS to be the most amazing receptionist EVER! WATCH THIS SHOW!

As a life long sufferer of chronic sadness, I hold tight to anything, ANYTHING, that helps lift, for even a few moments, that pesky dark cloud hovering over my head. I've tried drugs - legal and otherwise, illicit sex, adrenaline fueled extreme sports, petty crimes, felonious crimes, Zen Buddhist meditation, Cabalistic incantations, Indian sweat lodge retreats, and even once watched Oprah, but nothing works quite so magically as quality TV comedy. Dr. Katz is my prescription to you for whatever has got you down. There's no mood too blue, no funk too sunk that a dose of Dr. Katz can't fix. It's a sure fire, works-every-time, miracle cure for the blahs that carries no side effects, other than maybe a cramped face from all the prolonged intense grinning.

It's such an outrageous conceit to have top comedians - the majority of which are clearly disturbed individuals - venting the same annoyances, anxieties, fears, and phobias that constitute their acts, but as sessions with a mental health professional. Putting these peculiar characters on the couch is a stroke of genius. How crazy is it that what easily passes for legitimate therapeutic conversation is actually the stuff of inspired comedy routines?! The are a few exceptions to the parade of stand up pros such as when actresses Winona Ryder and Lisa Kudrow appear as patients, and they, too, are marvelously compelling and witty. There are a few comedian patients with whose work I was not previously familiar, and I was motivated to seek out examples of them in real world action.

All the regular characters are absolutely superb with long time stand up comedian Jonathan Katz voicing the titular doctor. The doctor is divorced and living with his unemployed son, Ben, played by H. Jon Benjamin who has created the archetypal Gen X slacker loser. Ben's self obsessed, self deprecating, self loathing version of post-adolescent angst is poignantly endearing, when it's not comically tragic. Dr. Katz's equally self obsessed, but self satisfied twenty-something secretary, Laura, is a sly creature of the most sinister design, who is perhaps repulsive in attitude but undeniably alluring in appearance and style. Ben incessantly makes awkward advances to a decidedly disinterested Laura who is voiced by Laura Silverman, sister to the also maniacally designed Sarah Silverman. Dr. Katz often ends his working day with drinks with an amiable acquaintance, Stanley, served to them by an attractive and pleasant bartender, Julie, who seems to genuinely enjoy the gentlemen's glib conversation. It's a great treat for me to compare all the performers' real faces to their weirdly squiggly animated ones.

This show never fails to brighten my day. It shines a very warm ray of light onto my burdened heart. Dr. Katz truly is the comedic equivalent of chicken soup for the soul.