Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist

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.

Dr. Katz is a comedic cartoon with stand-up comedian Jonathan Katz in the starring role of a psychiatrist who has more than his share of professional comedians as patients. This enables them to do their stand-up comedy routines as part of their therapy sessions. Dr Katz' 23 year old son, Ben, still lives with the good doctor and is chronically unemployed. Ben is constantly trying to start up a romance with Dr. Katz' receptionist, Laura, with no luck whatsoever. For example, when Ben meets Laura for the first time he asks her if she'd like to go out for coffee, and she does - leaving him to answer the phones. Laura receives a paycheck from Dr. Katz but in many ways is as chronically unemployed as Ben is. She has no interest in pretending to be busy, being nice to the patients, or at times, even showing up for work. For example, when Dr. Katz suggests that Laura to be nicer to the patients she replies "Do you have any idea what it's like to deal with crazy people all day?" In the series premiere, "Pot-Bellied Pigs", Dr. Katz rides Ben pretty hard about being out of work. Ben's solution to his cash flow problem is to buy two Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs and breed them in their small New York City apartment. When Dr. Katz asks Ben if he thinks this is a good plan Ben's response is "Dad, the ad says 'Stay Home, Make Money' ....these are good things!" The episode "Bully" is also one of my favorites in which Ben gets very upset when Dr. Katz throws away Bully, the stuffed bull from his childhood. Ben labels everything that belongs to him, and expresses fear that perhaps his father wants him out, too.

Dr Katz employs a novel animation technique called Squigglevision, which can be visually annoying to some people. In SquiggleVision there is virtually no lateral movement by any of the characters or objects, with only lips, eyes, and the like animated. However, the edges of the characters are in a constant state of zigzagging flux, and this gives the impression of movement. I highly recommend this unique comedy as one of the smartest and funniest offerings that Comedy Central came up with before they started trying to appeal to the least common denominator with stuff like "The Man Show".

Could it be possible that I'm the only person on the web who's got something to say about Dr. Katz? Probably not (guess a lot of fans don't know about this site), cuz it's a great, clever series, especially the parts where the characters fantasize about their thoughts (anyone remember 'I wonder how Jesus would sound if he'd talked with a gay, southern accent' ?(not the exact quote, I know)) One thing though: what's with the distorted animation? It's sort of the trademark of the series, but gets annoying after a while...

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.

While it lasted, this was one of the funniest animated shows ever to turn up on TV. It was a brilliant idea to take standup comedy and pour it into the psychologist-patient mold; it fits perfectly. I still laugh thinking about Ray Romano talking about how his wife forces him to go downstairs to check out noises in the night...and bring back a yogurt. I hope it will all be out on DVD soon.