Dr. Katz

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 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.

This is one of the most original animated shows. Dr. Katz is a psychiatrist and his patients are all comedians. They take their material and they turn it into personal problems they are having. But he also his son. 20 something Ben who still lives at home and is always thinking of new ways to make money and sit around. And then there's Laura. Probably the worst secretary ever. I should mention that Ben has a crush on her and always asking her out and she continuously declines. The animation is what they call "SQUIGGLE-VISION." The background is black and white and the characters and important objects are in color and are constantly shaking. There has never been another show (that I know of) to use this type of animation.

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...

Dr. Katz might be the funniest show I have ever seen, but not mass-audience material really. It runs at it's own pace, and has a very unique and subtle sense of humor. Unfortunately it's no longer in production, and reruns are--to my knowledge--not available up here in sunny Canada. Fans should check out "Home Movies" which also features the voice of H. Jon Benjamin, and lacks the squiggle-vision animation.