- Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
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Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist 
The DVD cover for the complete seriesGenre Animated Sitcom Created by Jonathan Katz[1]
Tom SnyderVoices of Jonathan Katz
Jon Benjamin
Laura Silverman
Will LeBow
Julianne ShapiroTheme music composer Tom Snyder
Shapiro MusicCountry of origin United States Language(s) English No. of seasons 6 No. of episodes 81 (List of episodes) Production Executive producer(s) Tom Snyder
Tim Braine
Nancy GellerProducer(s) Loren Bouchard
Julianne Shapiro
Jonathan KatzCamera setup Single-camera Running time 22–24 minutes Production company(s) Comedy Central
HBO Downtown Productions
Popular Arts Entertainment
Tom Snyder ProductionsBroadcast Original channel Comedy Central Original run May 28, 1995 – December 24, 1999 External links Website Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist is an American animated series that originally ran on Comedy Central from May 28, 1995 to December 24, 1999,–with a final set of three shelved episodes airing in 2002–starring Jonathan Katz, Jon Benjamin, and Laura Silverman. The show was created by a Burbank, California production company Popular Arts Entertainment (executive producers: Tim Braine, Kevin Meagher, and David Pritchard), with Jonathan Katz and Tom Snyder, developed and first made by Popular Arts for HBO Downtown Productions. Boston based Tom Snyder Productions became the hands-on production company, and the episodes were usually produced by Katz and Loren Bouchard.
The show was computer animated in a crude, easily recognizable style called Squigglevision (a device Snyder had employed in his educational animation business) in which all persons and animate objects are colored and have constantly squiggling outlines, while most other inanimate objects are static and usually gray in color.[2] The original challenge Popular Arts faced was how to repurpose recorded stand-up comedy material. To do so they based Dr. Katz's patients on stand-up comics for the first several episodes, simply having them recite their stand-up acts. The secondary challenge was how to affordably animate on cable TV at the time. Snyder (a boyhood friend of Braine's) had Squigglevision, an inexpensive means of getting animation on cable, which could not afford traditional animation processes. A partnership between Popular Arts, Tom Snyder Productions and Jonathan Katz was formed and Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist was born.
Contents
Format
The show focused on the title character, Dr. Jonathan Katz, who was voiced by, and visually based on, the comedian of the same name. Dr. Katz was a professional psychotherapist who had famous comedians and actors as patients, usually two per episode.[3] The comedians' therapy sessions generally consisted of them doing their onstage material while Dr. Katz offered insights or simply let them rant. Meanwhile, therapy sessions featuring actors and actresses offered more interpersonal dialogue between Katz and his patient to better suit their predisposition. Dr. Katz is a very laid-back, well-intentioned man who enjoys playing the guitar and spending time at the bar with his friend Stanley and the bartender, Julie.[4]
Interspersed with these scenes were scenes involving Dr. Katz's daily life, which included his aimless, childish 24-year-old son, Ben (Jon Benjamin), his uninterested and unhelpful secretary, Laura (Laura Silverman), and his two friends: Stanley (Will Le Bow), and the barmaid, Julie, voiced by one of the show's producers, Julianne Shapiro. In later episodes, Todd (Todd Barry), the video store clerk, became a regular character.
Each show would typically begin with Dr. Katz and Ben at breakfast and initiating a plotline. These plots included events like Ben attempting to become a radio personality, believing he is in possession of ESP, and the moral conundrum he suffers after receiving a chain letter. The development of these plotlines would occur in alternation with the segments between Dr. Katz and his guests.
The show would end in a similar way each week; while Dr. Katz was in a session with a patient, music signaling the close of the show would begin to play. Katz would acknowledge it by saying, "Whoops, you know what the music means... our time is up" or some variant thereof.
Much of the show's content, particularly dialogue between Katz and Ben, was improvised through a process called "retroscripting", in which a vague outline is developed but the actual dialogue is ad-libbed. This style, as well as Squigglevision, would reappear in Home Movies, a cartoon that features many members of the Dr. Katz cast and crew.
Original airing
The first episode of Dr. Katz aired on May 28, 1995. A total of 81 episodes were produced, with the sixth and final season (of 18 episodes) beginning on June 15, 1999. Only the first six of the episodes were aired on Comedy Central immediately–though they did air in international markets. After a five month delay another nine episodes ran during a Christmas Eve marathon. The final three episodes were broadcast for the first time in the United States on February 13, 2002, during an event dubbed "Dr. Katz goes to the Final Three".
Episodes
Main article: List of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist episodesReferences in popular culture
- In the Family Guy episode "Saving Private Brian", a flashback shows Peter in a session with Dr. Katz. When Peter asks what is wrong with his squiggling skin, Dr. Katz answers: "I think I'm having some sort of seizure".
- In "Summer Sucks", an episode of South Park, another Comedy Central cartoon, Dr. Katz appears as Mr. Garrison's psychiatrist. After coming to the conclusion that Mr. Garrison is a closeted homosexual he is killed by the giant fireworks snake that is terrorizing the town.
- In the Mr. Show episode "Bush is a Pussy", a Dr. Katz scene is played out between Katz and Kedzie Matthews, a spoof of a typical college comic, at the end of the episode.
- In the Squidbillies episode Government Brain Voodoo Trouble and the episode Holodeck Redneck, the therapist (later clarified as "the rapist" in the former) is voiced by an uncredited Jonathan Katz.[5]
- In the Space Ghost Coast to Coast Season Four episode, "Brilliant Number One", Space Ghost was drawn in Dr. Katz's style briefly, while asking Peter Fonda, "What does this tell us about your childhood?"
- In the Space Ghost Coast to Coast Season Six episode "King Dead", which featured Benjamin as the guest, the Dr. Katz show is mentioned by name. Space Ghost is briefly shown in Squigglevision while stating "cable is important" a reference to the fact Dr. Katz was on Comedy Central and Space Ghost was shown on Cartoon Network, both of which were basic cable channels.
- In the direct-to-DVD parody film, Farce of the Penguins, Jonathan Katz appears as Steve, the owl who gives therapeutic advice for $275/hr.
- In the children's animated series Arthur, there was an episode where the children all proposed an idea for a TV-show episode, all of which were based on various animated programs. Arthur's idea had himself seeing Dr. Katz, complaining about his sister, D.W.
- On the sitcom Help Me Help You, Jonathan Katz appeared as Dr. Katz.
- In the movie Independence Day, Harvey Fierstein, who plays Marty Gilbert, makes reference to his psychoanalyst, Doctor Katz.
- On the Duckman TV series, in one episode where the main character is working as a Highschool Teacher, when he sits in his office he talks to a painting on the wall, which is an image of Dr. Katz.
Comic strip
A comic strip of the same name was produced by the LA Times syndicate from March 1997 to January 2000. One book collection was published, Hey, I've Got My Own Problems. Writers included Bill Braudis and Dave Blazek, with artwork by Dick Truxaw.
DVD releases
Season Releases
DVD Name Release Date Ep # Additional Information Season 1 May 9, 2006 6 Bonus features include cast and crew commentary, and several animated shorts. Season 2 November 21, 2006 13 Bonus features include cast and crew commentary, and "follow-up calls" with previous guest stars. The Complete Series November 20, 2007 [6] 81 Bonus Features include a 28-page booklet with patients' "memories from the couch" and new drawings, as well as "An Evening with Dr Katz: Live from the Comedy Central Stage." The Best Of Dr. Katz December 2, 2008 [7] Various Segments Bonus features include excerpts from other Comedy Central series and a look back at classic Ben & Laura moments. References
- ^ Brozan, Nadine (June 12, 1997). "CHRONICLE". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/12/style/chronicle-604704.html?scp=4&sq=Dr.%20Katz,%20Professional%20Therapist&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
- ^ Wertheimer, Ron (April 26, 1999). "TELEVISION REVIEW; Meet the Small Family, A Year After the Divorce". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/26/arts/television-review-meet-the-small-family-a-year-after-the-divorce.html?scp=9&sq=Dr.%20Katz,%20Professional%20Therapist&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
- ^ Johnson, Steve (December 1, 1995). "Laugh Therapy". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-12-01/features/9512010019_1_dr-katz-jonathan-katz-comedy-central. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
- ^ Milvy, Erika (December 14, 2008). "For Him, Laughter Was the Best Therapy". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/arts/television/14milv.html. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
- ^ "Squidbillies" episode "Government Brain Voodoo Trouble" at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
External links
Categories:- 1995 American television series debuts
- 2002 American television series endings
- 1990s American animated television series
- 2000s American animated television series
- American animated television series
- American television sitcoms
- Animated sitcoms
- Comedy Central shows
- English-language television series
- Peabody Award winning television programs
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