It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist ended its 6 season run on Comedy Central. Back in the mid-to-late nineties, I was just a young chap, attending middle school and high school. I had nothing better to do on a lazy Saturday morning than to sit in front of the boob tube and watch repeats of Dr. Katz, The Daily Show (with Craig Kilborn back in those days), and Politically Incorrect. Those were the days.
Reminiscing aside, Dr. Katz was, and remains, one of my favorite shows.
At it’s core, Dr. Katz was a pretty ingenious idea. It followed the animated life of Dr. Katz – if you hadn’t guessed, he was a professional therapist. The catch was that all his patients (more or less) were stand-up comedians. The patients would come into Dr. Katz’s office and spout some of their best bits. Most stand-up is pretty much just therapy for the comedian to begin with, so most of the bits fit perfectly in the setting. Each episode featured a couple guest stars. The long list of comics who dropped by included the following: Denis Leary, Garry Shandling, Sarah Silverman, Conan O’Brien, Kathy Griffin, Joy Behar, Dave Chappelle, Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Romano, Jon Stewart, and Rodney Dangerfield, just to name a few.
Here is a clip of Jim Gaffigan that perfectly illustrates a typical episode, with Gaffigan’s bit about the manatee, animated, while Dr. Katz listens.
As the series grew in popularity even some bigger name actors took their turns on Dr. Katz’s sofa. Jeff Goldblum, David Duchovny, Winona Ryder, famous playwright David Mamet, and Lisa Kudrow, all did guest stints.
The stand-up and guest stars weren’t the only part of the show, though. About half of each episode featured the life and times of Dr. Katz. This usually meant following the exploits of Dr. Katz’s lazy son Ben, or his sarcastic assistant Laura, as they interacted, and generally made life difficult for Dr. Katz. The show could have been a real flop if this part of each show were boring. However, Jonathan Katz has such a dry, clever sense of humor, that sometimes he even overshadowed the big name guest stars. The humor was always subtle and clever, and rarely disappointed.
The clip below features the subtle and bizarre comedy of David Duchovny, who feels more comfortable in the closet than the waiting room. It also shows Laura the secretary at her best – completely disinterested in her job.
A nostalgic romp into the world of Dr. Katz wouldn’t be complete without some commentary on the animation style. Lovingly called “Squigglevision“, the computer animation was unique and charming. Well, I always liked it. When I started rewatching the show recently on my 50 inch TV, it gave my roommate a headache. In any case, Squigglevision gave Dr. Katz a very unique style.
Were you a fan of Dr. Katz? Did you think it was as clever and witty as I did? I still miss it and love to revisit my DVDs every now and then. If you’ve missed the show, I definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you’re a fan of stand-up comedy.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jul 15, 2009 @ 14:30 EST5EDT
