Zoidberg
Wikipedia
Futurama Character Guide
Dr. John A. Zoidberg (referred to only by his last name Zoidberg) is a fictional character in the television series Futurama. He is a Decapodian, a crustacean-like species of alien, who works as the staff doctor for Planet Express, despite his woeful understanding of human physiology and allusions to his questionable credentials. His incompetence at human medicine makes him extremely poor despite his profession, and he is implied to be frequently homeless when not at work.
During the first season, jokes surrounding Zoidberg usually focused on his poor understanding of human anatomy and his resulting incompetence as a doctor, and the fact that all of his co-workers hate him. His incompetence is aggravated by the fact that he believes himself to be an expert on human anatomy, and will blithely attempt to treat human patients as he would his own species. As the series progressed, writers gradually introduced the themes that Zoidberg is also poor, homeless, friendless, smelly, undignified, and repulsive-comically opposite the idea that a doctor stereotypically occupies a respectable, wealthy, and romantically desirable role. Regardless of these traits, Zoidberg is good-natured and means well, and will help the crew when the situation calls for it. Zoidberg also generally attempts to make himself look refined, successful and important in front of others, though this illusion is quickly dashed when pointed out.
Zoidberg is the company doctor at Planet Express. Although he claims expertise in human medicine, particularly internal medicine, his knowledge of human anatomy and physiology is atrocious. He has been shown as unable to tell the difference between robots and humans, believes food is digested in the heart, and that humans have multiple mouths and a dorsal fin. His only knowledge of humans seems to come from television advertisements, although his skills as a physician generally vary: in "Put Your Head on My Shoulders" he manages to successfully transplant Fry's head onto Amy's body after Fry's body incurs massive trauma in a vehicular accident that requires extensive repair, but in Into the Wild Green Yonder he incorrectly declares Fry dead only for him to wake up a few seconds later. In Bender's Big Score, he performs several limb reattachments to moderate success. It may be assumed that advances in medical technology have made limb and head reattachment a simple process, as in Bender's Big Score head reattachment is shown to be little more than applying a paste to the area and placing the head back on.
He claims to be an M.D., but states, unconvincingly, in "A Clone of My Own" that he lost his medical degree in a volcano. However, he later states in "The Duh-Vinci Code" that his doctorate is in art history (as opposed to medicine). Other intimations to his dubious medical training include the episode "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles", in which he comments, "I'm no doctor, but this machine guy could really use a lozenge." Although he is shown to be incompetent in human medicine, "The Tip of the Zoidberg" shows he is a competent doctor for alien species, and Professor Farnsworth said that he is a expert in alien physiology. There are also mentions throughout the series that he does have good knowledge of his species, for example in the episode "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" he talks about fin rot, which is a disease in real life that affects fish.
despite his career as a physician, Zoidberg is repeatedly identified as living in poverty, lonely and desperate for friendship and attention. The crew are often disgusted by his foul habits, such as squirting ink or eating from trash cans, though he is mostly oblivious to their true feelings about him, having referred to Hermes Conrad and Bender as friends. Hermes seems to have the most intense dislike of Zoidberg, seeing him as even more expendable than the rest of the crew. However, when Fry reads Hermes' mind in Into the Wild Green Yonder, it is revealed that Hermes sees him as pathetic but lovable. Fry and Professor Farnsworth are usually the only ones to refer to Zoidberg as a friend.
The reason that the Professor continues to employ Zoidberg as the staff physician, despite his apparent incompetence, is revealed in the sixth-season episode, "The Tip of the Zoidberg". The Professor is under the impression that he had been infected with the fatal disease hyper-malaria, contracted during a covert quasi-military mission. The Professor had asked Zoidberg to promise to kill him when the latent disease manifested itself, and Zoidberg agreed. In that episode it is also explained that Zoidberg is, in fact, a very competent physician for all other species except humans. Planet Express' main competitor, Mom, whom Zoidberg knows on a first name basis as Carol states that Zoidberg is the best in the business when it comes to alien anatomy. Unlike all of the other characters, Mom addresses Zoidberg with great respect and admiration. Mom tells Zoidberg that he could have been a millionaire with his own research lab if he had worked for her. Mom also asks Zoidberg why he has stayed with Farnsworth through the years; Zoidberg replied that it is because Farnsworth is his friend.
When frightened or fleeing from danger or trouble, Zoidberg makes a high-pitched whooping sound, or squirts ink at his attacker. It is revealed in "A Taste of Freedom" and Bender's Game indicate that Zoidberg harbored a childhood dream of working in show business as a comedian or song-and-dance man, but that his parents pushed him to become a doctor.
Zoidberg is depicted as being ignorant of human customs, and socially inept, to the point of inspiring great aggravation in others. In "Where the Buggalo Roam", during his stay at the ranch of Amy Wong's parents, he treats them as surrogates parents – to the point of calling them Ma and Pa – despite their obvious distaste for him, and abuses their hospitality until they throw him out.
Dr. Zoidberg is also a skilled theremin player, and is the only person ever seen in the series to be good enough to receive a present from Robot Santa. He is an honorary member of the Harlem Globetrotters, and a talented hand-to-claw combatant; he eventually fights and defeats the dangerous robot Clamps.
Dr. Zoidberg finally finds happiness in the penultimate episode "Stench and Stenchibility", when he meets and starts dating a flower merchant named Marianne, who suffers from anosmia. He performs a nose transplant to give her a sense of smell, though he is afraid that once she smells him, she will immediately reject him. Serendipitously, Marianne turns out to abhor the smell of flowers, instead preferring Zoidberg's aroma. She becomes a waste collector and the two continue dating.
During the first season, jokes surrounding Zoidberg usually focused on his poor understanding of human anatomy and his resulting incompetence as a doctor, and the fact that all of his co-workers hate him. His incompetence is aggravated by the fact that he believes himself to be an expert on human anatomy, and will blithely attempt to treat human patients as he would his own species. As the series progressed, writers gradually introduced the themes that Zoidberg is also poor, homeless, friendless, smelly, undignified, and repulsive-comically opposite the idea that a doctor stereotypically occupies a respectable, wealthy, and romantically desirable role. Regardless of these traits, Zoidberg is good-natured and means well, and will help the crew when the situation calls for it. Zoidberg also generally attempts to make himself look refined, successful and important in front of others, though this illusion is quickly dashed when pointed out.
Zoidberg is the company doctor at Planet Express. Although he claims expertise in human medicine, particularly internal medicine, his knowledge of human anatomy and physiology is atrocious. He has been shown as unable to tell the difference between robots and humans, believes food is digested in the heart, and that humans have multiple mouths and a dorsal fin. His only knowledge of humans seems to come from television advertisements, although his skills as a physician generally vary: in "Put Your Head on My Shoulders" he manages to successfully transplant Fry's head onto Amy's body after Fry's body incurs massive trauma in a vehicular accident that requires extensive repair, but in Into the Wild Green Yonder he incorrectly declares Fry dead only for him to wake up a few seconds later. In Bender's Big Score, he performs several limb reattachments to moderate success. It may be assumed that advances in medical technology have made limb and head reattachment a simple process, as in Bender's Big Score head reattachment is shown to be little more than applying a paste to the area and placing the head back on.
He claims to be an M.D., but states, unconvincingly, in "A Clone of My Own" that he lost his medical degree in a volcano. However, he later states in "The Duh-Vinci Code" that his doctorate is in art history (as opposed to medicine). Other intimations to his dubious medical training include the episode "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles", in which he comments, "I'm no doctor, but this machine guy could really use a lozenge." Although he is shown to be incompetent in human medicine, "The Tip of the Zoidberg" shows he is a competent doctor for alien species, and Professor Farnsworth said that he is a expert in alien physiology. There are also mentions throughout the series that he does have good knowledge of his species, for example in the episode "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" he talks about fin rot, which is a disease in real life that affects fish.
despite his career as a physician, Zoidberg is repeatedly identified as living in poverty, lonely and desperate for friendship and attention. The crew are often disgusted by his foul habits, such as squirting ink or eating from trash cans, though he is mostly oblivious to their true feelings about him, having referred to Hermes Conrad and Bender as friends. Hermes seems to have the most intense dislike of Zoidberg, seeing him as even more expendable than the rest of the crew. However, when Fry reads Hermes' mind in Into the Wild Green Yonder, it is revealed that Hermes sees him as pathetic but lovable. Fry and Professor Farnsworth are usually the only ones to refer to Zoidberg as a friend.
The reason that the Professor continues to employ Zoidberg as the staff physician, despite his apparent incompetence, is revealed in the sixth-season episode, "The Tip of the Zoidberg". The Professor is under the impression that he had been infected with the fatal disease hyper-malaria, contracted during a covert quasi-military mission. The Professor had asked Zoidberg to promise to kill him when the latent disease manifested itself, and Zoidberg agreed. In that episode it is also explained that Zoidberg is, in fact, a very competent physician for all other species except humans. Planet Express' main competitor, Mom, whom Zoidberg knows on a first name basis as Carol states that Zoidberg is the best in the business when it comes to alien anatomy. Unlike all of the other characters, Mom addresses Zoidberg with great respect and admiration. Mom tells Zoidberg that he could have been a millionaire with his own research lab if he had worked for her. Mom also asks Zoidberg why he has stayed with Farnsworth through the years; Zoidberg replied that it is because Farnsworth is his friend.
When frightened or fleeing from danger or trouble, Zoidberg makes a high-pitched whooping sound, or squirts ink at his attacker. It is revealed in "A Taste of Freedom" and Bender's Game indicate that Zoidberg harbored a childhood dream of working in show business as a comedian or song-and-dance man, but that his parents pushed him to become a doctor.
Zoidberg is depicted as being ignorant of human customs, and socially inept, to the point of inspiring great aggravation in others. In "Where the Buggalo Roam", during his stay at the ranch of Amy Wong's parents, he treats them as surrogates parents – to the point of calling them Ma and Pa – despite their obvious distaste for him, and abuses their hospitality until they throw him out.
Dr. Zoidberg is also a skilled theremin player, and is the only person ever seen in the series to be good enough to receive a present from Robot Santa. He is an honorary member of the Harlem Globetrotters, and a talented hand-to-claw combatant; he eventually fights and defeats the dangerous robot Clamps.
Dr. Zoidberg finally finds happiness in the penultimate episode "Stench and Stenchibility", when he meets and starts dating a flower merchant named Marianne, who suffers from anosmia. He performs a nose transplant to give her a sense of smell, though he is afraid that once she smells him, she will immediately reject him. Serendipitously, Marianne turns out to abhor the smell of flowers, instead preferring Zoidberg's aroma. She becomes a waste collector and the two continue dating.