Aha! Behold the power of squigglevision! What is squigglevision, you might ask? Go ahead… ask!! (Read the following aloud: What is Squigglevision, Oh Mighty DVD Reviewer?') Glad you asked… Squigglevision is a rather unorthodox manner of computer animation that allows the animator to create figures whose outlines continue to squirm and wiggle, even when the object being animated stays still. It was originally created by a gentleman by the name of Tom Snyder (no… not THAT Tom Snyder) for a series called Dr Katz, Professional Therapist. (It has since been used on a few other animated shows like Home Movies and the abysmal Ed, Edd and Eddy.) Dr Katz, Professional Therapist had its debut on Comedy Central way back in 1995, and starred the voice of creator Jonathan Katz. The character of Dr. Katz was suffering from middle-age, a divorce and a grown up son who still lived at home. He also served as a therapist to patients suffering from middle age, divorce and children who still lived at home.

While not all of his patients were of the famous persuasion, his clientele would include the likes of Ray Romano, Garry Shandling, Dave Attell, Whoopie Goldberg and even David Duchovny. Over the 5 ½ seasons the series aired, all of these stars (and more) spent animated time in an animated format on his animated couch.

Being that I was devoid of cable throughout most of the 90's, I never had Comedy Central during the time that this series aired. I only knew about it from articles, and the occasional online clip. This week however, I got my first full taste of the series (well, at least six whole episodes of it) in Paramount's DVD release of the first season. I found these episodes similar in style to the aforementioned Home Movies, not just visually but also in its somewhat laid back pacing. Oftentimes what is related by those patients who are (or were) stand up comics sound more like a monologue than anything, but the combination of the dialogue and animation ranged from funny to just surreal.

If these first few episodes are any indication of what the rest of the seasons were like, I can see why they were so popular to the intellectual set. The humor is at times extremely cerebral and would go over the heads of most TV audiences, but you sit someone like myself in front of the tube and almost every joke is a gem. I will admit that the style of animation takes a little getting used to, and it can be distracting to some at first.

All six episodes are collected in this first season set, but Paramount also went the extra mile to add six commentaries, though not every episode has a commentary. There are actually two commentaries on the episode Bully. The commentaries are done by Katz, as well as Tom Snyder (no… still not THAT Tom Snyder), Ray Romano, and H. Jon Benjamin. Katz also joins comic Dave Atell for a pseudo-commentary that on a short video featuring footage from the series. You'll also find The Biography of Mr Katz, which is kind of an early attempt at creating the series. There are also three early squigglevision shorts that are unrelated to the show, but still quite funny.

Well, hopefully tat fills you in a little better on what squigglevision is, and more importantly who and what Dr. Katz was. If you get the chance, I definitely recommend picking up this 1st season set.

Episodes:
Pot-Bellied Pigs
Preztelkins
Bully
Cholesterol
Everybody's Got a Tushy
Family Car

Starring (the voices of): Jonathan Katz, H. Jon Benjamin, Laura Silverman, Will Lebow, Julianne Shapiro
Extras: Audio Commentaries By Dave Attell, H. Jon Benjamin, Jonathan Katz, Ray Romano and Tom Snyder, The Biography of Dr. Katz, Short Attention Span Theatre Shorts, Shrink Wrapped - an Original Squigglevision Short
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital Stereo
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 5/9/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Dr Katz, Professional Therapist: Season 1 a B.