Years ago there was a consensus that being treated by a psychiatrist or other mental health professional it was a mark of shame on the entire family. Mental problems back then was just a polite code word for crazy. It would cause the family a great deal of embarrassment to have someone in treatment. Then slowly over time the stigma left this profession and an increasing number of people sought help for any and all emotional problems they felt they had. Now, it is common place to have a therapist. This has even gone on to television where people will air there problems for the whole world to see. It was only a matter of time before this was brought over to become a theme for a television series. In 1972 there was ‘The Bob Newhart Show’ where the titular character was a psychologist. Then in 1995 the premise was made into a half hour animated sit-com, ‘Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist’. This is a strange little animated series that helped to cement the top position of Comedy Central as the place to go for cutting edge cartoons. It was about Dr. Jonathan Katz and how he deals with this patients and family. This is a quirky show that at times seems a little slowly paced but it is funny. There is enough variety here so that if one bit doesn’t strike your tastes just wait for the next one. Comedy Central has previously released the first two seasons and a rather expensive full series set that contains all six seasons. Now on DVD through parent company Paramount is ‘Best of Dr. Katz’. This set contains some of the favorite patients to ever lie down on the couch of Dr. Katz. The series is very funny and if you are not quite ready to invest in the full series DVDs than this is the way to go.

The series was created by Tom Snyder and the real Jonathan Katz. Both men have been comedians for some time before getting into this venue. Katz has been successful stand up comedian and used this background in the premises for the series. The cartoon Dr. Katz had also been a stand up comedian. He has given up the road to care for the mental health of his patients. Most of them are other stand up comedians. The treatment sessions primarily consists of the patient recanting bits from their acts as Katz sits near by to comment and provide the necessary straight lines. Typically there were two patients per episode separated by some material concerning Katz and his friends and family. The main focus here includes his slacker son, Benjamin Katz (H. Jon Benjamin) and his apathetic secretary Laura (Laura Silverman). A little trivia here is Laura is the real life sister of a Comedy Central staple performer Sarah Silverman. This is an unstated running gag that almost all the characters here are barely disguised versions of their real life counterparts. In this set most of the ancillary patter has been removed. These are not full episodes. Instead the set is a compendium of the best individual sessions from the series. It does come off more like a ‘best of’ stand up series on Comedy Central than a Dr. Katz disc. This is a shame since a lot of the best humor here was in the interaction outside the office but they did include some of the more interesting interactions between characters like Ben and Laura so all is not lost.

From a technical standpoint this is a very unusual animated series. The style used was called Squigglevision which was widely used by Snyder. In this method of animation the characters and objects are surrounded by undulating lines. This is a variation of computer animation and is used to make the scenes feel more dynamic without actually moving the objects and people in the frame. A lot of viewers have complained that it is annoying and there have been claims that the technique results in headaches. It is a distinctive style and one that is readily identified with this show. Much of the dialogue for the series was a result of improvisation between the performers. In order to get the lips match what is being said the animators would create basic drawings of the characters and then the movement of the mouths where traced in later using the technique called rotoscoping. The combination can be disconcerting to say the least but for many fans it was looked at as just part of the quirky nature of the series.

The humor is not the type that you can share with the whole family. There is a ‘for mature audience’ warning prominently displayed and for good reason. The first session is with Dave Attell. He talks about masturbating at home in front of his dog. His dog was licking himself. Their eyes met and they both laughed. This is how the set starts and it only gets raunchier as it goes along. In every case the conversations of the patients are animated so the audience gets a look inside their twisted minds. It is just acting out their acts but some of the images are very funny. Dave Chappelle gets a chance to flirt with Laura before his session. He talks to the doctor about living in a small town in Ohio where there were over four thousand people. His house was considered the ‘neighborhood’. Chappelle goes into how he likes to compare and contrast the different forms that racism takes in various parts of the country. Not all the guest star patients are culled from past and present Comedy Central series. Julia Louis Dreyfus makes an appearance. She has a telephone session with the doctor and is upset that no one seems to listen to her. ‘X Files’ star David Duchony is another non comedian that shows up. Actually he is the only regular performer represented in this collection. He is afraid that someone will see him in the waiting room so Laura has him stand in the broom closet. He gets locked in and winds up having his session from within the closet. The list of comedians and actors that show up is fantastic. Conan O’Brien, Janeane Garofalo, Denis Leary and Ray Romano all give there on stage personas a work out as they are treated by Katz. Sarah Silverman shows up and interacts with her real life sister. The range of comedy here runs the gamut from the depression of Richard Lewis to the manic ramblings of Kathy Griffin.

The format may not be the best representation of the genius of the series but it is true to its name and represents some of the best guest stars the show attracted over the years. The stand up world is a small one and most of these comedians know each other. They appeared as a favor to the creators and, of course, to give a little more exposure to their careers. There is an extras segment featuring the best moments between Ben and Laura. This is a strange little show but overall funny.