Talk:Doctor Zoidberg

Mother?

The article states that Zoidberg's mother scolds him in "A Taste of Freedom". However, it is never directly stated that the woman is his mother - it could be a woman who is responsible for taking care of young Decapodians since their parents all died while mating. Furthermore, she mentions that if he becomes a comedian it will make his parents roll over in their graves - which only makes sense if both of his parents are already dead. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.27.108.81 (talk) 16:08, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Agreed, though any guess would probably count as WP:OR, that was most likely his grandmother or aunt (grandmother fits in better with Jewish humor), but we need a source on this. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 02:14, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

Tone

The tone and word choice in the Role section is a tad too informal, anyone see any reason not to clean it up a bit? Idet.proverka (talk) 00:17, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

hate

"Zoidberg seems to inspire instant hatred in everyone he meets apart from Fry." thats not true Robot Santa liked him and he was the only person on his nice list ♥Fighting for charming Love♥ (talk) 17:50, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

Citation for medical degree being lost in volcano

This article says that zoidberg lost his medical degree in a volcano and requires and in line citation. The source is from "A Clone of my own" season 2 episode 15 of Futurama about 11 minutes in. In the episode Cubert is examining the planet express crew and asks Zoidberg if he even has a medical degree. Zoidberg's excuse is that he lost it in the volcano. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.223.69.72 (talk) 02:38, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

Right, except he was lying when he said that. In other episodes, it is revealed he is not actually a medical doctor. Rifter0x0000 (talk) 19:05, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Indeed, in "The Duh-Vinci Code", he said his doctorate was in Art History (when they are viewing the fresco of the Last Supper). Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 02:16, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

30th century

In the brief summary at the beginning of the article, it says "The character traveled to 31st century Earth from the planet Decapod 10" when in reality he traveled to earth in the 30th century. The show itself is based in the 31st century, but right near the beginning of it. He had already been on earth a while before the turn of the millenium in the show. —Preceding unsigned comment added by SteveyDevey (talk • contribs) 01:45, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Good logic, have changed to suit. --Dazai (talk) 23:19, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

C'thulhu

Have any of the futurama writers ever talked about Zoidberg's physical appearance? He looks an awful lot like that Lovecraft monster C'Thulhu. ~(tinlv7, un-signed-in) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.227.116.226 (talk) 02:30, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

Anti-Semitism

Zoidberg seems in many episodes to be a negatively-stereotyped Jewish caricature; why isn't this mentioned in the article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.113.109.188 (talk) 08:00, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

Because we don't mention the points of view of editors in articles, as this would violate Wikipedia's Neutrality policy. We only include information that can be supported by reliable, verifiable sources that are explcicitly cited in the article. Do you have a such a source for this criticism? Nightscream (talk) 16:42, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

There are definitely Jewish stereotypes employed with this character (including the name, and the fact for instance his uncle changed his name). But I would not say they are specifically negative stereotypes. They are the same type of things which have been portrayed by Jewish comedians. Rifter0x0000 (talk) 19:07, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Ethnic names, and changing them when immigrating to another country, aren't stereotypes at all. Nightscream (talk) 19:57, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Jewish stereotypes =/= Anti-Semitism (except in the right context). Please also remember that the head writer is named David X. Cohen and it is unlikely that he is a self-hating Jew (unless there is a reliable source saying he is). Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 02:32, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

Name

In the #5 issue comics of futurama (2001) at pag.10 Zoidberg states that is name mean "Smarty Pants in Squidish". It's worth to mention it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.10.111.33 (talk) 19:33, 20 March 2010 (UTC)

Seems a bit trivial. How is this important to the meaning of the character? And how is it notable, in real world terms, for the show? DP76764 (Talk) 23:34, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

Wait a sec, is this article just about the character on the show or the character in the Futurama universe as a whole? I thought the latter Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 04:40, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

Zoidberg's Degree

It is important to keep in mind that Futurama is a quasi-surrealist satirical farce, and that any information given in an episode is probably not intended to withstand scrutiny over whether it is consistent with other episodes. When Zoidberg states that he lost his medical degree in a volcano, for example, in "A Clone of My Own", his demeanor and facial expression when saying this strongly indicate that this is an evasive statement or lie, whose credibility is left up to the reader's imagination, and whose main purpose is for humor and not to provide a database of information stepped in consistent continuity like on Star Trek. Ditto for his saying that he has a PhD in art history, or when he says, "I'm no doctor, but...."

Putting these details in the Lead is not appropriate, IMO, because the Lead is supposed to be a summary of the most salient information about the character, and should not treat trivia in an animated comedy show as fact. Remember that when writing about fiction, information should be presented in an out-universe fashion, and not an in-universe fashion. The Lead, therefore, should summarize Zoidberg's function on the show: It should explain in basic terms that he is depicted to be an frequently incompetent doctor of questionable training, that he is an impoverished omnivore, and that the other characters frequently allude to their dislike of and lack of rapport with him.

Any details to that effect should be given further down in the article, which is where I moved the bits about the art history, the type of degree he has, etc. Nightscream (talk) 14:57, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Exactly. This article shouldn't look for consistency in every throwaway joke. I'm removing the degrees from the intro along with his "full name"; we shouldn't try to find internal consistency where there clearly isn't any. --THobern 09:09, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

You two are forgetting that unlike most other cartoons Futurama has a strong sense of continuity. If you actually listen to the DVD commentaries, the creators in many cases do expect hardcore fans to scrutinize continuity. Here is an example, at the end of Bender's Game, dark matter is rendered inert and not useful as fuel. In In to the Wild Green Yonder, it is clearly indicated that the PES was running on whale oil. If you watch the commentary on that scene David X. Cohen indicates that they put that scene in to indicate to fans how the "fuel problem" was solved. Please don't ignore Futurama's continuity. Thegreyanomaly (talk) 01:59, 19 August 2011 (UTC)