Dr John Zoidberg is a lobster-like alien in the television series Futurama. He works as the doctor for Planet Express. He's very poor and always hungry.
The Doctor has a serious penchant for attention, friendship, and a little TLC. He frequently rejoices when these desires fulfilled to the slightest degree, but is nearly always let down.
Zoidberg is an unmissable target for jokes, a fact of which he is usually all too aware. Sometimes, however, he completely misses the point of the insult aimed at him, instead taking it as a compliment, which contributes to the comedy of the situation in no small way.
Dr. Zoidberg's eating habits are worthy of mention; he has been known to eat nearly anything possessing at least a percentage of organic material, and somethings that don't.
In a twist of humor, Dr. Zoidberg speaks English with a pseudo-Yiddish accent, and has been seen wearing T-shirts with Hebrew lettering on them. These circumstances suggest that his character was designed to be reminiscent of Ashkenazi Jewish people. But Zoidberg's race eats carrion, which the Jewish scripture the Torah deems unclean and thus not kosher. In addition to this, Zoidberg is a crustacean being, and crustaceans are also deemed not kosher. For those viewers who understand the religious doctrine of Judaism, these circumstances serve to add an additional layer of humor to Dr. Zoidberg's character.
Most of the above character traits for Zoidberg didn't really manifest themselves until season two. As the Futurama writers themselves have noted, his initial and sole humorous character trait in season one was a dangerous lack of knowledge concerning human anatomy.
Whilst he has appeared in most episodes, particular Zoidberg-centralized ones are: Why Must I Be A Crustacean in Love? (Season 2), That's Lobstertainment (Season 3) and A Taste of Freedom (Season 5).
Zoidberg is voiced by Billy West.
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