Doctor Zoidberg - Character Creation

Character Creation

Zoidberg is named after an Apple II game that David X. Cohen created in high school called Zoid, similar to the game Qix. The game was rejected by Brøderbund. One of Cohen's inspirations for the character of Dr. Zoidberg was the fact that Star Trek character Bones, the ship's doctor (Leonard McCoy) frequently administered medical treatment to aliens such as Mr. Spock, so Cohen wished human characters in Futurama to be in the uneasy situation of being treated by an alien doctor.

During the first season, jokes surrounding Zoidberg usually focused on his incompetence as a doctor, his poor understanding of human anatomy, 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. One of his running traits is his pronunciation of the word "robot," lengthening the "ro-" so it sounds like "roh-bit," an inflection typical among Ashkenazi Jews. As the series progressed, writers gradually introduced the themes that Zoidberg is also poor, homeless, friendless, smelly, undignified, and repulsive. Regardless of these traits, Zoidberg generally attempts to make himself look refined, successful, and important in front of others, though this illusion is quickly dashed when pointed out.