Difference between revisions of "Julius Hibbert"

Revision as of 01:29, March 10, 2009

Julius M. Hibbert, M.D., is a fictional physician on the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer.

Creation

Although he wasn't originally based on Bill Cosby's character Dr. Cliff Huxtable from The Cosby Show, when the Fox network moved The Simpsons to Thursdays opposite NBC's top-rated Cosby Show, the staff made Hibbert more of a parody of Huxtable. Hibbert even owns a collection of rather horrid sweaters, just like Dr. Huxtable.

Profile

Dr. Hibbert is the Simpsons' (usually) kind-hearted family doctor, a genius, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Mensa member, and is one of a few regular African-American characters on the series. Hibbert is noticeably less dysfunctional than just about everyone else on the show, though he does have a bizarre tendency to chuckle at inappropriate moments. He also gives questionable solutions to certain medical problems. For example, when Maggie saved Homer from drowning, he replied to Marge's question "How can a baby save the life of a full-grown man?", "It's very simple. When an adult's life is in danger, a child can summon superhuman strength!" In "Maximum Homerdrive", when Homer challenged Red Barclay to eat the "Sir Loin-a-Lot" steak in a contest, Marge feared that Homer might choke on a part of the steak, while Dr. Hibbert claimed that since being 12% owner of The Slaughterhouse (the restaurant they were eating at), his dietary advice suggests "the occasional eating contest". However, when Red dies from "beef poisoning", he attributes the cause to another restaurant.

There are hints that Dr. Hibbert is not above dubious medical practices either. After Marge talks him out of buying an unsuitable house, he tells her "If you ever need a prescription, no questions asked..." On another occasion, he buys one of Bart's T Shirts with the legend "DO NOT RESUSCITATE" remarking that "This could get me out of some sticky situations." When he realised that Marge Simpson was initially unenthusiastic about having a third child, he implied that a healthy baby could bring in as much as $60,000 on the black market. Hibbert covered for himself against Marge's horrified reaction by saying that if she had replied any other way, she would be sent to prison, claiming that it was "just a test".

Despite his seemingly honest and good-hearted personality, there is evidence that he is, at heart, a committed mercenary. In "Homer's Triple Bypass", Hibbert announces to Homer that his heart operation will cost $30,000. When Homer has a heart attack in front of him in response to this news, he says, unmoved, "I'm afraid it's now $40,000."(Hinting that instead of a triple bypass, it became a quadruple bypass) In "Bye Bye Nerdie", after Homer's baby-proofing business eliminates child injuries in Springfield, Hibbert is seen holding a cooing infant and complaining, "Not a scratch on him, and I've got boat payments!" In "The Last Temptation of Homer", Hibbert is shown as running an H.M.O.--Hibbert's Money-Making Organization". He has been interviewed on television sporting a baseball cap and chain blatantly advertising the wares of pharmaceutical companies. The "interview" ends with him joining in a choreographed raunchy dance routine with several attractive female dancers promoting Pfizer products. He is a committed Republican and attends Springfield's Republican meetings alongside Mr Burns and Rainier Wolfcastle. Hibbert also freely wears fur coats, believing that while fur itself may not be murder, "paying for it sure is!"

While Hibbert is usually competent and responsible, it was once suggested that he did not have a legal license in medicine (Lisa: "And guess who's been practicing medicine without a license?" Hibbert: <Tugs his collar nervously.> Lisa: "That's right: Homer Simpson."). In addition, he once tricked Homer into signing a malpractice waiver, after his medication caused Bart to lose his hearing, by making him "test out his signature" on the waiver.

There is evidence of serious Incompetence on the part of Doctor Hibbert. In the episode HomR it is revealed that the reason the crayon in Homer's brain was never discovered was because he covered up the crayon with his thumb thereby suggesting he was not even looking at Homer's x-rays before picking them up. Also in the episode Funeral for friend, Doctor Hibbert checks Sideshow Bob's pulse before pronouncing him dead. However, Sideshow Bob was not actually dead and since it would be impossible to stop Bob's heart without killing him it must be assumed that the error was down to Dr. Hibbert's incompetence.

He is often seen in flashbacks (for example, Lisa's birth, or Bart's accidents as a toddler), and each time has a different hairstyle (afro, dreadlocks, Mr. T-style Mohawk, etc.) appropriate for the time period. At least one of Hibbert's cars is a green Mercedes-Benz G500, which he is seen driving in the episode "I, D'oh-Bot." In "Bart's Girlfriend," he mentions his Porsche keys. In "Homer Loves Flanders," he is seen muttering angrily over a "rusty tailgate" on a generic-looking station wagon. In "My Sister, My Sitter", he's driving a silver Volvo 850 sedan.

Dr. Hibbert supposedly attended Johns Hopkins University, and evidence from the show indicates he was probably born in Alabama. To pay for medical college, he performed as a male stripper under the pseudonym "Malcolm Sex", claiming "I'd satisfy the ladies by any means necessary." He has since been seen running an adult education class in "How to Strip For Your Wife", which Homer briefly attended.

Family

Dr. Hibbert is married; he and his wife Bernice have at least three children, two boys and a girl. When his entire family is seen together, they appear to be a spoof of The Cosby Show. Bernice is known to be something of a heavy drinker; this has been joked about on at least one occasion (in "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment," she faints, along with other imbibers of renown, upon reading the news that Prohibition has been introduced in Springfield).

It is implied that he and Bleeding Gums Murphy are long-lost brothers; Hibbert says he has a long-lost brother who is a jazz musician, and Murphy says he has a brother who is a doctor that chuckles at inappropriate times, but somehow the two don't put these clues together. However, Murphy later died, so it will never be known for certain if they are brothers or not. Hibbert also bears a striking resemblance to the director of the Shelbyville orphanage, who mentions a personal quest to find his long-lost twin to an indifferent Homer ("Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?").

He owns a poodle called Rosa Barks (an allusion to black civil rights activist Rosa Parks) who was impregnated by Santa's Little Helper. Unhappy with a litter of greyhound/poodle puppies, Dr. Hibbert leaves the puppies in the care of the Simpsons. Lisa and Bart distribute the puppies around Springfield. The known recipients of the puppies were Krusty, Snake and Groundskeeper Willie.

Comparing Dr. Hibbert and Dr. Nick

A tongue-in-cheek analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal compares the services of Dr. Hibbert and Dr. Nick Riviera, a quack physician often used by The Simpsons as an alternative source of medical advice. While Dr. Hibbert is praised for his sense of humor and quality of care, it ultimately concludes that Dr. Nick is a better role model for physicians; Dr. Hibbert is a paternalistic and wasteful physician, unlike Dr. Nick, who strives to cut costs and does his best to avoid the coroner.

Appearances

Comic Appearances

• The Amazing Colossal Homer