User:MangaManiac/Dr. Hibbert

Doctor Julius Hibbert
Hibbert the Temptor holding out his fearsome lollipop.
First appearance	Bart the Daredevil
Last appearance	I dunno... Tuesday?
No. appearances	Like, loads.
Created by
Portrayed by	Harry Shearer
Profile
Nickname(s)	The Doctor
Aliases	Dr. Hibbert
Species	Probably human, possibly you.
Age	Nobody cares
Gender	Male
Date of birth	Unlikely but possibly Tuesday.
Date of death	Tuesday.
Starsign	Nobody cares
Occupation	Doctor
Family	1 Wife, 3 Children
Spouse(s)	Bernice Hibbert
Children	Unknown. Paul? Steve? Bob?
Relatives	Mentioned above.
Address	{{{address}}}
Religion	Unknown. Possibility that nobody cares.
Nationality	America
Would Pablo Picasso regurgitate him/her?	Probably.

Julius M. Hibbert, M.D., more commonly known as The Doctor Dr. Hibbert is a recurring character on the animated series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the episode "Bart the Daredevil". Dr. Hibbert is Springfield's most prominent and competent doctor, although he is well renowned for having huge prices that even the most rich and old men cannot afford, which has lead to a significant pay trouble at the hospital (due nobody spending the money to pay) which is unhelped by the credit crunch. Dr. Hibbert is very good-natured, and is known for finding a reason to laugh at literally every situation, which would seem to point to utter insanity.

Role in The Simpsons

Personality

Dr. Hibbert is the Simpsons' kind-hearted family doctor, a near-genius (with an IQ of 155, which is often common in those possessing slight insanity), a Mensa member, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a member of the Thayer firm at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. 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. It is mentioned in Make Room for Lisa, that "Before I learned to chuckle mindlessly, I was headed to an early grave." He also gives questionable solutions to certain medical problems. For example, when Maggie saved Homer from drowning, he attributed it to common cases of superhuman strength in children whose parents' lives are in danger. Likewise, he expressed only mild surprise when both of Abraham Simpson's kidneys were revealed to have exploded.

There are hints though, that Dr. Hibbert is not above dubious medical practices. After Marge talks him out of buying an unsuitable house, he suggests repaying her with black-market prescriptions. When he realized 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". It was also suggested in the episode "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" that he does not in fact have a medical license.

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, that the cost is now $40,000 - hinting the heart attack made him now require a quadruple bypass. In "Bye Bye Nerdie", after Homer's baby-proofing business eliminates child injuries in Springfield, Hibbert complains that he is behind in his boat payments because of this. 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!".

Hibbert 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.

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.

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.

Character

In writers Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky's original script for "Bart the Daredevil", Hibbert was a woman, named "Julia Hibbert", who they named after comedic actress Julia Sweeney (Hibbert was her married last name at the time). When Fox moved The Simpsons to prime time on Thursdays against NBC's top-rated The Cosby Show, the writing staff decided to make Hibbert a parody of Bill Cosby's character Dr. Cliff Huxtable. Hibbert is usually shown wearing sweaters, a reference to Huxtable. He is one of the few competent characters in the show, and was originally shown as being sympathetic to his patient's conditions, but that was eventually changed to him being less caring about his patients.