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|job=Doctor at [[Springfield General Hospital]]<br>Owner at [[Dr. Julius Hibbert, M.D. Family Practice|M.D. Family Practice]]
  
|job=Doctor at [[Springfield General Hospital]]<br>Owner at [[Dr. Julius Hibbert, M.D. Family Practice|M.D. Family Practice]]
 
|relatives='''Wife:''' [[Bernice Hibbert]]<br>
  
|relatives='''Wife:''' [[Bernice Hibbert]]<br>
−
'''Sons''':[[Dr. Hibbert's First Son]]<br>[[Dr. Hibbert's Second Son]]<br>[[Dr. Hibbert's Third Son]]<br>'''Daughters''': [[Dr. Hibbert's First Daughter]]<br>[[Dr. Hibbert's Second Daughter]]<br>
 +
'''Sons''': [[Dr. Hibbert's First Son]]<br>[[Dr. Hibbert's Second Son]]<br>[[Dr. Hibbert's Third Son]]<br>'''Daughters''': [[Dr. Hibbert's First Daughter]]<br>[[Dr. Hibbert's Second Daughter]]<br>
 
'''Brothers:''' [[Bleeding Gums Murphy]] and [[Hermano Gamelo Hibbert|Hermano Hibbert]] (Twin)<br>
  
'''Brothers:''' [[Bleeding Gums Murphy]] and [[Hermano Gamelo Hibbert|Hermano Hibbert]] (Twin)<br>
 
'''Mother:''' [[Madeline Murphy]]<br>
  
'''Mother:''' [[Madeline Murphy]]<br>

Revision as of 18:46, 4 January 2017

“A-heh-heh-heh.”
―Dr. Hibbert's catchphrase
“Have a wowwipop.”
―Dr. Hibbert
“This man is dead.”
―Dr. Hibbert
Vlcsnap-2014-12-14-00h30m01s53

Dr. Julius Murphy Hibbert, M.D., better known as Dr. Hibbert, is Springfield's most prominent and competent doctor, though he sometimes makes no effort to hide or make light of his high prices. Hibbert is very good-natured, and is known for finding a reason to laugh at nearly every situation. He is often assisted by Dr. Nick Riviera.

The Hibberts

Julius Hibbert with his wife, Bernice

Biography

Dr. Hibbert is the Simpson's kind-hearted family doctor, a genius, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Mensa member. As an undergraduate, it is inferred that he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. Hibbert is noticeably less dysfunctional than just about everyone else, 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 about how a baby can save the life of a full-grown man, saying "It's very simple. When an adult's life is in danger, a child can summon superhuman strength!"[1] When Homer challenged Red Barclay to eat the "Sir Loins-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.[2] He also runs Dr. Julius Hibbert, M.D. Family Practice to which he showed Lisa a video about DNA.[3]

Dr. julius hibbert, m.d

Dr. Julius Hibbert, m.d.

Hibbert

Hibbert's hairstyle when Marge had Maggie.

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 she 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 it could get him out of some sticky situations. When he realized that Marge 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".[4] In addition, Dr. Hibbert often has problems of what he should say to the patients, sometimes making the situation seem far worse than it actually was. A notable instance is when, after Bart was injured from a pool-dive gone awry, he told Bart "I'm sorry, but that leg's gonna have to come off", implying that Bart's broken leg will need to be amputated, only for him to correct himself and state that his wet bathing suit has to come off.[5]

Springfield-hospital

Springfield General Hospital where Dr. Hibbert is usually seen

Despite his seemingly honest and good-hearted personality, there is evidence that he is, at heart, a committed mercenary. 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).[6] After Homer's baby-proofing business eliminates child injuries in Springfield, Hibbert is seen holding a cooing infant and complaining that there are not any scratches on him, and he has got boat payments.[7] Hibbert is once shown as running an "H.M.O" ("Hibbert's Money-Making Organization").[8] He has also 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.[9] He is a committed Republican and attends Springfield's Republican meetings alongside Mr. Burns and Rainier Wolfcastle.[10] Hibbert also freely wears fur coats, believing that while fur itself may not be murder, "paying for it sure is!"[11]

While Hibbert is usually competent and responsible, it was once suggested that he did not have a legal license in medicine, since when Lisa was going to say who has been practising medicine without a license (who is actually Homer), Hibbert tugs his collar nervously.[12] 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.[13] It has also been strongly hinted that his habit of inappropriate laughter at times is the result of a current morphine addiction.[14]

There is some evidence of serious incompetence on the part of Doctor Hibbert. It is once 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.[15] Also, Doctor Hibbert once checks Sideshow Bob's pulse before pronouncing him dead, then he throws Bob's hand away because he is touching a dead person.[16] There were also instances where he came up with creative solutions to get his patients to undergo medical treatment, only for it to backfire horribly. A notable instance is where he had various townspeople disguise themselves as him to tail Bart so he could give him a Flu Shot, but ended up as a consequence banned from the library for a very lewd action that Moe Szyslak did while acting as one of his doubles.

His hairstyle has varied over the years (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,[17] he also had a silver Volvo 850 sedan,[18] and he once mentioned his Porsche keys.[19] He was seen muttering angrily over a "rusty tailgate" on a generic-looking station wagon.[20] His hobbies include Judo.[21]

He and his family live next to the Wiggum family.[22]

Dr. Hibbert supposedly attended Johns Hopkins University, and evidence indicates he was probably born in Alabama. To pay for medical college, he performed as a male stripper under the pseudonym "Malcolm Sex", claiming he would "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.[23]

Personality

Hibbert is recognised by his deep, bombastic voice and signature jovial chuckle, usually at inappropriate times such as delivering bad news to a patient. Whilst most  doctors are supposed to empathetic and serious, Hibbert finds mostly everything to be funny. However, there have been a few instances where even Hibbert himself didn't find something to be funny. For example when he was given a T-Shirt at a speedway racetrack and was unamused after reading the fine print, amazing his wife who noticed he usually laughed at everything. Also, when he expelled Homer from his male stripping class, Homer asked if he was going to chuckle but Hibbert replied in a serious tone "there's nothing to chuckle about". 

Hibbert's practices are usually sought out by the rest of Springfield's citizens as he is one of the few licensed and experienced doctors in the town but until recently some have found his medical advice and Hibbert himself to be dubious. His suggestion to cut off Homer's other thumb when his right one was severed to gain symmetry on nth hands led Marge to believe that Hibbert was "losing it".

His ambiguity in medical practices is also displayed by how he constantly assures that his patients are well-funded before he helps them, rather in backhand or sneaky ways such as telling an unenthusiastic Marge about her third baby that it will cost 60,000 dollars to raise a healthy child and judges her next action to treat with her based on her reaction to this news, claiming she would be in jail if it went differently. He was also prepared to suck Marge through a tube from his ceiling if she didn't have insurance and when Homer had a heart attack following the news that his quadruple bypass will cost 30,000 dollars, raised it to 40,000 after the heart attack. Hibbert is willing to use backhand tactics to make sure he is not sued when his medical duplicity catches up with him such as tricking Homer into signing a form that absolves him of consequence for Bart going deaf, after Hibbert had ruthlessly hunted him down to inoculate him in the first place and when he sneakily validated Marge's parking so he could not be sued for submitting the sane Homer to electro-shock therapy.

He has two brothers, both of them long-lost from birth, Hermano Hibbert who was the head of Shelbyville orphanage and Bleeding Gums Murphy who ironically met with each other in hospital and described themselves but failed to realise the connection

Family

Dr. Hibbert is married; he and his wife Bernice have five children, three sons and two daughters. They have never been named in the series. When his entire family is seen together, they appear to be similar to the The Cosby Show. His marriage seems to have some problems according to some moments together, such as being filmed by the "Kiss cam" at the stadium and Hibbert saying they don't like public relations. Also, there are hints that, at the very least, he was unfaithful to his wife, as Dr. Hibbert once hosted, or at the very least participated in, a Key party, where it is implied that he was paired up with Luann Van Houten, and attempted to get a departing Homer and Marge to stay by saying "Come on, you're missing all the sex!"[24]

Zzzzzzz

Dr. Hibbert's daughter and son

It is implied that he and Bleeding Gums Murphy are long-lost half-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.[25] 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.[26]

He owns a poodle called Rosa Barks 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.[27]

Non Canon Appearances

Ssi 5 The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened/existed.

Treehouse of Horror

In "Treehouse of Horror XIII", segment "The Island of Dr. Hibbert", he inhabits a skull-shaped island, where he transforms all of his visitors into animals. The final citizen of Springfield to undergo this fate was Homer Simpson.

In "Treehouse of Horror XV", segment "Ned Zone", he falls to his death after Homer asks him to collect a frisbee from the window-sill.

Behind the Laughter

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. Hibbert is always given a new hairdo in flashback appearances, such as an afro, dreads or a Mr. T-like mohawk.

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 a cheaper alternative source of medical advice. While Dr. Hibbert is praised for his sense of humor and quality of care.

File:Tapped Out Unlock DrHibbert.png

Trivia

  • Dr. Hibbert has an IQ of 155.
  • Dr. Hibbert has Facebook and appears to be friends with Mark Zuckerberg.
  • In "They Saved Lisa's Brain", Dr. Hibbert said "maybe I should go back to Alabama", indicating he used to reside there.
  • Dr. Hibbert's name in Czech dubbing, Dr. Dlaha, translates as Dr. Splint.
  • Dr. Hibbert was originally going to be a woman named "Julia Hibbert."
    • In Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky's original script for "Bart the Daredevil", Hibbert was a woman 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 remake Hibbert as a parody of Bill Cosby's character on the show, Dr. Cliff Huxtable
  • Hibbert has stinky feet, possibly from wearing no socks. This is seen in the episode, "Jaws Wired Shut".

Appearances

Joystick Video game – The Simpsons Road Rage

Joystick Video game – The Simpsons: Hit and Run

Joystick Video game – The Simpsons Game

Joystick Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out

Joystick Video game – LEGO Dimensions

Joystick Video game – The Simpsons Ride (Pre-Show)

Gallery

External links

Dr. Julius Hibbert at the Internet Movie Database


Citations

  1. ↑ Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder
  2. ↑ Maximum Homerdrive
  3. ↑ Lisa the Simpson
  4. ↑ And Maggie Makes Three
  5. ↑ Bart of Darkness
  6. ↑ "Homer's Triple Bypass"
  7. ↑ "Bye Bye Nerdie"
  8. ↑ "The Last Temptation of Homer"
  9. ↑ "Midnight Rx"
  10. ↑ "Sideshow Bob Roberts"
  11. ↑ "A Milhouse Divided"
  12. ↑ "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken"
  13. ↑ "Bart-Mangled Banner"
  14. ↑ "Yolo"
  15. ↑ "HOMЯ"
  16. ↑ "Funeral for a Fiend"
  17. ↑ "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot"
  18. ↑ "My Sister, My Sitter"
  19. ↑ "Bart's Girlfriend"
  20. ↑ "Homer Loves Flanders"
  21. ↑ "My Sister, My Sitter"
  22. ↑ "Grift of the Magi"
  23. ↑ Secrets of a Successful Marriage
  24. ↑ 500 Keys
  25. ↑ "'Round Springfield"
  26. ↑ "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
  27. ↑ "Today, I Am a Clown"
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