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Author Topic: Why Zoidberg is Starving  (Read 2001 times)
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Seraya

Crustacean
*
« on: 07-09-2003 19:36 »

After listening to the audio commentaries for season one, where they kept talking about how Zoidberg started out completely different than he ended up, I started thinking about it. And since I am a very accepting person who will warp any plot hole so that it makes sense, I wrote an essay or something explaining it.

Why Zoidberg is starving

First of all, when Professor Farnsworth hired the three new crew members, Dr. Zoidberg’s pay was reduced somewhat. Not a whole lot, of course, just a little bit. Then there was that unfortunate incident where Dr. Zoidberg consumed some anchovies. The addictive craze that followed resulted in his using a considerable amount of his money trying to locate more. The closest he got was a fish skeleton that fell at his feet during the garbage ball hail of 3000. Also, keep in mind that Hermes Conrad, the man who controls the pay, hates Zoidberg. Hermes would not actually do anything illegal, but if pay cuts were needed, guess who would be at the top of the list? Next, Dr. Zoidberg spent a large sum of money on his marble tank aboard the Starship Titanic, when he wasn’t really being paid enough to be able to earn the money back. At Xmas time, Dr. Zoidberg spent some money on a wig, which then vanished… presumably someone pointed out to him that it was Amy’s and Hermes’ hair, and he then got rid of it. It was a bad purchase, and wasted money. Finally, when returning to his homeworld Decapod 10 for the mating frenzy, Zoidberg fell in love with Edna, who was proving difficult to catch. Though he was being coached by Fry, who would probably spend as little money on a girl as possible (barring Leela), Zoidberg still managed to spend far too much money on Edna. In addition, he had to pay for repairs on the gym and the Planet Express building, both of which he had damaged while in crazy mode. Now, he is penniless and starving, having spent every cent he ever made, and doesn’t earn nearly enough money to live on. He is probably in debt, and can’t afford more than one meal a week, so he scavenges for food. Usually it’s garbage. So there you have it. Once Zoidberg had plenty of money, but his lousy spending habits and repeatedly lowered pay filtered it all away.

So what does everyone think? Seems accurate or what?
Killerfox

Professor
*
« Reply #1 on: 07-09-2003 19:41 »

  :eek: wow that is one complete essay plus he has no founds for his retirement
really good work!
zoidyzoid

Professor
*
« Reply #2 on: 07-09-2003 20:01 »

Yeah, that was a good mini- essay there. One more thing, he's an incompetent doctor who can't get a decent job.
Anarchist

Professor
*
« Reply #3 on: 07-09-2003 20:19 »

Barring the part where you said that his pay was reduced when Fry, Leela and Bender joined (the Professor always had a space crew, these three just replaced the previous crew, who had recently lost their jobs for failing to survive a mission), it seems pretty accurate. Good job!
ShineFusion

Professor
*
« Reply #4 on: 07-09-2003 20:22 »

That was very good. I could'nt write that without looking back through all the episodes. And yes it's very accurate.
Coop

Professor
*
« Reply #5 on: 07-09-2003 20:54 »

I'd say that was very well thought out. I think we can all agree that after reading this, we feel hungry for poor Zoidberg.  :(
reverend

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #6 on: 07-11-2003 06:18 »
« Last Edit on: 07-11-2003 06:18 »

Very nice essay, but there's something you could add. In the episode where Leela gets Spice weasel spice in her eye (I can't remember which one)she crashes the ship into the opening in the Planet Express building, smashing large chunks out of it. Immediately Hermes turns to Zoidberg and says :"That's coming out of your pay!". It must be very expensive to repair such a hugh metal machine thing, so combined with the "severely reduced pay all round" from HHRHGB, this explains Zoidberg's eternal poverty even more. Plus I think the Professor says Zoidberg is cheap in The Series Has Landed. Is that right?
aussie dude

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #7 on: 07-11-2003 14:07 »

also in hermes gets his groove back hermes gets rehired at serverely reduced pay and then he says severly reduced pay allround so he cops it again
Nurdbot

DOOP Secretary
*
« Reply #8 on: 07-11-2003 14:53 »

Understandable and acurate.
Killerfox

Professor
*
« Reply #9 on: 07-11-2003 17:04 »

 
Quote
Originally posted by reverend:
 In the episode where Leela gets Spice weasel spice in her eye (I can't remember which one)she crashes the ship into the opening in the Planet Express building, smashing large chunks out of it.
mhhh havent seen it
Seraya

Crustacean
*
« Reply #10 on: 07-11-2003 18:09 »

Well, this was supposed to be the stuff leading UP to his current state... you know, up to PYHOMS... but maybe I'll make a more detailed update, including everything related to Zoidberg being poor... someday.
Cube_166

Professor
*
« Reply #11 on: 07-11-2003 19:56 »

 
Quote
Originally posted by reverend:
In the episode where Leela gets Spice weasel spice in her eye (I can't remember which one)she crashes the ship into the opening in the Planet Express building, smashing large chunks out of it.

Bender Gets Made
Killerfox

Professor
*
« Reply #12 on: 07-11-2003 21:04 »

Oh now i remember
Sil

Professor
*
« Reply #13 on: 07-12-2003 08:13 »

Which episode is PYHOMS?
Australian Guy

Liquid Emperor
**
« Reply #14 on: 07-12-2003 10:33 »

Well the anchovies thing isnt accurate, the bone that fell wasnt nessicarally an anchovia bone.
It was too big. Zoidberg is a squid/lobster.
Both are bottomfeeders. Zoidberg being a bum is just meant to reflect that.
zoidyzoid

Professor
*
« Reply #15 on: 07-13-2003 21:50 »

 
Quote
Originally posted by Sil:
Which episode is PYHOMS?

S02E10: Put your head on my shoulder
zoidburgisking

Crustacean
*
« Reply #16 on: 07-23-2003 00:41 »

Good essay. Other than being incompetent, he also sends people to "relaxation spa" (in reality labor camps) for a bucket of fish, not money So it shows how much zoidburg knows about making money.
SpaceCase

Liquid Emperor
**
« Reply #17 on: 07-23-2003 01:40 »

 
Quote
Originally posted by Seraya:
After listening to the audio commentaries for season one, where they kept talking about how Zoidberg started out completely different than he ended up, I started thinking about it. And since I am a very accepting person who will warp any plot hole so that it makes sense, I wrote an essay or something explaining it.


 
Quote
So what does everyone think? Seems accurate or what?


Very well-thought-out.
Chriswell

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #18 on: 07-23-2003 01:47 »

Add the fact that Zoidy has 4 stomachs.

-cs
Killerfox

Professor
*
« Reply #19 on: 07-23-2003 10:04 »

I wonder how Planet express would be if Zoidberg was the accountant
Gambit

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #20 on: 03-18-2004 18:28 »

its good, however, in the devils hands are idle playthings, (ep 418?) zoidberg buys 8 copies of the cd on sale and 8 newspapers- how? has he gradually built his money up, but on severely reduced pay it seems unlikely.
Digital Dragon

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #21 on: 03-18-2004 19:24 »

The fact that he ordered them doesn't mean he can actually aford them. His lack of understanding in this area is probably one of the reasons he's so poor.
Ranadok

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #22 on: 03-18-2004 20:09 »
« Last Edit on: 03-18-2004 20:09 »

He had just come into some money (perhaps he found a nickel in a dumpster or something) and was feeling rich.  So, he made some stupid buys... stupid him. It may have been what was left over from the barbecue in 300BB.
Woodbot 2.0

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #23 on: 03-18-2004 21:06 »
« Last Edit on: 03-18-2004 21:06 »

Well,lets remember the other reason Zoidberg is poor for seasons 3-4:
shalhara

Poppler
*
« Reply #24 on: 03-18-2004 22:30 »


Let's critique this a bit,

"First of all, when Professor Farnsworth hired the three new crew members, Dr. Zoidberg’s pay was reduced somewhat. Not a whole lot, of course, just a little bit."

As was previously pointed out, the professor had a crew of 3 before the current crew, (their career chips were salvaged from the stomach of a giant wasp).  Professor Farnsworth wouldn't dock Zoidberg's pay, (he'd have Hermes do it - but Hermes didn't start hating Zoidberg until later).  Zoidberg did work cheap though and he seems to be a bad doctor (I disagree somewhat - in Put Your Head on My Shoulders and Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love? he pulls off some pretty amazing medical feats).

Then there was that unfortunate incident where Dr. Zoidberg consumed some anchovies. The addictive craze that followed resulted in his using a considerable amount of his money trying to locate more. The closest he got was a fish skeleton that fell at his feet during the garbage ball hail of 3000.

Zoidberg wouldn't have had much, if any, money saved.  He never paid into his retirement account, as Hermes pointed out, but Zoidberg knew this "You kept on track all these years..."  Zoidberg most likely came across the fish skeleton while scavenging (alternatively this could be the beginning of his scavenging).

Also, keep in mind that Hermes Conrad, the man who controls the pay, hates Zoidberg. Hermes would not actually do anything illegal, but if pay cuts were needed, guess who would be at the top of the list?

Very true, no disagreement here but I'm willing to bet that Zoidberg probably doesn't make any money at all towards the end of the series; being the Professors oldest friend he gets a nice place to stay; he also likes hanging around people with power over him (see cut scene from Bird Bots of Icecatraz).

Next, Dr. Zoidberg spent a large sum of money on his marble tank aboard the Starship Titanic, when he wasn’t really being paid enough to be able to earn the money back.

The trip aboard the Titanic was paid for by Professor Farnsworth, although Zoidberg likely helped himself to the mini-bar and racked up quite a bill, (which Hermes made him deal with).

At Xmas time, Dr. Zoidberg spent some money on a wig, which then vanished… presumably someone pointed out to him that it was Amy’s and Hermes’ hair, and he then got rid of it. It was a bad purchase, and wasted money.

Zoidberg didn't get rid of the wig, he ate it...

Finally, when returning to his homeworld Decapod 10 for the mating frenzy, Zoidberg fell in love with Edna, who was proving difficult to catch. Though he was being coached by Fry, who would probably spend as little money on a girl as possible (barring Leela), Zoidberg still managed to spend far too much money on Edna.

Spending too much money is a bit of a stretch, did you see the suit he was wearing when he caught Edna and Fry together?  Can you say thrift store...Still, this took alot of money he didn't have.

In addition, he had to pay for repairs on the gym and the Planet Express building, both of which he had damaged while in crazy mode.

Acceptable.

Now, he is penniless and starving, having spent every cent he ever made, and doesn’t earn nearly enough money to live on. He is probably in debt, and can’t afford more than one meal a week, so he scavenges for food. Usually it’s garbage. So there you have it. Once Zoidberg had plenty of money, but his lousy spending habits and repeatedly lowered pay filtered it all away.

All good except that he never had plenty of money.  You may want to include lawsuits from patients lost, damages incurred throughout the seasons, (certainly the Planet Express "that's coming out of your pay!" line accounts for a lot) and bad spending habits (he only seems to buy junk items that don't cost a lot).  In addition to scavenging, he gets food from the Professor from time to time, "begging for scraps."  I think a good question might be why Zoidberg is fat despite the fact that he's starving.

Remember when he became "rich" with his 300 Big Ones?  He had a distaste for the high life, perhaps he has a fear of success, too much compassion and a love of being submissive to others.  All in all, Zoidbergs race, which seem to be stereotypically Jewish, is very stingey with it's money, probably a low GDP.  I believe they can live on very little and aren't accustomed to large sums of money, leading them to a lifestyle that doesn't allow savings or retirement accounts; why save your money if you die after mating?  All Decapodians living on Earth have difficulty adapting to Earthican capitalism.
VoVat

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #25 on: 03-19-2004 03:48 »

At one point, Zoidberg apparently had $60 to spend on miracle cream.  Seems like a lot more money than we usually see him with at any one time.

 
Quote
Very true, no disagreement here but I'm willing to bet that Zoidberg probably doesn't make any money at all towards the end of the series; being the Professors oldest friend he gets a nice place to stay

The inside of a DNA testing machine is a nice place to stay?  Well, better than the gutter, I guess.
Y_L_B

Professor
*
« Reply #26 on: 03-19-2004 21:12 »
« Last Edit on: 03-19-2004 21:12 »

@ Shalhara: Me like! Me like! So very true.

Edited because I didn't point out exactly what I was praising...
ActionLaPointe

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #27 on: 03-21-2004 01:57 »

hey its possible. good investigating.
welcome aboard seraya
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