Welcome to TV Recap, in which we look at modern shows and analyze them on an episode-to-episode basis. This one focuses on the cartoon sitcom Bob's Burgers, a very funny show that is capable of rivaling old school Simpsons in terms of irreverent humor and off the wall zaniness. With a cast of modern alternative comedian heroes, the story follows the Belchers as they run a burger joint. Join me as I take part in dissecting the show in its first full season. Check back on Tuesdays for the next exciting installment.
It feels so good to be back. We were starting to close in on a month without new Bob's Burgers, and the impact was devastating. I mean, where was I supposed to get my weekly laughs from the Belcher kids? Reruns only do so much. I'll see you baseball and raise you this show, which oddly reminds me of Oliver Stone's Savages, though only because it has a satirical bent on innocent children dealing weed. I mean, did we really have to wait almost a month to get something this brilliant?
The episode begins with the Belchers working at Bob's Burgers. Bob (Jon Benjamin) walks in on Eugene (Eugene Mirman) tanning himself over the deep fryer. It is soon discovered that a package just arrived for Bob. The family, including Tina (Dan Mintz), Linda (John Roberts), and Louise (Kristen Schaal) gather around as Bob looks through the box. It is a collection of his old toys, including Mr. Doglovich, which is a soap carving that kind of looks like a dog. When is accidentally broken, Bob freaks out and begins thinking of his childhood.
It wasn't a pleasant childhood. He remembers being at Bob's Burgers every day gazing out the window only to hear his dad (Benjamin again) telling him to get back to work. This leads Bob to have a spiritual quest of the mind. As he is going to bed, he talks to Linda about if he had a happy life. She says that happy people don't stand like he does. This leads him to a conclusion that he doesn't want his kids to be as miserable as he was.
The next day, he tells Tina, Louise, and Eugene that they are fired. He demands that they don't waste their summer and go out and have fun. Tina is the most nonchalant of the group, claiming that she has been coasting. The other two are devastated and cannot think of going outdoors, speaking as Eugene is an indoors kid from being declawed. This sends the three out into the world on their bikes looking for fun things to do. All that ends up happening is them standing in the ocean as a wave throws diapers over their bodies. They return home that night, claiming that summer is like New Year's Eve for children: too much pressure to have fun.
It is soon revealed that Bob, who has been taking job interviews all day has picked a new coworker. Due to his financially strapped lifestyle, he is unable to pay them anything, and this proves to be an issue for most, except Mike (Bill Hader), who was sent to jail last season for a bank robbery ("Bob Day Afternoon") and was released from the slammer because his prosecutor was on meth during the whole trial and eventually drove into a peacock sanctuary, thus making him free. His only needs are to be paid with meals and to live on a cot in the basement. Bob finds this to be a fair trade.
The kids, however, are mortified at first. They have no idea what to do now that they cannot go back to work for their parents. The next day they take off and find a field full of blueberries. As they are eating them in rapid succession, The place is owned by hippies Beverly (Megan Mullally) and Cooper (Nick Offerman) who take joy in the kids and decide to hire them for an average $10 a day. They plan to keep it a secret from their parents. The only issue they have is that Beverly and Cooper smell really bad, have a weed problem, and write uninspired songs.
The Belcher kids spend most of the time cutting the weeds as the hippies package it under the guise of blueberries. The kids are curious to why they don't just burn the glasshouse that holds the weeds, but the hippies claim they have a bigger plan for them. Tina is the main distributor, riding her bike and passing it out at people's homes. She even runs into a Stoner (Doug Benson), who follows her back to Bob's Burgers. She plays tough gal on telling him to never follow her again.
Meanwhile, Bob is having his own trouble with Mike. He is overenthusiastic and hardworking, though he doesn't wear underwear underneath the burger outfit. He also plays loud calypso music in the basement. This is mostly to cover up the fact that he is using a pick to go through the wall and rob the bank again. When Bob catches him, he tries to cover up the hole with a Big poster. At this point, Bob fires him, and Mike goes about pondering where he can work within 50 feet of the bank and sleep in the basement.
When the kids arrive home the next day, Bob encourages them to take back their jobs. The kids say no and that they are working for Beverly and Cooper now. Bob is saddened by this and watches his kids leave to a farm, which he thought was extinct. Immediately following, the Stoner comes in and returns blueberries, which he claims are just stems and seeds. This gets the Belcher parents curious and they discover that weed is buried under the blueberries. They go to the farm.
There they confront Beverly and Cooper, who are not excited to see them. With Mike tagging along, they demand answers to why they are having their kids sell weed. One thing leads to another, and soon a D.E.A. Swat team is there to arrest the hippies. They try to escape on a bicycle, which only works for so long as they swerve around different people. Mike is also unsure how to be an innocent bystander, so he has Bob teach him how to raise his hands. After a few tries, he gets it.
Who tipped them off? It was the Stoner. As the episode pulls away from this scene, it cuts to Louise, who is sharing this story in a classroom. She is sharing her reasoning for why blueberries should be decriminalized. As the bell rings for recess, she encourages kids to not bogart the snacks, and if the popos show up, their first call should be to their lawyer.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I am really excited that this show is back. In all of my recaps, I rarely come across a show that gives me as much glee as Bob's Burgers. It is just so assured of itself that even when it is making really bad fart jokes, it still manages to have a zany edge that is reminiscent but not copying the raw first few years of the Simpsons.
Just the idea that the kids would be selling weed unsuspecting is so brilliant. I am sure that these ideas have been done before (see: King of the Hill's "Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do?"), but the benefit with Bob's Burgers taking on this plot is that the kids are so outwardly emotional that it makes the craziness even more absurd. It seems this week that Louise is the most reserved of the bunch, which is an odd gesture when you consider her work in "Ear-Sy Rider." However, it is Tina selling weed to all of the familiar people in the city that makes the episode work. She tries to play it cool, and she seems to succeed in spite of herself. Eugene is excellent as normal, though he seems to also just be used for punchlines (none better than the New Year's Eve allegory).
I also like that we see the return of Mike, who is still insane enough to play calypso music about a parakeet selling a man a house and passing it off as a cover for him tearing apart a wall. Mike is a pretty great side character when you consider that he is just as aloof as Teddy (Larry Murphy) can be, but in a more eccentric fashion. His reaction to the sign saying "Beets Me" for soup of the day and then accusing Bob of being mean for saying it should be "Dia-Beets-ies with insulin" is another great gem.
I also loved the subtle typecasting of Doug Benson as a Stoner, and then the twist ending that he was a D.E.A. spy. Anyone that knows Benson knows that this character is totally him and despite being a very minor character in the narrative, his brief screen time is excellent for just how convincing he is as a Stoner. He really should come back to the show more often.
I also am thoroughly enthused by the against typecasting of Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally. Parks and Recreation fans will know Offerman as this strong politically minded good man. It is impossible to accept that he is anything but that. As he was singing bad songs about cutting weeds, it is still hard to picture him in that role, which makes it all the more brilliant. Also, it continues the trend of Offerman/Mullally team ups and playing couples that is probably the least exciting thing.
This show is still young and that plays to its advantage. It has a fresh edge to the satire of drugs, Halloween, and everything in general. They may seem like trite concepts, but Bob's Burgers is a sigh of relief when it comes to this because it looks at it from a poor family's standpoint in ways that 2 Broke Girls only wishes that it could. I love the kids because they are so believably clueless, and Tina is lame enough to pass off her lack of complexity as being cool.
Here's hoping I don't have to wait another month for the next episode.
Also check out more of my work at http://nerdseyeviewpodcast.blogspot.com/ where I have a podcast called Nerd's Eye View.
The episode begins with the Belchers working at Bob's Burgers. Bob (Jon Benjamin) walks in on Eugene (Eugene Mirman) tanning himself over the deep fryer. It is soon discovered that a package just arrived for Bob. The family, including Tina (Dan Mintz), Linda (John Roberts), and Louise (Kristen Schaal) gather around as Bob looks through the box. It is a collection of his old toys, including Mr. Doglovich, which is a soap carving that kind of looks like a dog. When is accidentally broken, Bob freaks out and begins thinking of his childhood.
It wasn't a pleasant childhood. He remembers being at Bob's Burgers every day gazing out the window only to hear his dad (Benjamin again) telling him to get back to work. This leads Bob to have a spiritual quest of the mind. As he is going to bed, he talks to Linda about if he had a happy life. She says that happy people don't stand like he does. This leads him to a conclusion that he doesn't want his kids to be as miserable as he was.
The next day, he tells Tina, Louise, and Eugene that they are fired. He demands that they don't waste their summer and go out and have fun. Tina is the most nonchalant of the group, claiming that she has been coasting. The other two are devastated and cannot think of going outdoors, speaking as Eugene is an indoors kid from being declawed. This sends the three out into the world on their bikes looking for fun things to do. All that ends up happening is them standing in the ocean as a wave throws diapers over their bodies. They return home that night, claiming that summer is like New Year's Eve for children: too much pressure to have fun.
It is soon revealed that Bob, who has been taking job interviews all day has picked a new coworker. Due to his financially strapped lifestyle, he is unable to pay them anything, and this proves to be an issue for most, except Mike (Bill Hader), who was sent to jail last season for a bank robbery ("Bob Day Afternoon") and was released from the slammer because his prosecutor was on meth during the whole trial and eventually drove into a peacock sanctuary, thus making him free. His only needs are to be paid with meals and to live on a cot in the basement. Bob finds this to be a fair trade.
The kids, however, are mortified at first. They have no idea what to do now that they cannot go back to work for their parents. The next day they take off and find a field full of blueberries. As they are eating them in rapid succession, The place is owned by hippies Beverly (Megan Mullally) and Cooper (Nick Offerman) who take joy in the kids and decide to hire them for an average $10 a day. They plan to keep it a secret from their parents. The only issue they have is that Beverly and Cooper smell really bad, have a weed problem, and write uninspired songs.The Belcher kids spend most of the time cutting the weeds as the hippies package it under the guise of blueberries. The kids are curious to why they don't just burn the glasshouse that holds the weeds, but the hippies claim they have a bigger plan for them. Tina is the main distributor, riding her bike and passing it out at people's homes. She even runs into a Stoner (Doug Benson), who follows her back to Bob's Burgers. She plays tough gal on telling him to never follow her again.
Meanwhile, Bob is having his own trouble with Mike. He is overenthusiastic and hardworking, though he doesn't wear underwear underneath the burger outfit. He also plays loud calypso music in the basement. This is mostly to cover up the fact that he is using a pick to go through the wall and rob the bank again. When Bob catches him, he tries to cover up the hole with a Big poster. At this point, Bob fires him, and Mike goes about pondering where he can work within 50 feet of the bank and sleep in the basement.
When the kids arrive home the next day, Bob encourages them to take back their jobs. The kids say no and that they are working for Beverly and Cooper now. Bob is saddened by this and watches his kids leave to a farm, which he thought was extinct. Immediately following, the Stoner comes in and returns blueberries, which he claims are just stems and seeds. This gets the Belcher parents curious and they discover that weed is buried under the blueberries. They go to the farm.
There they confront Beverly and Cooper, who are not excited to see them. With Mike tagging along, they demand answers to why they are having their kids sell weed. One thing leads to another, and soon a D.E.A. Swat team is there to arrest the hippies. They try to escape on a bicycle, which only works for so long as they swerve around different people. Mike is also unsure how to be an innocent bystander, so he has Bob teach him how to raise his hands. After a few tries, he gets it.
Who tipped them off? It was the Stoner. As the episode pulls away from this scene, it cuts to Louise, who is sharing this story in a classroom. She is sharing her reasoning for why blueberries should be decriminalized. As the bell rings for recess, she encourages kids to not bogart the snacks, and if the popos show up, their first call should be to their lawyer.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I am really excited that this show is back. In all of my recaps, I rarely come across a show that gives me as much glee as Bob's Burgers. It is just so assured of itself that even when it is making really bad fart jokes, it still manages to have a zany edge that is reminiscent but not copying the raw first few years of the Simpsons.
Just the idea that the kids would be selling weed unsuspecting is so brilliant. I am sure that these ideas have been done before (see: King of the Hill's "Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do?"), but the benefit with Bob's Burgers taking on this plot is that the kids are so outwardly emotional that it makes the craziness even more absurd. It seems this week that Louise is the most reserved of the bunch, which is an odd gesture when you consider her work in "Ear-Sy Rider." However, it is Tina selling weed to all of the familiar people in the city that makes the episode work. She tries to play it cool, and she seems to succeed in spite of herself. Eugene is excellent as normal, though he seems to also just be used for punchlines (none better than the New Year's Eve allegory).
I also like that we see the return of Mike, who is still insane enough to play calypso music about a parakeet selling a man a house and passing it off as a cover for him tearing apart a wall. Mike is a pretty great side character when you consider that he is just as aloof as Teddy (Larry Murphy) can be, but in a more eccentric fashion. His reaction to the sign saying "Beets Me" for soup of the day and then accusing Bob of being mean for saying it should be "Dia-Beets-ies with insulin" is another great gem.
I also loved the subtle typecasting of Doug Benson as a Stoner, and then the twist ending that he was a D.E.A. spy. Anyone that knows Benson knows that this character is totally him and despite being a very minor character in the narrative, his brief screen time is excellent for just how convincing he is as a Stoner. He really should come back to the show more often.
I also am thoroughly enthused by the against typecasting of Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally. Parks and Recreation fans will know Offerman as this strong politically minded good man. It is impossible to accept that he is anything but that. As he was singing bad songs about cutting weeds, it is still hard to picture him in that role, which makes it all the more brilliant. Also, it continues the trend of Offerman/Mullally team ups and playing couples that is probably the least exciting thing.
This show is still young and that plays to its advantage. It has a fresh edge to the satire of drugs, Halloween, and everything in general. They may seem like trite concepts, but Bob's Burgers is a sigh of relief when it comes to this because it looks at it from a poor family's standpoint in ways that 2 Broke Girls only wishes that it could. I love the kids because they are so believably clueless, and Tina is lame enough to pass off her lack of complexity as being cool.
Here's hoping I don't have to wait another month for the next episode.
Also check out more of my work at http://nerdseyeviewpodcast.blogspot.com/ where I have a podcast called Nerd's Eye View.
This was definitely the Bob’s Burgers fix that I’ve been craving! I missed all the “little Bobs,” and it was nice to have a few new characters introduced even though they may only be around for this episode. I had no idea that Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally (totally miss her on Parks and Rec) did the voice overs for the hippie couple, so I’m definitely going to head into my Hopper from DISH to watch this episode again. I’m glad that I set the Primetime Anytime feature on my DVR so that it always records the primetime shows of the four major networks because I’ll be able to listen for Doug Benson since I missed that too! I actually just learned of the guy today from one of my coworkers from DISH, so it is a little ironic that he would be the nark.
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