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.
When I approached this episode, my initial reaction was to a King of the Hill episode that involved Bobby seeing a boy band. In many respects, that is how this episode plays out as well. Except we get a juicy look into the evolution of Louise (Kristen Schaal) mixed in. While we have known her as this brash young individual, her final realization that she likes a boy is one of those seminal topics in any sitcom dealing with younger characters. However, what makes it an excellent, original tale is how it goes about it.
The episode begins with the family sitting around talking about what they are going to do that day. Gene (Eugene Mirman) is entered into a place setting competition and Bob (Jon Benjamin) and Linda (John Roberts) are tagging along to support him. His competition wasn't that challenging and in fact was just one other table made my Andy (Laura Silverman) and Ollie (Sarah Silverman) in which they made a twin dinner, or a twinner. They try to convince Louise to come along, but the description sounds so boring that she essentially chooses to stay home instead.
Meanwhile, Tina (Dan Mintz) is wanting to go to a concert for her favorite boy band Boyz 4 Now. Louise finds this equally stupid and when Tina's ride cancels, she decides to tag along as a chaperon. With this in mind, they run into Zeke (Bobby Tisdale) and his brother Kevin (Jack McBrayer), who plan to sell hot dogs and t-shirts at the show. They tag along and get to the concert, where Louise promises to only walk her in and then leave.
Meanwhile, Gene is impressing the judges with a magic-themed table that gets him to the finals. However, Gene doesn't realize that he needs to make a new table design. They quickly try to scramble something together out of Linda's purse. However, nothing works out and Gene ends up coming in fourth place. After the family had established themselves as wanting to win, they were fine with losing.
After getting to the concert and standing in the front section, Louise watches as everyone in Boyz 4 Now starts getting on the stage. Suddenly, she sees a blonde haired kid named Boo Boo (Max Greenfield), whom she falls deeply in love with. He is so attractive that she rushes to the bathroom to cover her face with water. When she tells Tina, she helps her work through the stress of having a new crush. After eight encores, the show is over and Louise is crushed. She wants more!
Meeting up with Zeke in the parking lot, he says that Kevin is talking to someone by the tour bus. With the help of distraction, this gives the girls time to sneak aboard and hide. Once on the road, Louise jumps out and attempts to ask Boo Boo a question, only to create a mumbling noise. After an awkward moment, the two are dumped at a pit stop and forced to have Gayle (Megan Mullally) pick them up. The episode ends with everyone getting home and Louise saying that her day was pretty lame.
Rating: 4 out of 5
It was a very solid episode, if just because we get a chance to see the family working together in interesting dynamics. I love when the show pits odd couples together in order to achieve goals. "Mother Daughter Laser Razor" is a great example of this. While we may be used to Louise and Tina working together, it always has felt like Louise was the problem solver. Here, things reverse in an interesting way in which Tina is trying to help Louise with her boy problems, even though Tina's only real skill is that she moans every time something awkward comes her way.
Still, seeing the anti-boys Louise finally come to blows with a cute boy was a great moment in the show. It helped us to understand her attraction. These are seminal moments in any sitcom's history to explore what it means to be in love. The way that Bob's Burgers chose to tackle it may be one of the more authentic ways. It wasn't that complex, but with the rise of boy bands such as One Direction, this episode seems more prominent and modern than most others. While it is tragic that this is essentially a tale of love that never came to be, it is a milestone for Louise, and one that makes her a far more interesting character. It helps to flesh her out and give this show more depth.
I'll admit that I like when the show does original music, which seems to be an episode-to-episode thing now. Still, the boy band songs were pretty inspired, notably the opening number in which the line "be mine/coal mine" is somehow worked in as a lyric. Whoever writes the music on the show is genius at those simple cheesy lines that carry the quality to a new level. It adds some pastiche to the final product and gives Bob's Burgers a somewhat realized personality.
The Gene plot was also quite engaging. While he seems to be the random card that does whatever the episode calls for, I found his choice to do table settings to be kind of fascinating. Besides the actual setting, which was pretty good, I just enjoyed that it was a Gene, Bob, and Linda team up that resulted in an awkward race to the finish. With limited supplies, they pulled together a dinner table setting that turned out to be more about family pride than actual competition. In that sense, Bob's Burgers continues to become an awe inspiring take on the family dynamics in the modern day sitcom. Even with problematic episodes like "Family Fracas," it is the family's awkward connection that pulls everything together.
With one more episode to go this season, I am pretty sure it is safe to assume that Bob's Burgers has founds its voice in a full season. Not that it didn't before, but now we get a sense of characters as well as the tone, music, and satire. While some aspects of the family have become more hit and miss, it has become a show about how families work together to solve varying issues. That alone is why this season has been a success and I cannot wait to get more, especially if they feature some brilliant satires.
The episode begins with the family sitting around talking about what they are going to do that day. Gene (Eugene Mirman) is entered into a place setting competition and Bob (Jon Benjamin) and Linda (John Roberts) are tagging along to support him. His competition wasn't that challenging and in fact was just one other table made my Andy (Laura Silverman) and Ollie (Sarah Silverman) in which they made a twin dinner, or a twinner. They try to convince Louise to come along, but the description sounds so boring that she essentially chooses to stay home instead.
Meanwhile, Tina (Dan Mintz) is wanting to go to a concert for her favorite boy band Boyz 4 Now. Louise finds this equally stupid and when Tina's ride cancels, she decides to tag along as a chaperon. With this in mind, they run into Zeke (Bobby Tisdale) and his brother Kevin (Jack McBrayer), who plan to sell hot dogs and t-shirts at the show. They tag along and get to the concert, where Louise promises to only walk her in and then leave.
Meanwhile, Gene is impressing the judges with a magic-themed table that gets him to the finals. However, Gene doesn't realize that he needs to make a new table design. They quickly try to scramble something together out of Linda's purse. However, nothing works out and Gene ends up coming in fourth place. After the family had established themselves as wanting to win, they were fine with losing.
After getting to the concert and standing in the front section, Louise watches as everyone in Boyz 4 Now starts getting on the stage. Suddenly, she sees a blonde haired kid named Boo Boo (Max Greenfield), whom she falls deeply in love with. He is so attractive that she rushes to the bathroom to cover her face with water. When she tells Tina, she helps her work through the stress of having a new crush. After eight encores, the show is over and Louise is crushed. She wants more!
Meeting up with Zeke in the parking lot, he says that Kevin is talking to someone by the tour bus. With the help of distraction, this gives the girls time to sneak aboard and hide. Once on the road, Louise jumps out and attempts to ask Boo Boo a question, only to create a mumbling noise. After an awkward moment, the two are dumped at a pit stop and forced to have Gayle (Megan Mullally) pick them up. The episode ends with everyone getting home and Louise saying that her day was pretty lame.
Rating: 4 out of 5
It was a very solid episode, if just because we get a chance to see the family working together in interesting dynamics. I love when the show pits odd couples together in order to achieve goals. "Mother Daughter Laser Razor" is a great example of this. While we may be used to Louise and Tina working together, it always has felt like Louise was the problem solver. Here, things reverse in an interesting way in which Tina is trying to help Louise with her boy problems, even though Tina's only real skill is that she moans every time something awkward comes her way.
Still, seeing the anti-boys Louise finally come to blows with a cute boy was a great moment in the show. It helped us to understand her attraction. These are seminal moments in any sitcom's history to explore what it means to be in love. The way that Bob's Burgers chose to tackle it may be one of the more authentic ways. It wasn't that complex, but with the rise of boy bands such as One Direction, this episode seems more prominent and modern than most others. While it is tragic that this is essentially a tale of love that never came to be, it is a milestone for Louise, and one that makes her a far more interesting character. It helps to flesh her out and give this show more depth.
I'll admit that I like when the show does original music, which seems to be an episode-to-episode thing now. Still, the boy band songs were pretty inspired, notably the opening number in which the line "be mine/coal mine" is somehow worked in as a lyric. Whoever writes the music on the show is genius at those simple cheesy lines that carry the quality to a new level. It adds some pastiche to the final product and gives Bob's Burgers a somewhat realized personality.
The Gene plot was also quite engaging. While he seems to be the random card that does whatever the episode calls for, I found his choice to do table settings to be kind of fascinating. Besides the actual setting, which was pretty good, I just enjoyed that it was a Gene, Bob, and Linda team up that resulted in an awkward race to the finish. With limited supplies, they pulled together a dinner table setting that turned out to be more about family pride than actual competition. In that sense, Bob's Burgers continues to become an awe inspiring take on the family dynamics in the modern day sitcom. Even with problematic episodes like "Family Fracas," it is the family's awkward connection that pulls everything together.
With one more episode to go this season, I am pretty sure it is safe to assume that Bob's Burgers has founds its voice in a full season. Not that it didn't before, but now we get a sense of characters as well as the tone, music, and satire. While some aspects of the family have become more hit and miss, it has become a show about how families work together to solve varying issues. That alone is why this season has been a success and I cannot wait to get more, especially if they feature some brilliant satires.
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