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.
While I will argue that this season premiere wasn't the strongest episode, I am glad to have Bob's Burgers back in my life. It is still baffling how this oddball show managed to make it to season four when it almost had everything going against it. Well, since it went off the air this spring, it has been added to the line-up of Adult Swim programming and thus has a wider audience than ever. Ironically, it is probably the exact same audience that was there from Fox, as it also features Family Guy predominantly, but nonetheless, Bob's Burgers has triumphed with its second full length season, and that is something to be excited about.
The episode opens on a camping trip. The Belchers are heading up to Meshugaa's State Park as part of Tina's (Dan Mintz) Thundergirl Troop requirements. She needs to go camping and has to do things like consensual bird watching and taking pictures of the mind. Bob (Jon Benjamin) is convinced that he is capable of going camping, even if he only went once when he was younger and only has a switchblade as his protection. He catches fish and cooks his own meals across the river from a giant rock formation that as Gene (Eugene Mirman) would put it: "Nature boner." It is a phallic-looking rock statue named Mt. Wang after its founder.
The Belchers set up camp and quickly befriend a neighboring RV, who have been there for a reported 40 months. They claim that they are surviving in nature for the impending apocalypse with the help of a book full of tips. They also open up the option that the Belchers can borrow anything they want, though immediately regret it when their RV gets raided of supplies. Bob doesn't give into it and instead catches a measly fish.
While the kids are asleep, Bob and Linda (John Roberts) goes to what Bob refers to as a warm springs. After getting naked, save for a life vest, they are met with a disappointing mix of diarrhea and a current that takes them up the river a great distance, leaving the kids to wake up and wonder where they are. There is also fear that the forest is also full of killer squirrels, who have been stealing some innocent people lately.
After landing, Bob and Linda decide to try and head back to camp. Linda wears the life vest while Bob makes a handyman's pair of briefs out of sticks and leaves. The two get quickly lost as they find that there are two rivers that have joined up and they have been following the wrong one. Meanwhile, the kids steal more equipment from the RV, including some tubes, and begin floating down the river looking for their parents. Along the way, Tina runs into the Thundergirls Troop and denounces their practice, as their oatmeal cookies are terrible.
Bob gets attacked by squirrels, which Linda fends off. When they get back to camp, the couple in the RV decide to take advantage of them and trap them inside. The kids arrive moments later and find out where they are. It turns out that they were captured because the kids stole way too many of their supplies, including the survival guide that has been their life's sustenance. Playing a cover of C+C Music Factory, the RV couple begin getting creepy and want to take advantage of Bob and Linda.
Luckily the kids save the day by finding a nearby beehive and slamming it into the RV with everyone still inside. It may have stung their parents, but they are able to escape. They may smell awful, not have any clothes, and left their tents behind, but the episode ends with Tina finding some zen in the Thundergirl's motives. Also, Bob discovers that maybe he isn't as great of a camper as he thought he was.
Rating: 3 out of 5
So glad to see this show still surviving. However, upon initial viewing, I was worried that we were entering another version of "Nude Beach." Basically, once they entered the warm springs, I had this feeling that it would be an episode centered around clever censorship. While I am not opposed to this in theory, it would seem a little redundant. Of course, the idea of going into the woods and getting lost has been done before. The Simpsons did it very well in their earlier seasons and King of the Hill turned it into the most inspired story about bird killing imaginable.
The episode as a whole didn't feel necessarily great or terrible. It felt like it was trying to just pit the kids and parents into teams in ways that we have already seen before. While I do love the tubes tying joke, the premise did feel a little flimsy. It was two parties who eventually find each other, and not in necessarily interesting ways, save for the RV couple and the squirrels. This episode lacked any authentic standout performance from any of the cast and while the song for the episode was fun, I felt like it could have been more prominent in the show.
To say the least, Bob's Burgers doesn't really feel like it does anything inspired with the camping premise. At most, it feels rushed. The most interesting part of the plot, which is something assumed since introducing them, was the RV couple's creepiness. The idea that someone would be hanging out in the woods for 40 years is indeed unnerving. I was worried that they would get sexually harassed, but when I noticed that the episode was almost up, I knew that there had to be a Hail Mary pass somewhere in there. It was fine and in typical fashion, rather clueless and fun. It felt like it made the RV couple more of an idea than an actual execution, even if they had a great selection of stuff.
It is also weird that Fox is leading the way in classy phallic jokes lately. After last week's brilliant Brooklyn Nine-Nine, to have Bob's Burgers tackle Mt. Wang and make it into an important plot point only shows the perversity that this show could go to for genuine stories. Still, I felt like even on general idea that this was supposed to be about a trip for Tina to become a legitimate Thundergirl Scout, I felt like not enough happened to even justify that set-up.
Nonetheless, I am glad to see that this show is back and while it may have started off this season a little rough, I am confident that it will boost back. I am not saying this was a bad episode, as it had plenty of great moments from each character. It is just that as a plot, this is one of the few satires of familiar plots that didn't work so well. It needed more substance.
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