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.
Here we are nearing the end of the regular TV season. If you look at every other Fox series, they are mere weeks away from ending. As for Bob's Burgers, they're barely crossing their halfway mark. With a little doubling down this week (the next piece will be out tomorrow), the show attempts to make up for lost time. Thankfully, the show is in as top form as usual. With two excellent stories, this episode manages to take two nonsensical plots and make them into one of the better half hours that they have produced all season, and it involves a little Regular Sized Rudie (Brian Huskey).
The episode begins with the Belcher kids attending Rudie's birthday party. They quickly become shocked to discover that the bounce house that Rudie promised was actually delivered to the more privileged party next door. Dahlia (Jessia Lowe) doesn't wish to share her bounce house with the commoners, so Rudie's party decides to try and steal the bounce house with help from a double agent. It goes according to plan until Dahlia finds out. As they float the bounce house into the lake, they trap themselves thanks to Dahlia pulling the duct tape off of the hose section.
After this happens, the party is forced to be arrested by the park police. Rudie's recently divorced father has to bail them out. Rudie meanwhile panics, realizing that his wish to have a normal birthday party - with an additional play written by him reenacted - would never happen. The kids see how much this bothers him and decide to put it on. They're eventually freed, at which point they are unwilling to leave due to the amount of fun that they're having.
Meanwhile, Bob (Jon Benjamin) discovers that there is a pigeon in his restaurant. Teddy (Larry Murphy) is confused as to why it bothers him so much. He attempts to get Bob to love the pigeon, but it only causes more problems until the bird is stuck in the basement covered in olive oil. Bob confesses that a traumatic event happened to him as a child - which ended up being a shot for shot description of The Birds. As things progress, Bob eventually discovers that he is fine with the bird and even takes a bath with it before letting it run free.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I will admit that it gets difficult to really write these posts when the episodes are released almost at random. Considering that there are entire months that the show wasn't even on, it does seem impossible to properly assess it, or even notice consistency. However, the choice to double down on episodes may end up overwhelming these write-ups, especially if this is what's going to happen for the next few (presumably five) weeks. It isn't that the show is bad, but I cannot dedicate enough time to all of them if I have to write about them all in such a rushed manner.
Which brings me to this episode, the first of two this week. I will admit that Bob's Burgers is at best a really good show for me. I don't know that I love it as much as The Simpsons anymore, but it definitely provides a lot of great moments when it decides to do something fun. This is definitely on the fun side of things, and I feel that there's a lot of great moments in stealing a bounce house. If nothing else, I haven't seen it before on TV. I especially like the animation for the sequence of the bounce house on the lake, which manages to waver with every tide and every ounce of deflation.
The reason that I think that this episode works very well is because it has a deeper core than its premise. We're invested in the kids getting the bounce house, sure. However, we're also secretly hoping that Rudie has a great birthday party. After all, he is the pipsqueak who has been the butt of jokes too often not to have some payoff once in awhile. Speaking as the episode is all about pleasing him, the final sequence involving the kids reenacting his play is a little charming in the way that the show can often do well. The childlike sense of wonder is something that is sometimes overdone, but here is done well enough.
The secondary story is also pretty intriguing, even if the reveal is kind of dumb. The choice to have Bob scared of birds is a novelty premise, and one that allows for great comical gags of Bob freaking out. Still, it works in a delusional way because it plays into a fear established by a very old movie. It is here that it goes from being a well rounded plot to a little ridiculous - but in a good way. Bob's bonding with the bird is very strange and leads to something that reflects the show's ability to make nonsensical stories into character development. Maybe Bob is a better person for not hating pigeons. Who knows. All we know is that he's a little crazy about the things he likes.
Overall, Bob's Burgers delivers a really good episode and raises the question as to why it isn't on with more frequency. After all, most of the other series have had their run and are almost at completion. Part of it does feel like the show is incapable of being on for much longer - regardless on if it actually has gotten renewed. Frankly, the show's run is so impressive that it's not shocking if this is true. I think that this episode reflects the better half of what Bob's Burgers can do, and I'm hoping that its run up to the 100th episode will be fruitful and give the show a much needed resurgence. See you all tomorrow.
The episode begins with the Belcher kids attending Rudie's birthday party. They quickly become shocked to discover that the bounce house that Rudie promised was actually delivered to the more privileged party next door. Dahlia (Jessia Lowe) doesn't wish to share her bounce house with the commoners, so Rudie's party decides to try and steal the bounce house with help from a double agent. It goes according to plan until Dahlia finds out. As they float the bounce house into the lake, they trap themselves thanks to Dahlia pulling the duct tape off of the hose section.
After this happens, the party is forced to be arrested by the park police. Rudie's recently divorced father has to bail them out. Rudie meanwhile panics, realizing that his wish to have a normal birthday party - with an additional play written by him reenacted - would never happen. The kids see how much this bothers him and decide to put it on. They're eventually freed, at which point they are unwilling to leave due to the amount of fun that they're having.
Meanwhile, Bob (Jon Benjamin) discovers that there is a pigeon in his restaurant. Teddy (Larry Murphy) is confused as to why it bothers him so much. He attempts to get Bob to love the pigeon, but it only causes more problems until the bird is stuck in the basement covered in olive oil. Bob confesses that a traumatic event happened to him as a child - which ended up being a shot for shot description of The Birds. As things progress, Bob eventually discovers that he is fine with the bird and even takes a bath with it before letting it run free.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I will admit that it gets difficult to really write these posts when the episodes are released almost at random. Considering that there are entire months that the show wasn't even on, it does seem impossible to properly assess it, or even notice consistency. However, the choice to double down on episodes may end up overwhelming these write-ups, especially if this is what's going to happen for the next few (presumably five) weeks. It isn't that the show is bad, but I cannot dedicate enough time to all of them if I have to write about them all in such a rushed manner.
Which brings me to this episode, the first of two this week. I will admit that Bob's Burgers is at best a really good show for me. I don't know that I love it as much as The Simpsons anymore, but it definitely provides a lot of great moments when it decides to do something fun. This is definitely on the fun side of things, and I feel that there's a lot of great moments in stealing a bounce house. If nothing else, I haven't seen it before on TV. I especially like the animation for the sequence of the bounce house on the lake, which manages to waver with every tide and every ounce of deflation.
The reason that I think that this episode works very well is because it has a deeper core than its premise. We're invested in the kids getting the bounce house, sure. However, we're also secretly hoping that Rudie has a great birthday party. After all, he is the pipsqueak who has been the butt of jokes too often not to have some payoff once in awhile. Speaking as the episode is all about pleasing him, the final sequence involving the kids reenacting his play is a little charming in the way that the show can often do well. The childlike sense of wonder is something that is sometimes overdone, but here is done well enough.
The secondary story is also pretty intriguing, even if the reveal is kind of dumb. The choice to have Bob scared of birds is a novelty premise, and one that allows for great comical gags of Bob freaking out. Still, it works in a delusional way because it plays into a fear established by a very old movie. It is here that it goes from being a well rounded plot to a little ridiculous - but in a good way. Bob's bonding with the bird is very strange and leads to something that reflects the show's ability to make nonsensical stories into character development. Maybe Bob is a better person for not hating pigeons. Who knows. All we know is that he's a little crazy about the things he likes.
Overall, Bob's Burgers delivers a really good episode and raises the question as to why it isn't on with more frequency. After all, most of the other series have had their run and are almost at completion. Part of it does feel like the show is incapable of being on for much longer - regardless on if it actually has gotten renewed. Frankly, the show's run is so impressive that it's not shocking if this is true. I think that this episode reflects the better half of what Bob's Burgers can do, and I'm hoping that its run up to the 100th episode will be fruitful and give the show a much needed resurgence. See you all tomorrow.
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