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.
Bob's Burgers has a certain love affair with butt jokes. In fact, one of its first season's most notorious episodes involved pictures of animal anuses. It once again comes up as the central theme of this episode in which the Belcher kids decide to take Stand By Me into a different direction, which includes a two-butted goat. It's a very straightforward episode, and one that doesn't amount to much beyond the childlike wonder that the show is best at. It's a good episode, but it doesn't necessarily have much when compared to the other episode that premiered this week.
The episode opens with Bob's Burgers in the midst of a slow period. There is nothing to do and Bob (Jon Benjamin) suggests that the kids take the day off. This leaves the Belcher parents bored on their own, forcing themselves to play narts, which is a combination of napkins and darts being thrown around the building. Everyone joins in, including Linda (John Roberts) and Teddy (Larry Murphy). The game gets so competitive that Bob roots against his wife only to discover that he shouldn't. He loves her, and as such should be more supportive of her work.
Meanwhile, the kids decide to spend the day at the Wagstaff Pier. That is, except Gene (Eugene Mirman) insists that there is a two-butted goat somewhere a town over. As the Belcher kids waste away, Tina (Dan Mintz) gets a fortune saying that she will find true love on the journey. They also run into a series of kids, including Zeke (Bobby Tisdale), who is eager to see this goat and prods Gene into finally going. As the journey continues, they begin to drop off slowly.
As they travel through the woods, Tina questions her fate as she looks at the boys around her. They are all a little dumb and doesn't fit her needs. Zeke tries to climb through an electric fence only to have Daryl (Aziz Ansari) open a nearby door. There is a large patch of poison ivy, which makes the group drop off. Regular Sized Rudie (Brian Huskey) is scared because he wore dress shoes without socks. Still, it is Gene who is excited to see the goat and decides to carry everyone across the patch, sacrificing his legs' health in the process.
As they arrive, Gene is initially dismayed by what he sees. There is only a one-butted goat. However, he quickly discovers that there is one in the near distance. As they rejoice, Louise (Kristen Schaal) loses a bet as to who will clean Bob's Burgers. With Gene thrilled, things work out for him and everyone is thrilled. The only issue is that Tina is mad that she didn't find true love. When they return to Bob's Burgers, they discover that there's spitballs splattered everywhere around the building, causing Louise to panic.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
It becomes difficult to admit sometimes, but I generally don't think that the average Bob's Burgers episode is that well formatted. Yes, it's still rather funny and can have some very inventive plots. However, it's episodes like this that make me feel like the show is weak when it separates the adults and kids and attempts to give them equal interest. For Gene's story, there's plenty to enjoy as the kids go on a journey that involves a decent Stand By Me parody. However, Bob gets thrown to the wayside with one of the dumber plots of the season. I get that it's meant to be a filler plot, seeing as the business has some down time, but it still feels inessential considering the richness of the main plot.
I wish that I could understand why an average episode always has one good plot and one bad one like this. I know that there's likely an audience who enjoys the more low key nature of these stories, but you end up getting something that feels inconsequential and serves more as filler. What value does the Bob story have if all it does is show that Bob loves Linda? It also seems asinine because, beyond the end joke, it contradicts a lot of what Bob would generally do in keeping the restaurant clean. I know that this is an egregious nitpick, but what was the point of it all?
I think that it could be clever, but it's also such a lame and dull concept that makes you just long to see what Bob's Burgers could be if it focused more on the Gene story. I don't know that it's much better, but it definitely has a lot more going on that captures the audience's interest. There's Gene's fascination with the two-butted goat. There's Louise and the bet. There's even Tina and her awkward sexuality getting some good mileage. I'm sure had the parents been merely a wraparound device, then maybe it would've worked a little better. Yet all it does is distract from kids being kids in one of the most intriguing ways possible.
I know that I don't talk about it a lot, but I definitely think that it keeps me from thinking Bob's Burgers as this great show, which frankly has somehow managed to last far more seasons than I had initially imagined. We're nearing the 100 episodes, and I feel like it is still consistent enough to be enjoyable. However, it still has to overcome the idea of putting two concepts together that dull each other out and make neither all that appealing. I don't think that Bob's story could've held its own, let along five minutes. It was a dumb concept, and one that I feel takes away from a far better episode.
Bob's Burgers is still thankfully a good show, and one that continues to be defiantly different than The Simpsons and Family Guy. However, I think that its crassness can occasionally be a little much and the choice to be rugged doesn't help either. The show is often funny, but it has ran into problems with making consistently engaging episodes. Maybe it's my need for more heart or provocative plots, but I just feel like there's something missing when dealing with this show, and it definitely comes in the presence here of narts. As much as I enjoy expanding the language of this universe, I just wish that they made stories that felt a tad more important than whatever narts was supposed to be.
The episode opens with Bob's Burgers in the midst of a slow period. There is nothing to do and Bob (Jon Benjamin) suggests that the kids take the day off. This leaves the Belcher parents bored on their own, forcing themselves to play narts, which is a combination of napkins and darts being thrown around the building. Everyone joins in, including Linda (John Roberts) and Teddy (Larry Murphy). The game gets so competitive that Bob roots against his wife only to discover that he shouldn't. He loves her, and as such should be more supportive of her work.
Meanwhile, the kids decide to spend the day at the Wagstaff Pier. That is, except Gene (Eugene Mirman) insists that there is a two-butted goat somewhere a town over. As the Belcher kids waste away, Tina (Dan Mintz) gets a fortune saying that she will find true love on the journey. They also run into a series of kids, including Zeke (Bobby Tisdale), who is eager to see this goat and prods Gene into finally going. As the journey continues, they begin to drop off slowly.
As they travel through the woods, Tina questions her fate as she looks at the boys around her. They are all a little dumb and doesn't fit her needs. Zeke tries to climb through an electric fence only to have Daryl (Aziz Ansari) open a nearby door. There is a large patch of poison ivy, which makes the group drop off. Regular Sized Rudie (Brian Huskey) is scared because he wore dress shoes without socks. Still, it is Gene who is excited to see the goat and decides to carry everyone across the patch, sacrificing his legs' health in the process.
As they arrive, Gene is initially dismayed by what he sees. There is only a one-butted goat. However, he quickly discovers that there is one in the near distance. As they rejoice, Louise (Kristen Schaal) loses a bet as to who will clean Bob's Burgers. With Gene thrilled, things work out for him and everyone is thrilled. The only issue is that Tina is mad that she didn't find true love. When they return to Bob's Burgers, they discover that there's spitballs splattered everywhere around the building, causing Louise to panic.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
It becomes difficult to admit sometimes, but I generally don't think that the average Bob's Burgers episode is that well formatted. Yes, it's still rather funny and can have some very inventive plots. However, it's episodes like this that make me feel like the show is weak when it separates the adults and kids and attempts to give them equal interest. For Gene's story, there's plenty to enjoy as the kids go on a journey that involves a decent Stand By Me parody. However, Bob gets thrown to the wayside with one of the dumber plots of the season. I get that it's meant to be a filler plot, seeing as the business has some down time, but it still feels inessential considering the richness of the main plot.
I wish that I could understand why an average episode always has one good plot and one bad one like this. I know that there's likely an audience who enjoys the more low key nature of these stories, but you end up getting something that feels inconsequential and serves more as filler. What value does the Bob story have if all it does is show that Bob loves Linda? It also seems asinine because, beyond the end joke, it contradicts a lot of what Bob would generally do in keeping the restaurant clean. I know that this is an egregious nitpick, but what was the point of it all?
I think that it could be clever, but it's also such a lame and dull concept that makes you just long to see what Bob's Burgers could be if it focused more on the Gene story. I don't know that it's much better, but it definitely has a lot more going on that captures the audience's interest. There's Gene's fascination with the two-butted goat. There's Louise and the bet. There's even Tina and her awkward sexuality getting some good mileage. I'm sure had the parents been merely a wraparound device, then maybe it would've worked a little better. Yet all it does is distract from kids being kids in one of the most intriguing ways possible.
I know that I don't talk about it a lot, but I definitely think that it keeps me from thinking Bob's Burgers as this great show, which frankly has somehow managed to last far more seasons than I had initially imagined. We're nearing the 100 episodes, and I feel like it is still consistent enough to be enjoyable. However, it still has to overcome the idea of putting two concepts together that dull each other out and make neither all that appealing. I don't think that Bob's story could've held its own, let along five minutes. It was a dumb concept, and one that I feel takes away from a far better episode.
Bob's Burgers is still thankfully a good show, and one that continues to be defiantly different than The Simpsons and Family Guy. However, I think that its crassness can occasionally be a little much and the choice to be rugged doesn't help either. The show is often funny, but it has ran into problems with making consistently engaging episodes. Maybe it's my need for more heart or provocative plots, but I just feel like there's something missing when dealing with this show, and it definitely comes in the presence here of narts. As much as I enjoy expanding the language of this universe, I just wish that they made stories that felt a tad more important than whatever narts was supposed to be.
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