When I get home from work or classes, I find one of the ways to wind down while not draining my energy is to watch Fox’s Emmy award-winning animated series “Bob’s Burgers.” First airing in 2011, this fresh find follows the life of the Belcher family, trying to get their restaurant off the ground. The idea a brainchild of Loren Bouchard, who also created the animated series “Home Movies,” and the show is developed by himself and Jim Dauterive, and has seven major reasons to watch.
1. Bob Belcher
Bob is a pun-oriented father in his mid-forties who wants nothing more than for his restaurant to be successful. His mustachioed wisdom is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, and he who is a father attempting to provide his family through lower-middle class struggles. His best customer/friend Teddy lights up the restaurant and keeps Bob (and the restaurant) afloat. Bob himself is a "greasy heterosexual Walt Whitman" but also is not decidedly straight as seen in his best episode, which is not made a huge deal or an underlying part of his personality, showing a bisexual character who has settled down - or is trying to, at least.
Best episode: "Turkey in a Can" (4.5)
Best one-liner: “Listen, you’re my children and I love you, but you’re all terrible at what you do here.”
2. Linda Belcher
Linda is defined by her enthusiasm: for her children and husband, her sing-narration, and her desire to continue to stay hip, even if she only has “two outta five sexy parts.” Voiced by male John Roberts, this fun-loving spirit supports her children and husband through the everyday misadventures of running a restaurant.
Best episode: "I Get Psy-chic Out of You” (3.16)
Best one-liner: “All right, freaky friend fiction!”
3. Tina Belcher
Tina defined herself as a dork for boys, butts, and horses. Although the first daughter is also voiced by a male, Dan Mintz, is the most awkward of the three children, but has the biggest heart. Her never-ending love for her family shines in each episode. The most realistic version of puberty in a cartoon that I have ever encountered, Tina Belcher is a young sex-positive female character, which is rare on television and even rarer in cartoon form.
Best episode: "Tina-Rannosaurus Wrecks" (3.6)
Best one-liner: “I’m no hero. I put my bra on one boob at a time just like everybody else.”
4. Gene Belcher
Gene is inseparable from his miniature keyboard and the dog barks and fart sounds it creates. Voiced by Eugene Mirman, he wears a burger to get attention (for the restaurant, right? Never for himself. He doesn’t suffer from middle-child syndrome at all) and is inspired by music and powerful women – including his mother and sisters.
Best episode: "O.T.: The Outside Toilet" (3.15)
Best one-liner: “Summer is awful, there’s too much pressure to enjoy yourself.”
5. Louise Belcher
The one major family member who is voiced by a female is the youngest, Louise. Kristen Schaal lends her voice to a character whose insane energy is uncapped, even with her trademark pink bunny ears on her head. This conniving and precocious child is the root of many schemes and ideas to run awry. Outspoken and very tricky (both as a character and characteristically), she plots like the evil genius she will surely one day become. (That, or she’ll take over the family business.)
Best episode: "Ear-sy Rider" (3.2)
Best one-liner: “What is this feeling I’m feeling right now? It’s like I’m sad, for another person? Is that a thing?”
6. Relatability
While the show has juvenile humor and crude jokes, it hardly relies on upon just those. The family relationships are part of the show’s charm, particularly when the three kids get together – or if one of the kids is paired with a parent, which are particularly poignant and usually full of life. And this family is WEIRD – genuinely, enthusiastically, at times dysfunctional weird. I’ve wanted nothing more than a television show that legitimately captures the spirit of living in a five-person family, particularly a struggling one that branches from the norm of rich white people on the screen.
7. Special Attention
Word play is integral to the show, with a new store beside the house and restaurant along with a new type of exterminator in each introduction, and a new special burger of the day each day (and therefore each episode). Each episode is carefully crafted and has original concepts, even if they have traditional Valentine’s and Christmas episodes. The way that the characters on the show interact is perfect, particularly with the unforgettable townspeople (Mr. Frond, the bad-at-his-job guidance counselor; Bob’s successful nemesis Jimmy Pesto, who lives across the street; and crazy Aunt Gayle, who eats red lipstick if she wants to “feel red inside”) makes a real world that you can fall into with each episode. ORDER UP.
