Review: Bob’s Burgers ‘L’il Hard Dad’

 

Spoilers Below:

There are a lot of great character match-ups in Bob’s Burgers. Bob and Linda always form a good team, as do the kids – obviously, in both cases. Also, I enjoy the duo of Louise and Tina, because the former is evil and diabolical and way too old for her age, and the latter is caring and sensitive and struggling to find out how people her age are supposed to act. Bob and Linda also each have a special bond with each of their kids, but some relationships are highlighted much less than others. Gender pairings, or the grouping of Bob & Gene together, and Linda & Tina & Louise together, is something rarely tackled on this show.

Bob bought a remote control replica of the helicopter from True Lies, and during its test flight, it was destroyed on a seemingly perfect landing – launching Bob on a mission to get a refund. Gene, after failing to act when Tina was in a small bit of danger during the test, joined Bob so he could redeem himself as a hero. Together they met the owner of the helicopter company, Sheldon Felds (voice of Dana Snyder), who refused. The father & son declared war on him in response. When things got out of hand, Gene was the level-headed one, and called for an end to the fighting.

Meanwhile, Tina stressed over a book report, and Linda & Louise taught her how to fudge the assignment without reading it. However, during the presentation, Tina cracked under pressure and freaked out. Her teacher mistook this for an elaborate representation of the book, The Call of the Wild, and commended her.

In Case You Missed It:

1) Burger of the Day: Sweet Chili O’ Mine

2) Tina: “Thanks Dad, I hate getting hit in the head with boots.”

3) “Hey, let’s all be quiet so Tina can read … Who said that?”

4) Man of Action-ing = Mactioning

5) Settings where Bob used the term, “It’s the principle!” were: at the dry cleaner, the mechanic, the movies, a restaurant, and church.

6) “Kirk Cameron was right!”

7) Kids don’t understand pricing: “$300?! Of money?!”

8) Glad to see Teddy make an appearance at the VERY end.

Not since season 3’s “Broadcast Wagstaff News” (in which Gene dressed and acted like a mini-Bob for the whole episode) did we see so much bonding between father & son on Bob’s Burgers. And despite this not having anything to do with appearance (although there were some great shots highlighting the duo’s similarities) it definitely seemed to bring the two together.

However, the meaningful part of the story dealt with the fact that Gene – usually one to get caught up in situations and his own emotions and act without regard to safety or practicality – had something to teach his father, instead of the other way around. When Bob flew off the handle, Gene was there to ground him. Humorously, this was best illustrated when the Belcher boy had to convince three grown men to put down their toys and stop bickering and fighting over trivial disagreements.

Elsewhere, Tina was relegated to the B-storyline, but still managed to showcase the things that make her unique and popular. She flashed a bit of confidence and responsibility (something not always emphasized among the Belcher clan members) when completing her book report, by being the only one who wanted to do it honestly. Although she was eventually convinced into deceiving her teacher & classmates by her mother & sister, she cracked in the end almost blew the whole scam. However, she managed to pull herself together well enough to lie and save her own ass (and grade).

Although this wasn’t one of the funniest episode of the year, the sweet storylines combined with the out-of-the-ordinary character match-up chemistry made for a very amusing half hour. Plus, we got two see & hear two – count em, two! – performances of John Roberts singing & dancing in a way that Linda can do better than everyone else, and that’s worth some extra credit.