Review: Bob’s Burgers “P.T.A. It Ain’t So”

I doubt this show could get any more relatable than taking on a school P.T.A.

Overview:

Linda is pushing to bring some big ideas to the school P.T.A., but when she gets there, she runs into the more assertive mothers.  She thinks she has cracked her way in when the P.T.A. president asks if she will join her for breakfast.  Convinced that she should run for the school board, but Linda discovers that this was only an attempt to knock out the other candidate.  What’s worse, is the president wanted the other mother out because she didn’t want to be caught stealing from the P.T.A.

Meanwhile, the dishwasher has stopped working so Bob and the kids tag along with Ted to the local hardware store.  Unfortunately, Bob causes the owner to be upset when he jokes about his missing pet bird.  His attempts to smooth things over continue to make the hardware store owner even more upset.  The kids help out their dad by trying to find the lost bird.

Our Take:

There is nothing quite like when an episode resonates with you so much that you are choking because you are laughing so much.  That is what Linda’s endeavor into the P.T.A. did for me.  There are a lot of things that I have learned from being a single father, and dealing with the other parents at your child’s school is one of them.  This episode perfectly encapsulated what it is like to attempt to be a bigger part of the school’s boards.  From the aggressive mothers to that one weird dad that tries way too hard.  Writer Kelvin Yu must have been writing from experience for this one because it is spot on.

I would love to pour some love on Linda’s character as one of the best moms in television.  Her awkwardness is highlighted in this episode and deserves mention.  For example, when asked if she was busy by one of the other mothers Linda replies with this brilliant quote: “No, I was just organizing my… uh, stool… samples.”  Who knows how John Roberts genuinely becomes this lovable middle-aged woman, but he never fails to deliver lines with such talent.

Despite Linda’s relatable plot and Bob’s clever b-story, the highlight of this episode happens mostly in the background with the kids.  When visiting the hardware store with their father, they all three sacrifice their birthday presents to be allowed to purchase a 6-foot piece of P.V.C. piping.  From there, they can be seen in the background using the pipe in all sorts of creative ways from blowing out napkins to using it to eat ketchup.  By the end of the episode, they give up their tube as it has become gross and old and apparently has a hot dog stuck inside of it.  Honestly, I would take an entire episode just about the kids finding ways to play with a pipe.

Bob’s Burgers never fails to give me at least one or two laugh out loud moments.  With this unsuspecting episode I may have been laughing more than usual, and it might have to do more with the relatable context.  But, who cares?  Isn’t that what these Sunday night lineup shows are supposed to do for us?  Make us laugh at the things in our own world, but taken in a world without consequences.  Even the kids finding an affliction for a piece of piping from a hardware store seems like something any of us would have done as a child.  For me, this episode was a knockout, but I can see for others that the humour may have taken a hit for the story if it was not as relatable.  So, while everyone is spending their night watching Game of Thrones, I am happy to be laughing at Linda navigate the P.T.A.