Review: Bob’s Burgers “Roamin’ Bob-iday”

“Go-go shower rangers!”

Overview (Spoilers Below!)

Bob’s been acting out of it all day, so the next morning, Linda and the kids lock him out of the restaurant to force him to take a day off. Bob begs to be let inside so that he can supervise a delivery of buns. When Mr. Fischoeder drives by, Bob chases the landlord down.

Mr. Fischoeder is baffled by Bob’s desire to work, and he tries to convince Bob to roll oranges down a hill to see if cars will run them over. When Bob doesn’t see the appeal, Mr. Fischoeder performs a Broadway-worthy tune about the wonders of doing nothing. But when he, Calvin, and their cousin Grover try to enlist Bob in snail racing, Bob nopes out of there.

Bob takes a leisurely stroll through the town, realizing that maybe taking a day off will be a good thing. But when he sees his bread delivery truck, he sneaks inside to check on his buns. The owner drives off with Bob inside, stopping in front of a restaurant called Patricia’s 77 Sandwiches.

Patricia’s restaurant is packed, and she’s struggling to keep up with orders. A man named Steve sits at the counter, telling Bob that he and Patricia are going on a date after the restaurant closes for the day. Bob begs Patricia to let him help her, and she agrees. But just as Bob and Patricia are closing up, a customer calls with an order for one of each 77 sandwiches, to be delivered in the next 40 minutes. Bob convinces Patricia to take the order, and they race to complete all 77.

They finish in time, but Steve is gone; he left a note behind explaining that he understands the restaurant will always come first for Patricia. Patricia admits that she’s stood him up before, and Bob convinces her to run after him. Bob realizes that while work is important to him, his family is even more so.

Back at the restaurant, Mudflap asks Linda to put together a last-minute surprise baby shower for fellow biker Goldie. When everyone yells “Surprise!,” Goldie bursts into tears but insists she’s okay. Eventually, Goldie admits that she’s been having contractions all day, but she hid them because she’s not ready to have a baby. Linda pumps her up. Bob returns to find that, yet again, a biker has given birth in their restaurant.

Our Take

I can think of 77 reasons why I enjoyed this episode.

Okay, well, maybe not exactly 77, but here’s a few of them:

• Linda “took Gene to the mall to visit an outfit he likes.”
• Bob leaves the kitchen with a handful of raw meat, looks confused, and then wanders sheepishly back in.
• Mudflap says, “Got my back tattoo removed. Put it on my front.” She also claims that Bob’s Burgers is the “only nice restaurant” she knows.
• This exchange: “You wanna help put a baby shower together in an hour or what?” “Or what!” “I’ll call all the babies I know and tell them to get their asses over here.”
• “What’s a bread perv?” “You know, one of those guys who’s into bread. I mean, REALLY into bread.”
• “Do you really make all 77 sandwiches?” “I make 34. That’s why I call it Patricia’s 77 Sandwiches.”
• “Hey, if those three men could have a baby, you’ll be fine.”
• “… the French fries so crisp that you call the police…”

Another highlight that’s difficult to summarize in one snappy line is Mr. Fischoeder’s ode to doing nothing, performed in the style of a classic old-school musical. Fischoeder’s golf cart trundles past a tropical beach resort and then through the skies, skating past hot air balloons as it soars into the fluffy clouds of a gorgeously pink sunset. The lyrics both make him seem immensely relatable and like a creepy asshole, which is when the character is at his very best. At the end of the episode, Bob reprises the song with his own passionate ballad in favor of working in the restaurant, which is both touching and ridiculous. He ends by climbing an enormous stack of burgers in front of that same pink sunset, declaring his love for his family in a genuinely heartfelt moment. Patricia and her 77 sandwiches are also loads of fun—during the credits, the Belcher’s list off sandwich numbers and she relays the contents of each one. (For sandwich 69, Patricia just says “nice.”)

The message of this episode is a little obvious—that, while work is important, it’s also vital to make time for the people in your life—but it’s still heartwarming. Bob’s genuine love for his family is one of the things that makes Bob’s Burgers stand out from the adult animation crowd, and I’m glad to see it highlighted here.

The only downside to this episode is that it takes a while to really get where it’s going. The three pieces of Bob’s story—the burnout, the frolic with Mr. Fischoeder, the stint in Patricia’s 77 Sandwiches—feel somewhat disconnected until the very end. And overall, the main plot of this episode is very similar to “Lindapendent Woman,” an episode from way back in season three—while the B plot is yet again about a biker woman giving birth in the restaurant, just like in “Ear-sy Rider.” While Bob’s Burgers is great at executing similar concepts in new, fresh ways, I can’t help but feel that they may have run out of truly original ideas.

Plus, one of my main gripes about this season—that Gene isn’t allowed his chance to really be Gene—still stands here. When Linda realizes that Bob is experiencing burnout, she announces, “And I think I know what we should do,” to which Gene responds, “Poison him!” While Gene is certainly random and sometimes insensitive, he’s also pacifistic and loving, and I can’t imagine him ever even suggesting poisoning his father (he couldn’t even poison an ex-friend in “Roller? I Hardly Know Her”). Gene’s personality is so lovable and shouldn’t be compromised even in episodes where he’s not the main focus.

Although slow to start, “Patricia’s 77 Sandwiches” makes up for lost time in delightful songs and a genuinely exciting sandwich shop adventure. It’s a great choice to watch on your own day off.