Review: Bob’s Burgers “The Laser-inth”

All types of “asers”.

Spoilers Below

It’s boys vs. girls on part 2 of a Bob’s Burgers doubleheader! Well, they’re not really going against each other, the two storylines just happen to be split along gender lines. So if you want to compare the two plots, it would be a battle of the sexes. I am going to analyze both of them, but since I am a fan of the show, I would like both of them to be supremely satisfying, so I do not see a need to declare a winner.

It’s Bob’s birthday, and Gene is the only one going out with him, while the girls go off and do their own thing. This setup could be an opportunity for Bob to resent how his family does not fully appreciate him, but I think it is the right call that not only is that not how this goes down, it is not even brought up as a possibility. Bob is so low-key that he does not even mind the “muffin soup” that Linda bakes him as a birthday breakfast (though he does not hold back from confirming how disgusting it is). But he does really want to go to the laser rock show at the planetarium. It does not have to be a whole family thing; if it is just Gene tagging along, then he is good to go.

Gene is completely overwhelmed by the laser experience, buggering the whole night up. But Bob manages to salvage it a bit by introducing his boy to the music more gently in the car in the parking lot. The band providing the laser soundtrack is the fictional Zentipede, a space opera-spinning prog-rock group (think the most excessive elements of Queen, Rush, and Pink Floyd fused together). Without the sensory overload, Gene realizes that this futuristic tale of breaking free from enslavement by the power of rock ‘n’ roll is right up his alley, and he decides to give the show another chance.

Alas, the planetarium does not allow re-entry. So father and son finagle a plan that involves buying advice from a scalper and bribing the concessionist to sneak them in the back door. Also, running is involved – a distressing and surprising amount of running. (I sympathize, though I can’t relate. I love running.) Anyway, Gene pushing away the Pluto boulder to distract the security guard – thus perfectly reflecting Zentipede’s lyrics about rolling a rock to save the day – is mighty satisfying.

Elsewhere, Linda and the girls visit Gretchen at her new job providing hair care … for dolls … at a doll store where the dolls are spoken to and about like they are real people. You do not have to be Tina to think that is creepy. The real thrust of this plot comes into clarity when Louise finds herself grabbed by a backstory that establishes one of the dolls as a spy. When she discovers that this particular model is going to be discontinued (and the extent of what discontinuing means), the ladies all band together to make her appear good as new and trick the store into keeping her around. They then decide to purchase her, with Tina – despite her profound misgivings – willing to go along.

It is nice to see everyone working together, but I think this storyline wraps up a little too quickly. It could use one final showdown with the doll store waiter. He is voiced by comedian (and occasional Bob’s guest) Todd Barry, who has a cadence that is kind of passive-aggressive but transcends that description. He would make a fine regular thorn in the Belchers’ sides.

Memorable Lines and Obs-burg-vations of the Day:

-Gene’s interpretation of the Iraq War is about half right.

-Gene is still mad at Bob for traumatizing him with viewings of Beaches, Terms of Endearment, and Kramer vs. Kramer.

-“They’re complimentary.” “Well, they should be free!”

-You’ve got to love these little details that Bob’s throws in for its ancillary characters, like how Gretchen is still making payments on a jet-ski accident.