★✯✯✯✯ - pretty bad
★★✯✯✯ - not so good
★★★✯✯ - pretty average
★★★★✯ - good
★★★★★ - pretty great
Same rules apply as with Adventure Time. I don't really hate any episodes of this show, the ratings are more in comparison with everything else the show has to offer. An average episode of this show is still good and I probably enjoy it a lot, but will just be given the average 3 star rating unless I find it particularly exceptional. So try not to see 1 or 2 star ratings as an insult, I just don't think those episodes are as good as the rest. Got it? Good. Now heeeeeeeeeeere we go!
'Human Flesh'
Episode 1
The first episode and we're already getting into some pretty morbid subject matter, with Bob being accused of using human flesh from the mortician next door for his burger meat. While this should have been disregarded pretty quickly, things escalate and the health inspector blocks them once he discovers Bob's wife Linda is his ex-fiance. Like I said before, this episode is pretty morbid, but sets the tone of the show really well and does a good job at establishing the series' main cast. It's a little rough, and the mic quality was obviously weaker than later on, but for a start, it's pretty impressive how well-defined some of the characters already were right out the gate.
★★★✯✯
'Crawl Space'
Episode 2
Bob gets himself stuck in the wall while tring to do some home repairs before his screeching mother-in-law comes to visit. But instead of just getting out of the wall, he decides to stay inside, which eventually makes him go bonkers. I think we all can relate to this episode to some degree. I know there have been times when I've wanted to avoid a visit or people so bad I'd be willing to hide in a wall. It's hilarious how obnoxious Linda's mom is, which leads to some pretty great jokes. There are some really funny moments here, and it's definitely one of Bob's best early episodes.
★★★★✯
'Sacred Cow'
Episode 3
While Bob is trying to celebrate the 100,000th burger sold in his restaurant, a documentary film crew camp out outside his restaurant along with a blonde wigged cow and give him 5 days to choose whether or not he will send that cow to the slaughter. This episode confronts the difficulty most people will have in being the one responsible for killing an animal that we wouldn't question eating for a second if not presented with this decision. But in the end, the episode doesn't try to preach any message and just lets the humor take over, which I can appreciate. It's funny and paints Bob in a very compassionate light.
★★★✯✯
'Sexy Dance Fighting'
Episode 4
The first disposable episode of the show, this one focuses on a Capoiera studio in town with an instructor named Jairo who Tina develops an infatuation with. He's smug, very new wave, and basically the opposite of Bob, which leads Bob to try to distance Tina from him. Jairo is a very bland character without many redeeming or entertaining qualities, which just makes it hard for any humor to be derived from an episode so heavily focused on him. As usual, Bob is the source of most of the best jokes in this episode, but it's sort of like playing catch with yourself; maybe it's fun, but without anything to play off of, it gets pretty stale. Not an annoying or bad episode, just a forgettable one.
★★✯✯✯
'Hamburger Dinner Theater'
Episode 5
After Linda goes to a dinner theater, she decides to try one out herself. The show doesn't work out well, at least until an armed robber joins in during one performance. This is definitely a weird one, as you see just how crazy Linda can be when she's trying to get something to work out just the way she wants, even if it involves someone pointing a gun at her and her family and stealing their money. When you look at it like this, it's not a very good episode, but some of their failed attempts at putting on a murder mystery show led to some big laughs, particularly the overzealous special effects gore scene.
★★★✯✯
'Sheesh, Cab Bob?'
Episode 6
To save up enough money to pay for Tina's 13th birthday party, Bob takes on a second job driving a cab at night for their landlord, Mr. Fishoeder. The resulting lack of sleep leads Bob to start passing out at the most inconvenient of times. When I said Crawl Space was one of Bob's best early episodes, I left that statement vague to allow for this one. To see the lengths Bob is willing to go for his family, even when they're acting spoiled and unappreciative (as Tina does throughout most of this one) shows just how great of a dad he really is. Maybe this one just hits home for me because this is the kind of thing I can see my own dad doing, but it's still a really sweet and wonderful episode. Easily my favorite of the first season, and features a wonderful use of Thompson Twins music.
★★★★★
'Bed & Breakfast'
Episode 7
As crazy as Linda was during Hamburger Dinner Theater, this is the one that really pushes her to the limits of being an absolute psycho. Linda decides to turn their home into a bed and breakfast, but when her guests don't appreciate the work she's put into it enough, things start to turn sour. Now, I generally really enjoy Linda. She's a fun character and feels pretty believable most of the time, even when she's being a bit loony. But this one just pushes her too far, and she stops being funny or relatable. Top that off with Louise also being crazy, and the whole episode just winds up being a little too unpleasant to love.
★★✯✯✯
'Art Crawl'
Episode 8
Linda's unstable sister Gayle hangs pictures of her artwork up in Bob's restaurant during the local art show: a bunch of paintings of animal butts. Bob tries to find a way to take them down without it hurting her feelings. This episode could have easily been a disaster and with how objectively obnoxious Gayle is, it's a surprise they were able to make it work. Even in spite of herself, Gayle is a hilarious character and I can't think of a better way to introduce her to the show. Bob gets to have some shining moments here, and Louise (though screechy as ever) has a fun subplot, too, that winds up cleverly working it's way into the main story.
★★★✯✯
'Spaghetti Western And Meatballs'
Episode 9
In spite of some of the things I've said about liking the whole show, this is an episode I struggle to find anything good to say about. When Gene inadvertently interrupts Bob and Louise's father-daughter time (spent making fun of bad movies and TV), Louise starts to turn into an absolute ass to Gene. Louise, in spite of having some great moments, is easily my least favorite of the main cast, and this episode is a perfect example why. She's spoiled, loud, over-the-top, doesn't act like a believable kid (which would work in a surreal show, but not one so grounded in reality), and everyone panders to her whenever she is clearly in the wrong. Even when they plug in sappy reasoning for why she's acted the way she has, it feels forced and doesn't absolve her. The Django-clone plot surrounding Gene and his joke-thief is also not funny and feels like total filler. This one is just an annoying mess.
★✯✯✯✯
'Burger Wars'
Episode 10
Bob's lease is almost up and he doesn't have the money to make the payments to his eccentric and money-grubbing landlord, which puts him at risk of losing his restaurant. To make matters worse, Bob's rival, Jimmy Pesto, has out in a bid to take over the lease and turn Bob's Burgers into a gift shop for his much more successful restaurant across the street. One of the earliest and most well told of the Bob and Jimmy rivalry episodes, this one is actually difficult to watch at times as Bob struggles to make enough money to keep his dream alive. It's more tense and even stressful than it is funny, but it still has some hilarious moments. Also, the ending is totally satisfying, and adds to one major aspect that I love so much about the show: how good Bob is at what he does.
★★★★✯
'Weekend At Mort's'
Episode 11
A growing green mold problem forces Bob and the family out of the restaurant for the weekend, at which time they are invited to spend these few days at their friend/neighbor Mort's house above the mortuary next door. Being one of the only days off Bob and Linda have had for a decade, they take this opportunity to go on a sort of retroactive honeymoon/double-date with Mort and his new (potential) girlfriend, while Tina is left in charge of the house and the care for her siblings. Of course Louise has to find a way to make things difficult for her. As a whole, there are some funny moments in this episode and one particularly dark and intense scene involving Bob being trapped in a coffin, but for the most part this is an episode I forget about a lot of the time. It doesn't really feel like it goes much of anywhere, but that final punchline always makes me laugh.
★★★✯✯
'Lobsterfest'
Episode 12
Bob hates the annual celebration Lobsterfest. So much so that he revels in the fact that a hurricane passes near the town, as the storms force the city to cancel the celebration. Because of this there's a town full of hungry people, leading Bob to become a temporary hero who feeds everyone for free. But the next day after the storm has passed, Lobsterfest is back on and Bob has a trashed restaurant. A much as Bob is usually very likable and understandable, this episode shows him at his most petty. This fleshes him out more and leads to some funny moments, but this is still a relatively frustrating episode at some points as it becomes increasingly apparent that no one cares about him beyond his charity. Not the best, but it's pretty good.
★★★✯✯
'Torpedo'
Episode 13
Bob meets his idol, Torpedo Jones, at a minor league baseball game, and the family soon become involved a lot more in what's going on with the team: Tina becomes a dugout assistant, Gene runs in the mascot races, and Bob brings Torpedo a burger before each game. But it soon becomes apparent that Torpedo has been cheating, and Bob is faced with the realization that his idol is pretty seedy. I love baseball, but few shows and movies fully capture the spirit of fhe experience. This one is no exception. Rapidly devolving to the level of a mid-grade after school special abut how cheating is bad, this one just doesn't fully deliver as a strong enough message to warrant an entire episode and doesn't have enough strong jokes to keep it very interesting. Also, it's not a very good season finale, but oh well.
★★✯✯✯
No comments:
Post a Comment