There have been many unfortunate casualties in television history as shows both fantastic & ahead of its time don’t connect with audiences or networks to keep them alive. In 2011, Loren Bouchard’s latest foray into the world of animated sit-coms allowed potential viewers to get to know The Belcher Family. After a rough start critically, “Bob’s Burgers” became a hit amongst viewers looking to feel a little less weird and little more … well, still weird. Welcome to the “Bob’s Burgers Life Lesson” series (season one).
All’s Fair in Love & War (Episode 1: “Human Flesh”)
The “Bob’s Burgers” inaugural episode took very little time emphasizing that the Belcher family’s wacky dynamic featuring burger chef extraordinaire (though the owner of a financially-struggling restaurant) Bob, his eccentric wife Linda, and their three kids – a socially awkward teenaged daughter Tina; the mildly musically inclined son Gene; and an incredibly manipulative, highly combative nine-year-old Louise who just enjoys telling extravagant tales including her father’s restaurant not using beef for his burgers, but human flesh. The obvious lie of a story concerning Bob’s meat of choice Louise told during her class’ show & tell made its way out of the school’s confines; reaching the ears of a local health inspector, Hugo Habercore. To Hugo’s surprise upon entering the restaurant in hopes of discovering whether or not Bob had a constant supply of meat coming to him courtesy of the funeral home next door was the fact someone from his past eventually greeted the health inspector. Linda not only was engaged to Hugo unbeknownst to Bob, she actually left Hugo for her future husband. Jilted and having the perfect type of authority to make someone who hindered his love life pay for unintentionally doing something he knew nothing about (let alone had a purposeful hand in causing), Hugo shut the restaurant down while posting a notice that Bob’s Burgers was a haven for cannibalism.
Of course things got even worse for the Belcher family thanks to a series of unfortunate situations including Gene accidentally rolling a body-holding casket in front of the restaurant & inadvertently breaking the store’s front window, and Bob’s inspirational speech trying to talk down an angry mob turning into a pro-cannibalism speech. Hugo’s abuse of power came to a head as his second-in-command, Ron, made his superior understand the folly of his ways and confirmed that everything found in Bob’s Burgers was legal (all the while Bob started lying to potential customers hoping to ingest some “exotic” food). Love can be a vicious beast no matter end of the spectrum one ends up on, but don’t be upset when you find yourself on the wrong side of a lover scorned. Also don’t be disappointed in yourself for trying to make the person who stole your love be accused by his community of being a cannibal – all is fair in love & war.
In-Laws Don’t Exist to Simply Ruin Your Life (Episode 2: “Crawl Space”)
In-laws, amirite? Poor Bob wasn’t foreign to the stress of being married to someone who just so happened to have relatively annoying mother who not only nagged, but also sent her daughter into a cleaning frenzy. Though Linda was unreasonably cleaning their home, she wasn’t the only person taking part in something certifiably crazy as Bob, after “fixing” a ceiling leak, discovered a crawlspace in the attic where he could pretend to be stuck and stay away from Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Al. Taking advantage of the situation were the kids as they spooked fellow classmates visiting the “haunted” building, got out of school work due to grieving, and even avoided detention. While the kids ran amok, Bob found himself in a true precarious predicament when he ended up actually stuck.
When Bob revealed the truth to Linda, his wife reasonably snapped to a certain extent while opting to leave Bob trapped behind the restaurant’s walls. Things finally came to a head when the kids’ actions at school instigated the arrival of their guidance chancellor Mr. Frond so he could figure out why the Belcher household had fallen on such hard times. Sticking up for her daughter and rather insane son-in-law, Gloria & Al sent Mr. Frond packing before saving Bob from the horrors of only being able to use the bathroom in a jar. If there’s one thing to learn from Bob’s escapades it’s this: don’t try to hide from your in-laws; be it in or out of the house. You never know the depths of insanity you’ll be forced to encounter and, ironically enough, be saved from thanks to the same people you’re trying to avoid during their two-day visit that can turn into an extended stay if you’re not careful.
Art Can Woefully Influence Life (Episode 5: “Hamburger Dinner Theater”)
Throughout the early (and especially later) episodes of “Bob’s Burgers” it became almost painfully obvious Bob’s wife Linda had knack for embracing her inner musician, singing randomly and enjoying the more artistic side of their seashore town including the local dinner theater. With Mort – the Belcher family’s neighbor & resident mortician – too being a fan of dinner theater, he decided to encourage Linda to put on her own show inside the restaurant. Bob gave into the idea for a three-night experience titled “Dreamatorium”. Unfortunately for not only Linda, but also Bob – who lost money thanks to the first show’s level of gore being too excessive – “Dreamatorium” attracted the unwarranted attention of a robber.
No matter what Bob said to the people attending this homemade dinner theater, the robber’s singing ability and charming nature convinced everyone his illegal activity was truly a part of the show as nothing more than an elaborate twist. Thanks to “Dreamatorium’s” ending gaining rave reviews, Linda accepted the unmasked robber returning to the scene of the crime to end the third show in grand fashion. Bob, on the other hand, made sure he was arrested – having to eventually take the robber’s spot to make up for almost ruining Linda’s dream of putting on three memorable dinner theater productions. Life often times imitates art and definitely influences it – so be incredibly careful about mixing the two because you could get robbed without people recognizing the scary reality of their current situation. But if there’s a positive of going against this beneficial life lesson it’s the fact you might be able to cure someone of the stage fright.
