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 two).
Go Out on Your Own Terms (Episode 2: “Bob Day Afternoon”)
“Bob’s Burgers” as a restaurant wasn’t & still isn’t the biggest moneymaker; putting the Belcher family behind the figurative eight ball financially at almost all times. With Bob & his family needing another bank loan with the knowledge his previous debts to the bank were outstanding, the Belcher’s patriarch took his chance by attempting to attain another loan and ended up being mocked for his low credit scores by a rather rude bank teller. Unbeknownst to a disgruntled Bob, the bank he just left was about to be robbed by a crook with a heart of gold – okay, maybe not “gold”, but at least he wasn’t ruthless, as Bob would discover. “Bob’s Burgers” became the official hostage negotiation headquarters for the cops as they bum rushed his establishment while attaining contact with the robber simply known as “Mickey”. Squirrelly, high-pitched tonally, and having an acute taste for good pizza (thus disparaging Bob’s rival Jimmy Pesto’s restaurant for having the worst pizza he’d ever tasted), Mickey came into contact with Bob as he delivered his “fish rocket” burgers to the bank robber; inevitably getting caught in the middle of this hostage crisis when a crew of trigger-happy cops took a ill-timed shot that almost cost Bob his life.
The near death experience bonded Bob and Mickey with the prior revealing that he had never done a job like this by himself. More truths would arise as Mickey admitted his old partner in crime Rodney was the brains behind any job they did; putting Mickey in a position of self-doubt and worry that his fate would be just like Rodney’s: captured by the police with his pants down by his ankles & his butt to the breeze. Mickey didn’t want to go out bottomless, but he had to surrender as Bob convinced him that the end result would be him getting arrested even when a successful move from the bank to Bob’s restaurant witnessed Mickey getting a taste of his new friend’s wonderful cooking. As per the norm with this show, incompetence proved to be overwhelming as the cops forgot about a tear gas bomb set to go off in the bank put them in the line of fire during the transfer between “Bob’s Burgers” and the bank to accommodate Mickey. With the cops running in blinded fear, Mickey took his chance to go out his way by escaping. Unfortunately for Mickey, he was tackled by officers standing nearby and arrested. Though soon-to-be incarcerated, Mickey was relieved that his pants stayed up; going out in the way he’d hoped for if he couldn’t fully escape. In life there’s only one-way to go out: by doing it your way. Don’t let anyone stop you from ending whatever harebrain scheme you have in a manner you don’t see fit; be it a simple restaurant order or robbing a bank.
Competition Can Breed Obsession (Episode 4: “Burgerboss”)
In his continued quest to make a little cash in hopes of improving his restaurant, Bob discovered a piece of his childhood just waiting to be explored again. Bob purchased an arcade game known as “Burgerboss”, getting the high score on his first try. Unfortunately for Bob, good ol’ Jimmy Pesto had better hands & moves for the joystick than Bob; taking over the top score spot before adding insult to figurative injury by entering the name “BOB SUX”. Bob, infuriated over the idea of his arch nemesis having one-upped him in his own store, went on a crusade to achieve his legendary status atop the leaderboard; but Bob’s skills were severely lacking. Add that to the fact Bob’s suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome, putting him in a bad way as he started abusing his pain medication while making a deal with local gaming guru & fellow bully victim Darryl – a classmate of Bob’s own kids.
With an agreement to deal with Darryl’s bully when need be, Bob trained under Darryl until the Linda Belcher-dubbed “peeing race” between her husband & Pesto resulted in Bob breaking into the nearby yacht club while chasing Darryl’s bullies. Linda, of course, had to bail her husband out of drug-fueled incarceration situation with her dreams of yachting coming to an end thanks to her husband’s inability to let something insignificant just go away. Obsession can make people do crazy things from paying children to play arcade games because your skills are lacking, to lying to your spouse, to becoming a pill-popping sociopath who will attack aggressive teenagers on sight because you think those kids are hamburgers ready to be served (or squashed, whatever you prefer).
People Want What They Can’t Have (Episode 6: “Dr. Yap”)
A typical trip to the dentist for Bob proved to be anything but “typical” when he’s put under, has some work done on his teeth and left under the unexpected care of his sister-in-law Gayle. Bob, feeling romantic thanks to the anesthesia, went for the goal during his ride home; making out with Gayle while assuming it was his actual wife. With Bob finally coming to his senses a truth unbelievable to him sent Bob into a spiral of confusion resulting in him telling Linda the truth … and Linda being happy as the idea of her sister believing Gayle & Bob are having an affair made her sister happy. For the next several days Bob suffered the cruel fate of being pursued by Gayle, even seeing her nude body. Ironically enough chasing love & attaining the seemingly unattainable inspired Bob’s dentist Dr. Yap in attempting to coerce Gayle into his bed with the extremely misguided ideas from “The Prince of Persuasia” such as telling stories about saving a bus full of children from a grizzly bear, smelling out a person’s “prey”, and even insulting the would-be lover – in Dr. Yap’s case Gayle when they all agreed to go to the dentist’s timeshare for the weekend.
As Yap fell further away from his goal of picking up Gayle, Bob inched closer to madness as Gayle tried to woo him and Linda discovered just how far her sister was willing to go with her unwilling husband; with blaming Bob in the process even though it was her idea for her husband to play into Gayle’s disturbing actions. When Dr. Yap too found out about Bob & Gayle’s “relationship”, he went as far as to commit malpractice while claiming he had fallen for Linda. Gayle, overhearing the conversation between Bob, Linda & the good dentist, took her moment and proclaimed her love for Dr. Yap; proving that budding love isn’t as complicated as it seems. The truth is people simple want what they can’t have, especially when you’re a person starving for attention.
Fame is a Homewrecker (Episode 9: “Beefsquatch”)
In a shocking turn of events during the season’s finale something worked out for Bob; resulting in him getting a spot on the “Get on Up’s” – the local morning news show – cooking segment “Hey Good Cookin’”. Unfortunately for Bob, the married news anchors of Chuck & Pam didn’t choose him for his cooking skills, but the absurdity of what was going on in the background during Bob’s audition video as Gene – who attained a Sasquatch mask in a trade at school – acted a plain fool while his father cooked. The Gene-dubbed “Beefsquatch” character became an immediate hit with “Get on Up” audiences; undermining his father’s talents even though Bob asked for his son to tone down antics in favor of letting the steal be viewers’ focus, not the sizzle of Beefsquatch.
Linda, seeing the deterioration of Bob & Gene’s relationship in their quest for success on a local TV show topped by Pam revealing that she was in the process of a divorce from Chuck, stepped up like only a mother can: by flashing the “Get on Up” cameras in an attempt to get them off the air. Understanding the extent of harm they had done to their family, Bob & Gene reconciled by flashing the cameras alongside Linda; subsequently getting “Get on Up” cancelled. Fame is a fleeting mistress that not only demands more of people than what’s it’s usually worth, but also can destroy families & relationships not strong enough to handle the cruelty of big ratings & small town popularity.
