Bob's Burgers - "Spaghetti Western and Meatballs" - Talkback [3/27]

SYFMKristen

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Broadcast Order: Season 1, Episode 9
Production Order: Season 1, Episode 10

Writer: Kit Boss
Director: Wes Archer


A new episode airs tonight at 8:30 PM Eastern. Here is the synopsis:
 
It's possible that the last 3 episodes will air in the UK before Fox.
According to Futon Critic, Fox is only airing one episode in April (most likely due to holding them off until May sweeps).
 
Great way to quick-cut that last scene. Everything's resolved and suddenly "FOOD FIGHT!!!" "No no no no NO!"

That was funny. :D
 
Pretty intense episode, what with the numerous family conflict. The more and more I watch this show, the more and more I love it. Great, oddball humor and lovable, eccentric characters. Definitely something I'm going to keep an eye on.

If I had any irritations, it's the lack of apology Louise gave to her father and brother (she was behaving like an angry, spoiled brat) despite Bob ordering one even though Bob and Gene gave one to her for their flaws. Minor complaint though and doesn't really affect what is otherwise a fun episode.
 
I kind of saw Louise getting jealous of Bob and Gene bonding. But it still worked.

And I loved the character development we got with Louise.
 
It's not some sour point that ruins the episode of the show for me (arguably, Louise is my current favorite character because of her rather vindictive, exaggerated personality), but it may just be the double standard of one set apologizing over the other when both groups are clearly in the wrong that irks me (granted, I usually make it an exception if it was meant for the rule of funny, but the scene in question wasn't played that way), something I've seen too often in the media that after a while, it just annoys me, is all. *shrugs*
 
I think this is easily the best episode of the series so far. Practically the whole family was involved in the main plot, and everything came together nicely in the end.

I loved how Bob and Gene bonded over a movie series, and it was a genuine mutual interest as well. I'm so glad they didn't completely destroy that shared interest in the end either, as Louse hinted towards that end. I also loved how Bob channeled his western love into conflict resolution in the end, pleasing Tina, his wife and making peace with the people he butted head with through the episode. Good to see a good father getting appreciated in his show.
 
The more episodes I see, the more I like it. Kristen Schaal does a great job with Louise in this episode, and an in general, the characters are feeling more and more distinct as characters (rather than characters played by NYC-area people who fit the basic tone of those characters.) The choice of bonding over westerns (rather than some bad sitcom or sci-fi show parody) is subtly refreshing. It also crystallizes a thought I've had in the back of mind in relation to Bob's Burgers for a while - it's a very non-referential animated comedy, and unlike a lot of other adult animation as of late, it feels like it's explicitly not pandering to the audience by keeping parody and referential humor out. It's a much closer cousin to King of the Hill than Family Guy or the Simpsons. I hope FOX sees the value of that for their line up.
 
I agree that this episode was pretty diverse and managed to give every member of the family something to do. I thought that Louise being jealous was sort of selfish, but then I do remember that she is the youngest and probably doesn't know better. It was nice to see Bob and Gene bond with them over something. It sort of reminds me of the the times where Hank and Bobby bonded over something that they liked. I actually found that moment where they were stuck in the jungle gym to be pretty funny. Along with Bob making peace with everyone else near the end.

Then we have the moment where Linda was trying to one-up a rival of hers and Tina trying to prepare for the benefit as well. At least that gave them something to do. I personally thought the moment where Tina got into the real fight over Jimmy Pesto Jr. was pretty funny.
 
Bob's Burgers is arguably one of the best, if not my favourite show on Animation Donimation.

While it has that Home Movies feel to it, it has a character dynamic that's rarely seen on the rest of Animation Dominaiton.

With that, I have to admit this was probably the funniest episodes yet, what with Linda's rivalry at the Conflict Resolving club that Tina is in. Despite this, I loved how well-played Bob and Gene's characters were with their father-son bonding over Banjo because it was relatable, and not so much of a cookie-cutter scene, with most mature animated sitcoms.

The more and more I watch this show, there are more things I pick up that I honestly enjoy. For most part, Louise is becoming one of my favourite characters, along with Teddy and Gene because they're just so socially awkward, yet hilairously lovable characters.

I do agree with Karl Olson on the Western reference not being a parody or a reference to something, but moreso, something unique to the show. I will confess, when I first heard about this series, I thought it'd last about as long as The Goode Family or the short-lived Sit Down, Shut Up, mainly because I saw the character designs for the show and thought, I'll give it a chance, but it's probably going to be unfunny and stupid. I'm glad I was proven wrong.
 
Nice character development for Louise and Gene in this episode, they're the only ones that haven't had an episode "about" them yet. It was interesting to see them both in vulnerable positions, usually they're just trading quips back and forth. And very surprising to see Louise cry at the end.

This show is building a pretty solid cast of side-characters. I was happy to see they didn't forget about Tina's crush on Jimmy Pesto Jr. Plus Mr. Frond was very funny, and the bully Choo-Choo and his dad were great too. Teddy's usually pretty funny too.

I wonder what the average audience thinks about most of the female characters being voiced by men. As a Home Movies fan it doesn't bother me, but I could see how it would be a little off-putting.
 
Personally, I love how Linda and Tina sound like in the series, despite being voiced by men. It says different and thinks outside of the box.
 
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