Bob’s Burgers, Season 3, Episode 11: Nude Beach, Review

Belcher family…nude beach…hmmm, well, this is going to be interesting…Bob

Hugo the health inspector is giving Bob his restaurant inspection and being uber-picky, as usual. He tells Bob to attend a seminar on the thirty-two steps for proper handwashing and gives the restaurant a “C” rating because the “cook has dirty, stinky hands.” When Bob asks who else he’s off to pester, Hugo tells him about the new nude beach, where some vendors serve food in the buff. Linda wants to go check out the nude beach, so she goes with a friend and finds, of all people…Hugo, who has taken a leave of absence to become a nudist.  

Louise, ever the entrepreneur, decides to hack a path above the cliff so that she can charge people to look at the nudists on the beach. Back at the restaurant, Hugo’s replacement, Tommy, has come to do his own inspection just two days after Hugo’s, but agrees to pass the place if Bob lets him perform at the restaurant for one week. He’s a lot less strict than Hugo was, so Bob agrees. When they make the deal, shaking hands, Tina proclaims, “I think Dad just got to second base with that guy.”

One of Louise’s friends offers to help with their little plan to make money on the beach viewing and lets everyone use his telescope. When they set it up above the cliff, Louise says, “Starting tomorrow, we’re going to be flush with ass-cash!” As usual, Louise does not mince words.

On Tommy’s first night performing at Bob’s, he sings a horrible song about, um, sex. When some of the customers leave, Bob tries to talk to him, but Tommy has given them a clean inspection, so Bob lets him continue performing…with songs like “Daddy” and “The Itsy Bitsy Stripper.” I was already predicting that Tommy would end up performing on the nude beach, but that’s not what happens…

Louise sees that the nudists are setting up for the “Nude-cath-a-lon” and sells more tickets, only to have the viewers disappointed to see older, out of shape people instead of, well, supermodels, but she manages to turn it around and the same viewers end up being very invested in the events that follow. When Bob tells Tommy to play elsewhere, Tommy shuts down the restaurant by planting rat turds on the floor, so Bob goes to the nude beach to find Hugo and challenge him in the Nude-cath-a-lon. It’s neck and neck until the end, with events like tug-of-war, a three-legged race and a wheelbarrow race, ending with the Greco-Roman wrestling, which Bob loses. (And yes, Bob agrees to do it all naked, much to the chagrin of the kids.)

In the end, Hugo returns as health inspector, letting Bob reopen as long as he caters the closing ceremony party for the nudists, which means the family had better get out the wipes to clean off all their stools and booths.

Final review:  

Again, Bob’s Burgers shows off its trademark twisted humor, pushing the boundaries. I don’t believe I’ve seen any other Sunday night cartoons feature a nude beach in the plot and I got some good laughs out of it, especially since I’ve been to Vegas and been to…oh wait, sorry, almost broke the code there! Never mind!

Best quotes:  

“Look through this tube, see some boob!”

“He looks like Madonna in the ‘Cherish’ video!” Linda, talking about Hugo on the beach.

“I think Dad looks pretty good, considering he’s had three kids.” Tina

“Treat him like a naked pinata!” Gene, during the wrestling competition.