The Ten Most Delightfully Bizarre Episodes of Bob’s Burgers

When Bob’s Burgers first aired in January 2011, initial reviews were quite negative.  No one really knew what the show was about, they were probably thrown off by male voices used for female characters, and some of the story lines were just plain odd.  It was often described as trying to imitate the vulgarity of  Family Guy, which has also received mixed reviews from critics.  I have to admit, after watching some of Season 1, I thought it was really strange, and only saw it on and off until Season 3 rolled around.  By then, Bob’s Burgers had been nominated for several awards, including a Primetime Emmy.  Part of the reason I like the show is because it does lean toward the bizarre, but this list has the ten episodes that will leave you wondering, “WTF was that all about?”  Or maybe you’ll just start singing that OMC song, “How Bizarre,” which is now going to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.  You’re welcome.

  1. “An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal”I had a hard time deciding whether to put this on the “best” or the “most bizarre list.”  It ended up here because even though it was funny, Bob’s absinthe-induced hallucinations make him not only talk to the turkey he’s preparing, they make him think the turkey (named Lance) is his friend and he runs around screaming that he needs to protect it.  Throw in the proposal (that the Belcher family gets five months’ free rent in exchange for Linda pretending to be the landlord’s wife) and you get a situation that goes from bad to worse before anyone gets to enjoy dinner.  Most bizarre:  Bob doesn’t just converse with the turkey while he’s drunk on absinthe; he talks to the ones in the grocery store, making up different voices, finally choosing his favorite and holding it up like the Holy Grail.  I have yet to see anyone do that at our local grocery store.  Maybe I’ll be the first!  2. “Mutiny on the Windbreaker”Not sure what it is about Bob getting sucked into some strange deals, but in this episode, the family gets a free cruise and VIP card when Bob agrees to cook for the captain’s table while the ship is docked.  This time, it’s the captain who’s a looney, and the ship’s regular cook isn’t much better, hiding inside one of the giant stainless steel pots and declaring that he is pasta.  While Bob tries to keep things under control in the galley, the captain sets sail and doesn’t want to take the ship back until everyone gets sick from the rotten Oysters Onassis.  Most bizarre:  Gene falls in love with a ventriloquist’s manatee puppet, who tries to scam him out of money.  I know Gene is a horny adolescent, but who gets it up for a puppet?  Hasn’t he ever watched Jeff Dunham or Terry Fator?  PUPPETS ARE CREEPY.   3. “Beefsquatch”I just saw an encore of this the other night, and thought it would make a fine addition to the list of the bizarre “Bob’s.”  Things are odd enough when Gene gets a Bigfoot mask from one of his friends, but then he becomes his dad’s crazy sidekick when Bob lands a cooking segment on the local TV station.  Somehow, Gene manages to spice up Bob’s boring cooking techniques by yelling and gobbling down platefuls of burgers.  A fight for the spotlight leads to an escalating rivalry between Gene and his father, facilitated by Louise.  Most bizarre:  The rivalry comes to an end when Linda intervenes by flashing the TV camera, shaking her twins and saying phrases such as, “Milking the cow!” and “Boobity boobity!”  4. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins”Who better to serve as a guest voice for a bizarre “Bob’s” episode than Zach Galifianakis?  He’s Chet, who is found living inside a storage unit and claims he’s a mannequin that’s come to life.  He even had a girlfriend, back in the retail world, who resides in the front window of a sex shop.  When Chet gets depressed and his displays in the restaurant window become dark and twisted, what do the Belchers do?  Go retrieve Nadine, of course!  Most bizarre:  Louise and her siblings activating a bunch of, um, “personal massagers” in the sex shop to distract the owner while Bob swipes the mannequin.  Imagine a horde of buzzing vibrators in various colors making their way across the floor.  5. “Crawl Space”I initially had this on the “best of” list, but when you look at the story line and think about something like this happening in real life…well, it just seems a little too weird.  When Linda’s parents come for a visit, Bob goes up to fix the leaky roof and finds a crawl space, where he hides from the in-laws and tries to run the business and household as usual.  Problem is, when you’re in a space that small, no matter how much you hate your in-laws, you start to go stir crazy.  Bob seems to have a penchant for talking to inanimate objects, and starts conversing with a night light that looks like a cross between a Pokemon and a demented Hello Kitty.  It’s a step up from the series premiere, “Human Flesh,” but I’d be willing to bet that viewer numbers declined even further after this episode.  Most bizarre:  Gene and Louise have to share a room to make space for their grandparents, then hear them having sex during the night.  I haven’t even heard Bob and Linda having cartoon sex yet.   6. “Human Flesh”Yes, I had to include the very first episode because even though I have a pretty twisted sense of humor, I thought this was stupid, pointless, and very strange, especially since there are child characters.  For example:  The burger of the day, announced by youngest child Louise to the health inspectors, is called the “Child Molester” because it comes with candy.  One inspector, Hugo, still carries a flame for Bob’s wife Linda, reading her a cringeworthy poem about finding a piece of human flesh (his heart) in the restaurant.  The animation itself is cruder than it is now, reminiscent of early episodes of “The Simpsons.”  Most bizarre:  I would have to say that Hugo’s buddy describing how they determine whose remains are whose with chemicals is creepy.  “If it’s chartreuse, it’s a deuce; if it’s blue, it’s your Aunt Sue.”  I just say “ew.”  (Season One is behind us now, though.  There there, it’s ok.  Let’s move on.)   7. “Full Bars”Frequent diner Teddy hosts a Halloween party while the Belcher kids trick or treat in a swankier neighborhood.  Bob shows up without a costume, so Teddy has him dress as a sumo wrestler.  What could possibly go wrong?  Well, Bob accidentally sits on and kills Teddy’s guinea pig with his giant sumo butt.  Suddenly, the party becomes a crime scene, with Teddy determined to find the killer.  I didn’t understand what the title was referring to until Louise discovered a full-size candy bar in her trick or treat bag, as opposed to the usual fortune cookies and ketchup packets they got in their home town.  Most bizarre:  Teddy spray paints his rooms and most of their contents orange and black, including the guinea pig and the hard-boiled eggs he’s serving as snacks.  Bob complains about the smell and Teddy says he would open a window if they weren’t all painted shut.  Of course.  Plus, I run a guinea pig rescue and I’m pretty sure my handbook says that spray painting them is bad.   8. “Moody Foodie”If your restaurant gets a bad review from a critic disguised as a Hasidic Jew, what do you do?  Hunt him down and demand a do-over, that’s what!  When the Moody Foodie shows up, the Belcher family tries to please him but only make things worse with their general weirdness and lack of serving skills.  Determined to save the restaurant, Bob goes to the critic’s house to cook him another burger, and the situation descends rapidly into unlawful imprisonment, complete with a Reservoir Dogs-like moment (they even play “Stuck in the Middle with You,” but don’t worry, no one’s ear gets cut off).  Most bizarre:  Aside from the plot line, this episode had some of the oddest dialogue provided by the kids.  While shopping in the farmer’s market, they joke about getting unicorn testicles, to which Tina replies, “That’s where dreams are made.”  Throw in some comments like Gene’s underwear smelling like taco meat and, well…let’s just say that if my kids talked like that I would have more of a reaction than Bob does.   9. “The Deepening”This one makes the list for having one of the most bizarre plot lines.  The Belcher’s landlord, Mr. Fischoeder, buys the mechanical shark that was used in the movie “The Deepening,” which was just like “Jaws.”  Somehow, the shark gets activated, gets off its mount, and terrorizes the entire street, ending up below Bob’s restaurant.  Tina is the only one who feels sorry for it, even though it’s not real.  She thinks the shark is confused in the same way their toaster gets confused when they put bagels in it.  Oooookay.  Most bizarre:  Tina daydreams that she is throwing chum gracefully into the air for the shark.  In fact, she’s trying to make it seem sexy.  Chum and sexy are two words that don’t belong in the same sentence.  10. “Dr. Yap”In a case of drug-induced mistaken identity, Linda’s sister Gayle picks Bob up after a dental appointment and Bob, thinking it’s Linda, kisses her.  Gayle instantly starts crushing on Bob and keeps trying to put the moves on him, but Linda isn’t worried.  She says they should take up Dr. Yap’s offer and spend some time at his ski chalet in the hope that Gayle will fall for Dr. Yap.  Gayle chases Bob, Yap chases Gayle, Tina chases Yap, and it’s not until Linda pretends to be in love with the dentist that things fall into place and everyone’s happy.  Most bizarre:  Gene and Louise’s increasingly disgusting competitions to see who gets to suck on a giant jawbreaker.  When it’s gone, and one of Bob’s teeth gets knocked out, they take turns sucking on that instead.  Think about that for a minute…your kids taking turns sucking on their dad’s broken tooth.  I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

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