Cartoon Corner- Bob's Burgers (Season 1)

Originally posted at the DL August 2016

So I'm used to H. Jon Benjamin as Archer.  It's pretty amazing how he can use almost the same voice yet be so distinctly two characters.  And that's almost all down to how sharp this show is.  They don't really do anything in terms of visual gags or the like (anuses notwithstanding) but they still managed to just crack me up a few times each episode.  It's kinda stands out to me actually, they make this work entirely on the strength of the scripts and the actors.  I'm not sure anything else I've been doing lately has the confidence to do that.



Admittedly I don't normally do straight comedy, but even the handful of shows here that do lean that way have been high on sight gags or comic violence.

But yeah, back to the cast.  H. Jon Benjamin as a straight man except when he's not works well.  He's got that sorta trailed off mumble that really sells it.  Kristen Schaal is someone I don't think I could dislike in something, and as usual she's all in as Louise here.  I think it helps that she's the youngest sibling but is still the flamboyant one, heightens the contrast between her and Tina.

Tina... well, Tina.  Having never watched the show before it popped up on the shelves I still had seen Tina hype about the internet.  Playing the horny older sister deadpan-melodramatic means you can almost have her say any damn thing and get it to be funny.  Everyone else feels like they're just there to set up the episodes really, but that's okay.  Not everyone has to be amazing.

Best Episode- Art Crawl.  The kid sub-plot is just amazing.  Bob's pettiness kinda works in this one for me too and I'm not sure why.  Maybe just because pissing off petty tyrants amuses me at some deep philosophical level.

Weakest Episode- Sexy Dance Fighting.  Mostly this one feels like a plot that almost any generic family sitcom might have done.  It has it's moments (I mean, it's a Tina-centric episode) but the main bits of Bob feuding with the Capoeira instructor are just bland.

Rating- 8/10.  This one feels shorter than I like but... yeah, it's just a rock solid comedy.  I'm not sure what else to say about it.