Dear Bob's Burgers, I'm sorry.

[Nique]

Once upon a time I predicted this show would be pretty bad.

It's actually so great and Tina Belcher is my hero. I can't think of a show that's captured the awkwardness of puberty in such an exaggerated way that is also frighteningly precise.

[Aerozord]

Bob's Burgers is the only example I can think of of an animated sitcom (shows like the Simpsons or Family guy are parodies of sitcoms, not sitcoms). And its better for it.

Also, did anyone else see the Episode of Archer that had the cast of Bob's Burgers. Mind, blown

[Nique]

Originally Posted by Aerozord

Bob's Burgers is the only example I can think of of an animated sitcom (shows like the Simpsons or Family guy are parodies of sitcoms, not sitcoms). And its better for it.

Yes! Bob's Burgers definitely represents the next, better, step in the animated 'family-sitcom' format in a lot of ways and really should be considered a peer with shows like Modern Family and such, rather than with Family Guy and The Simpsons which, though it feels strange to say, are actually kind of outmoded now.

Like, what I like about Bob's Burgers is how much heart the show has. It draws inspiration from The Simpsons/ Family Guy (crazy kids, bumbling parents, etc) but the similarities are pretty superficial. Bob has let himself go a bit, but he's not an idiot, or incompetent. Linda is a supportive homemaker, but is a more fully realized character than Marge or Lois, with her own interests and different strengths/ weaknesses than Bob. They alternate the role of 'straight man' with each other in extremely satisfying ways.

The Simpsons certainly found it's heart in many places (Bart gets a D, oh the feels!) but you're saying its a parody and, yeah - it's status as a parody has always been paramount. It made sense to have the snark of The Simpsons and Family Guy, among other less notable shows, in the time the shows were in their heyday. However, I would say that both have definitely lost their cultural relevance. If there's a message (and there probably isn't a firm, or at least not intended one, but we'll pretend for the purpose of my meandering) for each show, the last generation of parodies were pointing out the flaws of their more sincere contemporaries and predecessors, but don't really provide a solution. It also becomes kind of a perspective problem as we look at characters like Homer and compare them to real life, as the overly positive feel-good family format fell out of style, e.g. "at least our family isn't like the Simpsons!" which is probably a bad bar by which to measure success. As 'raw' as the Simpsons were, it was meant to provide an antithesis to unrealistic shows, not provide a more 'realistic' portrayal of family life or behavior.

Bob's Burgers is a show that incorporates these kind of flaws exposed by The Simpsons and its' ilk (as well as incorporating semi-realistic consequences of it's characters' more outrageous behavior), but also isn't afraid to show a certain amount of sincere positivity and optimism that makes it all extremely palatable, and less exhausting.

[Bum Bill Bee]

Sorry, I don't wanna get into it. I dislike the style. The wouths, the necks, the overall body shapes, everything about it just jarrs me the wrong way.


Also, what about Father of the Pride? Would that be an animated parody of a sitcom as well on account of it having a talking animal cast?

[Nique]

I have not seen Father of the Pride so I couldn't say if it was a parody or a sincere sitcom with a superficial twist?

I felt the same way about the animation of Bob's Burgers and I have to say that 1) the show is so good, it really does make up for it and 2) the animation itself improves noticeably in season 2. You should give it a few episodes, you're really missing out.

[Seil]

Not entirely thrilled with Bob's Burgers.

Everyone seems to be weird for the sake of weirdness. It's like if Catdog or Rocko's Modern Life met Family Guy. The juxtaposition of real life and indie-zany characters turns me off.

[Nique]

Again, I get it. But I feel like you guys are slightly letting the appearance of the characters detract from the more substancial aspects of the show. The charecters deliver exaggerated but highly relatable qualities.

Like, ok, there's an episode where Bob is forced into going to a stage-show that's sort of like 'Stomp' and hates the idea but gets weirdly into in after the performance which is like pretty much exactly how I got into musical theater via Wicked. And then Gene's burgeoning yet annoying musical "talents" is pretty much what kids do when they discover toys that produce sound effects.

I don't know; that's anecdotal, but the show just clicked for me once I gave it a chance.

[Seil]

I don't mind the artistic style, that's all well and good.

It's what you said,

Originally Posted by Neck

The charecters deliver exaggerated but highly relatable qualities.

Maybe I'm out of touch with the aughts, or maybe I'm more a fan of slapstick - it's just that I find the characters weird, sort of hipster in some cases. I had the same problem with Home Movies, which I think was done by the same crew. It's just not my kind of humor.

Originally Posted by Nick

how I got into musical theater via Wicked.

Not "Urinetown?"

[Nique]

Seil, there's so much slapstick. And so much bathroom humor!

[Aerozord]

Originally Posted by Seil

Not entirely thrilled with Bob's Burgers.

Everyone seems to be weird for the sake of weirdness. It's like if Catdog or Rocko's Modern Life met Family Guy. The juxtaposition of real life and indie-zany characters turns me off.

I get the distinct feeling you aren't big on sit-coms, cause weird zany characters is their bread and butter. The humor comes from the illogical choices characters make. Its what puts them into these humorous situations, hence the genre situational comedy