Bob's Burgers Thread: Robostache Edition.
Thoughts on Season 6 so far? Favorite/best episode?
>>77830420
I liked that thanksgiving episode.
>>77830420
Weak
Something is missing that used to be there, but I can't put my finger on it
>>77832504
I think it's just run its course. They refuse to change up the dynamic or give an episode to non-Belchers, so it all feels like stuff we've seen before.
>>77832562
Yeah. By the 6th season of The Simpsons they've expanded the stories to be about the whole town with its variety of characters, and they've covered and made fun of many different subjects. Bob's Burgers just kind of middles around in the family being wacky.
>>77832757
i mean we still have teddy, frond, the old people running the arts and crafts store, the various other colorful and oft-criminal weirdos in their town...
not to mention the various wagstaff students, who are absolute crackups without exception
>>77834356
Yeah, but they were never the focus.
>>77834522
I feel they shouldn't be
the sidecharacters on the simpsons were better when they just showed up, not being the focus of the whole episode
i mean, a flanders episode? yes. very yes. a lovejoy episode? eh.. maybe once. it was well written. but do we need a LENNY episode? did we need a fucking CARL episode?
>>77834522
They're not supposed to be.
>>77834579
>>77836415
Yes, but as a result, there's nowhere for the show to go.
If you refuse to develop the main characters, and refuse to introduce new characters to explore, there's only so many stories you can tell. And BB has told most of them.
>>77836456
That's true, I kinda wish they let time progress, but.. it's still funny. I could enjoy these characters for years.
Plus, the way they DO stories, they do them totally off the wall and unexpected, twisting the typical progression, so I don't think they're gonna run out of ideas anytime soon. it's not stale at all to me yet, it's just.... predictable. Predictably good! like the simpsons was 6 seasons in
>>77830420
Considering the season probably isn't halfway done yet, I can't say. The episodes have felt pretty weak so far, though, I haven't seen any really funny episodes like Seaplane or Frond Files, and both of those episodes were from just two seasons ago.
I think the main issue is the lack of any real tension. S6's Halloween episode was just an elaborate set-up that you knew the family set up for Louise, the Thanksgiving episode was just Gayle being Gayle, and the Christmas episode had no stakes at all other than Louise being as short-sighted as Doug Funnie. At this point we've seen so much of her being smart that excusing the "plot" over her being a kid doesn't cut the mustard for me. I know they can't all be gems, but the only characters still going through any real growth are Louise and Linda. We want to know more about the Belchers but we're getting the same personality and story beats and getting frustrated as a result, which makes us want to see episodes about characters outside the family. BUT, that's an issue because it's fun to see info about their characters piece-mealed (we didn't learn Calvin Fischoeder's brother Felix took his eye until the fourth season). Writers may be too tempted to start adding really wacky details to them just because those characters don't have a group dynamic of their own independent of the Belchers and because they're mostly blank slates.
This is coming from someone who really likes the show - wrap it up by the 8th season is my opinion. Unless something amazing happens in the season's second half or the 7th season is a smash success, I think the show can have a few interesting twists and opportunities for character growth for comedy-sake and then tie a neat bow on it in the next two seasons. I'd hate to see this show go the way of other shows that hung around for too long.Also Louise is cute
>>77836726
I feel like the christmas episode was quite consistent in terms of louise being a schemer who's ruthlessly crafty and intelligent but still a kid with massive gaps in her knowledge (ones she doesn't acknowledge)
i'm curious what more you think we need to learn about the belchers.. i mean we've gotten a pretty intimate look at them
>>77836726
>8 seasons
i'd be okay with that. It's weird, these seasons feel so FAST. How many eps are we getting a season? it doesn't feel like many.
In any case I want Bouchard to immediately get another show.. AND i want Dauterive to stick with him. Those fuckers work VERY well together, at least as well as he did with Brendon Small
>>77830420
The "Kids tell a story" episodes are almost always the worst.
>>77836821
i fuckin love em. gayle tales cracked me the fuck up. especially when scott baio or scott bakula or whoever showed up. and at the end when Bob is concerned Louise watches game of thrones
i mean he has a point.. they dont have cable, let alone HBO. They don't have internet. how the fuck did she..
>>77836767
I think the main thing is to mix and match the Belchers a little more. I'll say right now that we've had plenty of episodes with a hard focus the kids, so lay off on that for a while. More episodes with just Linda and Bob and the kids can have their B plot, if necessary. We've seen Linda one on one with the kids, but she's had shockingly little involvement with Tina, despite Tina probably being the most willing to cooperate with whatever half-baked ambition she thinks up. There's a good episode waiting for great moments of Linda being her usual cutesy, blunt self with Tina filling in the gaps with good one-liners. It should work because Linda's proven she can carry an episode by herself (Eat, Spray, Linda).
For Gene, well, I think his glass is already full at this point and I'm not sure you could give anymore development to his character without taking away some of the impact of his left-field one-liners, the kid's a one-liner machine. As for Louise, I get it, she's a kid who's learning that not everyone plays on her terms, but I feel at this point too much of her agency has been taken away, she doesn't seem nearly as resourceful as she was in the first two seasons, all in the interest of showing her soft side.
Now with Bob, he's the only character who the writers seem to make work well consistently. I know people complain of him being involved with substance abuse or talking to inanimate objects too often, but that's important to keep showing because part of Bob's humor is seeing him rub off on other characters (Louise has also talked to objects/animals that can't talk back, and Tina has on occasion said "oh my god" just like he does). Also, include Bob with other characters more, because he's a good straight man.
As for possible episodes I'd like to see, I'd like to see one where Bob and Linda do something with the Fischoeder Bros. Or another one where Louise and Linda face off (since it worked so well in Mother Daughter Laser Razor).
>>77837238
perhaps one problem is causing another.. there are a lot of kidfocused episodes because their classmates are fucking hilarious (And it gives bob and linda's voices the excuse to be present as jimmy jr and that one whiny teen girl)
so what we need is more characters for bob and linda to bounce off of... except mintz, mirman, and schaal are a lot less versatile when it comes to making their voices sound like other people, so it would have to be someone new
>>77837238
The problem with Linda and Tina as a group is there's nobody to hold things back
Louise, Gene, and Tina form the classic comedic triad. One who leads, one who follows, and one who knows better but is still unable to convince the dense follower not to follow. With Linda and Tina you need someone else. Maybe the three girls could do something together.. something girly. We don't get enough Bob and Gene bonding. They're not exactly Hank and Bobby but there's a bit of a gap there that could use mending, lest they end up like Bob and his dad
d'you guys ever wonder what if the creators or writers of a show were hanging out in a thread like this where a lot of legit discush is going on, and picking up useful notes?
beats the fuck out of a fucking one-way-mirror focus group
