On "Bob's Burgers"

Fox's new animated series "Bob's Burgers" received very mixed reviews but I think the main problem with Mike Hale's (The New York Times) and Tim Goodman's (The Hollywood Reporter) reviews is that they both compare this show to Fox's two other animated Sunday shows: "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons."

There is nothing about this new show, created by Loren Bouchard, that I find comparable to "Family Guy" or "The Simpsons," (both reviewers compare the character of Linda Belcher (voiced by John Roberts) to Marge Simpson) other than the fact that all three shows are about a nuclear family in cartoon.

Bob Belcher (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) is a burger joint owner and the father of three: Tina Belcher (Dan Mintz), Gene Belcher (Eugene Mirman), and Louise Belcher (Kristen Schaal). (Given Schaal and Mirman's appearances in "Flight of the Conchords," the confused back-and-forth and inanity that occur in "Bob's Burgers" show signs of comedic influences taken from their HBO Alma mater.)


The tone of the show's humor is reminiscent of Adult Swim's animated shows, whose quality is minimal, dead-pan, and seemingly pointless but eventually delivering a strong and clever punchline. (In fact, H. Jon Benjamin was on "Space Ghost Coast to Coast.")  What great timing on Fox's part to be airing a show that will let audiences relearn and rethink what good humor in animation is all about ("The Simpsons" have their place in history, and as for "Family Guy," well, people seem pretty tired of its perpetual, over-the-top absurdity, which, if anything, is more pointless and weak in terms of comedic effect than the depth and hilarious timing that "Bob's Burgers" has). "Bob's Burgers" is refreshing, smart, and necessary.

Hale misses the point in the show's humor if he doesn't find its "deadpan monotone" funny. Bob's calm and quiet (but mild and harmless) aggression and sarcasm are terrifically delivered by Benjamin (who looks familiar from his appearance in "Important Things with Demetri Martin").Given the generally monotonous tone of Bob's character, there is always the promise for a laugh when he explodes in anger or goes mad with frustration (which happens often).  And Louise is anything but monotonous with her burst of high energy and loud voice, which are constant throughout every episode, as is Linda, the Brooklyn-Jew/Italian sounding wife and mother with her homeyness and an attitude that seems to almost deliberately overlook the crass, borderline sociopathic, qualities in her children. Gene is reminiscent of those wayward and strange boys everyone knew in high school, who were aware of their bizarreness but didn't care who said what about it--another refreshing element. The only characters who show signs of monotony are Bob and the eldest, Tina, who is working through the awkward stage in her life and is ruthlessly unapologetic for doing so; contrary to her apparent nerdiness, she is pretty comfortable and outspoken about the changes she is going through (in fact, her shamelessness reminds me of another classically considered nerd who is apathetic to anyone else's opinion of her--the great Ms. Tina Fey). Goodman accuses the show's writers for their weak writing but I find every character in this show to be well-developed, original and fitting in the dynamic of the show. The writing is tight and solid. The pilot episode of "Bob's Burgers" is so much better than what "Family Guy" came up with back in '99.

The humor in this show is a taste that some members of the audience may have to learn to acquire , but it's easy to do (proof of the mass audience's broad-ranging palate is in their acquisition of the humor in "30 Rock").

If this show is taken off the air before the second season, I would be disappointed but not very surprised. But I also guarantee and predict a large cult following as "Freaks and Geeks" did at the turn of this century.
"Bob's Burgers" is a great show, and people will definitely recognize it.