An obsessive aunt, skirting child labor law regulations and a pilot that's tough to revisit. Underneath all that family fun are some questionable things we ignore in "Bob's Burgers."
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00:00An obsessive aunt, skirting child labor law regulations, and a pilot that's tough to revisit.
00:06Underneath all that family fun are some questionable things we ignore in Bob's Burgers.
00:11Throughout the run of Bob's Burgers, there are constant mentions of, and examples pointing
00:15to one indisputable fact — the Belchers are very poor.
00:19Whenever Mr. Fish Odor stops by, for whatever reason, there is always a mention of Bob and
00:23Linda being late on rent.
00:25And if there was any doubt about this fact, the characters — even Bob and Linda's kids
00:29— say it all the time.
00:31But after watching the show for years, you start to wonder how this family has any money
00:34at all.
00:35Most episodes show that the status quo for the restaurant is vacancy, especially compared
00:40to the more successful Jimmy Pestos across the street.
00:43Surely the lack of patrons outside of Teddy and one or two stray customers an episode
00:47is concerning.
00:48There is the occasional boom, like the fan-animated Brunch Squatch episode, but a rare busy night
00:53is surely not enough to feed a family.
00:55The fact that the kids stay in the same grade and never age means that none of these questions
01:00really matter, but adult viewers still have to suspend their disbelief just a little bit.
01:05Some of the best parts of Bob's Burgers are the little details and recurring gags.
01:09For example, fans familiar with the show know to look out for the storefront next to the
01:14restaurant and the moving van that appears in each opening credits sequence.
01:18Another consistently funny bit is the burger of the day, which always changes and is always
01:23a pun.
01:24Whether it's the Texas Chainsaw Massacred Burger or the Graters of the Sauce Havarti
01:29Burger, there is one thing that never changes on the board — the price.
01:33For over a dozen seasons now, the burger of the day has remained $5.95.
01:37Regardless of the ingredients or the absurd amount of work Bob must put into coming up
01:42with a new idea and product each day, it remains the same price.
01:45The rest of the menu has stayed the same, too.
01:48From Season 1 to Season 12, burgers remain $5, while fries and soft drinks will run you
01:53$2 each.
01:54These prices were a bargain in 2011 and are even more unbelievable today.
01:58For those with particularly keen eyes, you might also notice the Belchers still have
02:03beer on the menu for $4, despite the restaurant almost never selling any.
02:08The Belchers are unable to hire any additional employees thanks to their dismal financial
02:12situation, so instead, all three of Bob and Linda's children are put to work.
02:17Maybe Bob wants to keep it a family business, but more often than not, it seems the kids
02:21cause more harm than good in the restaurant.
02:24The show normalizes the kids working so much, it's easy to forget that you don't see children
02:28working every day.
02:30Technically, minors in the United States are legally allowed to work in a business owned
02:34by their parents, as long as they aren't missing school.
02:37By this standard, the Belcher kids putting in a few hours of work each night after school
02:41isn't illegal.
02:42"'Ugh, school again.
02:44Punching in for another day of unpaid child labor before we go home and do more unpaid
02:48child labor."
02:49However, safety is another concern.
02:51There are laws and precautions that apply specifically to restaurants employing children
02:56that say they cannot operate or be near dangerous equipment like a fryer or grill.
03:01Basically, every time we see the Belchers have a family meeting in the kitchen while
03:04Bob cooks up burgers and fries, that is probably breaking some kind of child safety law.
03:09Which is to say nothing of all the restaurant hijinks the kids get up to behind Bob and
03:13Linda's back.
03:15This has been an ongoing issue since the show's start that has never really been addressed,
03:20and at this point, it's such a renowned characteristic of the show, it will probably never change.
03:24Two of the three women in the lead voice cast of Bob Burgers are voiced by men.
03:28Linda is voiced by John Roberts, and Tina by Dan Mintz.
03:32Louise, voiced by Kristen Schaal, is the only member of the family voiced by a woman.
03:36"'I had a very interesting encounter with Mr. Fraun today.'
03:40"'You did?'
03:41"'Yeah, he's an interesting guy.'
03:42"'Yeah, he is very interesting, Tina.'"
03:45Although this isn't a deal-breaker by any means, it could be a frustrating aspect to
03:49female fans of the show.
03:51Even more frustrating is the fact that according to Uproxx, as recently as 2020, creator Lauren
03:56Bouchard doesn't seem to see an issue with the casting.
03:59It isn't too taboo to cast a voice actor who doesn't match the character's gender, especially
04:03on children's shows, but it is extremely prevalent in Bob's Burgers.
04:07In addition to voicing Bob, H. John Benjamin will often voice minor characters in episodes,
04:13including a major recurring female character, Louise's teacher, Miss LeBonce.
04:17While many of these characters have achieved icon status, their acting is just a little
04:21questionable.
04:22It might be time to start thinking about Gale's obsession with her sister's husband.
04:26It's no secret that Gale has the hots for Bob.
04:29This awkward pairing has led to some of the series' best episodes.
04:32But seriously, Gale's burning passion for Bob is getting a bit creepy, don't you think?
04:36Gale is Linda's awkward, single, cat-loving sister, and she has a bit of a crush on Bob.
04:49It's an awkward situation that would definitely need some serious working out in real life.
04:54Thankfully, Bob's Burgers is a cartoon, so Gale can still be sympathetic and not some
04:58kind of home-wrecking monster.
05:00Plus, Bob isn't the only man in her life.
05:03At a certain point in the show, Gale and Wagstaff counselor Mr. Frond date.
05:08In the Season 5 episode, Father of the Bob, we get our first big glimpse into Bob's childhood
05:13home life.
05:14He never had the greatest relationship with his father, Big Bob, especially after a traumatic
05:18Burger-related event when Bob was a boy.
05:20The two reconnect in the episode and reach a resolution.
05:23But there is a huge missing link that is only briefly explained.
05:26Who is Bob's mother, and where is she?
05:28In the episode, there is a line that implies Bob's mother died when he was a young child,
05:33and this is part of the reason his relationship with his father became so strained.
05:36She is only mentioned one other time, in a later episode.
05:40Bob recalls that he used to build gingerbread houses with his mom before she passed.
05:44Throughout the show, Tina yearns for the love of Jimmy Jr. and his backside.
05:48This pushes her to try and be included in his friend group of popular teens, despite
05:52the fact that they constantly berate and bully her.
05:55Still, they manage to get up to plenty of hijinks together, and over the course of the
05:59show, Tina's relationship with her bullies changes, into something more resembling friendship.
06:04Tammy and Jocelyn are the meanest to Tina, as evidenced in an episode like broadcast
06:08Wagstaff School News, where Tina is excluded from the school news while Tammy succeeds
06:13as anchor.
06:14In episodes like this, Tina is the odd one out of the group, and even Zeke and Jimmy
06:18Jr. aren't her friends.
06:20However, in more recent episodes, Tina is treated almost like one of the group, judging
06:24by the fact that no one ages in the show, viewers can assume time does not progress
06:28linearly in Bob's Burgers.
06:30Regardless of this fact, it seems that as we watch the show, Tina seems to be forming
06:35actual bonds with her peers, and does indeed consider them friends.
06:39The season two episode, Burger Boss, features Bob at his most obsessive.
06:43When he recovers an old arcade game he used to be a master at, Bob starts spending every
06:47waking moment trying to top the machine's high score.
06:50He plays until he develops carpal tunnel syndrome and is prescribed painkillers for his wrist.
06:55The weird part comes when Linda sends the machine to a local arcade.
06:59First, Bob tries to enter the arcade without his children, but is told he needs to bring
07:03them.
07:04So Bob brings the kids along and immediately starts ignoring them in favor of the Burger
07:08Boss machine.
07:09That's bad parenting strike number one.
07:11His second mistake is to team up with another kid named Daryl, who gives Bob tips on how
07:16to play the game, with one in particular raising some eyebrows.
07:19"-Why are you standing way back?
07:20You gotta press your wiener against the game, like this.
07:22See?
07:23Yeah.
07:24Okay, all right.
07:25Wow.
07:26Oh.
07:27Yeah.
07:28Wow."
07:29Eventually, Daryl offers to help in exchange for Bob beating up the bullies that terrorize
07:32him.
07:33This leads to an extremely awkward scene where Bob, high on painkillers, attempts to beat
07:37up the bullies and, fortunately for all, fails.
07:41Bob's Burgers gives the impression that Calvin Fishodor is the richest man alive, at least
07:45compared to every other character we meet in the still-unnamed town the cartoon is set
07:49in.
07:50Fishodor is a property owner, a narcissist, and probably a billionaire.
07:54While we don't have a list of everything he owns, his attitude points to the conclusion
07:58that Fishodor is more or less the most powerful man in town.
08:01"-What?
08:02That's horrible.
08:03If you don't like it, take it up with Mr. Fishodor.
08:05He owns the cops."
08:06For starters, he is the Belcher's landlord, implying he owns many retail and housing units.
08:11We know he owns the Wonder Wharf amusement park and baseball teams, and we know that
08:15his mansion is immense.
08:17What we don't know is how Fishodor is legally allowed to own so much property in such a
08:21seemingly small community.
08:23He is definitely breaking some anti-competition laws here, and Bob's Burgers isn't afraid
08:28to make Fishodor a villain and put him up to some scummy stuff.
08:32Even so, the worst of the tycoon's dealings likely happens behind the scenes.
08:37The first season of Bob's Burgers contains a series of the show's most offensive and
08:41inappropriate jokes.
08:42For example, the show's pilot, notably titled Human Flesh, includes a series of jokes and
08:47plot points that make the possibility that the Belchers are cannibals seem relatively
08:52tame.
08:53It all starts when health inspectors Hugo and Ron come to inspect the restaurant, and
08:57Louise decides to have some fun with the burger of the day.
08:59"-The burger of the day is the child molester.
09:03It comes with candy.
09:04Get it?
09:05Yes."
09:07Later in the episode, a customer Bob says looks like a child molester winds up ordering
09:11a burger.
09:12Bob then tells Gene to serve him his food, making the fatphobic comment that, since Gene
09:17is heavy, he's less in danger of being harmed by the creepy customer.
09:21In the same scene, Gene tries to volunteer Tina to run the food since she's the oldest.
09:26However, Bob insists Gene do it because Tina isn't great with customers, prompting the
09:31kids to protest.
09:32"-I'm good with a customer.
09:35Not really.
09:36I'm great with a customer.
09:37She's autistic.
09:38She can't help it.
09:39Yeah, I'm autistic.
09:40Bob.
09:41Just a sec.
09:42No, you're not autistic, Tina."
09:43To drive the controversial point home, the rest of the scene shows Gene throwing toothpicks
09:47on the floor for Tina to count in a parody of the film Rain Man, which is about an autistic
09:52savant.
09:53The first season of Bob's Burgers is definitely the most raunchy, and finding an identity
09:58that would keep it on Fox for over a decade, the show wasn't always quite as family-friendly
10:03as it is now.
10:04In particular, the episode Sheesh Cab Bob contains a plotline that reinforces negative
10:09stereotypes about trans people.
10:11In this episode, Bob becomes a cab driver to make some extra cash and ends up picking
10:16up a group of trans sex workers.
10:18Throughout the episode, there's some questionable stereotyping about both sex workers and trans
10:23people, and jokes that get a laugh out of misgendering these characters.
10:27So much so that the line between whether the show is saying the characters are cross-dressers
10:32or actually trans is blurred.