TV #59 of 2022:
Bob’s Burgers, season 11
Maybe a slight step up from the year before? Most episodes of this family cartoon remain unchallenging comfort television with a group of characters we know and love, but there’s at least some effort here to occasionally push one or another of them into unfamiliar growth territory. Like Gene accidentally locking himself in the basement in “Mr. Lonely Farts,” or Linda stumbling into her version of 127 Hours in “Die Card, or Card Trying” or getting arrested in “Sheshank Redumption”… There’s a certain darkness to these predicaments that has a real edge to it, despite the overall goofiness of the series and its well-established sitcom inelasticity of status quo. The Belchers have changed over the years, but they’ve always done so gradually and without any loss of life or limb. While that safety net remains, it feels more tenuous than it has in quite some time.
Generally, though, this is the same old program, for better or worse. “Fingers-loose” goes for a distinctive voiceover elementary noir vibe that I appreciate, but otherwise, these are conventional storylines presented straightforwardly enough. Bob’s Burgers could coast for eons with this energy, and so far, I’m still laughing along.
★★★☆☆
Like this review?
–Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
–Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
–Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler
–Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 