Bob's Burgers: "The Kids Run The Restaurant"

When I heard the synopsis of this week's Bob's Burgers, I groaned. Bob has to go to the ER, so the kids are left in charge of the restaurant. It's a classic - even stale - sitcom formula. Wackiness shall ensue. Wake me when it's over.

But as always, Bob's Burgers pulled this one out of mediocrity thanks to the brilliance of its writing, its willingness to push its characters in new directions, and its amazing cast of vocal talent. Bob's Burgers, I should never have doubted you!

The crux of this episode is a previously-unknown one-two punch for Bob himself: he's practically a hemophiliac, and he faints at the sight of blood. This is, for someone who works in a restaurant, a very bad combination.

The episode begins with a surprisingly effective bit of dramatic escalation as we see Bob inattentively slicing a tomato while being distracted by his family's annoying shenanigans. (A nice RED tomato, to give it a little more foreshadowing.) The camera cuts back and forth between the action and Bob's hands, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who was relieved that the actual slicing happened off-screen.

I loved poor dumpy Tina trying out the role of cocktail waitress, using a little bit of extra shimmy in her walk. But the star of the episode has to be Gene's inevitable performance in drag, singing the hilariously inane "Girls Being Girls" song which he invented on the spot. I love Gene's, shall we say, fluid definition of his own sexuality. And I love the show for letting him explore it without passing judgment or playing it strictly for laughs. Bob's Burgers may be the most LGBTQ-friendly show on television today.

And finally, special mention has to go to Kristen Schaal for her performance with the line, "The Meatgrinder is gonna grind a whale!" A truly outstanding read.

Image copyright Bob's Burgers/20th Century FOX Television