[7.2/10] The A-story is fine but unspectacular in my book. Tina wanting to do tough investigative journalism, while her teacher wants to do sensationalized fluff is a decent conflict. Making vapid Tammy the avatar for that fluff isn’t the worst choice either, even if I find her pretty grating.
But it never really goes anywhere. Tina trying to crack the “mad pooper” case as an alternative to the “Who’s dating whom?” vibe of the main broadcasts hits one note and pretty much stays there until the very end. Tina being accused of being the culprit herself, only to prove it’s Zeke feels sudden and too silly. And as soft news parodies go, I’ll take The Simpsons’ “Fraudcast News” over this one. The story in this episode is just alright, and the laughs are scattered at best.
But this one is bumped up for having an all-time great B-story. Gene deciding that if he’s going to grow up into Bob, he may as well get onto it is an inspired bit of weirdness. I love how great Gene is at imitating his father, how perturbed Bob gets at that, and how charmed Linda is by the whole thing (to the point where she pretty much plays along.) This is one of the more high concept B-stories Bob’s Burgers has done, but the sheer commitment to the bit, and interplay between Bob and Gene makes it work like nobody’s business.
Overall, Tina’s journalistic aspirations and the “mad pooper” hunt are pretty mild by the show’s standards, but Gene deciding to become Li’l Bob is worth the price of admission on its own.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-02-06T03:28:10Z
[7.2/10] The A-story is fine but unspectacular in my book. Tina wanting to do tough investigative journalism, while her teacher wants to do sensationalized fluff is a decent conflict. Making vapid Tammy the avatar for that fluff isn’t the worst choice either, even if I find her pretty grating.
But it never really goes anywhere. Tina trying to crack the “mad pooper” case as an alternative to the “Who’s dating whom?” vibe of the main broadcasts hits one note and pretty much stays there until the very end. Tina being accused of being the culprit herself, only to prove it’s Zeke feels sudden and too silly. And as soft news parodies go, I’ll take The Simpsons’ “Fraudcast News” over this one. The story in this episode is just alright, and the laughs are scattered at best.
But this one is bumped up for having an all-time great B-story. Gene deciding that if he’s going to grow up into Bob, he may as well get onto it is an inspired bit of weirdness. I love how great Gene is at imitating his father, how perturbed Bob gets at that, and how charmed Linda is by the whole thing (to the point where she pretty much plays along.) This is one of the more high concept B-stories Bob’s Burgers has done, but the sheer commitment to the bit, and interplay between Bob and Gene makes it work like nobody’s business.
Overall, Tina’s journalistic aspirations and the “mad pooper” hunt are pretty mild by the show’s standards, but Gene deciding to become Li’l Bob is worth the price of admission on its own.