[9.0/10] This one gets such a good grade based on humor alone. The A-story, which sees Bob and Linda go on a disastrous double data with another pair of parents from Wagstaff, was a brilliant comic setup. It starts out as standard “this social event isn’t going well comedy” with hilarious weird behavior from the other couple, and some amusing attempts from Bob and Linda to play nice while concealing their obvious discomfort. But things kick up a notch when they end up at the escape room.
Having recently experienced the escape room thing, the tropes are well-observed, and better yet, I just love the comic escalation of Linda accidentally texting the other couple how much Bob and Linda are hating the date (in a text meant for Tina). The “awkward situation while trapped in a room together” bit is a little contrived, but it pays such comic dividends with the four of them fearing a rat and trying to work together to solve the puzzle in criss. The Belchers being apologetic and doing their best to solve puzzles while the other couple pouts is just great humor.
I really got a kick out of the B-story as well. For one thing, as a zombie movie fan, the whole concept of “Again with the Living Dead” cracked me up from the word go. But having Louise organize a scary movie screening for all the Belcher kids’ school chums, the gang all getting frightened half to death, and Tina saving the day with her embarrassing “bye bye poop” song to make everyone feel better is a great little Tina story. Lots of laughs from the bits we hear about the movie, from the kids’ reactions, and from Tina’s quick thinking.
Overall, this is a laugh riot of an episode that, while not very deep, has such a great rhythm and progression in both stories that keeps the laughs grounded and coming rapid-fire.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-09-03T05:50:34Z
[9.0/10] This one gets such a good grade based on humor alone. The A-story, which sees Bob and Linda go on a disastrous double data with another pair of parents from Wagstaff, was a brilliant comic setup. It starts out as standard “this social event isn’t going well comedy” with hilarious weird behavior from the other couple, and some amusing attempts from Bob and Linda to play nice while concealing their obvious discomfort. But things kick up a notch when they end up at the escape room.
Having recently experienced the escape room thing, the tropes are well-observed, and better yet, I just love the comic escalation of Linda accidentally texting the other couple how much Bob and Linda are hating the date (in a text meant for Tina). The “awkward situation while trapped in a room together” bit is a little contrived, but it pays such comic dividends with the four of them fearing a rat and trying to work together to solve the puzzle in criss. The Belchers being apologetic and doing their best to solve puzzles while the other couple pouts is just great humor.
I really got a kick out of the B-story as well. For one thing, as a zombie movie fan, the whole concept of “Again with the Living Dead” cracked me up from the word go. But having Louise organize a scary movie screening for all the Belcher kids’ school chums, the gang all getting frightened half to death, and Tina saving the day with her embarrassing “bye bye poop” song to make everyone feel better is a great little Tina story. Lots of laughs from the bits we hear about the movie, from the kids’ reactions, and from Tina’s quick thinking.
Overall, this is a laugh riot of an episode that, while not very deep, has such a great rhythm and progression in both stories that keeps the laughs grounded and coming rapid-fire.