[8.0/10] Oh man, it’s striking how much raunchier the show was back in its early days, and how much more either the creators or the network expected it to be a contemporary of Family Guy. There’s nothing so risque here, but Gene’s fantasy sequence about Robot College, or Linda hinting to Bob what she’ll do to him if he survives feels a little closer to the Adult Swim vibe than the more wholesome (if still nicely weird) show that Bob’s Burgers would become.
That said, it doesn't hurt this episode one bit. Having H. Jon Benjamin and Bill Hader play off of one another as Bob and Mickey is a treat every time. The way that Bob tries to protect everyone in the bank robbery across from his restaurant, coaxes Mickey through getting out with some dignity and without hurting anyone, and you know, tries to drum up a little publicity for his restaurant in the meantime is all great stuff. There’s the low-intensity throughline of Bob trying to get his loans resctructured, but for the most part, this one is built on the bank robber setup and manages to create a lot of great comedy from it.
Everything from Sgt. Bosco’s stern but incompetent hostage negotiation, to Louise trying to interview Mickey for her “person I admire” essay, to the whole family trying to stop Bob before he goes to deliver the burgers to an active bankrobbery are all great fodder for laughs. Little details like Gene admiring the robot pizza delivery guy and then using his RC car, or the news anchor mentioning “fish rocket” burgers in a well set-up gag bring the humor.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable early season episode, that feels looser and a little dirtier than the show does today, but still endears you to the Belchers and their odd little world.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-10-29T22:25:55Z
[8.0/10] Oh man, it’s striking how much raunchier the show was back in its early days, and how much more either the creators or the network expected it to be a contemporary of Family Guy. There’s nothing so risque here, but Gene’s fantasy sequence about Robot College, or Linda hinting to Bob what she’ll do to him if he survives feels a little closer to the Adult Swim vibe than the more wholesome (if still nicely weird) show that Bob’s Burgers would become.
That said, it doesn't hurt this episode one bit. Having H. Jon Benjamin and Bill Hader play off of one another as Bob and Mickey is a treat every time. The way that Bob tries to protect everyone in the bank robbery across from his restaurant, coaxes Mickey through getting out with some dignity and without hurting anyone, and you know, tries to drum up a little publicity for his restaurant in the meantime is all great stuff. There’s the low-intensity throughline of Bob trying to get his loans resctructured, but for the most part, this one is built on the bank robber setup and manages to create a lot of great comedy from it.
Everything from Sgt. Bosco’s stern but incompetent hostage negotiation, to Louise trying to interview Mickey for her “person I admire” essay, to the whole family trying to stop Bob before he goes to deliver the burgers to an active bankrobbery are all great fodder for laughs. Little details like Gene admiring the robot pizza delivery guy and then using his RC car, or the news anchor mentioning “fish rocket” burgers in a well set-up gag bring the humor.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable early season episode, that feels looser and a little dirtier than the show does today, but still endears you to the Belchers and their odd little world.