While the reign of The Simpsons has dominated American television for the last 30 years, it may be time to pass the torch over to Bob’s Burgers.
First premiering in 2011, Bob’s Burgers is an animated sitcom following the tight-knit Belcher family. The family owns a burger restaurant in a boardwalk-esque coastal community. The show packs endless amounts of fun in its quirky, yet oddly relatable characters. Bob Belcher tends to lean towards the pessimistic side of things and has a tight bond with his youngest daughter, master-of-all-schemes Louise. This daddy's girl has a dark sense of humor and is full of mischief. Then there's the matriarch of the Belchers, Linda. She is the polar opposite, she is fun and musical, and she often goes the extra mile to support her kids. Their son Gene is much like her as he is hardly seen without his electronic keyboard, he is a bit dim-witted but has a huge heart for the people around him. Lastly, there’s Tina, the accumulation of all-things fangirl. She is socially-awkward, boy crazy, and is often talking about boy bands, vampires, and fanfiction.
The show has a character for everybody, but more significantly, it embraces the mundane and the enjoyment of family life — that’s what makes its holiday episodes better than any other animated show. While other strong-contenders like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad have excellent Christmas episodes, the characters often find themselves pitted against one another in a long-standing rivalry or lost in family drama. But Bob’s Burgers is different. The Belchers have never given fans a divorce-scare and the show is always family-friendly (while featuring some well-hidden innuendos).
While settling in with a marshmallow-filled mug of hot cocoa and watching a good Christmas movie is often the tradition, it’s time to shake things up a bit and enjoy these holiday episodes of Bob’s Burgers.
“Christmas in the Car”
In season four, episode eight of Bob’s Burgers, the Belcher family finds themselves being terrorized by a candy cane decorated semi-truck while on their journey to replace their dying Christmas tree on the eve of the holiday.
Much like many people this year, Linda Belcher decided to put up her tree in November (“the day after Halloween” as Bob points out) to get a few extra moments of Yuletide joy. The episode is packed with witty dialogue, a sprinkle of action-packed danger, and a few schemes as the Belcher children try to catch Santa Claus.
“Nice-capades”
Guest stars Zach Galifianakis and Henry Winkler help deliver some laughs in this episode. After a confrontation involving a massage chair, the Belcher siblings devise a plan to prove to a mall Santa that they were nice this year. They end up organizing an ice-capades show to perform at the mall’s ice rink with original music and festive costumes. “Nice-capades” is a great showcase for Louise's chaotic nature, but she still gets to show a bit of fragility despite her infamous tough exterior.
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins”
This may be the most unruly episode of the holiday compilation. After inheriting a storage unit, Bob comes across an illegal tenant, Chet (voiced by Zach Galifianakis) and the Belchers decide to take him in despite his odd claims that he used to be a display mannequin.
Chet ends up having a knack for making window displays and his creations bring in publicity and new customers to the family restaurant. The episode takes a weird turn when Chet reveals that he’s in love with a mannequin that he has, long-since, been separated from.
“Yachty or Nice”
In the most recent Bob's Burgers Christmas episode, “Yachty or Nice,” the Belcher family are hired to cater a renowned holiday parade for a yacht club. Bob spends the episode trying to track down who recommended them for the job and why, the children are on the lookout for free presents, and Linda tries to meet the town's mayor. The episode is filled with silly antics as each of the Belchers devise strategic schemes, none of which go according to plan.
"Father of the Bob"
This episode had a melancholic start, as it gave some light to Bob Belcher's pensiveness and pessimism. It starts with a flashback of him as a child, where he was using his imagination to add some creativity to his dad's burger restaurant, much to his dad's dismay. Back in the present, while attending his father's Christmas party, Linda volunteers Bob to assist in the kitchen, prompting some long-lived squabbles among the father-son pairing. As this is unfolding, the Belcher children work to create a last-minute Christmas gift for their dad out of random bits they find in their grandfather's basement. The episode contains all of the traditional Christmas movie themes, being about forgiveness and coming together as a family.
These Christmas episodes are guaranteed to entertain. There’s a bright future ahead of Bob’s Burgers; the show is met with high public approval, it has been included on many “best” lists, and it has a movie in the works. Unlike other adult animated shows, Bob's Burgers doesn't sacrifice its originality and feel-good energy to deliver hearty laughs.
All episodes of Bob's Burgers are available for streaming on Hulu.