“Bob’s Burgers” has returned for Season 6, but the hit comedy needs to prove its staying power. The show has always been unique in the category of adult cartoons, using a caring family as its comedic platform rather than shock value or obscenity. At this point in its run, the biggest question is whether this family still has anything worth sharing.
With premiere episode “Sliding Bobs,” the show returns to a formula it has used in the past — construction of a narrative using flashbacks which focus on Bob and Linda’s marriage. It’s an expansive episode, tackling themes of love, fate, the illusion of free will and testicular failure due to cycling.
“Bob’s Burgers” is still a masterclass in deftly presenting big ideas contained in the colorful wrapping paper of a man’s mustache thinning out. Tina guides us through the chaos of Gene’s alternate history with her very real concerns about her parents’ love for each other, and her cast-iron moral compass keeps us prescient of the issues at stake here.
The premiere was golden, but continuing on to second episode, “The Land Ship,” audiences are not treated to the show’s typical humor and fun.
Tina is being classic Tina, afraid that she needs to be “spicier” in order for others to like her. This leads her to join Jordan, an uninteresting kid whose existence is news to most other characters, in secretly creating graffiti. It’s a premise with potential, but unlike past explorations of this idea where characters like Josh and Zeke allowed Tina to learn about herself, the episode ends with Tina simply reassured that she has actually been “spicy” all along.
Louise remarks during the episode that she views Tina and Jordan as “the bland leading the bland.” Unfortunately this is exactly what the episode consists of, with a tired storyline breaking no new ground with the characters we know, and introducing new faces who only serve as proxy segues into scene changes.
Minor character and librarian Mr. Ambrose — arguably the funniest character from Season 3 — does make a welcome reappearance. Sadly, he’s more reserved this time, refusing to remind us that “books are stupid; use the internet.”
Much like Tina, the show needs to avoid episodes like this and search for spice without simply repeating the same tropes. Episodes like “The Land Ship” make one worry that the show is going to heave a sigh and fall asleep on a bed of its own success.
In concluding the premiere episode, the writers manage to slip in some meta commentary about the show itself. Bob tells Linda he’s glad that they continue to surprise each other, even after all the years they’ve spent together. What would normally be just another feel-good moment with one of the most authentically tight-knit families on TV really refers to the show itself. With Season 6 just beginning and at least two more seasons ordered by Fox, the show has already come a long way. The writers have earned a chance to pat themselves on the back, and we can forgive the devious double-meaning in the dialogue.
The beginning of this season makes it clear the show’s still got it, but it remains to be seen if the chefs in the studios can keep their ingredients fresh.
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