Day Sixty-six - Bob's Burgers: Pilot - Human Flesh, or "I see potential here... crass, crude potential."

I think H. Jon Benjamin can be hit or miss for me. I sort of like Archer, but for the most part could take it or leave it. Bob's Burgers, his other acting gig in animation right now, is a bit more palatable, maybe because while burger joint patriarch Bob can be a bit of a tool, he never quite rises to the detestable levels of the superspy everyone loves to hate, Archer.

That's not to say Bob's Burgers can't be as crude and tasteless as Archer (or Family Guy, for that matter), but it manages to reel in the horror with endearing family comedy.

Or, at least, that's the case with the pilot.

To be honest, I'd been staying away from Fox's animation line-up (aside from Futurama) mainly because of, well, how they handled Futurama (and Firefly). Family Guy ceased being entertaining pretty much immediately and is probably the main reason I can only digest Seth MacFarlane when he guests on Robot Chicken.

Then I saw a brief short from a recent episode of Bob's Burgers that someone had posted on Reddit and I was thoroughly intrigued.

The pilot never quite reaches what I was expecting from the brief clip, but it was still pretty enjoyable. Whether it's the casual irreverence of the children or how Bob tries to be both a father and a businessman and fails miserably, it's pretty funny stuff. Maybe not laugh out loud funny, but certainly better than what I tend to get from the casual riffs that Family Guy throws at the audience.

I think the stand out for me, though, is Kristen Schaal who plays Bob's younger daughter Louise. Pretty much every line she is given ends up with me being extremely entertained. Louise is a holy terror of a child, even more so than the Bart Simpson-esque son, Gene (played by Eugene Mirman). If you could make the show about Louise, I'd probably be happy... in the same way that the rest of America probably feels about Stewie on Family Guy.

How weird is it, that I detest Family Guy but like Bob's Burgers for similar reasons that most folks have in regards to the former?

Weaknesses?

Well, the main plot arc about wife Linda's ex being the health inspector trying to ruin the family business out of spite is more than a bit weak and probably could've been saved for a non-pilot episode. You really need to bring the big guns in a pilot and this felt like a clip full of blanks whenever Louise wasn't on screen.

And, to be honest, Linda as a character just doesn't thrill me. Maybe it's just John Roberts getting used to the character, but I could've easily gone the whole episode without her. 

Anyway, I'll definitely be giving Bob's Burgers a shot now. Only the first season is currently on Netflix, but that's okay. It's not like I'm lacking in other things to watch when I run out of episodes. I'll just keep hoping for more Louise wackyness... even though it kind of makes me feel dirty, thanks to the whole Stewie/Family Guy comparison.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~