Based on the talent behind it, I was optimistic about E4's new animated acquisition Bob's Burgers. It's been a while since I've thought one of Fox's animated offerings worthy of appointment viewing; aside from the occasional late-night Family Guy binge on BBC Three, I rarely tune in. But last night's premiere of Bob's Burgers lived up to my expectations, securing a spot on my DVR and giving me an inkling of real hope for the future of the animated sitcom.
Bob's Burgers comes to us from Loren Bouchard, who also created Home Movies, one of the funniest shows you may never have seen. Home Movies gets credit for introducing me to voice actor H. Jon Benjamin, whom you may have heard as Carl on Family Guy or Archer on Archer. Now the titular Bob of Burgers, Benjamin's dry humour and pitch-perfect delivery are always monotone music to my ears: He's a welcome presence wherever he turns up.
The rest of the Bob's Burgers cast is filled with alternative comedians who give the show the appropriate quirky sensibility. The biggest names among the voice cast are still largely under-the-radar—Eugene Mirman (Flight of the Conchords, Delocated) plays Bob's son Gene, and Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords, Toy Story 3, Dinner For Schmucks) plays Bob's daughter Louise. There's also a fair amount of gender-bending, which is always a welcome presence: Rounding out the cast are YouTube star John Roberts (as Bob's wife Linda) and comedian Dan Mintz (as daughter Tina). And hey, not a single role is played by Seth MacFarlane!
But let's return to my point about the future of the animated sitcom. When The Simpsons premiered back in 1989, it was a groundbreaking piece of television. It continued for the next nine years or so (fans will argue about this endlessly) to be the funniest, most consistent animated series on television. And then Family Guy came along. Now, I enjoy Family Guy—I think it's sharper and edgier than people give it credit for. But the style was completely different, with endless cutaway gags, far more absurdity, and a heaping helping of dick jokes.
The Simpsons had to up the ante. And so, what was once an—okay, fairly adult—family sitcom became a poor imitation of its younger self. The Simpsons has been weak for over a decade, largely because it sacrificed compelling storylines, character development, and continuity for gags. Feel free to fight me on this. But even if The Simpsons has had quality episodes in recent years—and I'm still unconvinced on that point—it's a wholly different show from what it was in Seasons 1 through 9.
That's why I'm excited about Bob's Burgers, a series that isn't The Simpsons or part of the Seth MacFarlane empire (Family Guy, American Dad!, and weakest link The Cleveland Show). Yes, the premiere episode was funny—and I'm confident it will become even funnier once the writers get into the swing of things. But what I loved about it was that it had an actual plot: The jokes were there, but they were part of the story and not just thrown in for an easy laugh. When was the last time you saw a straightforward sitcom plot on an animated Sunday-night series? And no, it doesn't count if the first 10 minutes of the episode were devoted to a tangential build-up. (Actually, Family Guy did a solid job of this with last year's "Brian and Stewie," but that's kind of an outlier.)
There is room for all of these shows—um, except maybe Cleveland's—and I'm not advocating more realism in all animated comedy. I just want variety. I'll turn on Family Guy when I need a "too soon" jab at a dead celebrity, The Simpsons when I'm feeling nostalgic/masochistic, and Bob's Burgers—provided it holds up—for a sitcom story. Look, it's not like it wasn't wacky: The premiere episode of Bob's Burgers focused on a health inspector claiming that the family's restaurant was serving human flesh. But it offered genuine sentiment and real-life problems, too. I cared about this family, even Linda with her crotch-itch. I'm excited to follow them week-to-week.
Did the series premiere of Bob's Burgers earn the show a spot on your weekly viewing schedule?
@Sami
Oh boo-hoo.
Nope. The animation wasn't the greatest and the voices were incredibly annoying and the jokes (if you could call it that) weren't funny at all.