Kyle’s Thoughts

“Pro Tiki/Con Tiki” was a good—if uneventful—episode. Chris Parnell as Bob’s childhood friend served as a good guest star, and I wondered if Bob’s Burgers would change up the feel of Bob’s greasy spoon; they did here and Bob hated every minute of it. On the surface all this would equate to a great episode but the reason I’m hesitant to shower praise on this show is that we don’t learn something new about any of the characters.

Discovering new things about Bob’s Burgers characters separates the good from the great episodes, and “Pro Tiki/Con Tiki” was good. Bob likes his restaurant the way it is. No shock there. At first he appreciates his rich friend Warren’s help to improve his joint. That tracks. Linda gets dazzled by the eatery’s facelift and likes the pretty island decorations. That’s not a big surprise either. But then Bob resents the changes and he wants his restaurant back to the way it was and it returns to the way it was. Pretty standard sitcom fare.

I laughed. The show had its moments, but this episode makes me wonder what would happen if Bob’s Burgers borrowed a page from Archer and make the change last more than an episode. I don’t think the two shows should mirror each other but I can’t help thinking this way with Parnell taking over Bob’s business (when he’s done so in Archer) and I like having the danger of Bob’s restaurant changing for a chunk of time. It’s a missed opportunity that I wouldn’t have noticed had “Pro Tiki/Con Tiki” revealed something new about this show’s characters. So, it was good, maybe even very good, but not great.

Thanks for reading.