Kyle’s Thoughts

“The Quirkducers” does a good job of integrating multiple Bob’s Burgers characters, both main and extended cast. Most characters had a want and distinct arc in this spoof of The Producers. While I wouldn’t place “The Quirkducers” as one of the best Tina-driven episodes of all time, it explores the character more than the past three or four episodes and that’s a step in the right direction.

Bob’s Burgers is at its best when it incorporates music and does in “The Quirkducers” to great effect. The Belcher kids put on a school musical, “The Quirky Turkey,” based on Tina’s erotic holiday fiction—love that this is a thing now. Similar to Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom (gotta love a Gene Wilder homage: The Producers) Louise and Gene want the play to flop so they can get a half day before their Thanksgiving break, but Tina isn’t aware of any shenanigans during most of the preparations. This fuels a fire between Tina who wants the play to be great and her classmates. Tina, being who she is, goes along with the plan and mayhem ensues.

The plays about turkeys who don’t know they’re on the dinner menu and Louise gets graphic with how they die. The moment her plan goes off leads to a nice character moment for Louise. She wonders if flying turkey guts and giblets were too much and she’d scar someone. The planning also lead to one of the funniest lines, delivered by Gene. “It’ll be Carrie meets Gallagher meets Top Chef meets Double Dare.” It’s an apt description and classic Gene.

Bob doesn’t have much to work with besides allowing Linda to treat a misshapen potato as her dead grandpa, but since so many characters are invested in the musical’s success or failure (seven by my count), it’s understandable that Bob’s arc takes a backseat. I’d still like to have seen Linda struggle with the potato-grandpa more or have Bob put up more of a fight, but the thread tied into the play in a satisfying way.

“The Quirkducers” may be one of the strongest episodes so far this season. It gives me hope that Bob’s Burgers will continue its upward swing.

Thanks for reading.