Bob's Burgers: Season Three

Released by: Fox
Released on: May 13th, 2014.
Director: Various
Cast: Eugene Miraman, Kristen Schaal, H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts Dan Mintz
Year: 2012
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The Series:

Bob's Burgers, the unlikely series about a man who runs a burger shop and his eccentric family, has, over the last few years, become a bit of a hit. It's not as well-known as The Simpsons or Family Guy but it's a refreshingly unique and quirky show that fits nicely in the Sunday night Fox lineup. Created by Loren Bouchard, the same mind that gave us Dr. Katz and Home Movies, the series, not so surprisingly, follows Bob Belcher (H. Jon Benjamin) as he tries to keep his business afloat and deal with the day to day insanity brought on by his wife, Linda (John Roberts), and their three kids - Louise (Kristen Schaal), Tina (Dan Mintz) and Gene (Eugene Mirman).

Bob's kids are a handful. Louise is the dangerous one, and while she might look cute in her pink bunny hat, she's conniving and devious. Tina has got emotional problems. When she's not dreaming about slow dancing and tongue kissing zombies, she's lusting after Jimmy Jr. (H. Jon Benjamin again), the son of Bob's chief rival, Jimmy Pesto (Jay Johnston), the man who runs the successful Italian eatery across the street. Tina is constantly crushing on Pesto's son, the hot dancing Jimmy Jr. Benjamin again) while Gene and Louise play often with his younger sons, Andy and Ollie (Laura and Sarah Silverman respectively). Gene is… just a weird kid. He loves to entertain and so will take every opportunity to bust out his Casio style keyboard and play samples of dogs barking or serenade anyone within earshot with a lively triangle solo (da-ding ding, da-ding ding!). Linda means well, but can be a bit of a nag sometimes and while Bob obviously loves her and his kids very much (this is made very clear over and over again), sometimes he just wants to cook burgers and relax - something he's rarely able to do.

Bob does have a couple of regulars who hang out at his restaurant to help keep him afloat, however. Mort (Andy Kindler), the mortician who runs the funeral home next door, is always hanging around as is a dopey but well-meaning contractor named Teddy (Larry Murphy). This third season sees all the core characters return as well as a few supporting players too - the Belchers' eye-patch wearing landlord Mr. Mr. Fischoeder (Kevin Kline), Jimmy's pal Zeke, guidance counsellor Mr. Frond (David Herman), Linda's neurotic man hungry sister Gale (Megan Mullally) and family dentist Doctor Yap (Ken Jeong) to name just a few.

The episodes that make up this third season are laid out in the set as follows:

DISC ONE: Ear-sy Rider / Full Bars / Bob Fires The Kids / Mutiny On The Windbreaker / An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal / The Deepening / Tina-Rannosauraus Wrecks / The Unbearable Like-Likeness Of Gene

DISC TWO: Bob Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins / Mother Daughter Laser Razor / Nude Beach / Broadcast Wagstaff School News / My Fuzzy Valentine / Lindapendent Woman / O.T. The Outside Toilet / Topsy

DISC THREE: Two For Tina / It Snakes A Village / Family Fracas / The Kids Run The Restaurant / Boyz 4 Now / Carpe Museum / The Unnatural

A few stand out episodes? An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal sees Fischoeder attempt to impress a former flame by hiring Linda and the kids to pose as his own family, while Bob plays the cook in the kitchen… where he discovers the joys of Absinthe. In The Unbearable Like-Likeness Of Gene, the Belcher boy is lusted after by an annoying girl who chews on her necklace. Gene isn't interested until he finds out that her dad makes a living writing advertising jingles. Mother Daughter Laser Razor sees Linda take Louise to a therapeutic mother/daughter seminar that ends in a vicious game of Laser Tag while Bob, Gene and Tina get various body parts waxed. Broadcast Wagstaff School News sees Tina take on the role of an investigative reporter as she tries to figure out who keeps pooping in the school and O.T. The Outside Toilet sees Gene befriend a talking toilet that he finds in the woods. In It Snakes A Village the Belcher's visit Linda's parents who have moved into a seniors community where everyone but them are into the swinging lifestyle while the kids try to find out if a local snake at a lady's Chihuahua. Boyz 4 Now finds Tina and Louise alone at a boy band concert where they hide out in the touring bus as Louise crushes hard on one of the band members, Boo-Boo.

In perhaps the greatest episode of the season, Topsy, Louise decides to impress her teacher by reenacting Thomas Edison's electrocution of a live elephant but she stages it as a musical complete with vocals from Gale and Fischoeder. This episode ends with the song Electric Love, a touching little ditty about a man and his conflicted feelings in regards to his love for elephants and electricity and the damn song will be stuck in your head for days afterwards.

All in all, a great selection of material here. The series is zany and off the wall but there's a heart to it that makes it rather charming and endearing even when it's dealing in poop jokes and back hair gags. The animation style might take some a little while to get used to if they're not already familiar with the show but once that happens, Bob's Burgers proves to be a completely addictive series.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The episodes look good in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen. The show is broadcast in high definition and so would look noticeably better on Blu-ray but that didn't happen, this is a DVD only release (in fact, it's a DVD-R/MOD release). Regardless, colors are nice if not as bold as they appear on HDTV broadcasts and line art looks okay. There are no issues with compression but there are some unusually obvious haloing effects evident throughout the series. Some may find this more distracting than others, but it's there and once you notice it, it's hard not to see it.

The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mixes won't be your go to demo discs anytime soon but they definitely sound quite good. The opening theme has some nice bounce to it while front heavy directional effects are frequently used quite well, even if things are a little front heavy. Dialogue is always well positioned and easy to understand. There are no alternate language options or subtitles provided. Season One, which was not an MOD release, had 5.1 mixes and subtitles but not so this time around.

Aside from some basic menus offering episode selection, there are no extras on this release at all.

The Final Word:

Bob's Burgers Season Three is a fantastic collection of genuinely quirky, funny animated nonsense that this reviewer finds endlessly rewatchable. The series holds up well, lots of great detail in the background and weird little character traits to notice while the writing is sharp and genuinely funny. As to the merits of the release itself, the show deserves better. The first season had a bunch of really enjoyable extras and better A/V quality, while season two and now season three have sadly been relegated to MOD status. Maybe sales warrant it, maybe they don't, but fans can't help but feel that sting a little bit.