“Bob’s Burgers” isn’t particularly innovative, nor is it often surprising. Picture a Fox animated sitcom in the year 2012: A bit of “Archer” here, some “Simpsons” there, throw in a pinch of “South Park” and blend. That’s pretty much what “Bob’s Burgers” is (literally; the eponymous hero is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, otherwise known as Sterling Archer). These are — or were, as the case may be — great shows, and while “Bob’s Burgers” isn’t quite up to the level of those luminaries, it’s a well-executed, surprisingly heartfelt and consistently hilarious offering that deserves your time.
Bob’s Burgers
Season 2 premiere
Sundays a 8:30 p.m.
FOX
“Bob’s Burgers” returns strongly with the season two premiere. The episode showcases the ensemble cast well, allowing the kids Tina (Dan Mintz), Louise (Kristen Schaal) and Gene (Eugene Mirman) to bounce off each other. They go on a Goonies-inspired treasure hunt in a taffy factory on a butt-shaped peninsula with weird ginger twins Andy and Ollie (Sarah and Laura Silverman) and jock-types Jimmy Jr. (Jay Johnston) and Zeke (Bobby Tisdale). It’s a nice bit of world-building for the show, and much more ambitious than anything in the first season.
Meanwhile, Bob and his wife Linda (John Roberts) are spurred by a restaurant regular to spice up their sex life, so Linda gets some sex dice. It’s a hackneyed plot to be sure, but the on-point characterization makes it work anyway. Linda (whose voice is basically a Marge Simpson via “Jersey Shore”) is gung-ho and over-earnest as always, and Bob is no Sterling Archer in the bedroom. The dice seem to always come up showing “hug in chair,” where Bob promptly crushes Linda as she croaks “get off.”
The show quickly mashes B-plot together with A-plot though, as the parents realize the kids haven’t made any noise, read Tina’s journal and go to the taffy factory to find them. The sequence features one of the best gags in the episode: The kids all make dummies in their beds. Louise’s bed is stuffed with clothes and her trademark rabbit-eared hat. Gene’s is a garbage bag, which he was supposed to take out. And Tina’s? A post-it that says “Tina.”
When there are so many ridiculous characters in such an absurd setting, there’s nothing to do but wait for the fireworks. The ever-awkward and hormonal Tina spends the entire episode lusting after Jimmy Jr. Louise gets trapped in a pit with a giant taffy man whom she befriends, and its “judgmental hollow eye-holes” help her self-reflect. Gene, who’s somehow the weirdest of the three, doesn’t have any huge moments, but at least he gets to lick the old taffy machines and taste every flavor from the last sixty years. And after all the spelunking shenanigans, we get a “Modern Family” type family learning moment, except not lame.
There are no huge set-pieces here to rival the traintop scene from “Archer,” or any other big confrontation from that show you can name. But “Bob’s Burgers” is a very funny show that’s finding its footing and trying small but effective twists on existing conventions and forms. The scatological and crude humor isn’t for everybody. But if you want a table at Bob’s Burgers before it gets too crowded, you better get in now.