There are quite a few iconic Fox Animation families, including the Griffins on Family Guy, the Simpsons on The Simpsons, and previously the Smith family on American Dad! However, my favorite animated family on Fox is undoubtedly the Belchers from Bob’s Burgers. The Belchers are a family of five that run a small burger restaurant in a coastal city near an amusement park. Bob and Linda Belcher, the parents, struggle to keep their business afloat while raising their three chaotic children. Tina, the oldest of the three kids, has a monotone voice and is obsessed with boys; Gene, the musical middle child, loves to eat; and Louise, the youngest, has a wild streak and always wears bunny ears.
Bob’s Burgers is one of the funniest, most inventive animated shows currently running. The show has a sizeable fanbase, but I can’t help recommending it to everyone in the hope of growing its viewership even further. If you are interested in Bob’s Burgers but don’t have the time to watch every episode, I suggest watching these 10 episodes to get a feel for it. Fortunately, you don’t have to watch every single episode for the series to make sense or for it to be enjoyable!
1. Crawl Space (1.02)
This episode is a great introduction to the insanity that seemingly occurs daily in the Belcher household. Bob decides to hide in the crawl space behind the restaurant and apartment to avoid Linda’s parents when they come to visit. He slowly grows more and more delusional and irrational in isolation, which angers Linda and pleases the Belcher children, who try to convince people that their dad is a ghost haunting the restaurant. There is so much to appreciate in this episode, from clever jabs between Linda and Bob, to Mr. Frond (the children’s guidance counselor) paying a concerned house visit, to references to The Shining (1980). I lapse into giggles whenever I think about Bob in this episode calling Linda “Nagatha Christie” and “Spiro Nagnew.”
2. Bob Fires the Kids (3.03)
One of the most interesting and unique aspects of this show is that the Belcher children all work at their family’s restaurant, as Bob and Linda can’t afford to hire real workers. The show acknowledges that this may be slightly problematic when Bob “fires” the children so that they can enjoy their summer. The Belcher children don’t handle being let go well and decide to work for a blueberry farm instead, which unbeknownst to them is actually a cannabis farm. This episode is hilarious and the Belcher children cluelessly selling pot certainly feels like something that they would do. Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman are perfect guest voice actors as the strange hippie couple that operates the cannabis farm and who tell the oblivious Belcher children that they remove “weeds.” This episode also reveals a softer side of Bob, who truly cares about the wellbeing of his children and being a good dad.
3. A River Runs Through Bob (4.01)
The Belcher family isn’t very outdoorsy or athletically gifted, which this episode makes abundantly clear. After deciding to go on a camping trip, Bob and Linda fall into a river and are separated from the children. The parents’ effort to reunite with their kids is stymied by Bob getting food poisoning from an undercooked trout. Out of all the episodes on this list, this one is my favorite. It is hilariously cringey to watch Bob struggle hiking back to the campsite while denying he has food poisoning to save face.
4. Tina Tailor Soldier Spy (5.07)
The Belchers may be lovably weird all by themselves, but the city they live in is no less strange. This is highlighted by the intense rivalry between Thundergirls’ troops (essentially Girl Scouts). Tina’s Thundergirls troop suffers from poor cookie sales, which her troop leader attributes to there being a mole in their midst. Tina, along with Louise, investigates each Thundergirl to find the mole. The idea for this episode is super clever and original—I don’t know who had the brilliant idea to combine Girl Scouts, gang wars, and espionage! It is endlessly enjoyable watching a bunch of little girls act in complete contrast to how they appear. This episode also features cute and memorable moments between the two Belcher sisters. Tina and Louise are completely unlike each other, so it is a blast seeing how both go about uncovering the mole.
5. The Millie-Churian Candidate (5.12)
I could choose any number of great episodes that take place in Wagstaff School, which the Belcher children attend, but I chose this one because it centers around Millie Frock, a fellow student with an unhealthy obsession with Louise. Millie decides to run for class president to control Louise, driving Louise to try everything to prevent her from being elected. Millie is a great, quirky supporting character and I love every scene featuring her and Louise together. Louise’s exasperation and increasingly irrational behavior in response to Millie’s candidacy make for quite a memorable episode.
6. Eat, Spray, Linda (5.18)
Linda is my favorite member of the Belcher family, so I had to include this episode because it puts her in the spotlight. Linda gets locked out of her car on her birthday and has to walk a long distance to get back to the restaurant. In the process of doing so, Linda faces several obstacles, including an obnoxious event organizer and a skunk. Linda’s reactions to each obstacle are priceless and they alone make the episode worthy. It also never ceases to amaze me that John Roberts, a man, voices Linda and does such an incredible job of doing so. Roberts’ talent is on full display in this episode.
7. Lice Things Are Lice (6.10)
This is another episode featuring Wagstaff School, and I love it because it reminds me of my experience with lice checks. The school nurse Liz, excellently voiced by late-night show host Samantha Bee, supposedly finds lice on a student and decides to shave the hair off of everyone who came in contact with her. The Belcher children try to fend her off and find a less drastic solution. The comical dynamic between the Belcher children and school authority figures are priceless. (Spoiler: neither are fond of the other!)
8. A Few ‘Gurt Men (7.11)
The Belcher children participate in mock trials, with Louise acting as defense lawyer and Gene acting as prosecutor. When Mr. Frond is accused of stealing and eating the librarian’s yogurt, Louise is forced to defend him in a mock court. Mr. Frond and Louise’s fraught relationship is one of the show’s best recurring gags, and it is especially funny to see it flipped on its head when Louise decides to do her job well. There were also clever references to various courtroom dramas and television programs.
9. The Ring (But Not Scary) (10.01)
With all the terrible things the Belcher children have done throughout the series’ run, it may be difficult choosing their most egregious offense. Their actions in this episode take the cake, however. When the Belcher children unintentionally stumble upon an engagement ring, an anniversary gift from Bob to Linda, Gene gets it stuck on his finger. Later, it slips off his finger after they go to a water park and the children scramble to find it before Bob realizes it’s missing. This episode is like watching a train wreck in action; you simply cannot take your eyes away no matter how uncomfortable you feel. It’s heartbreaking to see Bob’s loving gesture for Linda get erased but still entertaining to see the children try to fix their mistake. This episode is sincerely touching and demonstrates that the Belcher family love each other no matter what.
10. Die Card, or Card Trying (11.12)
Determined to have a good Christmas card photo, Linda forces the family to hike up a mountain for the perfect shot. Linda manages to take a great picture, but afterward, she drops the camera in an awkward spot and struggles to get it back. I love how excruciating yet also funny this episode can be, and Linda’s increasingly desperate attempts to escape with the camera are a sight to behold. If this episode makes anything clear, it is that the Belcher family rarely gets a win.
What did you think of my list? If you’ve seen Bob’s Burgers before, are there any episodes you would have included? Let me know in the comments below!
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