Bob's Burgers

                                     

Who says you have to be a child to enjoy animation? Ever since my teens I have enjoyed watching The Simpsons, an animated series about an average, yellow American family who have been entertaining the masses for over 30 years and whether you enjoy the show, think the quality has dipped over the years or simply don't like it, there is no denying that the show is an iconic figure of entertainment.

Since The Simpsons became a household name back in the early 1990s other animated shows, focusing on the adult viewer have come and gone, each hoping to repeat the success of the original, King Of The Hill, Family Guy, American Dad and Bob's Burgers are probably the best known of these and while I have enjoyed each show my favourite is Bob's Burgers. Debuting in January 2011 Bob's Burgers has created something of a cult following, while not resulting in huge viewing figures, the quality of the story lines and likeable characters have kept the programme on the air.

A Family Of Belchers

The premise of the show is based around the Belcher's, dad Bob, mother Linda and their children Tina, Gene and Louise, who altogether run the family business, Bob's Burgers, a seaside restaurant that is just about managing to stay afloat. While the youngest members of the family would much rather have their own adventures in life, Bob tries desperately to bring in customers by creating unusual, unique burgers, each with a catchy name and which change from episode to episode. Unfortunately Bob's only regular is Teddy, a handyman who often pops in for a quick meal and either helps out with, or helps to create his own kind of havoc that poor Bob has to endure. Linda the long suffering wife, manages to stay cheery by singing and entertaining, or on many occasions, annoying the customers with outbursts of song and dance, she is often the 'rock' of the family but still manages to let her hair down with wine and cheese. Into this mix throw a generous helping of the children's misadventures and experiences and you have a funny, entertaining show that will hopefully continue for some years to come.


Let me introduce to the main characters of Bob's Burgers, a family of Belchers.

Bob

Bob Belcher, the owner and the titular character of Bob's Burgers is a happy but rather stressed husband to Linda and father to their three children, Tina, Gene and Louise. Now at the age of 46 he is just about managing to keep his head above water as the restaurant of his dreams struggles to stand out from the crowded, seaside street of Ocean Avenue. He grew up working at his dad's restaurant but after he refused to let Bob's creativity flourish Bob decided to go it alone. His mother died when he was a child. Now with his own restaurant Bob likes to create a 'burger of the day' these feature unusual toppings and come with a 'pun' title. He enjoys talking to and making the voices for utensils and objects found around his kitchen and home,

Linda

Bob's long suffering but forever singing and dancing wife Linda is often the more fun Belcher parent, although youngest daughter Louise might have something to say about that. Linda is supportive of all the wild schemes her children and husband endeavour to achieve and often gets more involved than she should. At 44 Linda still likes to let her hair down by drinking wine on the rare occasions she gets to relax. Linda's upbeat attitude often results in her loudly announcing 'alirght' when she gets excited. She is a shoulder to cry on when her troubled sister Gayle comes to visit much to the annoyance of her husband. Linda rarely cooks in the restaurant unless it is really busy, which isn't very often but serves behind the counter taking orders and chatting to customers. Linda would like to think she is a trendy mom but often ends up embarrassing her children.

Tina

At 13, Tina is the eldest of the Belcher children, she is socially awkward and often suffers from bouts of low self esteem and doubt, during these moments she lets out a long, groaning noise. As a 13 yr old girl her sexuality is starting to blossom and she has since become a hopeless romantic (the opposite of younger sister Louise) she is infatuated by boy's bottoms, especially that of  fellow class mate, Jimmy Jr, who happens to live across the street from her in a rival Italian restaurant owned and named after the boy's father Jimmy Pesto. Tina's other interests, which she often wildly fantasies about include horses, writing in her diary (which is often read by other members of the family), boy bands and zombies. She is not a popular girl at school as she is labelled a nerd but is part of a small group of friends, included in this group is a girl called Tammy whom she doesn't really get on with. Her bedroom, overlooking the alley at the back of the restaurant is pink and covered with posters of horses and boy bands.

                                      Gene

Middle child and the Belcher's only son, Gene is 11 years old, he has a passion for music and often annoys people with his keyboard. Like his mother, whom he seems very close to, he loves to sing and dance and would like nothing more than to have a career in the music industry. Another passion of Gene's is food with a particular fondness for cheese and he often carries food supplies in his pockets. Apparently he resembles his dad when he was younger and like his dad he has dark hair and is tubby, although this doesn't stop him from walking around in his underpants when he is home, even when the family have guests. He likes to dress up wearing outrageous costumes and occasionally even wears girls clothes.

                                           Louise

The youngest of the Belcher children is Louise, at 9 years old she may be the smallest but is often the most mischievous and loudest, devising schemes that she manipulates her brother, sister and other children into, these schemes usually don't go as planned leaving all those involved in trouble. She is never seen without her pink bunny ears hat, she even sleeps in it. Louise is very much a daddies girl and as she can get angry very quickly, she often gets her own way. Despite obviously loving her mother she is often at odds with her and doesn't like to show her affections either towards her or any other member of the family. Although she is not an emotional person ( the opposite of Tina) she will always back the rest of her family up if they are in trouble. She is a tomboy and feels uncomfortable around other girls her own age as she doesn't enjoy the activities they partake in. Her bedroom is actually a large cupboard and doesn't have a window.

Of course the Belcher family are the focus of Bob's Burgers but they are supported by a whole array of characters ranging from relatives and school friends to landlords and health inspectors, these individuals are often both the cause of and bare the brunt of some crazy, funny and completely entertaining situations creating mayhem across the town of Oceanside and further afield.

                                                                       Teddy

The most frequent supporting player is the restaurant's only regular customer Teddy. Teddy is a handyman and has often been called to fix things around the restaurant and home of the Belchers, offering them friendly rates. He is tall and overweight, probably due to his regular visits to Bob's Burgers, he is also quite loud and quick tempered, working him self up and over reacting to issues presented to him. Teddy likes to tell a story unfortunately he often rambles and tells stories at inappropriate times. He is single and quite lonely and sees Bob as his best friend, Bob however doesn't always agree with this situation although deep down he probably feels the same. Teddy has stubble and wears a grey hat, he is dressed in a blue shirt and brown cargo pants. 

updates to come