It took Fox’s animated comedy Bob’s Burgers ten years to air its first and (so far) only St. Patrick’s Day episode, but every element was perfectly executed. The series has practiced its holiday-themed plots since its premiere in 2011. By the time Bob’s Burgers and Central Park creator Loren Bouchard tackled St. Patrick’s Day in the season 10 episode "Flat-Top O' the Morning to Ya", the series had already realized its formula.
“Flat-Top O' the Morning to Ya” kicks off with Linda Belcher (John Roberts) teeming with St. Patrick’s Day excitement when she treats her family to corned beef and hash and her husband Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) to an Irish coffee, sans the booze. While Linda is overtly enthusiastic, Bob is dreading his visit to a restaurant liquidation sale where he’s planning to buy discounted plates in fair condition. Bob and the kids head to the sale, encountering the former restaurant owner’s son and becoming players in an unanticipated cooktop heist. Meanwhile, Linda and Belcher family friend Teddy (Larry Murphy) innocuously scheme ways to celebrate the holiday with green dye, against Bob’s wishes.
Bob’s Burgers has incorporated Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and most notably, unforgettable Thanksgiving specials into its annual catalog. The approach towards these episodes is a well-honed equation fans have learned to anticipate and appreciate. This formula takes holiday tropes and interlaces them with real-life hangups and puts the Belcher's particular brand of family values on full display. In every special, the takeaways are laden with humor and compassion that convey a lasting sentiment.
Bob’s Burgers is a struggling establishment and though the restaurant business hasn’t handsomely lined the Belchers’ pockets, it has provided the family with the grounding necessary for the series to thoughtfully analyze human behavior, even during holidays. The liquidation sale awakens Bob’s own fears about keeping his doors open. He identifies with Beachum BBQ’s final owner, Jules—voiced by guest star Richard Kind—who in a desperate state, rationalizes his plot to steal the flattop because “those flavors belong to my family.” Sarcasm extraordinaire, Louise (Last Man On Earth star Kristen Schaal), delivers a poignant albeit undercutting observation to her dad, humorously stating, “Shouldn’t sad restaurant people help each other out?” For better or worse, the Belcher kin is unshielded from the realities their family faces, giving their one-liners a punch of authenticity.
Season 8, episode 5 “Thanks-Hoarding” is an earlier example of the Bob’s Burgers crafted approach to the holidays. The Belcher kids know their family’s small business isn’t sunshine and roses, but the challenges have taught them empathy. When the Belchers answer Teddy’s plea to help prepare Thanksgiving dinner for his visiting family, Linda and the kids inadvertently discover his hoarder tendencies. The family returns on Thanksgiving Day to again support their panicked friend and Bob’s Burgers fan-favorite Tina (Dan Mintz) puts the train back on its rails by offering to make place cards for Teddy’s family. Tina instinctively makes this gesture, living by her parent’s example. As Tina and her siblings compete to find “the best thing” in Teddy’s collection of broken treasures—a motionless Gerald Ford bobblehead and a busted Magic 8-Ball are top contenders— they never stop helping their friend. These are Belcher family values at their finest.
The tried and true Belcher holiday episode formula is a tactic ready for its transition from the small screen to the big screen. The Bob’s Burgers approach to holiday humor has every chance to appear in the upcoming Disney movie release which takes place in the summertime. The Belcher’s Fourth of July celebration or the kids’ summer vacations are fated to show Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene, and Louise experiencing life on Ocean Avenue in ways audiences haven’t yet seen.