Bob’s Burgers, "Midday Run," (5.8) - TV Review

Bob’s Burgers, Season 5, Episode 8, “Midday Run”

January 4th, 2015, 9:30 PM, FOX

Gene and Louise team up with Tina (well, okay – she bribes them into helping her out by writing them permanent hall passes) on a schoolwide search for a runaway Zeke. He slipped away from her while she was in the middle of escorting him to the principal’s office to begin serving his suspension (he got caught breaking into the coach’s office) during her hall monitor duty. To ensure Tina’s promotion from hall marlin to hall manatee, the siblings must keep Mister Frond from finding out that she’s lost her quarry, and they must also dodge Tina’s fellow hall monitor Regular Sized Rudy, who thinks his idol straight-arrow Tina has gone rogue. But once Zeke’s been captured Tina finds herself tied to the boy via Chinese finger trap, living on the wild side of life and bending the rules, sympathizing with his point of view - and learning why he really broke into the gym teacher’s office. Then they’re caught it’s up to a disgraced Tina to exonerate Zeke – and herself. Meanwhile, Linda dabbles once more in decorating the restaurant’s walls when she posts napkins featuring the doodles of their patrons on the wall – an activity that every customer they have seems to have grasped but Bob. Frustrated, he takes lessons from Edith and Arthur Cranwinkle – with unexpectedly “sexy” results.

“Midday Run” provides fun little exploration of Tina’s character. It’s nice to see her stretch beyond her typically principled point of view, and it’s surprising that what sparks off this choice of hers isn’t Jimmy Pesto Junior but the mad pooper himself, Zeke. Who knew he had a softer side? And that his soft point involves a family member.

And once again the Belcher clan finds themselves sticking together – from the womb to the tomb indeed – even if it involves a little bit of bribery. In the end the kids end up proving that blood’s thicker than any permission slip, in their own charming way.

It was nice to see Regular Sized Rudy step up as a foil for Tina this week; the show’s been making very good use of him this season, in fact we’ve seen him more than we’ve seen Jimmy Pesto or Tammy, and perhaps that’s just as well, ‘cause he’s been an enjoyable presence. And as always Frond is the ultimate foil for all three of the kids, this time he’s in full life-and-people suck mode, which feels just a hair OOC because that’s a character trait usually parceled out to other characters.

Meanwhile, Bob’s subplot starts out as a typical Bob-as-buttmonkey plotline and evolves into something much odder. We’ve moved in five season’s time from Linda being haunted by the sight of animal buttholes to Bob unabashedly drawing a naked elderly woman on a napkin. It’s some kinda progress – though what sort I couldn’t tell you.

This is an average episode of the show – but hey, let’s face it, sometimes even the most average episode of this show is downright good. This is a perfectly serviceable episode, and a very nice one if you like Tina.
The Roundup

Hall monitor rankings at Wagstaff Elementary, listed from highest ranking to lowest: Hall Manatee, Hall Marlin and Hall Minnow.

Linda won’t tell Gene his middle name. It must rhyme with fart…
The hall pass Tina writes for her siblings suggests that they have irritable bowel syndrome.
Wagstaff Elementary’s mascot is the Wagstaff Whaler.
The Cranwinkles were introduced in season one’s “Art Crawl”, and the name of their art store is ‘Reflections’.
Other famous Halls: Deidre Hall, Michael C. Hall, Jerry Hall.

This week’s credit gags: Building Next Door: Cat-Like Refluxes: Feline Gastroenterologist. Exterminator’s Truck: Wouldn’t It Be Mice Pest Control. Chalkboard: Beets of Burden Burger (Served with too many beets) $5.. Credits: Zeke dancing about in the Wagstaff Whaler costume.

Next Week: Bob quietly starts selling Teddy’s microbrewed beer under the table at the restaurant and the kids are excited about joining a go-kart league in “Speakeasy Rider” !