NEW SHOW: Bob's Burgers: Camping Antics

This one is not a new series, but TheTalkingBox did not cover it during its first three seasons. Thanks to the internet, I'm all caught up on knowing what the Belcher family is all about, and have seen all of their antics to date. The characters are written very well, and this fourth season opener demonstrates that. Louise, albeit the youngest, rules the children, while Linda and Bob realize they have different strengths when it comes to running the family. In this instance, they're all out camping for Tina, but when the plan goes awry, the family members go through different stages of panic and acceptance in order to come together again. I wouldn't say this was the series' best episode or anything, but it does illustrate the dynamics well.

Bob's Burgers "A River Runs Through Bob" (S04E01): While camping, Bob is convinced that everything they need will be available in nature, but the rest of the family is skeptical. [meshuga = crazy in Yiddish, by the way.] Linda asks the neighboring campers (survivalists) for help, and they totally mooch off them. Later that night, after the kids are asleep, Linda and Bob try out a "warm spring," only they wind up being swept away by the river. [I don't understand why Linda didn't just let Bob go to relieve himself!] When they get back on the bank, Bob covers himself in leaves while Linda wears Bob's vest as a short dress, and they begin trekking back to the campsite. [ha! good thing Bob had that vest on!]

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In the morning, when they're not back, the kids steal tubes from the survivalists and head down the river to look for their parents. When they can't find them, they read their stolen survival guide to figure out what they should do - create a shelter and build a fire. The reason they didn't run across the rest of the family is because Bob and Linda realize they followed the wrong river for hours, and try to cross the hypotenuse back to camp. Meanwhile, Louise convinces Tina that an organized group like ThunderGirls are bad, and when they come across another troop, they tease them, and Tina renounces her membership. [that did seem a little out of character, but, of course, Tina isn't set in that opinion anyway...]

The next morning, Linda and Bob argue about which way camp is, so they split up. But, when Bob is in trouble, Linda goes back for him. [awww.] When they finally get back, the survivalists are upset that the Belcher kids stole their things, and try to get Linda and Bob to join their lifestyle. [that didn't really make sense... if you know the family CLEARLY isn't cut out to live on their own, why try to win them over??] Linda tries to get out the bathroom window, and when the kids see her, Tina drops a bee hive into the RV's vent to force the survivalists to let Linda and Bob go. [crazy ending, but I especially enjoyed Gene keeping Tina's ThunderGirls sash because it was satin!]